Cantih's Kickstarter Coverage

**Cantih** · 2013-01-01 00:34

With this thread I'll be covering Kickstarters, and other crowdfunding once any other sites develop the same trustworthy reputation as Kickstarter. I'll specifically be focusing on video game and tabletop game projects. I may also highlight some Steam Greenlight stuff as well.

"Tabletop Games," you say, "isn't this the Video Game Section"?
They aren't a big enough thing on BG to merit it's own section (they tried once), but there is a thread or two, so here they live, a cursed half life. Also, I like them, and they're my posts, so you're getting them. Deal with it.

And while I won't be covering them, I do suggest you look into the Film & Video, Comics, and Publishing categories if you wish to directly support creators of media (Oh, and Art, Music, and Photography as well). If you would particularly like to help people trying to start a product or business, your best bet is to head to the Product Design, Technology, and Food categories.

So, what criteria determines what I bring to your attention?
I don't really have an answer for that, it's mostly subjective. Things that I personally find interesting, awesome, or important. I usually also have a gut check on if I think it can deliver, before I share. BUT DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE YOU BACK SOMETHING. I don't have some kind of special sauce or experience judging these things, I'm just a dude. (A content obsessed dude, who's also been focusing on the subject for the better part of a year, but still, just a dude.)

So you can get a feel for my tastes and bias (for example, I generally have a knee-jerk disregard for any projects that try to bring in money using games made in RPG Maker, or even only use it in their promo pitch), I've put up a post of completed kickstarters that I've kept an eye on this past year.
It's also going to serve as an index of everything I've spotlighted, and note it's status (Failed, In Development, Delayed, Abandoned, Released). If you see something you missed the chance to back, but you like it, you should seriously consider hunting down it's current on sale version if it's out. Either on Steam, the creator's retail site, or w/e.

Why am I doing this you ask?
Well, firstly, I give a decent chunk of attention to crowdfunding for a number of reasons, and I may as well share the fruits of it with you lot. Secondly is, one of the hurdles of any kind of project, but especially in crowdfunding, is that obscurity is death.
One of the projects I have for you today has been in rather public development for three years, it's fucking AWESOME, but I had never heard of it until a couple weeks ago. There are so many incredible things that people do, that you NEVER know about, simply because there is just so much stuff out there. Not as many as grains of sand, but enough.
There's another project that I can't share with you now. Even though I think it's great and I've known about it for years, despite being a solid project it just didn't have a wide enough following, and it had to cancel the campaign only a couple weeks in. It is an absolute shame. It pushed me just enough that, well here we are, and one of the most unlikeliest of BG to do it, will now be doing a fuckton of writing.

So, explanations are almost done, we're nearly to the meat of things.

I'll be doing this weekly, and it will come in two parts. If there are any new projects coming up, I'll highlight them by explaining what it is, why I'm mentioning it, and include a small overview of the backing price points, highlighting any that particularly stand out. In my personal backing I tend to stick to lower affordable tiers, but if you have Wop levels of cash, by all means consider the use of it.
If there happen to be no new projects, (I'm never going to pick crap just to fill out a post) I'll probably cover the topic of crowdfunding in general, 2013 will be a good year for that. This is also when Greenlight projects will pop up, though sometimes really awesome ones will get in anyway. If all else fails, I may do overviews of tabletop gaming, pray this does not happen.

The second part will consist of updates on projects I've mentioned previously. Current funding progress and some stats, important stuff from their updates page, any notable news coverage, that kind stuff.

Here we go.

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Kingdom Death: Monster - Ends January 7th - @ $.9 million (2600%)

This is a tabletop miniatures game. Not a wargame like BattleTech or Warhammer, but a grid based tactical RPG. The gameplay is essentially Final Fantasy Tactics meets Monster Hunter, but with abominations instead of prehistoric beasts and dragons. Outside of combat, you use loot you get from killing things, to build weapons, armor, or develop your settlement across multiple phases. Flavor wise, the universe is Berserk's "The Eclipse Ceremony of Femto", except humanity has to live there permanently. Sucks to be them.

I'm telling you about it because first off, it's absolutely fucking gorgeous, go LOOK at the pitch video. The art, sculpts, and production is simply incredible. The gameplay looks well done and a solid play. Secondly, it's one of those important kickstarters. It's currently trending to be the second most funded tabletop game on kickstarter, and the second to break one million dollars.

It will cost you $100 to get just the base game (Sorry, minis tend to be pricy). If you just want to support and get a PDF artbook, you can toss in $10, or $30 for a pair of kickstarter exclusive survivor minis then get everything else at retail later (for a higher price). Right at this time I can't tell you how much it would be to get EVERYTHING, because stretch goals are optional expansion kits, and there are still a few left to unlock. But it's safe to say it will be in the $300-$600 range.

Release - November 2013

Through the Breach - Ends January 10th - @ $190k (640%)

This is a tabletop Pen and Paper RPG. It's an extension of a miniatures skirmish/wargame property, Malifaux. The setting might be interesting to some of you, or you may know someone who might like it. It's a steampunk/magic/horror wyrd west style thing (In fact, the company's name is Wyrd Miniatures). It's kind of like Deadlands, but different enough, maybe a bit more New Crobuzon like. Also, like Deadlands it uses decks in the game, but unlike it, uses no dice.

I'm telling you about it because it's a solid enough product, and while it hit it's goal early, pledges have slacked off and there are still some stretch goals left that expand the book's content. The company is pretty reliable as well, no particular risk of them failing to deliver, but they and their game aren't incredibly well known, so they could use some eyeballs. Also with the exception of adventure modules it's meant to be a limited game line. Only eight books, including the two offered here, so it's a pretty fixed investment as RPGs go.

It will cost you $60 for physical books of the player and gamemaster core books. There is no digital only or single book tier, but when they break $250k in funding, PDFs will be added to the $60 tier. $125 will get you either a few minis, or a fate deck and a special edition hardcover double core book added on. $225 gets you all that, plus a fucked up looking stitched burlap dolly, if that's your kind of thing.

Release - September 2013

Now we get to some video games, and first off we have a small project in a lot of danger.

Dream - Ends January 2nd, ONLY A DAY AND A HALF LEFT - @ £5,500 (27%)

This is an exploration experience game like Anna, Dear Esther, or Miasmata. What's notable about it is that first, it was one of the initial batch of games to be greenlighted on Steam, and second it is planned to support use of the Oculus Rift VR set right out of the gate.

I'm telling you about it because it's way short of it's goal, and the Oculus Rift really should have this kind of game ready for it. The project itself looks solid, and the asking amount isn't particularly excessive for a couple of blokes to make a game. There is only a day left in the campaign and they need all the help they can get.

It will cost you 9 pounds (about $15 USD at the moment) to get a copy of the game when it's done.
Release - September 2014

Pathfinder Online - Ends January 14th - @ $.5 million (54%)

This is an MMORPG, specifically a sandbox style, in the fantasy genre. It's being made by a bunch of former CCP people (the makers of EVE Online), using the Pathfinder property (Dungeons & Dragons 3.75ed basically). If you aren't familiar with what sandbox MMOs are, it's sadly a bit involved to explain here in the blog. The main things you need to know is that unlike theme park MMOs (like FFXI or WoW) the focus isn't on getting through content to endgame and doing boss raids. (Though, this is D&D there will be dungeons, there will be bosses, but it's the not be all end all of the game.) Also, since this is being done by former CCP people, they're going to do this as a single shard game. No having to stress over or hop servers to reach your friends, if they play, you're always going to be able to play alongside them.

I'm telling you about it because there just aren't that many sandbox MMOs, in fact the only really major one is... EVE Online. So unlike any other MMOs in that style that are beginning to pop up (and after all the recent boom/bust theme park MMOs lately, more sandbox MMOs are coming) these people have experience doing it. Also, it'll be new, Pathfinder will be a frontier. For all the good things EVE has, it's a simple fact that you'll have to deal with Goons, Redditors, or Russians if you want in on the sovereignty game (and unlike EVE, PO is probably not going to be spreadsheets online). Another important thing to note is, Pathfinder is happening no matter what, they have private investors, you will get to play it eventually. What this kickstarter does is get them funds to speed up development time, and most of all get you in on the game early and give you a voice in it's development. I can not describe how much CCP (and thus to a degree Goblinworks) is the absolute opposite of Square-Enix. FFXIV failed because they didn't fucking listen to us in the beta. These people listen, AND are also smart enough to not listen to cheese sandwich/official FFXI forum type fools.

It will cost you $35 for a post-beta entry. The meat and potatoes tiers start at $100, which get you beta access to the game. There won't be any wipes after the beta, and it's nine months long, so it's a slight advantage for a sandbox MMO. At this time, all of the solo month #1 slots are gone. The $500 tier gets you six beta slots, so with friends it's the lowest per slot price to get into the beta. It also allows you to name a guild, and thus participate in the settlement land grab.

Then there is a daily, minor in-game item they've been putting up. The only way to get them is by backing at $35+, BEFORE they're announced. You've already missed 16 of them, and they're never going to be craftable or loot, you'll have to trade with someone who has one if you want one.

Also, they just added a SHITLOAD of P&P RPG PDF books to all $100+ tiers, about $200 worth. If you don't give a damn about the MMO and just want RPGs, this may be of interest to you. (Also, if you just want a Paizo published superdungeon module made by industry legends, you can simply back $15 for a PDF.) They do have stretch goals planned, and they're supposed to be decent, but the project needs to reach it's base goal with time on the clock, so spread some word and let people know about this thing.

Release - June 2014 (For Beta)

Anima: Gate of Memories - Ends January 14 - @$43,000 (47%)

This is a fantasy action-RPG using the Anima property. [Yes, another tabletop property project. Look, if I had started this thing a couple months ago, it'd all be 80's/90's property reboots. This is what's good on kickstarter at the moment.] Basically a God of War type deal, but with a far more robust character advancement system. What makes it notable is the art and setting. Just go look at the video and updates.

I'm telling you about it because it's a pretty good property that's a bit under the radar. You might not care about the P&P RPG, or the card game, or the miniatures game, (the game has a weak US presence, it's actually made by a studio in Spain, the US translation is lagging behind the original release in Europe.) but the setting is solid, and has a number of artists involved that do gorgeous work, and that's one of the backbones of the video game. (Most notably Wen Yu Li, you can see a good chunk of his work here.) The game's pre-production is basically finished, so it's just coding from here.

