Black Isle Studios has opened up a crowd funding effort for its first game since it was relaunched by former Interplay staffers. Project V13, a post-apocalyptic strategy RPG, carries a not-coincidental resemblance to a certain other franchise. Despite the connection to Interplay, and the presence of original Fallout team member Chris Taylor, the studio can't actually mention it by name -- a fact which they play coy with during the promotional video.

The official site promises a character creation system letting you choose from a human, mutant, or cyborg, who will then go on to found a colony. Your city state will grow and improve as you gain more residents to help rebuild, and you'll be tasked with finding ancient technology and defending from hordes.

A prototype proof-of-concept is set to be created from the crowd-funding. "It won't have the entire world or a finished game," the site notes. "We've got some great ideas, but they haven't been tested in the crucible of actual play. We need time and money. We'll have most, if not all, systems in the proof of concept. We'll be able to run around the world, interacting with NPCs and objects, basic combat, building and worker management, and test the other core gameplay mechanics. We can then use this prototype to raise the additional funds necessary to complete the game."

The funding push is using cheeky references to the Mayan calendar as a backdrop, claiming that each dollar spent helps push back the end of the world a little more. Sure, the joke might be dated by Saturday morning, but at least it makes sense for the theme of the project. Backers will get access to the private forum to talk to developers, and then access to the friends and family beta once it's created.

If the name sounds familiar, that's because Project V13 was once the code-name for Fallout Online. This game isn't officially connected with Fallout, but it's clear Black Isle is trying to have their cake and eat it too a bit with the association.