Despite this being another anonymous shooter, they sure are giving that pitch their best:
****STRAFEĀ® will not literally kill you. Most likely. If by coincidence death does occur during a STRAFEĀ® session, number one, what better way to go out, and two, we do not accept liability or responsibility. If you're worried about the effects of hardcore gaming on your health, we encourage you to consider our $10,000 reward tier.
Last Edit: Jan 20, 2015 15:38:29 GMT -5 by Garamoth
A hybrid of Shoot 'em Up and point-and-click adventure games. May be good for people who want to try point-and-click adventures but feel that the pacing/action is too slow. To me, this game looks incredible and eagerly await for it to be officially kickstarted.
So former Ultima Underworld team members want to make a spiritual sequel. This will most certainly get funded, but some of the stretch goals are really interesting (co-op!):
I especially like how they quote the HG101 article for press voices on Ultima Underworld.
Also, here's a reminder that Starr Mazer above has only three days left, and it's gonna be a close call, so if you were on the fence about backing it, now's the time to make your decision.
I have to say, I'm pretty into the idea of this. Roguelites have progressed so far in so many different genres that it'll be interesting to see what they can add to this, and having online co-op pretty much seals the deal for me, right there.
I have to say, I'm pretty into the idea of this. Roguelites have progressed so far in so many different genres that it'll be interesting to see what they can add to this, and having online co-op pretty much seals the deal for me, right there.
This may sound snarky, but I don't mean it to be at all; Toejam and Earl already was a roguelite. I don't know how much more it can bring, realistically. It already had randomly generated levels and randomly generated presents. The Kickstarter mentions that it will add perma-upgrades in various forms, as well as new random items after certain conditions are met. I love the original Toejam and Earl, it's easily one of my favorite games. I even like the sequel, if only because it has some great graphics, music, and humor (and fun, if slightly boring gameplay). Toejam and Earl 3 isn't nearly as bad as people remember. On the one hand, it had some just awful humor, which of its faults is the most damning for me personally, and is also the one thing I don't think can be blamed on Sega (I'm really hoping the humor is derived more from the unique cartoon-style and less from urban culture parody). On the other hand, the gameplay itself was sound enough, resembling the original in many ways, while adding a welcome permanent combat ability (though the execution of said ability is not very well implemented). Certainly, the worst decision on Sega's part was making it an Xbox exclusive, but honestly I can't imagine people's opinion of it changing in a hypothetical world where it was released on every platform.
I'm really hoping this Kickstarter doesn't stagnate after its initial hype, as I've seen happen on a few occasions. Clearly most of the hardcore fans have already backed it, but they'll have to convince a lot of potential new fans that it's worth backing. One great way to do this would be to advise they download the XBLA release of the first two games (part of the promising Sega Vintage Collection line that Sega completely abandoned, along with all the other ports of games they were working on), which even adds a few features, but they would never do that since it would give Sega money, which they're clearly not keen on (and I don't blame them at all). It was definitely a smart thing to add a "name in the credits" tier at $5. I feel that that specific reward entices many people who may not otherwise back something to back that something on the hunch that it may one day be popular, and they can point out their name to all their friends, or get some sort of online cred, or whatever.
Another thing that is both a good and bad thing is the current prototype build. It's good because they show they clearly have the ability and know-how to pull off the product they're envisioning. It's bad because despite being a prototype, people will judge it as if it were the final product. I've already seen a bunch of posts online bad-mouthing the animation and place-holder art, clearly assuming it's more or less final, which is not the case. Another side of that argument is more legitimate, though subjective; purists will be turned off by the new graphics because they would much rather see retro-styled renditions of one of their favorite childhood brands (or adulthood, whatever). I'm willing to give them some credit; I like most of the concept art I've seen and expect the final product to reflect that art more. I also expect the animation will rely more heavily on frame-by-frame animations in the final product and less on flash-style tweening (which I personally hate when it's overused, and in my opinion, the prototype is overusing it).
Lastly, I hope they get some talented musicians involved with the soundtrack. Maybe hire the talented chibi-tech who did the menu musics in all of the Sega Vintage games' menus. Here's her couple songs for TJ and E: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5O28L0ugM8 www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YsVG7SwTgE I want that kind of synth-funk sound, and less "modern" hip-hop funk BS that got attached to the third game (and is still the one main lingering influences from TJ and E 3, if the Kickstarter pitch is any indication). Heck, I'd be happy with Hideki Naganumi's brand of funkiness too. Funny story; while writing that, I was inspired to tweet at Greg and Hideki, just for grins and giggles. Hideki replied/retweeted it!
Sometimes I really love twitter. I'd be absolutely thrilled if my random tweet-suggestion was the catalyst that actually led to Hideki's hypothetical involvement. I also suggested chibi-tech, as well as John Baker. Let's hope that maybe this will lead to some slightly more inspired tracks, as opposed to the by-the-numbers remixes we got in TJ and E 3 (and the mostly mediocre original tracks). For me, the music of Toejam and Earl is an important piece of the overall puzzle. The first 2 had such great songs, using the Genesis' awesome sounding YM2612 synth bass. I'm not sure how much important the music is for Greg, although the kickstarter does mention funky music...but without actually listing a composer, I'm not convinced one way or the other (I know that on a technical level, the music is the least important thing to worry about for a game like this, especially early on).
To cut my rambling short, I'm really excited for this kickstarter and I hope it reaches its goal and then some. More importantly, I hope the game lives up to its potential.
Icy is a dialogue-heavy adventure CRPG (PC/Mac/Linux) in a post-apocalyptic setting where the world is experiencing a new Ice Age. The game play will involve a lot of tough moral choices and a strong emphasis on the survival aspect; e.g., your party must hunt for food, scavenge for supplies, and deal with dangerous beasts and cannibals. There's some really nice artwork as well.
The game is nearly complete with an estimated release of June, but the developers are running this campaign to help with polishing: A $6 pledge gets you a digital copy of the game. They have already met their modest goal and are now working on stretch goals.
The TJ&E Kickstarter added a bunch of add-ons, which is especially nice for anyone who might want extra figures or whatever. Also added some stretch goals and whatnot. It has slowed down a bit, so hopefully this will give it another push towards the goal. It made me up my pledge a bit (I wanted another Toejam figure).
Here's one that I think looks super cute and well conceived, but hasn't got any attention.
It had an unsuccessful kickstarter a while back but had $7000 pledged toward its goal. Now it's only asking for $5000 but they aren't quite there yet. There's a playable demo, and I feel like compared to other kickstarters with lofty goals but no real idea of how to implement said goals. When you already have a playable build, I feel like that should get people to trust your promises more.
Here's an interesting game mechanic they're working towards: /posts/1163521