Warp Zoned Presents
Author: Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent
Kickstart This! Ariel
If you didn’t notice, there hasn’t been a new Kickstart This! in over a month, mostly because John works us all far too hard (joke), but largely because the column was becoming a bit hum-drum. Kickstarter has started to feel less like a creative space for games that could not find life with a traditional publisher, and more like a graveyard for great ideas poorly sold, or a junkyard for half-baked ideas that had not been given time to mature.
I had heard Kickstarter was also going to be updating the crowdfunding platform in a “major” way. This turned out to be more than a lick of paint, which, as an aside, the site has received – it runs a lot smoother and the and the options are much clearer now.
The big change turned out to be Kickstarter Live, which launched on the 1st of November. It allows creators to host a live broadcast, and to field questions from potential backers in the comments section. The benefits of this should not be underplayed. Audience engagement is one of the toughest nuts to crack when raising funds via crowdfunding. While project updates offer people news, being able to interact with backers on the same platform, instead of hosting an AMA on Reddit or a Facebook Live broadcast, especially in the early days of a campaign, means that you can rally your troops and harness that momentum more easily.
Speaking of rallying the troops, the world has change quite a bit over the last few weeks, and Kickstarter is no different. With a wave of protests and a renewed sense of charity sweeping the globe in response to recent world events, Kickstarter temporarily changed their front page in support.
And in honor of Kickstarter’s expansion into Mexico, we’re looking at Ariel, a video game developed south of the border, this week. (more…)
Kickstart This! Sulphur Nimbus: Hel’s Elixir
With the unfortunate cancellation of Arc Continuum, we’ve reached the last of our recent spurt of Kickstarter games, which hails from Norwegian developer Oddwarg, AKA Oddvar Hungnes, creator of indie hits like Eggman Hates Furries, Super Sawman, and Patapony. Hungnes has a distinguished and anime-like style that can be seen in all of his games, as well as on his Deviant Art page. And now he’s bringing his latest venture, Sulphur Nimbus: Hel’s Elixir, to the crowdfunding circuit.
Come fly with me! Lets fly! Lets fly away! (more…)
Kickstart This! Magicland
After Pokemon Go became an instant phenomenon, I was honestly expecting to read about a slew of upcoming augment reality games. But Magicland is the first I have seen, and while it could be accused of riffing on Niantic’s catch ‘em all game, it has more in common with other, more divisive titles like Spore and No Man’s Sky. It may be a little rough around the edges, but any game that might enthrall kids and get them outside playing could be a good thing.
Let’s go exploring! (more…)
Kickstart This! Ultra Captain & The Great Piratey Space Escape
We continue our crowdfunding adventure with the latest Kickstart This! title, the highly-addictive Ultra Captain & The Great Piratey Space Escape. It is the first title from brand new developer Killed Soda, another Canadian outfit based in the lovely sounding Iroquois Falls. Led by their own intrepid captain, Jesse Cybolsky, their five year mission is to create fun, challenging games that are filled with interesting and hilarious moments to really pull players into the experience. So let’s see what makes this project so promising.
Set phasers to stunning! (more…)
Kickstart This! Z’Isle
There are so many ambitious games on Kickstarter right now, and I seem to have missed them all while being snowed under with non-gaming related work (and because I have literally just finished Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, my September obsession). But fear not, dear readers, for I shall be covering them all in the very near future!
There are five projects live at the moment that I absolutely adore for very different reasons. Ultra Captain is a fun-filled space ship manager. Magicland is hopping onto the AR wagon with a game that blends Pokemon Go and Spore. ARC Continuum is a third-person sci-fi shooter set in an epic, rich new world where you have the power to manipulate time. There is also Sulphur Nimbus, an acid-induced flying game featuring a multi-coloured hippogriff, which is possibly a first for any game.
Right now, though, it’s time to enter the zombie-infested world of Z’Isle, a tactical turn-based cyclepunk rpg. Yes, you read that right, cyclepunk!
Bike weapons at the ready! (more…)
Kickstart This! Ruin of the Reckless
Apologies for the lack of a Kickstart This! pick over the last three weeks, but No Man’s Sky has rekindled my love of space exploration and childhood dreams of seeking out new life and new civilisations.
Now I turn to a different type of discovery, one within the vastness of crowdfunding, where creativity oozes and begs for recognition and coin. There are plenty of games worthy of your attention, with some ridiculously fantastic titles such as Attack of the Mutant Fishcrows and Russian Subway Dogs. However, the project I eventually settled on, Ruin of the Reckless, is very reminiscent of the game I was playing prior to No Man’s Sky, Heart Machine’s Hyper Light Drifter, as well as other recent roguelikes such as Enter the Gungeon, Deathstate, and Nuclear Throne.
Let us ascend the Ruin of the Reckless! (more…)
Kickstart This! Eliosi’s Hunt
Top-down shooters are like buses… you wait for ages, and then two come at once. The first one I found when looking for this week’s Kickstart This! candidate was When It Hits The Fan, which evoked memories of Smash TV with its 32-bit arcade style. Its simple style leads to some fast-paced mayhem, and had I not found Eliosi’s Hunt, I may have delved a bit deeper into its campaign. The latter game has a harder sci-fi slant, but its visuals are mind-blowingly beautiful. So let’s find out what Brazilian-based TDZ Games is hoping to achieve with this project. (more…)
Kickstart This! Columnae: A Past Under Construction
As I was discussing last time around on Kickstart This! with regards to Mighty No.9, nostalgia can be a powerful thing, but also something that potentially cripples any chance of success should it not rekindle that warm fuzzy glow from your childhood memories.
So when Nightdive Studios launched a Kickstarter campaign for a remake of classic horror FPS System Shock, I was of two minds whether to recommend it or not. It has enough fans to have passed its hefty $900,000 target, but will it be as good as promised? I’m more than hopeful. For one, Nightdive released a demo to persuade people to back the game, but the pitch video takes a very satirical approach, and the dark humour makes me believe it may just live up to expectations. Go check it out, especially if you are thinking of launching a campaign, as it is well crafted.
But System Shock has its money in the bag, so I wanted to recommend something that needs your cash to succeed. I originally thought about Prey for the Gods, which looks like a close sibling to Shadow of the Colossus with the added benefit of a grappling hook to help you climb the giant gods that you must destroy. It looks amazing, and worthy of the comparisons to Shadow of the Colossus as well as your donations. However, it is getting a lot of global press, and is well on its way to reaching its $300,000 goal, so I wanted to highlight a little gem from the Belgrade-based Moonburnt Studio that may need more help to hit its target. (more…)