Featured Campaigns :
Game : The 13th Doll
What it is : Marcus wrote: “The 7th Guest was one heck of a point and click adventure game from the early 90s. With its then gorgeous pre-rendered 3D backdrops and FMV actors, it proved a popular title which spawned the sequel, The 11th Hour. Unfortunately, over the past few years, developer Trilobyte Games have been unable to successfully crowdfund a third game in the series. That’s part of what makes the story of The 13th Doll surprising. You see, it’s not designed by the original team or even the IP holder of The 7th Guest.“
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
Game : Spark the electric jester
What it is : Marcus wrote: “Looking for a classic-style 2D platformer? Sure, you could always just plug in an old SNES or Genesis and pop in a cart, but you could also take a look at the library of such types of games hitting Kickstarter. The latest in the world of crowdfunded platformers is Spark the Electric Jester. And unlike some of these titles, in the case of this one it was actually designed by someone who has a lot of experiencing in making modern games feel like 16-bit classics. Developer Felipe Ribeiro Daneluz (or LakeFeperd) previously created Sonic the Hedgehog fan games such as Sonic Before the Sequel, Sonic After the Sequel, and Sonic Chrono Adventure.“
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
Game : Submerge
What it is : Nick wrote: “Developer Icebird Studios have just launched a Kickstarter for their first game, Submerged, a new underwater RTS developed on the Unreal Engine 4. Icebird is looking for $60,000 to fund the game, and has already been Greenlit by the Steam community.
Submerged sounds like a rather ambitious game, featuring a persistent online world where 16 different players will fight for the last remaining resources under the sea. There are no teams in the game either, so the developer made it a point to note there will be massive battles in the game, as all 16 players will be fighting for the same resources. Other players won’t be the only threat though as the sea will be littered with deadly plants and other creatures.“
Game : Dead Star Runner
What it is : Serena wrote: “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, which is why in Dead Star Runner the battles are being fought on the racetrack. By convicted criminals seeking fame, fortune, and hopefully freedom. Here’s the thing. These races aren’t exactly just running your ship around a track trying to outpace your opponents. Where’s the fun in that? You’re a criminal. Think dirty. Play dirty.
That’s right. In Dead Star Runner you can toss any trick that the game allows you at your opponents. Aside from actual live ammo fights during the race you can also destroy the other ships by getting them to ram into asteroids and other obstacles. The racer with the highest score gains the glory and a nice chunk of resources for your sponsor colony. Which is what the game is pretty much about.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
Game : SnarfQuest Tales
What it is : Serena wrote: “When one thinks of Dungeons & Dragons they don’t automatically think of adventure games. It’s usually reserved to RPGs and the like. However, SnarfQuest Tales does take this approach and makes it its own. Seriously, this game looks fantastic and hilarious. Based on characters created by Larry Elmore for Dragon Magazine back in the ’80s it tells the tale of adventure, fame, and fortune.
I have no clue what a “Snarf” is, but it looks like SnarfQuest Tales is full of irreverent humor and nods back to the golden days of role-playing. I’ll admit that I’ve never heard of this comic strip before but I also didn’t get into this type of gaming until the late ’90s so hopefully I get a pass on not knowing about this strip and its characters.“
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
Game : Foxtail
What it is : Serena wrote: “Enough about my misgivings about the simultaneous double dipping. You’re here for the story. As I mentioned in my piece for the IndieGogo campaign it’s the story of a young fox girl as she travels to see her grandmother and her journeys reveal a lot about her past, who she is, and where she’s going. There’s not a lot more to the story than that.
Still, Foxtail looks like a beautifully rendered point and click adventure game reminiscent of the Sierra and LucasArts classics. Or, to use a much closer analogue, Inherit the Earth. If you’re a fan of old school adventures then this one might be up your alley. I just worry that having two campaigns running at the same time with such lofty goals for each will spell doom for the project. Perhaps they should cancel the IndieGogo campaign and focus on Kickstarter.”
Keep an eye on it in our calendar
The Rest of the Campaigns :
Caligula Dreams : Another Caligula themed game from one of Kickstarter most prolific developers.
Disposable Heroes : The art in this game is so childish looking that it’s actually pretty awesome.
Job Creating R.P.G M.M.O : I can’t decide whats worse; the typos or the lack of an actual title.
Duplexer : A puzzler in dire need of some new art.
Survivors Unleashed : Although the developers show lots of footage, it’s hard a bit difficult to get a good idea of what happens in the game; other than walking around that it.
Zombie: The Rising : A stolen image of Dr House MD turned into a zombie and not much else.
DropCore Command : Graphics aren’t everything in games, but they do matter.
Online Video Game 3D With A Choice Of Your Own Game : The scammiest campaign I’ve seen in a long time.
Spring Breeze Visual Novel : A visual novel that hopes to tackle some pretty weighty subject matter.
The Hollow Earth : A decent looking shooter with a funding video that features two minutes of scrolling text before showing any actual gameplay.
Magbot : A cool looking physics platformer style game with a demo available to check out.
Love Series REGENERATE : A relaunch of an earlier campaign.
AGE : Not a game, but a game engine. Unfortunately the developer says that it’s been sitting “on a backup drive for several years” so I’m not sure how relevant it would be today.
Fall of Civilization : Don’t let the “Play” button fool you, there’s no real video.
TURF WARS : I especially like how the developer promises no updates.
Resitax9x1 : I’m not even sure what I’m looking at.
Transcend : A cute platformer with a demo available for you to check out.
Support LGBT Rights & Help Create Our PC-RPG Game : I’m all for LGBT rights, but if you’re going to fund something you need to tell people what it is. The actual title of this game is “The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Groves”
Omega Project : Yes, that’s a $110,000 funding goal you see.
Kick Ass Commandos : A nifty looking top-down shooter. Worth a look.
EvolutionDarkRP : Another campaign that confuses me. Based on some light Google work it looks like something to do with Garry’s Mod… I think. God, I’m old.
Hengelight : THe fact that this is an ASCII art dungeon crawler is awesome. The $15,000 funding goal is not.
eSports Manager: MOBA : The title says it all. Could be a lot of fun if it gets released.
Jack Rabbit : A super low rez platformer with a super low funding goal.
Crystal Heroes : Indie games used to be a non-stop flood of match 3 titles, but not so much anymore.
Paranoia Month : A playable demo is advertised on the cover image, but I can’t see a link on the campaign page. The video shows nothing of the game, but the developer’s Youtube channel has several.
Bad Cats! : Cute concept, but the funding goal is way too much.
Prush : A decent looking platformer that’s sabotaged a bit by a super choppy animated GIF near the top of the campaign page.
That’s it for last week’s Kickstarter video game campaigns. Watch your wallets!
The problem I have with campaigns like “Spring Breeze”, is that I lose motivation to fund a project, once I know it will be a free game.
P.S. Is it just me or is the asking amount for Love Series too low to be taken seriously, especially since it’s a reboot of a previous failed campaign?
The Love Series thing is worrisome. Their previous campaign had a goal of $11,000. 11k to less than 1k is a huge drop. I always get the feeling that people are just getting anything they can in situations like that, rather than asking for what they need.
And yeah, free game campaigns are a strange creature. I’m great with them if they’re asking for a fairly low amount for the Steam Greenlight fee, or software, but $10,000(us)?