Like it says on the tin, Kickstart This! usually covers game projects currently seeking your funding and support on Kickstarter. However, there is a whole world of crowdfunding platforms out there, and so this month, we’re venturing into the uncharted waters of Indiegogo.
The main difference between the two platforms is that Indiegogo features Flexible Funding, which means a campaign doesn’t need to reach its goal in order to get your cash. Every dollar you pledge goes straight to the developers. While this means more people will most likely gain some form of funding, it also opens the crowdfunding platform up to what we in Scotland would term a “chancer.” In order to find an actual game project, I had to wade through endless endeavours of people trying to raise money to buy a game, build a gaming PC or open a YouTube channel. While the occasional ridiculous project makes it through Kickstarter’s quality control (like Zack Danger Brown’s creamy potato salad), Indiegogo has no filter, allowing someone to beg for a new pair of jeans in the gaming section.
But lurking amidst these vanity projects are some great games waiting for an adrenalin-esque cash injection to push them into full-steam development. First up is steampunk FPS Fabula Mortis, tower defence / FPS hybrid World of Undead, and medieval strategy title Nocturion. Following that is the colourful puzzler Panic Pump, and last but not least, God sim Crest
Let’s Indie-go-go-GO!
Project: Fabula Mortis
Genre: Steampunk FPS
Platforms: PC (Win, Mac)
Funding Target: $2,000
In A Nutshell…
Ever wanted a multiplayer FPS that allowed you to pit steampunk vampires against bazooka-wielding brass automatons? Now you can, as Swedish outfit Deadghost Interactive smashes steampunk culture into grim fairytales to create this manic shooter.
Why Flash Your Cash?
The alpha footage is very impressive, with characters and levels inspired by Dracula and Alice in Wonderland are twisted into a weird and wonderful collision of cultures. If American McGee remade Dishonored with Gearbox, it would possibly look something like this.
Rewards?
A $10 donation is required to receive a Steam key for Mac or PC, although donating in bulk might be more thrifty, as a $30 pledge offers the four key friend pack. Oddly, a $50 donation only has one game key, but does mean that your name will appear in the credits. Double this to see your name chiseled into one of the gravestones within the game. For those who want to infamous, a donation of $750 will have all of this plus your ugly mug posing in a wanted poster.
Project: World of Undead
Genre: Tower Defence / FPS
Platforms: PC
Funding Target: €45,000 (appox. $60,000)
In A Nutshell…
Tower defence titles are ten-a-penny these days, so developers are having to come up with interesting takes on the tired genre in order to pique our interest. Blending the strategy of erecting towers with the action of a sniper shooter could create a new hybrid genre.
Why Flash Your Cash?
As well as the combination of genres, German designers Thomas Kurz and Frank Ziegler also promise to throw some RPG elements into the mix. Players must slowly build up their fort while surviving wave after wave of attacks from undead legions. Rather than move down specific paths as is usual in tower defence games, the enemy zombies can roam freely, and attack towers, walls, and the players forces at will.
The screenshots shown from the alpha build illustrate the easy construction interface, as well as some tremendous lighting effects. However, the FPS sections may require more polish if the game is to be a success, but it is early days. This is also one of the few projects on Indiegogo to opt for fixed funding, so like projects on fellow crowdfunding site Kickstarter, it will only receive the donations if its target is met.
Rewards?
A digital copy of the game equates to a donation of €12, while egomaniacs can see their name in the credits on top of this for a pledge of €20. Add another €5 to this if you wish to receive all DLC released for the game. For the more old-school gamers amongst you, a physical copy of the game can be obtained by donating €30. A Limited Edition box set, with only 500 planned, will cost $50, while one of only 200 Steelbox Limited Editions can be yours for a donation of €70.
In the triple figure donations, €100 offers alpha access, €300 will see your name splattered somewhere within the game itself, and a pledge of €500 offers a VIP credit in the game and a 20 second thank you video from the game’s creators.
The penultimate donation level of €1,500 will see your face transplanted on the body of a Boss character, while the top tier of €2000 will see you take delivery of a 3D printed enemy figurine. Both are limited to one lucky person each.
Project: Nocturion
Genre: Medieval Strategy
Platforms: PC (Win, Mac), iOS, Android
Funding Target: $10,000
In A Nutshell…
From the team that brought you the space strategy game Universe Online come a similar project, but rather than shooting for the stars, this browser-based title will take on a more medieval theme, inspired by the likes of Amalur: Kingdom of Reckoning and Runescape.