It will cost $25 for a copy of the game when it's done. All of the higher tiers mainly just add normal physical bonus items. It's a bit halfway to it's funding goal, but the stretch goals beef up the game decently, so it would be nice to see more backers to really drive it up.

Release - June 2014

That's it for this week.

**Cantih** · 2013-01-01 00:35

Project Index

Statuses
Failed - Never reached funding goal.
InDev - Still being worked on, delivery date not yet reached.
Delay - Delivery date passed, work still being done.
Abandon - Fuckers took the money and ran, worst case.
Release - WINNER!

Click links, this is some awesome stuff.
Bold means project is open and donations are possible.

Release Date (Month/Year) - Status - Project

Tabletop
-P&P
? - ? - Chronicles of the Void
JAN 13 - Delay - Tenra Bansho Zero
APR 13 - InDev - Ehdrigohr
JUL 13 - InDev - Numenera
AUG 13 - InDev - Emergence
SEP 13 - InDev - Through the Breach

-Board
OCT 12 - Release - Marauders: A Game of Discovery, Deals, Alliances & Betrayal
NOV 12 - Delay - Fallen City of Karez
JAN 13 - InDev - Democracy: Majority Rules
MAR 13 - InDev - Guilds of Cadwallon
MAR 13 - InDev - Storm the Castle!
JUN 13 - InDev - City of Iron
JUN 13 - InDev - Castle Dice
JUL 13 - InDev - Hegemonic

-Card
APR 12 - Release - Miskatonic School for Girls
AUG 12 - Release - Tooth & Nail: Factions
SEP 12 - Delay - Kanzume Goddess
NOV 12 - Release - PURGE: Sins of Science
FEB 13 - InDev - Boss Monster
MAR 13 - InDev - Strategy of War
APR 13 - InDev - Worra Realms
JUL 13 - InDev - Dragon's Hoard
AUG 13 - InDev - Island Siege
SEP 13 - InDev - Hull Breach!: Corporate Wars

-Miniatures
JUN 12 - Delay - Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack
NOV 12 - Release - Sedition Wars: Battle for Alabaster
MAY 13 - InDev - Relic Knights
NOV 13 - InDev - Kingdom Death: Monster
DEC 13 - InDev - Beyond the Gates of Antares

Please note in some cases for video games, delay actually means the software is in an extended backer beta phase.
Also, games that achieved many stretch goals can shoot past the uneditable fulfillment date listed in rewards.

Video Game
-Turn Based Tactical (& Digital Cardgames)
MAY 12 - Delay - Aura Tactics
OCT 12 - Delay - Xenonauts
NOV 12 - Delay - The Banner Saga
DEC 12 - Delay - Z.
JAN 13 - Delay - Shadowrun Returns
JAN 13 - Delay - SolForge
FEB 13 - InDev - Conclave
DEC 13 - InDev - Dead State
DEC 13 - InDev - Predestination
JUN 14 - InDev - At the Gates

-Classic Console RPG
MAY 13 - InDev - Echoes of Eternea
JUN 13 - InDev - Erythia: Shattered Dreams
OCT 13 - InDev - Rainfall: The Sojourn
DEC 13 - InDev - Pier Solar
DEC 13 - InDev - The Magical Realms of Tír na nÓg: Escape from Necron 7 - Revenge of Cuchulainn: The Official Game of the Movie - Chapter 2 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa
MAR 14 - InDev - Radio the Universe
MAR 14 - InDev - Cryamore

-Action/PC RPG
OCT 12 - Delay - Kitaru
JAN 13 - Delay - Tales of the Drunken Paladin: Skyrim (Mod)
MAR 13 - InDev - Zombie Playground
MAY 13 - InDev - Akaneiro: Demon Hunters
OCT 13 - InDev - Forsaken Fortress
OCT 13 - InDev - Wasteland 2
JAN 14 - InDev - Roam
MAR 14 - Failed - Wildman
MAY 14 - InDev - Project Lodus
MAY 14 - InDev - Sui Generis
APR 14 - InDev - Project Eternity
JUN 14 - InDev - Anima - Gate of Memories

-xCraft
JUN 12 - Delay - Forge Quest
OCT 12 - Delay - Castle Story
OCT 12 - Release - Island Forge
NOV 12 - Delay - Crea

-Adventure
SEP 14 - Failed - Dream
OCT 12 - Delay - Double Fine Adventure
DEC 12 - Delay - Tex Murphy - Project Fedora
DEC 12 - Delay - Quest for Infamy
MAR 13 - InDev - Moebius
APR 13 - InDev - Broken Sword - the Serpent's Curse
JUL 13 - InDev - Sealark
JUL 13 - InDev - Homesick
OCT 13 - InDev - Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption
JUN 14 - InDev - Homestuck Adventure Game
NOV 14 - InDev - Dreamfall Chapters

-MMO
OCT 12 - Release - Pathfinder Tech Demo
JUN 14 - InDev - Pathfinder Online
APR 16 - InDev - Embers of Caerus

-This & That
FEB 12 - Abandon - Code Hero
AUG 12 - Release - FTL
OCT 12 - Delay - Steam Bandits: Outpost
JAN 13 - Delay - Legend of Dungeon
MAR 13 - InDev - FIST OF AWESOME
MAY 13 - InDev - Mercenary Kings
JUN 13 - InDev - Maia
JUL 13 - InDev - Sir, You Are Being Hunted
JUL 13 - InDev - Planetary Annihilation
JAN 14 - InDev - Limit Theory
FEB 14 - InDev - Noctemis
NOV 14 - InDev - Star Citizen

-Hardware
APR 13 - InDev - GameStick

-iPad Primary
MAR 12 - ? - The Last Sleeper
FEB 13 - InDev - Spaceopoly
JUN 13 - InDev - Republique
AUG 13 - Suspended - Small World 2

**Correction** · 2013-01-01 16:42

Didn't Ragns implement user blogs for this sort of thing?

**Cantih** · 2013-01-01 19:15

Go into your options/profile and try starting one.

**Cantih** · 2013-01-07 04:17

New week, new projects.

Oh, and it occurs to me to mention this. The tier prices I list assume you're in the same region as the project ships from. Remember to read the Kickstarter page for any additional money you need to pledge if physical items need to be shipped to you internationally.

Beyond the Gates of Antares - Ends February 28th - @ £63k (21%)
This is a tabletop miniatures wargame. The setting is a far future space era, full of AI, tech, transhumanism, clade-ing, and the travel conceit is Mass Effect-y (a bit darker than ME, but not quite as soul-shittingly grim-dark as Warhammer). What's unique about it is that all backers who want to will have a say in the direction and creation of the game from now, through alpha and beta, and well past release. Rules, story, art, sculpts, new factions, damn near everything. The universe will even be influenced by participating in games you play. Only a handful of properties do things like this (most notably Legend of the Five Rings), but never to this degree. In fact, right now, you don't even need to be a backer, until the end of February the site and process is open to all.

I'm telling you about it because in addition to all that, it's being made under the direction of Rick FUCKING Priestley. You know, just that dude who was one of the key designers at Games Workshop, and is largely responsible for Warhammer 40,000 and many other Games Workshop properties. Oh, but he's not working at GW anymore though. So by getting in on this, you will basically be able to be involved in a Warhammer 40k game, WITH NONE of the the Games Workshop corporate bullshit. Also, from the ground up the game is meant to be digital friendly, any time errata needs to be done, the PDF rulebooks can be updated, so no waiting on new editions for fixes. Lastly, this project, like Kingdom Death: Monster, is going to be important as well. Because of the people involved, this has a solid chance at being a record funded game for it's category, it's something you should be paying attention to in the industry.

It will cost you 65 pounds (about 100 US dollars at the moment) to get a basic starter box full of minis and rules PDFs. 125 pounds (about 200 US dollars at the moment) gets you a special double starter that also comes with a physical hardback rulebook. The higher tiers are very expensive, but have some pretty unique rewards, including professionally painted sets of minis.

However, a simple one pound donation (and any higher tier as well) will get you access to the alpha and beta rules sets, and participation in testing and development and basically involved creation of the game (but not the final release rules PDF, that's 20 pounds). A little more at 25 pounds however, gets you a physical final rulebook, and a kickstarter campaign exclusive mini.

Release - December 2013

Ehdrigohr: The Roleplaying Game - Ends January 21st - @ $8k (174%)
This is a tabletop Pen and Paper RPG. Mechanically it uses the FATE system, but at higher stretch goals the creator is willing go back and make an additional version using the Savage Worlds system. The setting is fantasy, but extending on native american myth rather than western. Which isn't to say it's a low level simple tribal tale, but it is more pre-classical than medieval however.

I'm telling you about it because the setting is one that doesn't pop up too often in the industry. The only others I can think of that even slightly leaned on the material without being set in the wild west, are small portions of Werewolf: the Apocalypse and Shadowrun. But building on it to this degree, nothing comes to mind off hand. From the material so far, it looks to have enough variety to handle a few different game styles, survival horror, national intrigue, or heroic adventures. Warning though, it's full of spiders (and more besides, the fauna is a bit "The Future is Wild".) While it may never end up being a major property, it does look to be a cut above what you generally see in independent RPG products.

It will cost you $15 to get a PDF copy of the game, $25 gets you a printed book. The higher tiers mainly get you physibles, and stretch goals mainly add adventures and a campaign.

Release - April 2013

On the video game side of things.

Radio the Universe - Ends January 23rd - @ $49k (400%)
This is a Zelda/Metroidvania type game, with bits of danmaku. Retro in style, absolutely gorgeous, and meant to be very challenging. There isn't much else to say because the game speaks for itself.

I'm telling you about it because fucking seriously, go look at the art and video, listen to the music. This looks to be a great game, and the material already made shows tons of potential. Also, one of the tiers is a kickstarter only version of the game with extra content. Don't get it now, and you'll miss out, so you may want to get on it even though it's already funded and past all stretch goals.

It will cost you $10 for the base game, but the Kickstarter version is $25.

Release - March 2014

I was going to originally hold off on this one a bit since android/hardware isn't my thing, but 6souls tipped me over the line and convinced me to run it, and run it now.

