Typical – you wait ages for a new Sega Genesis game and then two come along at once. Coffee Crisis was successfully funded last month, and now UK creator Matt Phillips is hoping for similar success with his own campaign for platformer Tanglewood. However with an ambitious target and high pledge levels, is he aiming too high?
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qDj10wySAs[/embedyt]Tanglewoodstars Nymn as a Djunn, a fox-like species, and features a day-night cycle as well as a number of power-ups including flight and the ability to stop time. The gameplay certainly looks interesting, although there’s nothing too spectacular about the graphics. But of course the main attraction is the fact it’s due for release on the 20-year old Sega Genesis console (or Mega Drive in Europe).
A little bit Sonic the Hedgehog, a little bit Lion King
While retro fans are sure to be excited by this prospect, the pledge levels are a touch on the high side. £15 ($19) does entitle backers to a copy that can be played on PC, Mac or Linux via a downloadable app, but for the truly authentic experience backers will need to hand over more funds. £20 ($25) upgrades to a downloadable ROM option for your console, while £50 ($62) plus shipping is needed for a physical cartridge. That’s not the only cause of concern, as Tanglewood is looking for £48,000 ($60,350) in order to be funded.
That’s a concern as Coffee Crisis only raised $15,000 throughout its entire campaign, and any retro gamers might be unwilling to pledge for another Genesis game so soon. But my worries appear to be unfounded as Tanglewoodhas already received £35,000 ($44,000) and still has a week left on the campaign.
This enthusiasm is primarily because Tanglewood is already looking like a far more ambitious game than Coffee Crisis, and also boasts a comprehensive Kickstarter page. Crucially, there has also been a lot of international press coverage resulting a wide spread of backers (almost all the backers of Coffee Crisis were from the USA). Plus of course there’s a downloadable demo for Tanglewood – always a great feature for any Kickstarter project.
While there is still some way to go for the campaign to reach its target, things are looking very promising. If successfully funded, Tanglewoodis due for completion in December 2017. With over 10 years experience in developing games, that looks like a feasible aim for him and his team. The only potential problems (as he admits himself) could be with manufacturing and shipping the physical rewards, but it’s a little early to be worrying about that.
