Every week we take a brief look at all of the Kickstarter campaigns that launched in the previous week. This isn’t to say that all of these projects are worth your hard earned cash, but with any luck having all of them in one place will make it easier to educate yourself on the projects you’d like to back, and which ones to run from. You’ll find two types of campaigns listed, “featured” and “the rest“. Featured campaigns are those that contain a significant amount of game information, are from known developers, or are significant in some other way. The rest of the games are usually smaller campaigns that are lacking in information, are from unknowns, have unanswered questions, or have not yet stood out for one reason or another.
[divider]Featured Campaigns :
Game : Commodore Amiga: a visual Commpendium
What it is : Marcus wrote: “As with the last book, this will follow in the same steps. Pages will feature gigantic, gorgeous images from a wide variety Amiga games. Alongside the stunning pixel art is set to include short reviews, developer commentary, and assorted trivia. Already confirmed to be contributing to the book are famous names such as Paul Cuisset (Flashback) and Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island). Other famed developers named include The Bitmap Brothers, Cinemaware, Ocean, Psygnosis, and Sensible Software. So far, the book spans 264 pages (although stretch goals are already increasing its page count) and comes in softcover. Only 25 hardcover copies will be made.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Red Cobra
What it is : Marcus wrote: “Chances are we’ve all played a shoot ‘em up title before in the past. So what is it that helps make Red Cobra stand out from arcade classics? Some noted features on their campaign page include 360 degree shooting, puzzles, and obstacles. By 360 degree shooting they mean the ship can fire in all directions (on a 2D plane, of course). It has always been a personal pet peeve of mine when ships only fire forward, so this design decision is totally appreciated. As for puzzles, it’s hard to think up many other genre titles with any at all so that aspect stands as potentially interesting. Another tweak is in response to presentation. Most shooters have very rigid starts and ends to levels. Red Cobra will provide more organic transitions between levels to make the journey feel continuous.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Change!
What it is : Marcus wrote: “The visual novel genre is full of fun romance-focused games targeted at men and women. In particular, the otome genre intends to draw in hetero women with promises of handsome men wanting to date their avatar. Change! looks to shake up that formula a bit by offering an otome game where the protagonist mysteriously becomes a boy on her 17th birthday. It might be a pretty fanciful start but one certainly has to wonder how romances might play out.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Ethereal
What it is : Marcus wrote: “Ethereal’s unique storyline is paired with more traditional gameplay concepts. It is a 2D pixel art puzzle platformer with some action elements. You must search through each memory for a memento, which allows the spirit to move on. However, one must be careful to avoid Hellhounds. These creepy creatures lie in wait to “kill” you. Thankfully, there’s a host of abilities you can use to stay on top of things. For example, you can haunt and posses animals. Interestingly, there is no jump mechanic in Ethereal. Instead it utilizes a flipping mechanic (effectively switching gravity on or off) for maneuvering through puzzles.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Basement
What it is : Marcus wrote: “Basement takes strategy games in an interesting new direction. Instead of commanding troops or aliens or whatever, you’re tasked with managing a growing drug empire. All of this goes on underground, underneath a store that serves as your “front.” By building new and larger rooms you can create more and more of the drug of your choice. Of course, you’ll have to staff the building along the way, making sure that you have suitable security to keep things in check. Bribing police before inspections is another way to cover your tracks – as long as you’ve got the cash. Those who loved Breaking Bad or Weeds and always wanted to play a game version may find Basement scratches that itch.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Hazewalker
What it is : Marcus wrote: “It’s described as a 2.5D Metroidvania where the protagonist Falken must use a very special power to save your hometown. They are cursed (or blessed?) with Haze, an ancient ability that allows their body to turn into mist. As you might expect, such a power is of tremendous use. Players can dissipate and float to the other side of an enemy, for example, or even make their way through tiny crevices. Metroidvanias are known for giving players cool new weapons and powers, but I don’t think something quite like this has ever existed before. Another way that developer TheoryForm Games sets Hazewalker apart is thanks to the visuals. Nope, there’s no pixel art here! Instead they’ve gone for a painterly look which helps give the game a more “handcrafted” look.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Empyrion
What it is : Julie wrote: “Empyrion is a space simulation that just launched on Kickstarter. Empyrion is a vast, open world – galaxy that welcomes players to explore every corner and inhabit every planet they come across. But Empyrion will be anything but easy, requiring players to find a way to survive on planets with harsh climates and against hordes of hostile aliens, desperate to keep their land. This game gives players a broad amount of freedom, first with their ship and its design, and then with exploration and abilities in space. Upon landing on planets, players can mine for resources and set up a base. With these resources, weaponry and equipment can be crafted.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Her Majesty’s SPIFFING