GameStick - Ends Feb 1 - @ $240k (240%)

This is an android machine meant to run mobile video games. The distinguishing feature is that the hardware is the size of a USB stick, so you can just plug it into any TV's HDMI port and go. And the controller has a slot that holds the stick when not in use. (Though you'll need to carry around a second controller unless you want to be forever alone.)

I'm telling you about it because it is important. It's similar to Ouya, but there is enough difference that it merits an examination of the project.

The main difference is that Gamestick uses a weaker set of hardware due to it's form factor. Think of it as an Android cell phone that happens to plug into your TV, where as Ouya is a tablet level PC that happens to use Android as it's OS. Otherwise the only separation in hardware is that Ouya has an ethernet port and it's controller has more features (the touch pad, which should allow touched based phone games a better chance of showing up on Ouya.) Also, Ouya runs on Ice Cream Sandwich, while GameStick runs on Jelly Bean. Both have pledged to be open with their devices, though in GameStick's case this means a little less since there's only so much you can do with the stick hardware, Ouya is relatively more moddable.

Considering services, Gamestick has a slight advantage because it comes from the PlayJam group, and as a consequence has experience with serving games on a smartTV network, and so have a relationship with a number of game companies already. Ouya has had to bootstrap that from the ground up, though they have had quite a lot of support pledged to them the past few months, including OnLive and TwitchTV. It remains to see if the same will happen to GameStick.

Lastly comes the portability selling point. Gamestick is designed to be portable, it will fit in your pocket. Here's the caveat though, currently it's only truly portable with TVs whos HDMI ports are MHL and output power, otherwise you'll need some extra cables to make sure it gets power from either powered USB (which is a bit more common), or a normal adapter (which will have to be a bit longer than what should comfortably fit in your pocket). This may improve with time, but the system launches in a few months (also, there's no news on how GameStick's controllers wil be powered). On the Ouya side, the box is not particularly large, and while you won't be sticking it and a controller in your pocket, it is not inconceivable that you can pack the console, controllers, and cables into a small case and bring it with you places.

Personally, I would wait until the end of the kickstarter to see all the developments before donating, and pay attention to news coming in from Ouya dev kits and how Ouya HQ is responding to feedback.

It will cost you $80 to get the hardware, but a bundle with a second controller will run you $115. (20-15 dollars less than Ouya's kickstarter prices, though it is a lesser machine.)

Release - April 2013

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Now for updates on what I covered last week.

Dream - Finished - Failed
Sadly, it did not hit it's funding goal. But if you still wish to see the game made, the devs have opened up a donations page to continue development. They're trying to live month to month while doing this, so you can pitch in at any point in the process, if money is a bit tight right now.

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Kingdom Death - FINAL DAY Only hours left! - @ $1.5million (4,400%) [+$600k]
Both gameplay demo videos are now done. You should give them a look, the whole thing looks great.

This is blowing up. All the gameplay expansions are funded, and from this point it's mainly special edition figures. Not kickstarter only, but I don't expect them to be easy to get a hold of. AND, unlike pinups, these come with some bonus gameplay material (not a full expansion though). There are probably a few more that will be unlocked so it's hard to nail down how much you should pay even still. There's also a complication that when you break $300 of pledge amount, certain items are added in (the Herald of Death items). But I shall endeavor to break down items into cost groups in the spoiler. Remember though, this thing is going to go down to the wire, watch the updates and up your pledge to make sure you don't miss anything.

Spoiler: show

If you want EVERYTHING, you're looking at $765, a steep price, but cheaper than retail (and picked right, gets you $140+ of stuff free).

If you just want to try to limit your spending, and use it wisely, here are your choices.
I recommend the $155 version of the base game, it's $5 off Adam, Anna, Paul, and Aya (the last two come with game content), and it's the only way to get Snow right now. And you get the extra monsters and armor, and with this game the art book is not to be scoffed at.
Then you'll need to drop $125 on Nico, Candy & Cola, Messenger of Courage, Messenger of the Spiral Path, Messenger of the First Story, Messenger of Humanity, Allison the Twilight Knight, and Kara Black, since they're limited and have game content.
That brings your total to $280, and you can stop there and feel good about it.

If you want to stretch a little further to $300 to get the Herald of Death items added to your order for free. I would say drop $40 for the Flower Knight and Dung Beetle Knight. That brings you to $320, and gets you Man Hunter, Lion Knight, and the Green Knight Armor, and you'll have everything to use the Armor. (At this point though, you could drop the Flower Knight for money purposes.)

Alternately, if you just want to get the bare minimum of items you can only get in the kickstarter, you'll need to pledge $196. That'll let you pick all the Promo items, and the $11 tier that lets you just get options.

I've had to hot edit this several times, so check the math yourself just to be sure, errors may have slipped in. And keep in mind this is all plastic only. Resin is more expensive, and it's not recommended you work with it unless you know exactly what you're doing. (Oh, and pay attention on the KS page for any shipping you need to add if you're outside the US.)

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Through The Breach - 3 days left - @ $200k (670%) [+$10k]
Funding is still fairly slow, so they've rejiggered the stretch goals, and opened a social campaign as a side push. The main goal is to get an evil Santa mini made and attached to lower tiers as it rises. The Fate Deck has also been added to the base tier, and the PDF goal was brought much closer, only 4k away now. There's still ~50k left to go for all the announced increases to the core book content to be added in.
The rest of the books in the game line have been fully revealed. There's an outside the city location book, a local denizens book, an equipment/power/crunch book, a necromancer book, a plot book, and an endgame high level options book.
They're also doing a bunch of Youtube videos, if you want to see them, head here.

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Pathfinder - 7 days left - @ $622,000 (62%) [+$80k]
The big bombshell announcement that just came down is that the game will run on the Unity engine.
Month 1 beta slots are gone at the $100 tier, and there aren't many left at the group tiers.
More PDFs were added to the superpack, and the Emerald Spire superdungeon had a pagecount boost, with Michael A Stackpole and Jordan Weisman come on to do them.
A bunch of incidental addons were announced, the most unique being $10 to add a title appended to your character name (Sir, Dame, Master, etc.)

Last but not least, there were several upgrades to the $35 tier and above.
$35 backers now get the Pathfinder Core Rules, and the supplement that covers the region the MMO is set in.
All game level backers now get to reserve their character name during the backer survey process, and will have permanently set that a mule character on their account will gain passive exp whenever their main character does (essentially giving you two active accounts for the price of one). It's hard to explain to anyone not familiar with EVE Online, but that two-for-one passive exp is a BIG FUCKING DEAL. If you are at all interested in the game, it would be VERY smart of you to basically buy your copy now instead of waiting for release.

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Anima: Gate of Memories - 7 days left - @ $59,000 (65%) [+$16k]
Funding has upticked a bit, it's still not fully funded, but looking more and more out of the woods. The nice stretch goals are still quite a distance away sadly.
They've also got pre-alpha prototype in-game footage now.

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A closing note, if there are any projects I'm not covering that you think I should, just say so. If you convince me, I'll run it. If you don't, well, I ain't got mod powers, nothing's stopping you from posting. This is a normal thread, just one where I write a fuck of a lot once a week. Discuss and comment on the projects, ask questions, be BG, w/e.

One exception though. If you, or family, friends, co-workers, etc. are people who stand to receive money from a project, and you want to hype it, DISCLOSE THAT FACT FIRST. If you don't and it comes to light, you're gonna have a bad time.

Also, if any particular project gets really big, it'll probably get spun of into it's own thread. (Stuff like Double Fine, Obsidian, Ouya, etc.)

**Necronus** · 2013-01-07 15:45

Missed this one - Devastation of Indines

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...ueling-card-ga

I think its worth including, or are you not taking suggestions?

**Cantih** · 2013-01-07 17:09

I initially disregarded it due to the name and the art rubbing me the wrong way. On the other hand, the developer is reliable and has delivered previously. I'm still kind of on the fence, I'll toss it into the candidate pool and give it a harder look, but no guarantees.

Also, there's one hour left for Kingdom Death: Monster. I've tried to keep the options and pricing up to date with the unlocks, but this thing just keeps going (55k to 2 mil, and it's probably going to blow past). Thankfully, the creator commented that 2 million is the last goal, and it's not a pledge option but a non-Nico White Speaker added to all physical reward pledges gratis as thanks. So consider all the numbers final.
$200 for just the hard to get stuff.
$320 for the game, hard to get stuff, and some extras.
$600 or everything gameplay.
$765 for EVERYTHING.

(But double check if you go for it, lol)

**Necronus** · 2013-01-07 17:31

If you actually need info on it, I kickstartered and own the first Indines game already ... just PM me if you want I guess.

PS: The name is kinda retarded I agree ... I read it as 'Inda-Ness' but he say is like 'In-Dynes' though

**Cantih** · 2013-01-14 09:46

New week, new projects for you all.

Akaneiro: Demon Hunters - ends February 2nd - @ $68k (34%)
This is a Diablo-like free to play game from American McGee's studio. Eastern in aesthetic style, though probably not quite as twisted as usual for McGee. As for the gameplay, well, hell, the beta is open now, so go have a look for yourself.

I'm telling you about it because it does deserve mentioning. I held off a week because of the controversy over the nearly launching game going to kickstarter. But even though it's F2P and launching soon, what this kickstarter is going to do is get funds to pay for adding additional features to the game(co-op, PvP as a stretch, guilds, leaderboards, tons of others), expanding content(crafting, actual expansions as a stretch, more and more loot), and porting it to more platforms(Android/iOS tablets, Linux stretch goal). It's a bit of bet hedging, since income from F2P is a fickle beast. I'd say go hop in the beta, give it a try for the next couple weeks, and see if it's worth giving them kickstarter money for before the campaign ends. (or if you have a tablet and really want the game on it).

What it will cost depends exactly on what you want, the game itself is F2P, so you aren't buying that. $10 will get you Android/iOS beta access. $15-$100 gets you physibles and/or kickstarter exclusive in-game items. There's also one last in-game item, a Singularity Neko pet (that has game stats), only available at $110+ tiers, all of which are number limited, and all the cheap ones are gone now.

Release - May 2013

Noctemis - ends February 4th - @ $5.6k (112%)
This is a 2.5D metroidvania game (more traditional this time, a side-scroller, but not retro), but intended to have a VERY robust gear/item/customization system. It's set in a dark Victorian era, and has a bit of a Lovecraft vibe. The character looks a bit... unique, but it fits the style, which looks pretty solid.

