Indiegogo might seem an unconventional choice for a crowdfunded video game given the ubiquitous presence of Kickstarter in this field, but given the eccentric vibe of Don’t Kill Her it actually seems completely appropriate.
The 90 second video from developer Jérémy Wuthrer shows an 2D indie title with what looks like fairly standard (if floaty) platformer mechanics but it’s the art style that really makes it stand out with some striking, hand-drawn style visuals all in black and white. It’s topped off with an accented narrator (think Bastion or Thomas was Alone) that rounds off the art-school atmosphere.
It’s harder to tell how Don’t Kill Her actually plays though as the whole campaign page seems to delight in being poetic rather than descriptive. From the brief gameplay footage I am slightly apprehensive about whether the graphics will distract from rather than complement the gameplay, but based on all the artwork and animations that clutter up the campaign page this is perhaps more focused on being an artistic experience than a game.
However it does run the risk of being too artistic – I mean I love indie games but Don’t Kill Her is skirting close to being pretentious – although for now everything is looking good with the news it’s been Greenlit on Steam and has so far raised 41% of its $19,970 goal (is that a deliberately unusual figure?) About a quarter of that $8,000 raised is admittedly from a handful of suspiciously large pledges – but maybe they’re just big fans of the game’s style.
The big benefit of Indiegogo of course is the flexible funding, as unlike Kickstarter a campaign can receive all the pledged funds even if the goal isn’t reached. The developer has already stated that with two years of work already committed to Don’t Kill Her the game will be released either way – if the goal isn’t reached it just means the planned Autumn 2016 will be delayed.
