Some Kickstarters of Interest

Posted by Rampant Coyote on October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween folks!

And completely unrelated to today’s fun holiday, but definitely related to yesterday’s post, here are some crowdfunded projects that may be of interest to you. All of yesterday’s warnings are in effect – these are all in varying stages of development, and some might not ever see the light of day even after they’ve taken your money. I cannot vouch for any of ’em. In fact, there’s one that I’ve got grave concerns about, though I’ll be one of the first people to buy it on release day if and when it does come to pass…

AAIMIE: “Tron Meets Grimrock in this vibrant new world. Exploration and puzzle solving are front and center in this new single player RPG. ” You play a maintenance robot with a sudden, unexplained change in its AI… Gotta give this one credit for being a fresh concept.

Hero U – Rogue to Redemption  – “A turn-based PC RPG with adventure game puzzles and immersive story, by the award-winning designers of Quest for Glory. ” If the lineage isn’t enough to thrill you, go check out the page.

Fields of Fresh – There’s only a few days left on this one, but it’s got a tiny little goal that is almost met. And if you don’t think an RPG about farming can be entertaining, you’re probably unfamiliar about the very successful Harvest Moon franchise.

Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar – I’ve been following this game for at least the last three of its seventeen-year development. Go to the IndieGoGo page and watch the video just for the entertainment value. And read the recent interview at RPGCodex. The developer has a reputation for … well, let’s just say he’s a character and leave it at that. He’s pissed off a lot of people, but the game does look quite good — and it is not simply “vaporware.” It’s existed in some kind of playable form for years, and people have played it.  I just don’t know if it will ever release. Also, the indiegogo campaign releases all pledged funds to the developer whether or not he actually achieves full funding. Consider yourself warned. But … like many others, I want to believe.

Saga Kingdoms – “Saga Kingdoms is a revolutionary MMORTS, focusing on questing and empire building. ” I was one of the developers for the original Saga – the MMORTS.  I spent a lot of time on coding up gazillions of special abilities and real-time database handling. There are just a few days to go on this one, so it will need a pretty nice bump in order to make funding, but at least in this case I personally know (some) of the people in charge of it, and they are a proven quantity.

Antharion – “An old-school turn-based party-based RPG set in a huge open fantasy world.” It does look cool, and draws inspiration from all the right sources. It’s a little more than halfway to its goal, and less than halfway through it’s Kickstarter campaign, so there’s a good chance it’ll get funded.

Interstellar Marines: Prologue – “Immersive AAA-quality Indie FPS with RPG elements, tactical co-op & nonlinear gameplay set in a believable future. ” This one has been in development for quite some time already.  But it looks good. And it looks like it’s pretty far along, which reduces risk on what would otherwise be a scarily ambitious project. Very cool.

MaK – Not an RPG, MaK is described by the teaser, “Build, Experiment, Explore, Compete, Cooperate, Customize. A strange new Universe is born.” It’s a sandbox – universe to play in with a “more focused game wrapped around it.” Seriously, it does look cool.

Shadowgate – “The creators of Shadowgate are developing a new, epic version of the first-person fantasy adventure smash hit. Help make it happen!” I never played the original, but this one looks like it’s got potential, and is again a veteran team. They look well on their way to getting funded.

Ars Magica: Years of Conquest – “The Ars Magica RPG comes to the PC, as a 2D simulation and generational role-playing video game…” I wish this one a lot of success, but it looks like the KS campaign could use a serious surge right about now.

Star Citizen – “Reclaim the stars in the exciting new Space Epic from legendary game designer Chris Roberts. ” Okay, I am such a Wing Commander junkie that I really don’t know how I can resist this one. The persistent world is hosted online, but it is playable single-player as well (offline, even!). It is already fully funded (and then some), so we’re in the stretch goal stage on this one.

Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages – “Ring Runner combines all the deep customization and rich storytelling of an RPG with the fast-paced action of a space-shooter. ” This “top-down” space shooter / RPG combo looks pretty interesting (though how will it stack up to Drox Operative?)

Sword of the Stars: The Pit – “Classic, dungeon-crawling, PC RPG, set in the Sword of the Stars universe. How deep can you go?” Quite a departure from their usual 4X space strategy fare, this roguelike looks pretty cool as well. Again, a veteran development team increases my confidence. This is another Indiegogo “flexible” campaign, but it is already well towards completion at this point.

Matt Barton also has a list of projects he’s backed (and why) that’s worth a read.

 

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