I'm telling you about it because this is kind of a thing that's the whole purpose of crowdfunding. These dudes seem pretty dedicated to getting a game off the ground and have done enough groundwork to show it, even though there's no gameplay yet. Just a matter of funds to dot i's and cross t's. Software licenses, legal, paperwork, and a bit of hardware. Tiny from a business perspective, but a significant roadblock to the average person.

It will cost you $15 for a digital copy of the game. Don't go crazy on higher tier rewards that come with physibles, they're priced low like back in 2011, before people realized how onerous that was, and so are likely to cost the creators a big percentage of the funding. Stretch goals at the moment are mainly to try and get it on handhelds.

Release - February 2014

Worra Realms - ends February 9th - @ $1.3k (65%)
This is a tabletop RPG, but instead of using books, it uses CCG cards. Some RPGs have included some extras like item or enemy cards, but I can't think of any that have gone to this degree of using them to make a game. Otherwise, it's a pretty normal tabletop experience, dice, abilities, dungeons, and loot.

I'm telling you about it because it's a bit unique, even if the flavor of the game is a bit on the standard side. He also seems to have a pretty decent line on getting art assets. It's not stand out amazing, but it's way better than you generally see out of some small unknown developer. Lastly, the dude is driven. His first kickstarter fell flat, but he managed to go and get it made anyway, so if he gets properly funded there's probably no stopping him.

It will cost you $45 for a 200 card gamemaster set, or $75 for that plus 300 more cards across four player character decks. (And there are only 34 $75 sets left, at the time I write this.)

Release - April 2013

Hegemonic - ends February 4th - @ $37k (123%)
This is a competitive boardgame meant to emulate 4x space games. There have been a number of these lately, ranging from simple to crazy complicated. This is on the (relatively) simpler end compared to stuff like Eclipse, but still involved enough to be interesting. You can read the rules here, and under the spoiler there's some intro and demo videos (half an hours worth even, grab some popcorn).

Spoiler: show

I'm telling you about it because it's a solid looking game, a strong concept, and worth playing. It's also visually the best looking game they've done yet, and the stretch goals are only going to improve that. The company is dependable, having made and shipped plenty of other games, so the money isn't too risky.

It will cost you $70 to get a boxed copy of the game (you can cheap out and spend $10 for a print and play version, but trust me, it's never the same as the real thing.) It's already broken it's base goal, and the stretches add gameplay content or improve the quality of the game materials.

Release - July 2013

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Now for for some updates on what you read about last week

Anima: Gate of Memories - ENDS TODAY, ONLY TWO AND A HALF HOURS LEFT - @ $108k (120%) [+$65k]
There's only hours left, but the game has broken it's goal! They've also realigned the stretch goals, the first set has been reached, and the second is about $12,000 away. Both add a good chunk of content o the game.

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Pathfinder Online - ENDS TODAY, ONLY TWELVE HOURS LEFT - @ $888k (88%) [+$348k]
This one's in a bit of trouble, there's still $118k to go. It's going to go down to the line, and they're pulling out all the stops to hit it. Even if you aren't interested in the game yourself, you should tell any friends about it today, spread the word.
All Adventurer tier pledges ($35) will now get access to the game during the ninth and final month of beta.
ALL Crowdforger tiers ($100+) and higher will now get first month beta access, IF you pledge BEFORE the kickstarter breaks one million. So that's 1,120 first month slots for the $100 minimum left.

There's a new way to get all the daily deals, and it comes with an in-game mechanical benefit

After the project ends you'll be able to link to a friend's account, and if that friend accepts, you and your friend get a special benefit. Characters on your Kickstarter accounts will bear the Shieldmate Mark. Any time two or more characters with the Shieldmate Mark are in a party, everyone with the Shieldmate Mark will gain a synergy bonus. In addition, your friend will be awarded all the Daily Deals as of the date you first pledged to back the Kickstarter. Each backer will only be able to invite one Friend and accept one invitation, which will be permanent (but you can change your invite if your friend request is denied).

They also added another lore tier, $300 lets you name a character that will have a brand of in-game booze named after them.

With Unity running the game, they've also announced Mac support. Also, they've announced two mini-demos.
Environment Experience - they've taken the location from the tech demo and stuck it in a Unity web app. So you can walk through a pre-pre-alpha demo RIGHT NOW!
Pit Fight - in 2013 they'll be releasing a single player PvE combat testing program. No word if it's backer only, probably not though, maybe first access is all.

They've added some... distressing, add-on options however

+$10 for a special title and emote animation available only to backers of the kickstarter, who get this add-on... really?
+$15 for a Regional Trait Pack (gives you an achievement, title, and small mechanical effect)
+$20 for Twice Marked of Pharasma ("access to content and mechanical benefits distinct to those who are Twice Marked" - probably at least 2 home points)
+$20 for The Memorial of Honor ("Activating the structure removes unwanted disabilities that may have been inflicted in battle or by the acts of other characters. In addition, you may opt to have your real name inscribed on the monument, visible to any who choose to pause for deeper inspection.")

Combined with the other title option, that's +$75 to get all the titles and little mechanical bonuses. Not a good sign. The emote, shieldmate, destinty's twin, and daily deals are KS exclusive, but there's been no word if the simple title, trait pack, twice marked, or memorial will be buyable content when the game goes live. Either way, buyable benefits, or tons that are pre-release exclusive is something we never like to see in MMOs.

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Beyond the Gates of Antares - 45 days left - @ £81k (26%) [+£18k]
This is getting a decent pace of pledges for a two month long project.
The updates have a MASSIVE amount of lore expanded on, faction info, preliminary game mechanics outlined and detailed. Too much stuff to really go into here. Go to the project page updates and their website if you want to binge on this stuff, believe me, you'll be drinking from the firehose. (Though in the kickstarter updates, they've shown the ongoing process of sculpting the kickstarter exclusive mini. If you've never seen how that goes, you should go have a look at it.) They did nail down the range of minis that the game will have for reaching the base 300k pound goal. Stretch goals will help expand the range (and how many you get with your pledge), but they gotta break the base first.
Lastly, they introduced an add-on option that lets you straight up get more minis, no funky packs, more money just gets you more budget points to choose minis to be delivered to you.

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Gamestick - 17 days left - @ $367k (367%) [+$127k]
There was a bit of a quick legal brouhaha. One of the games in their pitch video wasn't authorized by the game devs to be there, and the campaign was suspended for a brief while, but everything's fine now.

Stretch goals were added, and the first has been broken, so now you can get it in black or white. The next, in $83k will add a red option plus another voted on color. The big announcement was that at $560k, the stick will be upgraded with a MicroSD card slot. That is a slight advantage on the OUYA's features.

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Ehdrigohr - 7 days left, final week - @ $9.8k (218%) [+$1.8k]
Not a huge amount of movement, though in just under $200 to the goal, the book will hit a stretch and be printed in color. The next stretch at $13k adds an adventure to the package.

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Radio the Universe - 9 days left - @ $61k (507%) [+12k]
Not much to report here either. No updates really, all stretch goals reached, but pledges keep flowing in steadily. Because really, who doesn't want this game.

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Finally, Through the Breach finished just shy of a quarter million, so a little bit of potential book content is out, and not quite enough numbers were reached to get the evil santa mini to all tiers. Kingdom Death: Monster went past 2 million though, and is now the highest funded project in it's category.

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That's all for this week.

**Cantih** · 2013-01-21 18:56

Just video games this week, though one of them is still a board game. (YOU CAN NOT ESCAPE THEM!)

Wildman - ends February 15th - @ $281k (25%)

This is a hybrid ARPG/RTS by Gas Powered Games (creators of Dungeon Siege, Supreme Commander, Demigod. And the successor to Cavedog, creator of Total Annihilation). Think of it like Brütal Legend, but pull out the God of War half and replace it with Diablo. Lacking Double Fine's writing, but done by a company that has solid experience in both of the genres it's merging.

I'm telling you about it because there's a bit of a brouhaha, and you need to know about it. GPG has been working on Age of Empires Online for Microsoft for the past couple of years. MS recently decided to end active development of the game, leaving it static. This left GPG without it's income stream, and now they're launching a Kickstarter to get back into business. A day or two into the start of the campaign, news came out that GPG was laying off all it's staff. There's a video on the matter in the kickstarter updates, and you should go look at it, but I'll break down the three theories that are circling around the internet. First is that this is an evil corporate moneygrab, greedy execs doing business as usual. Second is that things aren't so bad for GPG, and the whole thing is a marketing stunt to tug at your heartstrings and get money out of your wallet. Third is that GPG is on the ropes, and that this is a legit last ditch effort to save the company and developers. Considering how the money hasn't stopped coming in, there seems to be plenty who believe the last is true (or that are susceptible to the second). Considering that Square-Enix and Obsidian made Dungeon Siege 3 because GPG sold the property to raise funds to pay it's employees, I'm leaning against the first theory being particularly true. I'd say wait and see a bit before giving money, but don't disregard the project out of hand.

It will cost you $20 to get a digital copy of the game, though at this time there are 2,400 discount Digital Collector tier slots left, which gets you a ton of extras, including early beta access, and three digital copies of the game. (That's pretty close to next year's BG raffle, hmmmmmmm.)

Release - March 2014

Small World 2 - ends February 15th - @ $79k (41%)

This is a digital version of the board game Small World. The goal of the campaign is mainly to update and improve the existing iPad version of Small World (all existing owners will be upgraded if the goal is met, pledge or not.) and port it to new devices. The first stretch goal at $300k adds the game to Android tablets (I'd like to see a Steam version, like Ticket to Ride). Other stretches hinted at will be whole expansions to the game. As for the gameplay itself, well I'll let a better man than me run you through it.

I'm telling you about it because unless you're Hasbro, boardgames rarely get ported to the digital realm. Which is a damned shame, as MTGO has taught us that being able to hop online and find opponents anytime anywhere is really damn handy. It also makes setup way easier, and you won't lose any fucking pieces. Also, it's just a really fun game. I should note, that if you are already familiar with Small World, and have money to blow, this campaign is also a way to get a really deluxe version of the board game (we're talking wood, metal, and minis here.)