What it is : Marcus wrote: “Her Majesty’s SPIFFING brings players into a world where Her Majesty the Queen of England decides to issue Britain’s finest to explore space. The game takes place on spaceship HMSS Imperialise and is manned by Captain Frank Lee English and Sub-Lieutenant Aled Jones. These two make quite an odd pair as you’ll see if you check out some video of the game. As players journey through space they will discover other characters and (hopefully) laugh their way through the game’s many dialogue trees, puzzles, and mini games.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Everstar
What it is : Marcus wrote: “If you’re a lover of Metroidvanias, roguelikes, or platformers then Kickstarter is a veritable playground for you. RPG fans get their share of goodies too, but not quite as often. Everstar, developed by Psycho Sorted, has just begun seeking funding and looks to be one of the more ambitious game projects seeking crowdfunding lately. For one, it offers a fully 3D environment, will have an all-star voice actor cast (if they meet that stretch goal), and offer two battle modes and co-op support. Since the last bit might seem a bit confusing we’ll get into that first.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Guns, Gore, & Cannoli
What it is : Marcus wrote: “Sometimes, all you want out of a video game is a roaring good time. This is particularly true when it comes to action games such as beat ‘em ups. Guns, Gore & Cannoli looks like it capitalizes upon tremendously fun, simple gameplay in order to get you brawling through stages. Unlike most games of the genre which place you in fantastical settings or “modern” city streets, you’ll run through a version of the 1920’s. Oh, and there’s also a zombie outbreak.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
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Game : Virtual Horse Ranch 3D
What it is : Julie wrote: “In Virtual Horse Ranch 3D, players can buy, sell, breed, and train horses of many breeds. Everyone begins with a ranch of their own, customizable avatar, and fame and experience levels. The entire world of Virtual Horse Ranch 3D relies on horse breeding and training them for competitions. Players engage with one another socially, create their own ranches together (parties), and trade and train horses as a team if they wish. But people get competitive with their equestrian enthusiasm and participate in events and various competitions with their horses. This includes Dressege, Racing, various Western Events, etc.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
[divider]The Rest of the Campaigns :
Pancake Simulator : This weeks Kickstarter winner for the least amount of information available.
Future Racing Simulator : An old-school style racer with some very new school twists, such as Oculus Rift support. Shame about the lack of video.
4×4 Off-Road Adventure : What little information there is on this Kickstarter sounds great, unfortunately there’s absolutely nothing shown.
disFigured : A great sounding combat game, with too little shown yet.
Raceway Heat : A Daytona USA style racer for mobile platforms.
Celestial Gateway : An oldschool style RPGMaker game with some lofty aspirations.
Downpour : The Kickstarter campaign is purely for marketing purposes, and it features a $1.00 funding goal.
Adventure Field 3 : An RPGMaker RPG with a monster 20 minute funding video that’s all gameplay.
Cole : A platformer with a funding video you’ll either love or hate.
In The Blind : A 2.5D survival horror adventure that’s lacking any information.
Infectious : No video, no screenshots, and almost no text in this Kickstarter.
Rescue the Prince : A puzzle adventure with some snappy pixel art.
Johnny Rocketfingers 3 : A great looking stick figure adventure game… with $390,000 funding goal.
P.O.D.S. Racer : An underwater racer featuring mini-subs.
Hockey Universe : A statistical hockey manager game.
Round Zero : Actually, this might be this weeks winner for the least amount of information available.
The Very Organized Thief : A confusing campaign. The original game was really popular, and tons of YouTubers did Let’s Play videos. However, this campaign, which is to expand on the original, features no video.
Cosmic Encounter Connector : A tool for connecting players via mobile devices.
Ghosts ‘n DJ’s : An EDM inspired platformer.
Fragmented Fate : An oldschool RPG with a ton of background info, but needs to show off more game.
72 Sols : With “…camera motion, brainwaves, and voice…” it sounds interesting, but there’s nothing to show yet.
Through Time : A first person action adventure that brings back memories of the early 2000’s.
No Firewood : An outdoor survival horror game, with nothing to show yet.
Kings Forsaken Men : A nice looking medieval adventure with a ton of gameplay footage.
Thea: The Awakening : An exciting Civilization inspired strategy game, but with very little game shown.
Paradise Falls : An open worldgame for iOS and Android with no game to show.
RETRO Videogame Magazine Year Two : A gaming magazine that feature some retro gaming features. The Year One Kickstarter beat its $50k funding goal by $25k. This time around $20k is the goal. It remains to be seen if the numerous complaints from previous backers regarding undelivered copies will have an impact on this campaign.
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That’s it for last weeks Kickstarter campaigns. Watch your wallets!
