If there is one thing I’ve learned about indie game development during my time with Cliqist it’s this: it’s competitive, and without an established, dedicated fan base you wont get far. Examples of success include games like Wasteland 2 and The Dwarves (not yet released but it already has a wildly dedicated fanbase, including yours truly.) This is the advice I would give to anyone looking to make a game, and that includes Darren Hall, creator of Calm Waters, who is back on Kickstarter with his game after it failed to raise 5,000 pounds (around 7,000 USD) last August.
The game is described as a point-and-click thriller/mystery game made in the image of the Broken Sword and Monkey Island series, with a dash of Alan Wake and Lost thrown in for good measure. It centers around a man named Peter Taylor who decides that a holiday to a Greek island is the answer to his problems after the death of his wife. Unfortunately, the island that Peter chooses has a problem with disappearing inhabitants, and you get to find out what happened to them.
Fitting into the ‘mystery’ theme, the Calm Waters has a suspicious lack of detail around it; whether or not this is intentional is up for discussion though. The Calm Waters website is borderline nonexistent, despite the fact the creator last update the Steam Greenlight page quite recently. Mr. Hall promises a release by December of 2016 should this iteration of the Kickstarter be funded, but with 12 days to go and little under 1,000 dollars to go I have my doubts. Maybe what they say is true and the third time really is a charm?