It will cost you $15 for a digital copy of the game, but the $30 tier gets you all the expansions (and if I'm reading it right, any stretch goal expansions.) In addition, you need the $30 tier to get BOTH the digital kickstarter powers and races. Also, for owners of the boardgame, at $30 you get actual physical versions of the new kickstarter powers and races to add to your game at home. The higher tiers are a bit of a maze of have/don't have, international/US, and partial or full game upgrade. Tread carefully, or wait for a pledge guide to be made.

Release - August 2013 (November to March 2014 for anything physical.)

Homesick - ends February 18th - @ $1.8k (23%)

This is a first person exploration/puzzle game. Yes, another. Look, remember Myst, and the genre boom it caused because the type of game wasn't super involved to make? We'll we're seeing it again, with a bunch of new players using it to get them into the business.

I'm telling you about it because it looks good, and the creator seems to have the experience needed to make a visually stunning game, which is the whole point of the genre. The goal is modest, and the price of the game is fair, but the project needs several hundred more people backing it to get off the ground.

It will cost you $10 to get a copy of the game. I personally wouldn't bust for the higher tiers.

Release - July 2013

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Now for updates, quite a lot of them too.

Ehdrigohr - ENDS TODAY, ONLY FIVE HOURS LEFT - @ $17k (375%) [+$7k]
Another stretch goal was broken, so yet another adventure has been added. The project is about $3k away from unlocking a full campaign scenario. There's another two adventures for every 3k beyond that, but with the time left I'd be very surprised if they were unlocked. More game lore was revealed in the updates, so you can go get a good strong look at what you're buying into. Lastly, a +$10 option was added that allows you to create a character that will become part of an NPC book about a region of the game (basically the Night's Watch on The Wall).

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Radio the Universe - 2 days left - @ $72k (600%) [+$9k]
Still no updates content wise, but a pair of paypal pledge buttons were quietly added, if you prefer that method. Remember, there's extra content for the $25 kickstarter version of the game, and you only have two days left, then you miss out on it.

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GameStick - 10 days left - @ $445k (442%) [+$78k]
A couple of big bombs dropped. The MicroSD stretch goal was swapped with the latter additional color goal, so now the thing is only $5k away from it. In addition, an optional dock that adds a bunch of functionality (especially if you plan on hacking the GameStick) was announced. It includes wireless charging of the controller by laying it on top, another SD card reader (this one full size), an ethernet jack, three USB ports, an HDMI port, and and active power slot. Aside from the processing power & touch controller, this addresses most of the functionality issues between it and the OUYA. The dock is the same size as a controller, so still just as portable, and you can get one bundled with the GameStick and controller at a $109 tier pledge ($10 more than the OUYA price.)

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Akaneiro - 12 days left - @ $98k (49%) [+$30k]
First of all, the game has been Greenlighted on Steam, and it should be launching very soon. In celebration, they'll be adding a Gaben pet to the game. Yes you heard me, now see it too.

It says exclusive, so you may need to back if you want it, and you get it starting at the $30 tiers. In addition, OUYA support will be a stretch goal in Linux's place. Linux has been moved inside the $200k base goal.

Paypal has been added as an option, but I would not recommend using it until AFTER the base goal has been broken. Also, more karma/in game currency was added to each pledge tier. There's also a ton of Alice: Madness Returns swag littered here and there in the tiers and add-ons, way to much to list. If you want some, go have a look, but much of it is limited.

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Hegemonic - 14 days left - @ $46k (153%) [+$6k]
Two stretch goals have been hit, adding reference cards into the game box, and making the player stat boards dual layer, with the business sections cut out so the pieces slot in and don't move around. The next major one is $9k away, and will add gameplay in the form of more factions with powers you can play
as.

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Noctemis - 14 days left - @ $7.7k (154%) [+$2k]
The Wii U stretch goal has been broke, and they've gotten a license and will now be testing on the platform. Vita and 3DS is only a few hundred dollars away. There will be a gameplay video later this week. There's also a surprise video today, but even with my late publish it's still not up.

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Worra Realms - 19 days left - @ $1.9k (97%) [+$600]
This has just nearly reached it's goal, with 28 of the full sets left. A pair of gameplay videos were added, as well as several new tiers, at $15 & $25, allowing you to get a play mat, hex mat, or both.

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Beyond the Gates of Antares - 38 days left - @ £93k (31%) [+£30k]
Funding proceeds apace, it may seem low, but >1 month projects always have weird funding curves. More rules info has made it's way out into the open for public discussion. The only change in tiers is that the ~4k pound tier doesn't just get you in the game as a character, but your appearance will actually be made into a mini. If you've got Wop money and have ever wanted a mini of you for Wargame/RPG play, this may be the opportunity for you.

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Finally, Anima finished at $110k. There were still stretch goals to go, but there is some hope. They've started up a paypal campaign extension on their website http://www.gateofmemories.com/pledges/ and further funding will unlock stretches. $120k remains the same. $140k adds voice, more scenes, and a boss. $200k adds a character, more missions, and promises a console release. $250k adds three more bosses, and $300k adds co-op to the game, in addition to a vs. mode and an animated opening and ending. As it's not a proper kickstarter though, this is the last of it you'll hear from me. But I do recommend you get in on it if you haven't, it would be nice to see the game get bigger and better.

Pathfinder finished at $1.09 million, just shy of adding a bonus mini. The only real stretches added was another designer to The Emerald Spire, and the accelerated development of Gnomes as a player race (they'll now be in during the early enrollment beta period).

That's all five of the projects from the first post closed. Four successful, one failed.

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That's all for this week.

**Cantih** · 2013-01-28 10:16

Welcome back to another week of projects.

Roam - ends February 24 - @ $5k (12%)

This is a multi-genre game, but at it's heart it's a Diablo-like action RPG. Just with zombies. And base construction.

I'm telling you about it because while zombies may be everywhere, and this has a little bit of Dead State's sauce, the gameplay is different enough to be worthwhile. If you want that kind of game, but in a Diablo instead of X-com style, IT'S YOUR LUCKY DAY! Also, the gameplay prototype looks fucking impressive, especially for a two man team. Even if the art is left as is and all the further effort goes to gameplay, this is shaping up to be a quality game. These dudes have potential, and as such deserve at least a look at.

It will cost you $15 for a copy of the game with beta access. However $25 gets you an in game survival kit you always start with (along with a second copy of the game to give out), and $40 gets you that plus a backpack to start with (and a THIRD copy of the game), and all keys get the bonuses you're tiered at. The current stretch goals are to add vehicles and a skill system.

Release - January 2014

Cryamore - ends February 25 - @ $59k (98%)

This is a classic console adventure RPG. Think Legend of Mana, Illusion of Gaia (or anything Quintet), Beyond Oasis, etc.

I'm telling you about it because, OK, before I say anything, go to the kickstarter page, look at the art (about the middle of the page), look at the videos. Go on, do it, now, I'll wait here.
...
OH MY GOD, I KNOW RIGHT! And the staff too, holy shit, this is some quality talent. No real risk of them being unable to perform. And others agree, even with a higher goal than you usually see with indie kickstarters, with only a few days in, this is already about to break it's goal (largely from a pair of expensive 9 inch resin figures, but still [and there are a few left, if you want 'em]). There is still a place for these kinds of games even though the industry moved on, and this is another great one to go with the others I've had my eye on (go look at the others in the index, there is some amazing stuff). The earliest stretch goals add voice acting, the next two add areas, and then a string add more weapon types. The last two add a Japanese translation, and an Android/OUYA release. Anything more will add hires, and add more platforms.

It will cost you $20 to get a copy of the game, but there are about seven thousand $15 discount pledges left (all of the $10 ones are gone, you could try camping the site for one, some people drop from time to time, but your odds are low). Going up ten more will get you the digital soundtrack too, or $50 for actual CDs. The figures will run you $115, or $250 for both, and $100 will get you an UDON hardcover artbook.

Release - March 2014

Dragon's Hoard - ends March 25 - @ $8k (79%)

This is a stand alone card game. With a draw mechanic like Alhambra, and a cost mechanic like Magic: the Gathering. You pick your draws out of a small pool of cards, and use the face to do something, or use the back to pay for something you're doing. The things you play get you victory points, most points win. There are a few twists, but it's not too hard, about as complex as Uno.

I'm telling you about it because while it's a fairly simple game (which isn't a drawback), it has absolutely GORGEOUS card art. The production value of this project is immense, and it's a good price (especially compared to most of the other table top games I've been highlighting). It's already very close to hitting it's funding goal. It's also a pretty safe project, the rules and everything else is ready to go, it's just getting the cards printed up now. There are some stretches, and they basically fund the commissioning of new art to add some more cards, four more damsels at $12k, three more dragons at $14k, and a unicorn with a game effect at $15k.

It will cost you $22 for a copy of the game. Higher tiers mainly add extra copies, or get you some art prints.

Release - July 2013

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Here are your updates. Most notable is Worra Realms, Homesick, and Small World 2.

GameStick - 3 days left - @ $500k (500%) [+$55k]
Gamestick was again in the news, they tried offering a $250 developer tier that would give 100% of the game's revenue for the first six months (normally the distributor and/or console company takes a cut off the top). However, as this came very close to giving backers a "return on investment", it went against the legal fiction that allows Kickstarter to operate, so it got yanked. Anyways, the final stretch goal for two more case collars is $60k away, and it's looking like it will be hit.

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Akaneiro - 5 days left - @ $127k (63%) [+$29k]
Less than a week left and the game's only at two thirds of it's goal. An in game item was added at $65 and above tiers, more Alice: Madness tier and add-on swag has been added, including figures, and PS3/360 copies of the game (some even autographed). Also of note, at $500 and $1,000 you get an hour with American McGee to discuss game design, and with the higher he'll even review and give feedback on your game design. Not for everyone, but for some, a consult at that price is an interesting opportunity. He also he did an AMA on Reddit http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comment...r_and_founder/

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Noctemis - 7 days left - @ $9.1k (183%) [+$1.4k]
The $8k stretch goal was reached, so licenses and development for 3DS and Vita is go, and the project is less than a thousand away from giving every backer beta access to the game (along with a poster). A new stretch goal was added, at $15k a new dungeon will be put in, based on a theme that backers will vote on. Also, some new (very early/rough) in game screenshots of enemies were revealed.

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Hegemonic - 7 days left - @ $53k (177%) [+$7k]
A small rise in funding, but another stretch goal was unlocked. The next, about $2k away, is a game content boost adding more playable houses, past that it's all game material upgrades.