Why Flash Your Cash?
Having spent two years building up a solid gaming community, tweaking their previous game until it was as close to perfection as they wished, the team, led by designer Konstantinos Manos (AKA Kevorque) now feel ready for their next challenge. It allows for players to progress at their own pace, fighting the computer-generated enemies or, when ready, switching to a PvP environment. The backstory of the land promises to encapsulate centuries of history, leading to an engaging plot featuring noblemen, guilds and warring clansmen, while also introducing some supernatural characters and storylines.
Rewards?
Indiegogo allows developers to highlight one reward tier, and for Nocturion it is the $100 Storyteller level, which allows you to write five quests to be used within the game. As the game is a free browser-based one, the rewards are largely in-game items, powerful pets, and a credit, so the opportunity to actually write for the game is not to be passed up. The highest pledge tier of $800 will see you sit down with the script writer to create a character and a series of quests that introduces them, as well as naming their pet and armour.
Project: Panic Pump
Genre: Puzzle
Platforms: PC (Win, Mac, Linux), iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Funding Target: €20,000 (appox. $26,500)
In A Nutshell…
Digilie Studio fuses the puzzle genre with Pokemon. Players must solve the 3D water pipe puzzles in order to unlock the cage holding cute little characters called bumbis prisoner. The bumbi are a race created by a scientist to absorb the essence of other dimensions, but a bumbi devoid of this essence is left to rot. As these things tend to do, the evil bumbi opens all portals to all dimensions simultaneously, sucking up the other bumbi and imprisoning them in complicated cages that are locked by a series of hydraulic systems. Players take control of the last free bumbi, tasked with saving his brothers.
Why Flash Your Cash?
Assuming the game manages to avoid a lawsuit by quickly hiding the recognisable characters such as Captain America or Homer Simpson, it offers a colourful 3D spin on the age-old water guide puzzles. Players must guide bubbles through the tube, some of which must be a specific colour or element in order to unlock the cage and progress. Despite its insanely convoluted storyline, the puzzles themselves are engaging and tricky, and the goal of freeing a race of customisable Morph-like beings makes it worthwhile.
Rewards?
A copy of the game on a platform of your choice can be obtained with a mere donation of €5. A €20 donation provides access to the beta test, or the first batch of DLC when it is finished, featuring a new world with new levels. A third €20 tier offers a digital copy of the game’s soundtrack and accompanying artbook instead.
At the top end of the pipe is the donation level of €500, which is limited to five people, and offers you the chance to see your name or your company’s name in the end credits. If you would rather see your name up front during the game’s opening credits, a pledge of €5,000 is required, and is limited to just one lucky player.
Project: Crest
Genre: God Simulator
Platforms: PC (Win, Mac, Linux), iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Funding Target: $20,000
In A Nutshell…
“Did God shape mankind? Or did mankind shape God?” This is the question that Crest hopes to solve, or at the very least, make players think about. The aim of the game is to guide your followers by giving them commandments, watch how they interpret these words, and give them further guidance as they strive to make their own path.
Why Flash Your Cash?
While omnipresent simulators have been around for decades, Crest takes the idea to a whole new level by focusing on the one aspect of these games that we often take for granted; the view of a God. The relationship between a deity and those who worship him is a great subject for a video game. Players must really think about the words they choose to dish out, as they may be interpreted in a way not considered. If Crest is able to pull off what it promises in its prototype gameplay, then it could become more than just a game. It even could be used to show the whole phenomenon of collective religion in a brand new light.
Rewards?
To be bestowed with a copy of the game, players must donate $15, while a higher donation of $40 will grant early access to game while it is still in development. A $50 pledge wrap all this in a digital wallpaper designed by artist Johan Tornlund, while $75 come with all of this plus a digital copy of the soundtrack.
In the upper echelons, a donation of $100 offers a digital copy of the game’s artbook, signed by art director Martin Greip. Supporting the game with $250 offers gamers a behind-the-scenes look at the development process, offering full access to design documents, concept art, and the impressive prototype build. The highest tier of $500 comes with all of this, plus a 20-minute Skype conversation to grill the development team on anything you wish to ask, including if God actually exists.
Until Next Time…
And that’s all from our segue into Indiegogo’s domain. Next month we will return to the familiar pastures of Kickstarter, so if you have a game project launching soon, let us know so we can help you share it with the world.
