What Kickstarter Video Game Campaigns Launched May 17 – 23?

[dropcap size=big]E[/dropcap]very week we take a brief look at all of the Kickstarter video game 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.

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Featured Campaigns :

Game : Voxelnauts

What it is : Marcus wrote: “Have you ever wanted to play an absolutely massive sandbox game where you can create anything you want with voxels? Oh wait, you’ve played a game like that before? Okay, so maybe Minecraft fits that bill perfectly well, but many developers out there have taken inspiration from that mega popular game to iterate in their own unique ways. Voxelnauts is one title that was born of such inspired iteration. In this game, you can do basically anything you could do in Minecraft – build awesome structures, explore vast worlds, and the like. However, unlike that game modding is not only accepted but expected and made incredibly simple. It’s also made with integration with VR headsets in mind right out of the gate.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

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Game : The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human

What it is : Amanda wrote: “Do you wish there were more apocalyptic games with an existential examination of society and climate change? Then you should check out The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human, a metroidvania-like action/adventure game by indie game studio, YCJY, who are based in Sweden. The story goes that the player is the last human, returning to Earth after a failed space mission, only to discover that humanity is dead and gone, and the world covered in water. Inspiration for The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human was drawn from such movie classics as Planet of the Apes and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

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Game : Combat Core

What it is : Marcus wrote: “Nearly one year ago we covered a 4-player multiplayer arena fighting game launched on Kickstarter. It went by the name of Combat Core and showed some promise, but failed to get anywhere near its funding goal. Here we are, a year later and Combat Core has returned! Development did not stop in between the campaigns as now the game being displayed looks far fancier, with an overall level of polish that was missing beforehand. Now instead of looking like an unassuming multiplayer brawler, it now looks like a brand new Dreamcast game (and I mean this in the most loving way possible!).“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

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Game : Dimension Drive

What it is : Marcus wrote: “Unlike many campaigns which fade into obscurity after failure, Dimension Drive’s team had the luck (or genius marketing pivot?) of this story hitting big gaming sites. “Troll Destroys Kickstarter Dreams” is a pretty strong concept, after all. Folks who had never heard of the campaign were now promising to pledge serious money based on the principle of sticking it to the troll! After reevaluating and assessing the sudden swelling of attention,Dimension Drive has since returned to Kickstarter less than a week after its previous failure. Although rare, sometimes campaign relaunches occur this quickly (and that’s without any associated drama).“

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Game : Bloxels

What it is : Marcus wrote: “It seems that every year some new software is developed that makes folks like me think “wow, video game creation is really becoming possible for everyone.” It’s great to see that there’s an increase in openness of engines, as well as the creation of software which doesn’t even require programming know-how to get going. The latest game creation device is even more friendly, and is known as Bloxels. Instead of being a pure software solution it takes on the look of a toy with a tangible board which you place different colored cubes into.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

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Game : Intellivision Gen2

What it is : Serena wrote: “Back in the early 1980s there were few gaming consoles on the market. The big name was Atari with its line of cartridge-based games, particularly for the 2600. But, there was another company that fought for its own share of the market. Intellivision became a popular alternative and it’s apparent that there’s still a market for them as theIntellivision Gen2 project just launched on Kickstarter.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

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Game : Pinocchio’s Murder

What it is : Marcus wrote: “Visual novel fans have been introduced to a great many awesome new games in the genre in just the last month on Kickstarter! Of course, there’s always room for more. The latest visual novel to hit the crowdfunding site is Pinocchio’s Murder by Mayshing. Before we dig right into the story, it’s worth noting that this title actually is an adaptation from the sci-fi comic series E-depth Angel. With that said, the developer assures prospective backers that you don’t need to be a fan of the source material in order to enjoy this upcoming game. Of course, existing fans will love interacting with these characters on a closer level.“

Keep an eye on it in our calendar

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The Rest of the Campaigns :

_STARCODER : Another “coding: gamified” title, a sub-genre that has a sketchy crowdfunding past.

Real World Mafia : This campaign originally used imagery from the Hitman series in it’s campaign.  They’ve gotten rid of that (mostly), but still have The Godfather in there.

After Sun : Quite possibly the most heartbreaking funding I’ve ever seen.  The developer looks ready to burst into tears for the first minute of the video.  Just wish I knew what he was saying.

Short Defender : $250,000 for some text and a sketch someone made in math class on their book cover.

Zone 208 : $1,000 for this survival game for PC, Xbox One, and PS4; just don’t expect any detail.

Phil’s Amazing Adventure: The Game : Cool sounding game, but unfortunately there’s nothing but text and a passionate call for funding from the developer.

HotterKeys : A game that teaches you keyboard shortcuts.

RUMP! : A 3D style run and jump game that’s got a lot to show.

Reasonless : This weeks winner of the “Least Amount of Effort Put Into A Kickstarter” award.

Beastly Armada : A cool looking retro strategy title, unfortunately the funding goal is just too aggressive.

Remnant : A 4X strategy game set in space with some potential.

Fifth Sword : A 16bit style RPG Maker RPG that needs to do more if it’s going to hit that $10,000 funding goal.

Buff Shark Man : A curious case of a campaign with lots of text, but no information on what kind of game is being funded.

A-01: A world of evil : A 16bit style RPG Maker RPG that needs to do more if it’s going to hit that $46k+ funding goal. (echo..echo..)

Beard: Life Grows On : A cute looking platformer with great artwork.

Horror Legends : It’s obvious a good amount of work has gone into this multiplayer horror survival game, but there’s still not enough to justify the $130,000 funding goal unfortunately.  Tragic too, since it sounds a lot like Last Year, but with actual gameplay and screenshots to show.

I’m Still Alive : A super blocky survival game that sounds entertaining; shame there’s no funding video.

Village the Game : $220,000 for a Farmville looking city building game.  The strangest thing is that the cover image shows a lot happening, but the funding video is basically nothing.

After The End : A retro style RPG whose campaign features screenshots but no funding video.  If you scroll down the campaign page enough you’ll see some gameplay videos.  Confusing.

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That’s it for last week’s Kickstarter video game campaigns.  Watch your wallets!