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Worra Realms - 12 days left - @ $3.7k (187%) [+$1.8k]
First off, the available count for the $75 set was increased, so less pressure on getting them. The project had its funding suddenly double, because with every hex mat now comes a set of Reaper minis, four heroes to match the four classes, and some giant rats and spiders. At this point, you may as well call the whole thing HeroQuest 2.0. The boost was enough that stretch goals were added, and there's only a few hundred to go until the first is reached. At $4k, a set of material cards will be added, allowing gear to be upgraded. At $8k there will be new encounter cards added, and some player history cards will be added you can choose from to further customize your character. Lastly at $10k, the number of terrain card will be doubled (for 96 total), and some new enemies will be added.

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Wildman - 18 days left - @ $335k (30%) [+$51k]
A small rise in funding, but it has remained fairly static the past few days, nowhere near what it needs to hit it's goal. Really, have a look over it, all the info and videos, and tell other people about this if you think it's worthwhile. Some new tiers were added, both low and high. $10 will get you beta-only access to the game, but you'll be locked out once the game goes retail. $85 lets you vote on game design issues on the forums. They've also added a few more prototype screenshots (which look really good for prototypes), and a design concept video, which is an interesting watch and shows the game might have some very good potential for some serious online play. Oh, and he did an AMA as well. http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comment...powered_games/

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Homesick - 21 days left - @ $8.8k (109%) [+$7k]
This just broke it's funding goal, so they've added some stretches. $12k will add more content to he game, puzzles, story, etc, and... OCULUS RIFT SUPPORT! Dream may or may not happen, so it's good to see a similar project make it. $16k adds a roof level to the building with yet more content. $22k adds a prequel game in a different environment, so, MORE GAME. They added a $75 tier that get you an art print, and revealed a couple of screenshots

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Beyond the Gates of Antares - 30 days left - @ £96k (32%) [+£3k]
Funding has slacked a bit, enough for a little concern, but there's still a full month left before the finish date. As usual, TONS of setting and game info have been released on the kickstarter and their website. The whole damn game book may well be online before the kickstarter even ends. There's also a handful of Q&A videos.

---

The Small World 2 campaign was canceled, despite being halfway to the goal and well on pace to finish. The creators felt that combining both the digital edition goals with the deluxe version of the board game as a high tier reward was confusing and unfocused. The campaign will relaunch in March, with the key goal of getting the game on Android tablets, and Steam. The upgraded iPad version is going to happen regardless, they're just going to do it, bugger kickstarting it. Coverage will return when the campaign does.

---

Lastly, Radio the Universe finished with nearly 82k raised, twice over the final stretch goal. And Ehdrigohr finished with just under 19k, just shy of a full campaign adventure being added to the pledges, alas. Still four times the asking price though.

---

Also, since it's the end of the month, I'll be going through the link index and checked on the delayed, and set to release in January projects, and update any that have had a change in status. Expect that later this evening.

That's all for this week.

**Manako** · 2013-01-29 11:41

Saw that @wilw was backing this on twitter, got funded level very quickly

Its a book that is a game, looks super awesome!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...e-puzzle-novel

**xopher** · 2013-01-29 12:05

Cryamore has reached its goal in the first two days. It's now going for bonuses depending on the amount of funding it gets.

**Cantih** · 2013-02-04 16:55

So we have our first week with no new kickstarter projects. There just weren't enough worthwhile to put together a post. Sorry, that's just how it goes sometimes. As such, we'll be diving into Steam Greenlight this week. But first, updates on the older projects.

---

Hegemonic - FINAL DAY Only hours left - @ $81k (270%) [+$28k]
The funds are still ticking in, they just blew past the KS only signed foil box goal, and the wooden bits for all games are now replaced by custom transparent plastic bits. They just might hit the KS only metal CAP tokens, especially with it being lowered from $90k to $85k, but it looks like there isn't quite enough momentum to hit the final $100k goal that makes the game board indented to hold the sector hexes.
Something new though, for a $5 add-on, they'll let you get a nice looking acrylic arbiter token to use instead of the cardboard one.

---

Worra Realms - 5 days left - @ $4.7k (253%) [+1k]
The first stretch has been passed, but the next at $7k seems like a big order unless the campaign hits some pools of backers who don't know about it. Also an initial card set was posted. It's all pretty standard RPG fare, but of course that's the point.

---

Wildman - 11 days left - @ $433k (39%) [+98k]
The campaign has managed to pick up another 100k, but I won't lie, things are looking pretty grim for Wildman and GPG, getting $650k in a week and a half would be a heroic effort. It's not impossible, if all that is gaming descends upon the project in the next week, it might be done. (Maybe someone should pester Notch for a hero donation.)
They're doing a TwitchTV Q&A session (it may still be live if you're reading this as I post), in addition to their other video Q&A and updates over the past week. Also, the primary campaign video was updated to give a better idea of what the game exactly is.

---

Homesick - 14 days left - @ $13k (161%) [+$4k]
The game has managed to hit it's first stretch, Oculus Rift support is in (as well as more game content)! Also, they're running a Steam Greenlight campaign as well, go vote.

---

Roam - 19 days left - @ $57k (142%) [+$52k]
This blew the fuck up. Not only is it now funded, but two stretch goals are cleared (vehicles and skills), and the third isn't much further off. Also it was changed from merch to game features, a full character appearance customization system. At the same time, when $60k is hit each of the main tiers will be upgraded with cosmetic packs (different packs for each level, though higher levels get lower level packs.)

---

Cryamore - 21 days left - @ $110k (183%) [+$51k]
If Roam blew up, this went full nuclear. Last week it was about to hit it's goal, now it's almost doubled it's funding and blown past ALL of the gameplay stretches (and the voice acting ones). Two more areas and four more weapon types are in the game. The next close goal is the Japanese translation, and then the stretches string out, but there are two new ones. Hitting $175k adds an arcade to the town with games to unlock through sidequests, and the team has plans to bring some indie developers onboard for some of those games.
The crazy goal is $225k, if that gets reached the team is going to change the game engine to Unity (just the engine, not the look) so they can go through the process of getting the game on PS3, 360, Wii U, and Linux. (This is in addition to OUYA, and Android/iOS tablet support at 150k.) Honestly, going from "let's do a classic console RPG on the PC" to "make a classic console RPG, AND PUBLISH IT ON MODERN CONSOLES" is fucking amazing.

---

Beyond the Gates of Antares - 24 days left - @ £100k (33%) [+£4k]
This projects in a spot of trouble as well. They've hit 33%, and still have tons of time left, but the momentum has flatlined. Though lore, rules, and sculpt process updates continue at the same mad pace they have been. They have started up a social campaign, and it adds credits to the feeder and dark energy boxes (meaning more minis). These are global so benefit all backers, but they are planing an individual reward version as well, so YOU get rewards for getting people in on the game.
The biggest news though is they've started the initial detailing of how the live universe of the game will work.

---

Dragon's Hoard - 49 days left - @ $13k (130%) [+$5k]
The campaign has added a respectable amount of funds, and has hit it's first stretch goal, and is only 1k away from the next. It's going to be interesting to see what happens through the latter part of the campaign, because you can only add so much stuff before you affect a standalone game's balance.

---
Gamestick finished out it's run at $647,000, not quite OUYA numbers, but not too bad. Well past the final, four color stretch goal. One of the final updates detailed all the changes to the controller they made from feedback (nothing massive, just better ergonomics), and some tech changes they made that might allow the system to use Miracast. With the right TV, you won't even need to plug the stick in (and possibly increases the number of TVs the system will work very easily with, either with powered HDMI OR Miracast, still likely not a huge number yet though).

Akaneiro made it's goal, but just barely. No guaranteed expansions, guilds, or PVP, or OUYA release (at least, not anytime soon unless the game itself brings in tons of revenue). Co-op, crafting, and Linux + Tablets are go however. If you still want a shot at the exclusive in game items or some Alice swag, their paypal part of the campaign is going to continue to run for about a week.

Noctemis just finished out at $12k, over twice it's goal. It wasn't enough to get the extra level added in, but they did hit all their original stretches to get the game on Wii U, handhelds, and give every backer at game level beta access, and a poster.

-----

So, what is Steam Greenlight?
Well with as successful as Steam is getting, what's beggining to be an issue is that Valve vetting and approving games to go on sale is starting to become a bottleneck. With Greenlight, they're trying to harness the wisdom of the crowd to lighten the load. (And beyond, if the lectures Gabe gave a few days ago are any indication.)

Many improvements have been made to the service since it launched, making it easier to find, decide, and organize things to vote for. (Though if you go through the client, you still have to deal with Steam's browser idiosyncracies and performance issues.) It's still a bit of a hassle though, which is another reason for covering them, to save you hassle and make them a bit more visible.

So far, they've approved games in about monthly batches, four since the service started. Bold games are ones that have become available for sale, italics are ones I've voted for myself. (Again, so you can get a feel for my biases.)

Batch 1 - Sept 11 2012

Spoiler: show

Batch 2 - Oct 15 2012

Spoiler: show

Batch 3 - Nov 30 2012

Spoiler: show

Batch 4 - Jan 15 2013

Spoiler: show

Quite a number of these are really cool looking projects, and some are even in an alpha/beta you can get in on, if that interests you.

Something to note is that a number of games greenlit then go on to run a kickstarter campaign, or some successful kickstarters go on to do a greenlight submission, (or even do both at the same time). If you're seriously following either, you should always check to see if a game has a matching campaign on the other service, in case you want to put money on it, or be able to get it on Steam. Though, in some cases, steam's still taken so long that he game has already released on other services)

Now, since Greenlight doesn't need you to put some money on the matter, my bar is a little lower to make recommendations to you. You might even see me suggest games that I'll never mention the kickstarter for. However, anything I recommend on Greenlight does NOT mean I also imply you should go out and plop money on a kickstarter campaign.

So, here are a bunch of games that really deserve to be Greenlit, a few have even been waiting quite a while for it.

Moon Rising - This is a good looking turn based strategy game. And it has synchronous AND asynchronous multiplayer. What more could you want.

Dysis - Voxel RTS, VOXEL RTS! Sexy looking too. It also had a successful Kickstarter campaign, if you wish to go get more information.

Underrail - A classic turn based CRPG, it's basically Metro 2033, Fallout edition. It's pretty ambitious, but it's also being delivered.

