Kickstarter is like a devil’s playground of goodies just waiting to be funded. I’m currently toying with the idea of spending $1,000 on the Raine One Electric Scooter, if only for its glowing wheels and similar name to my own.
But the crowdfunding site is also one of the best ways for solo developers and small indie studios to present their project to an audience directly, which is what I love about it. Make a trailer that oozes passion and originality for a game that also looks cool, and I will throw my money at you like I’m in a strip joint.
So which games have caught my eye recently? In this edition of Kickstart This!, I will face off with Radical Chess, roll and jump in the 2D platformer Guinea Pig Parkour, and battle my way through the 2D action adventure Endless Memories.
Project: Radical Chess
Developer: Michael Traficante
Genre: Chess, But Radical
Platform: PC
Funding Target: $1,000
What Is It?
When is chess not chess? When it’s radical! Radical Chess takes the age-old strategy game and gives it a neon update, but the wireframe graphics are not the most profound change. That would be when two pieces enter a battle. Instead of one simply taking the other off the board, the chequered arena is transformed into a square thuderdome of cosmic death!
Different types of chess pieces have different powers and projectiles, which bounce off the walls if they miss their target. This can lead to some pretty intense battles in a room sprayed with ricocheting laser fire. Much like a beat ‘em up, each piece has a life bar and whichever one is the last piece standing wins… while the other explodes in the chaos.
Why Fund It?
Chess aficionados will love this modern, but retro-looking, take on the classic tabletop game, while those who have never played chess can jump in without any prior knowledge.
But the real reason is to breathe new life into an old game that has fallen into obscurity. Radical Chess’s history dates back to 1984 when it was offered as a shareware game. However, to progress through the game, you had to enter words from the manual (ah the good old days). With no copies of the manual still available, the game was essentially broken. Until now. Developer Vector Hat has cracked the code and found a rich game lying underneath, which it hopes to build upon with your help.
Best Rewards?
- $10 – The Game (Copy of Game)
- $20 – Vector Hat Fan-Pack (Digital copies of Byte Driver and R-COIL + Previous Rewards)
- $99 – Cracked By… YOU!? (Custom Title Screen + Previous Rewards)
Trailer
Project: Guinea Pig Parkour
Developer: Jeff Mumm
Genre: Hand-Drawn 2D Platformer
Platform: PC (Plus Stretch Goals for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One)
Funding Target: €20,000
What Is It?
Guinea Pig Parkour is a hand-drawn 2D platformer inspired by 90s animated games and cartoons… think Earthworm Jim or Bubsy the Bobcat. The main guinea pig of the game runs around in a typically 90s tracksuit collecting coffee beans, which here are as abundant as coins in a Mario game. Speaking of the moustachioed plumber, there is a very familiar-looking plunger-wielding antagonist who you sometimes face off against.
Explore open worlds that will have mission-based objectives and classic boss battles. There are RPG elements where you talk and interact with the world’s animal and non-animal characters, solving puzzles, kicking gum, and chewing ass.
Why Fund It?
Quite simply, you should fund this for the sheer level of detail that has gone into the hand-drawn animations. It boggles the mind that this is all the work of a single person. Developer Jeff Mumm is a one-man-band, though he has lofty ambitions for his hairy hero. He’s building the game using Construct 3, which will allow him to port the game to consoles if all goes well on PC.
Speaking of bands, Jeff has brought in Fat Bard to do the music and sound effects. The pairing of Zach Fendelman and Patrick Crecelius have worked on a huge number of games, and here they delight with some toe-tapping music to your parkour actions.
Best Rewards?
- $15 – Honorary Guinea Pig (Get Early Access to Guinea Pig Parkour)
- $30 – Musical Guinea Pig (Digital Download of Soundtrack + Previous Rewards)
- $45 – Animated Guinea Pig (Udemy Animation Course + Previous Rewards)
- $75 – Historical Guinea Pig (Prototype Builds + Previous Rewards)
- $100 – Guinea Pig Archivist (Comic Archive + Previous Rewards)
- $175 – Sketchy Guinea Pig (Signed Digital Sketch + Previous Rewards)
Trailer
Project: Endless Memories
Developer: Homunculus Games
Genre: Pixel Hack ‘N’ Slash RPG
Platform: PC (Plus Stretch Goals for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One)
Funding Target: $20,000
What Is It?
Endless Memories is a magical 2D action-adventure game with some of the best animated cutscenes I have had the pleasure of watching, not just on Kickstarter, but in gaming history. It’s like watching a Genndy Tartakovsky cartoon set in a fantasy dream world where you fight frog knights, mermen, and a whole host of gods and monsters. You explore the minds of dreamers and enter astonishing new worlds and societies.
It blends MetroidVania gameplay with the loot system and fast-paced combat of titles such as Dead Cells. Each new world features a different culture, and more importantly, unique power-ups to help you continue on your quest.
Why Fund It?
This is as close as you may come to another side-scrolling Legend of Zelda game. Fight bad guys, cook meals, forge armour, fish, and face off against screen-sized bosses. Combine this with an RPG level and stat system, plus many collectibles, and you have the foundation of an engrossing game. This is the sort of title that the Nintendo Switch was built for, and because its targeting that system, I’m going to put my money where my mouth is and fund it as well!
Best Rewards?
- $15 – Dreamer (Copy of Game)
- $25 – Ascended Dreamer (Beta Access and the Soundtrack + Previous Rewards)
- $35 – Friendly Dreamer (2X Previous Rewards)
- $50 – Blacksmith (Design a Weapon + Previous Rewards)
- $75 – Immortal (Design an In-Game Status + Previous Rewards)
- $85 – Rune Master (Design an In-Game Memory Rune + Previous Rewards)
- $100 – Sage (Write a Short In-Game Message + Previous Rewards)
- $125 – Beastmaster (Design an In-Game Pet + Previous Rewards)
- $150 – Certified Dreamer (Appear in the Game as a Dreamer + Previous Rewards)
- $200 – Lore Master (Design an In-Game Character + Previous Rewards)
Trailer
Until Next Time…
It’s the first week of December and Christmas Trees are already popping up everywhere. Who are these heathens?! But since it’s (nearly) the season of goodwill, why not give the gift of a Kickstarter project? You get to help an independent developer and whoever you give the game to (next year)!
To quote the best Christmas film ever… “If this is their idea of Christmas, I gotta be here for New Year’s!”