Inquisitor - Another CRPG, it's actually already done, and for sale, on GOG (it was even ON sale during December). Why it's not for sale on Steam is beyond me, and should be remedied.

Bunny Must Die - Yes it's a bit old, and you might even have already played it, but shit, that didn't stop Cave Story. Also, Ragns wants you to vote for it too. You want to make Ragns happy don't you?

Talisman Digital Edition - That's right, even now, YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THE BOARD GAMES! MUHUHAHAHA!!! Ahem. Anyway, this is one of the classic fantasy boardgames, and this is a decent way to give it a try (Cheaper than a boxed copy too). There's also a single player version, Talisman Prologue. May as well vote for it too.

City of Steam - It's a decent looking game, and would be another great addition to Steam's F2P MMO collection.

That's all for this week. You best hope some cool stuff gets launched, or you'll be getting a pen & paper RPG rundown next week.

**6souls** · 2013-02-11 19:37

Originally Posted by Cantih

Wildman - 11 days left - @ $433k (39%) [+98k]
The campaign has managed to pick up another 100k, but I won't lie, things are looking pretty grim for Wildman and GPG, getting $650k in a week and a half would be a heroic effort. It's not impossible, if all that is gaming descends upon the project in the next week, it might be done. (Maybe someone should pester Notch for a hero donation.)
They're doing a TwitchTV Q&A session (it may still be live if you're reading this as I post), in addition to their other video Q&A and updates over the past week. Also, the primary campaign video was updated to give a better idea of what the game exactly is.

I checked in on beleaguered studio Gas Powered Games’ Kickstarter campaign for Wildman this morning, and saw that it wasn’t looking too good. The project had gotten about halfway to their goal of $1.1 million…but had only four days left in which to close the half-a-million dollar gap. Later today, though, Polygon reported that the fundraising campaign has finally been canceled.

Here’s what Gas Powered Games’ head Chris Taylor had to say on the page itself:

At this point, it makes sense for us to focus our attention on other ways to keep Gas Powered Games running. Unfortunately, we are unable to share any specifics in public. When we have news to share, we will be posting it on our site. If you want status updates, or if you want to continue discussing Wildman and/or this Kickstarter, please consider migrating over to forums.gaspowered.com.

We are profoundly grateful to those of you who backed this project and Gas Powered Games. Your passion and hard work put us in a position to write this exciting new chapter in the history of GPG.

Taylor further explains (by not really explaining) the situation in a video update on the campaign page:

I’ve been working in the background to find other ways to keep Gas Powered Games running. The trouble is, when you start doing things like that, you can’t update people on it. You can’t share all that information. And if all goes well, which I think it will, I’ll be able to give you all some great news in the weeks ahead. And if we do, in fact, make that happen, I want everyone on Kickstarter who’s pledged for Wildman to be the first in line to see what we’ve got going on.

So, I’m not going to forget you guys, and all the things that you’ve done for us. In fact, if it wasn’t for all of the hard work, and the passion, and the support that I’ve seen this last month, I would not be in a position where I could be looking at some of the opportunities that we’ve got today.

Sounds to me like Taylor may have found an investor—or more likely, a buyer—who will bail Gas Powered Games out of their current financial mess. Readers who’ve been following this story may remember that shortly after the Kickstarter Campaign started, Taylor laid off just about everyone on his company’s staff, and the campaign transformed from funding one game project to saving the company itself.

Why do I think that Taylor’s found someone to buy Gas Powered Games? Because it doesn’t make sense to cancel the Kickstarter with so little time left to go, for one. I suppose it’s possible that the campaign could’ve hit its $1.1 million goal in four days—unlikely, but possible. If that happened, there’d be revenue coming in, which would’ve meant taxes to be paid. It’s entirely possible that it’d be better for the company to not have that revenue, or tax burden, or obligation to make the game, if it wanted to look attractive to a potential buyer.

I literally have no idea if that’s true—nor, really, if it makes sense. I’m no business genius at all. But I do wonder what the harm would’ve been for the campaign to run its course. Until we know more, I’m sticking with this theory. Let’s not forget last year’s bizarre OnLive death and resurrection saga.

Instead of filing for bankruptcy when it, you know, ran out of money and couldn’t pay back its debts, OnLive instead filed for “assignment for the benefit of creditors.” Somehow, using legal magic and mumbo jumbo I don’t totally understand, the company was able to get passed to a new owner in such a way as to free it from its debt and start fresh. All the laid off staff were rehired a day or two later.

Let’s say, then, that Gas Powered Games also owes a bunch of money it can’t pay. It’s already laid off its staff. In order to avoid bankruptcy while also skirting the need to pay back creditors, it’d probably be best to avoid having a big pile of money suddenly get transferred into the bank account—which could be seized by a judge to be portioned out to those who are owed money. And having the Kickstarter fail also wouldn’t be too good if the company wanted to prove its value and potential. A failed fundraising bid just goes to prove the opposite.

http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...our-days-left/
http://www.polygon.com/2013/2/11/397...s-chris-taylor
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...9?ref=activity
http://forums.gaspowered.com/

**Cantih** · 2013-02-11 21:25

THE PROJECTS RETURN! You are saved from a treatise on P&P RPGs.

Dreamfall Chapters - ends March 10th - @ $650k (76%)

This is a point and click adventure that continues the story of The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. (Also, despite the name and the habits of the industry, it's not episodic, it's a full game.)

I'm telling you about it because this is a great series, and not only should you support the kickstarter to get more of it, you should go and play the other games if you haven't. It pops up on sale every so often on Steam and GOG, wait a bit and you'll be able to grab both at a solid price. The game is gorgeous, the world is rich, and it's as good a play as any other P&C game. The project is well on it's way to being funded, and we should know about stretch goals by next week. Gokulo has been on the news of the game's return, and it's appearance on Kickstarter. You should head over to the thread on the forum if you want to discuss the game.

It will cost you $25 for a digital copy of the game, all 5000 of the $20 tier are gone. If you have the previous boxes and want the third one to add to your shelf, that's going to run you $110 (good luck Bluefan). If you just want all the extra materials in digital though, the $75 tier will get you the short stories book, the graphic novel, the lore book, and the art book, as well as the soundtrack, making of video, and access to an early release of the game.

Release - November 2014

At the Gates - ends March 8th - @ $47k (117%)

This is a classic 4x turn-based strategy game. Made by the man who brought you Civilization V (Not I & II, or III & IV though, those are different dudes.)

I'm telling you about it because it's a bit important. A few days before the Kickstarter went live the designer wrote this article. The game is essentially his put up or shut up. As such, it may cause some developments in that corner if the industry, so if you're a 4x fan you should be paying attention. As for the game itself, while opinion is a bit divided on early vs later Civ games that may put you on one side of the fence regarding the developer, there isn't much doubt they'll be able to deliver. The art needs a bit of work, it's a bit bland even by 90's standards, but they have said that funds from the kickstarter will be put in that direction (though the article suggests it's not going to be pushed much further).
The stretch goals currently run up to $85k, and the first three all add some pretty deep moddability to the game. If that's your kind of thing, you should probably keep an eye on on the project, maybe even try getting on the alpha group to try and steer some of the development so you can make even better use of the engine for your stuff.

It will cost you $25 to get a digital copy of the game. If you drop a bit more you can get beta or alpha access. I wouldn't really recommend any tiers past that.

Release - June 2014

Island Siege - ends March 17th - @ $8.5k (50%)

This is a competitive card game (though it's more a board game that uses cards) that's essentially something like a base building strategy PC game.

I'm telling you about it because it's a pretty fun, simple yet crunchy looking game that shows a bit of potential, especially if it gets expanded on. Also if you want to try it out, you can get a print & play version. It's from a developer that has successfully shipped their previous kickstarters, so it's not a particularly risky project. The game is halfway funded, and a stretch goal at $22k adds a pretty significant number of new cards to the game.

It will cost you $30 to get a copy of the game, plus another $7 to get the mini expansion. This is a pretty decent price considering the game also comes with a bunch of game pieces (27 cubes, 18 meeple, 13 METAL coins, and 4 dice) in addition to the cards.

Release - August 2013

Hull Breach!: Corporate Wars - ends March 17th - @ $12.5k (50%)

This is a competitive card game. At first glance, the closest thing I can compare it to is the old Shadowrun or Decipher CCGs (This isn't a CCG however, though not quite a LCG either.)

I'm telling you about it because it's decent looking game. Complex and challenging, and not bad looking besides (though I do hope they hit the $200k goal to overhaul the art and card design, it could use a bit more polish). Also, not being a CCG means not having to spend ungodly amounts of money on the game if you get into it. Expandable but not collectable is a great model to support.

It will cost you $35 for the base game, $70 will add in the first expansion, $100 adds the second expansion and special kickstarter exclusive cards (along with two decks of the alpha version of the game, which ship in April.) Keep in mind, the expansions are dependent on the campaign hitting stretch goals, so if you want them you should only upgrade once it's clear they'll be reached.

Release - September 2013

----------

Now it's update time. Bit of bad news, but it's not a surprise.

Homesick - 7 days left - @ $17.8k (222%) [+$4.8k]
The second stretch goal is down and the roof level is in. With a week left and just over $4k to go to get the prequel content, it looks like the final period of donations is going to be enough to get the job done.

---

Roam - 13 days left - @ $73k (182%) [+$16k]
The rate of funds coming in has slacked off, but it was still enough that the next two stretch goals have been cleared. And they're the last ones, everything the devs wanted to get in the game is funded. They game will now have a better character customization system, and an advanced stealth and enemy detection system. They've also done an update explaining the core skill system, along with the NPC system.

---

Cryamore - 14 days left - @ $137k (228%) [+$27k]
The Japanese translation stretch goal was not only hit, but shot past. The project is well on the way to $150k and tablet plus OUYA support. The real question is will the final days see enough of a burst of funding to reach the console release goal. Also, Linux was moved from the final stretch goal to the $150k one, that'll be reached as well. This is all thanks to switching to Unity, which ALSO will let them put betas and demos online, like they just did, that's right, you can go muck about with pre-alpha material RIGHT NOW. Lastly, they've done a few updates on the summons, town layout, and enemy AI system.

---

Beyond the Gates of Antares - 17 days left - @ £103k (34%) [+£3k]
Once again only a few thousand added, a drop in the bucket compared to what they need. Updates continue, including a rough early outline rulebook (and public testing of the game is already underway using it). Despite not really boosting the funding, the social campaign has spread enough to boost both the small and big boxes with an extra 10 credits worth of figures. If you know anyone who is into mini wargames, tell them about this if they don't already know about it.

---

Dragon's Hoard - 42 days left - @ $17.7k (177%) [+$4.7k]
The project has hit both of the next two stretch goals, and had to add another (to give each color's lair a unique card art), which is now only a couple hundred dollars away from being reached.
It turns out that the only new card added so far is the unicorn, which is kickstarter exclusive. It seems the five colors of damsels, lairs, and dragons (along with other cards) all used a single piece of art, and the stretch goals are allowing the artist to be commissioned to do pieces of individual art for every single card. So with more funds, the game is just going to get more and more gorgeous.

---

Sadly, Wildman has just been canceled. (As 6souls has beat me to above, see his post for more details.) With four days left and still nearly $600k to go odds were pretty slim, but now it's for sure, it can't be done. There may be some hope for GPG in the business arena, they've had some attention from the industry since the news broke a month ago, and from the final update it sounds like there may be some deal that they'll be able to work out to keep the company going.

Hegemonic managed to close out at just under 88k, getting those metal cap tokens. Well shy of the 100k for the locking board though. On the other hand, there was so much interest for the metal tokens, that they immediately launched a new kickstarter to get more of them to people, and it has already made four times it's goal and hit several stretches, all at a significant percentage of what the game's kickstarter raised. People are nuts for metal tokens.

Worra Realms didn't make it's second stretch goal, but it did pull in nearly three times the original goal.

That's it for this week. Come back next week for some more.

(6souls, you made me panic for a moment. When I was going to update, I couldn't find the thread. I assumed it'd be on the second page, thought it had been deleted or something lol.)

**Qalbert** · 2013-05-30 12:36

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...assive-chalice

A tactical strategy PC game on an epic fantasy timeline from the creators of Psychonauts, Brütal Legend, and Iron Brigade!

If turn-based tactics and feudal fantasy had a lovechild, and that offspring founded a mighty century-spanning dynasty, it would be MASSIVE CHALICE.

With your help, MASSIVE CHALICE will become a reality—forged by Double Fine with our 3D in-house Buddha Engine and unleashed on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

We're inspired by classic tactical strategy games like X-COM, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Fire Emblem, as well as Game of Thrones’ array of noble families. With these influences in mind we’re creating an epic, replayable turn-based tactics game where you train generations of heroes to repel a demonic invasion.

And with Kickstarter, we can do it. We have a great concept and team ready to go, and we want to work closely with our community to control the future of MASSIVE CHALICE free from outside interference.

MASSIVE CHALICE is a single player turn-based tactics game within a multi-generational strategy campaign built for replayability.

As an immortal King or Queen, you must unite your kingdom under a powerful dynasty, eliminate the demonic threat, and reforge the MASSIVE CHALICE!

The game is structured into two main layers: strategy and tactics. In the strategy layer, you oversee your kingdom, arrange royal marriages, conduct research, and make the far-reaching decisions that will determine the fate of your legacy.

In the tactics layer, you fight brutal turn-based battles to defend your kingdom using small squads of customizable heroes.

Permadeath is inevitable: your heroes will grow, age, and eventually die. You'll have to choose between keeping your favorite heroes on the battlefield or retiring them from combat to foster a new generation of warriors.

Drawing from roguelikes we love, content is modular and randomized. Each playthrough begins with a random assortment of male and female heroes from various bloodlines, guaranteeing that each game is unique. Your knowledge and skill will increase over multiple playthroughs, but the details of every game will change based on your decisions and the whims of fate.
Strategic map (early concept)Strategic map (early concept)
Core Game Features

Your story emerges as you defend against attacks, complete quests, and respond to randomized events in your attempt to preserve the kingdom.

Line of sight and fog of war mechanics come into play as your squad explores beautiful dynamic 3D battlefields where danger may lurk behind any corner.

Distinct, customizable heroes learn new melee, ranged, and arcane abilities as they age and gain combat experience.

Arrange marriage alliances to ensure your heroic bloodlines can handle any future combat situation.

Battle alongside your ancestors by equipping your heroes with uniquely powerful Bloodline Relics.
Invest your resources in forging new weapons and armor—and gamble on polluting a bloodline by researching dangerous demonic artifacts.

Another Double Fine Kickstarter?

Last year, you Kickstarted Double Fine Adventure, shattering records and bringing video games to the Kickstarter spotlight! Now known as Broken Age, that game is in full production and is already a beautiful and unique experience—but the Broken Age team only represents a third of our multi-game studio.

Double Fine’s goal is for all our teams to remain independent and responsible directly to their players. Kickstarting MASSIVE CHALICE allows us to maintain a pure creative vision, put out updates on our own schedule, respond to feedback without roadblocks, and release it all DRM-free.
Where are your stretch goals?

This Kickstarter is clean and simple. We’re asking for the minimum amount to make an awesome game, and the game’s scope will grow based on the amount of total backing we receive. There will be ongoing conversations with the community as new features are considered, so stay tuned and let us know what you'd like to see in the game!

For MASSIVE CHALICE we’re getting back to basics and focusing on the project itself. We’re a team passionate about turn-based strategy, and we want to craft a new Double Fine world by partnering with you!
Limited edition poster designed by Cory SchmitzLimited edition poster designed by Cory Schmitz
Limited edition t-shirt designed by Cory SchmitzLimited edition t-shirt designed by Cory Schmitz

2 Player Productions is well known to Double Fine fans as the awesome team of filmmakers behind the Double Fine Adventure and Amnesia Fortnight documentary series.

It turns out they aren't sick of us yet! If the project is funded, 2 Player will be able to create a series of development diaries chronicling the creation of MASSIVE CHALICE. These will be released for all to see, and backers will get access to high-quality HD downloadable versions ($50 tier and above).
Project Lead: Brad Muir

MASSIVE CHALICE is helmed by Brad Muir, creator of Iron Brigade, the fan-favorite tower defense mech shooter. A longtime Double Fine veteran, Brad served as a programmer on Psychonauts and a designer on Brütal Legend. Brad is a turn-based strategy and roguelike fanatic, and is the friendliest guy you'll ever meet! :D!

Double Fine Productions is an award-winning, independent game development studio founded in 2000 by games industry veteran Tim Schafer. Located in San Francisco’s South of Market district, Double Fine is committed to making high-quality games with an emphasis on originality, story, characters, and fun.

The MASSIVE CHALICE team comprises artists, designers, and engineers who recently worked on Double Fine projects like The Cave, Brütal Legend PC, Dropchord, Middle Manager of Justice, and various prototypes. The crew is ready to work on something big. Something MASSIVE.
The Buddha Engine

MASSIVE CHALICE is being developed with Buddha, our versatile in-house 3D engine first created for Brütal Legend. We know Buddha like the back of our hand—because our hand is coded in C++, scripted in Lua, and rigged with Maya.
Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on Kickstarter

MASSIVE CHALICE is a new kind of game from Double Fine, but that’s what makes it perfect for Kickstarter, a place where new ideas can be given a chance by passionate fans. We believe we can find a substantial audience for this unique combination of strategy, squad tactics, and multi-generational gameplay.

MASSIVE CHALICE is still in its earliest stages, so its backers will join us for every phase of development. We're tackling a new genre for Double Fine, but building on our years of experience making games of all types with our own technology.

Games are complicated and expensive projects, but MASSIVE CHALICE has been scoped appropriately for our fundraising goal. By targeting open PC platforms and relying on a modular game design, we can create a core experience and build on it over time. The more backing we receive, the more systems and content we can create, and the better the game will be!

Most importantly, we're passionate about what Double Fine can bring to fantasy tactics games, and we're dedicated to rewarding our community with the best game possible.

So please support MASSIVE CHALICE, spread the news, and join us on our journey!

**Cantih** · 2013-05-30 14:23

BACK IT!

**6souls** · 2013-05-30 18:58

A Hat in Time
(PC/Mac/WiiU {maybe})

Spoiler: show

A Hat in Time is a 3D collect-a-thon platformer in the spirit of the beloved Nintendo and Rare games from the Nintendo 64 era. Think Banjo-Kazooie, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario 64 all in one!

Like many of you, we grew up with those games and became fascinated by their huge magical worlds. We want to re-create that feeling of exploration and excitement. Many modern titles simply don't have the same magic and wonder as games from the 90's - we want to change that!

Time Travelling is awesome!

So, you are probably wondering about the game's title. It's because one of the most awesome things in the world is of course time travelling!

Time is falling apart and it is the job of the brave interstellar-travelling Hat Kid to collect all the time pieces and put them back together! But watch out, you're in a race against the evil Mustache Girl who wants to use time for evil!

The game mashes the best from old-school 3D platformers and gives it a modern twist!

Not only can you navigate terrain using traditional gameplay mechanics such as running and jumping (and wall jumping - everybody loves wall jumping!), but you are also provided with your trusty umbrella, which can be upgraded to provide a wide range of abilities!

Platforming is the biggest aspect of A Hat in Time, and we want to make traversing the levels as fun, easy and interesting as possible!

Hat Kid can wall jump, slide and double jump. As her story progresses, she unlocks additional moves like the hookshot, ground pound and pogo upgrades!

In previous collect-a-thon titles, combat has played no bigger role than a mundane task. In A Hat in Time, we want to fully integrate combat into the game, and we've done so by giving every new upgrade Hat Kid finds an alternative combat functionality!

In addition, and unlike previous platformers, combat is rewarding: obtain unlockables, such as new abilities, by defeating strong enemies! Here you can have your cake AND eat it!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...hon-platformer

Funded
and

**6souls** · 2013-06-29 13:01

Armikrog
(PC/Mac/Linux/WiiU)
{Funded, $974,578/$900,000 goal}

A point and click adventure from the creator of Earthworm Jim
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1949537745/armikrog

Satellite Reign
(PC/Mac/Linux)
{29 Days to go}

A real time RTS from the creator of Syndicate Wars
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...atellite-reign

OZombie
(PC/Mac/Linux)
{37 days to go,}

A steam punk version of The Wizard of Oz by the creator of Alice: Madness Returns
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spicyhorse/ozombie

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