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The Repopulation returns to Kickstarter, launches Steam Greenlight campaign
If you still regret missing the opportunity to support the sci-fi sandbox The Repopulation during its first crowdfunding campaign, you're getting a second chance! Above and Beyond Technologies would like to offer players even more features than are currently available and has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to reach those goals. Concurrently, the studio has also launched a Greenlight campaign on Steam to expand the game's exposure beyond its current community and offer an additional payment option. So now players have two ways to show their support for The Repopulation: vote yes to get the game Greenlit and/or pledge financial support through Kickstarter. As a thank you, those who backed the first Kickstarter campaign will receive at least one Beta preview weekend invite as well as access to the first round of closed beta. The beta preview weekends will kick off the next round of testing in March 2014. [Source: Above and Beyond Technologies press release]
Ever, Jane meets Kickstarter goal
Good news, Austenites: Your shared dream of a backstabbing dinner party MMO is one step closer to coming true today as Ever, Jane has met its Kickstarter goal. "Thank you all so, so much!" Lead Developer Annabel Smyth gushed. "I can't quite put into words what I feel right now -- overjoyed, overwhelmed, over... over the moon, if you'll forgive the cliché. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The Jane Austen-themed title passed its $100,000 funding goalpost just before its campaign month was finished. The team said that while it will continue to run the free prototype, the weeks ahead will be concentrated on setting up an account system, establishing funding stretch goals, and hosting in-game end-of-year parties.
Jane Austen MMO looks for funds and decorum
Say goodbye to swords and sorcery, and say hello to gossip and high society relationships! Ever, Jane, a social MMO that takes inspiration from the works of Jane Austen, is looking to raise funds through a Kickstarter project. Ever, Jane puts players into prim and proper avatars who build stories, gossip against each other, explore family connections, and go to dinner parties. Mini-games are there to flesh out the challenge of navigating this type of life and include sewing, ballroom dancing, and puzzles. 3 Turn Productions is attempting to raise $100,000 to get the modest MMO off the ground by May 2014. Currently there's a downloadable prototype available to tinker with, so give it a whirl and see if it's worth your investment dollars. [Thanks to Sharvis for the tip!]
Some Assembly Required: Mark Jacobs on Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter
Given all the MMO-hopefuls flocking to it, you'd think that Kickstarter is the only way to make a game these days. And in some ways, it is. Indie companies and niche games now have a real chance to see the light of day, whereas previously only the "sure sells" got financial backing. For developers like Mark Jacobs, who as City State Entertainment's CEO spearheads the development of upcoming sandbox Camelot Unchained, Kickstarter is a way to bypass those detached investors and appeal to the gamers themselves. As he told us, "Kickstarter is the perfect platform for an indie developer both to gauge interest in a concept and to receive either all or part of the funding necessary to make the game." Jacobs offered other musings and insights about the role of Kickstarter and updated us on the development of Camelot Unchained in our exclusive interview.
Trials of Ascension starting Kickstarter campaign on October 21st
"True permadeath" sandbox MMO Trials of Ascension has finally set a date for the start of its Kickstarter campaign: October 21st. Over the past few months, the team has been gauging interest in the project, promising a crowdfunding campaign if enough folks seemed behind it. Apparently there were and so here we are. Trials of Ascension features a complex fantasy environment full of crafting, building, and consequences for one's actions. Players will have to create their own spell books to use magic and will face the real possibility of being wounded and afflicted long after a battle is over. [Thanks to Android for the tip!]
Some Assembly Required: Community dictates development path of Neo's Land
Sandbox aficionados, are you ready for another contender in the fight to be your next virtual world? Well, ready or not, here one comes! And now that the cat (or Kickstarter, as it were) is officially out of the bag, we can take stroll through this new development project and see just how things are shaping up. The name of this virtual playground-to-be? Neo's Land. With the number of crowdfund-hopefuls coming and going, you might be wondering what -- if anything -- distinguishes this game from all the others also vying for your attention and support. What exactly makes this project different and worth a look? It's not the various sandbox features like skills, an open world, and building homes; you can find those in other games that are out there or in the works. No, what sets Neo's Land apart is the different approach to development it is taking. Instead of building a game using the studio's ideal features, NeoJac Entertainment is quite literally soliciting the feature set directly from the players before implementing. In this case, Some Assembly Required also refers to the game itself! Can it be done -- can a game truly be built to honest-to-goodness player specs? During an exclusive interview with CEO and President Jacques Rossouw, I got to walk along the development path of Neo's Land and see what the game is about.
Veteran developer Kirk Black Kickstarting new kid-safe MMO
Oftentimes, Kickstarter is used by developers trying to break into MMOs. In the case of Enspira Online, however, it's a 20-year industry vet looking to bring his project to the market. Kirk "Runesabre" Black -- known for his roles as lead engineer and producer of Ultima Online, lead dev on Star Wars Galaxies, and more -- has been creating a non-violent, kid-safe game geared for the younger MMO players. Players in Enspira Online are challenged with reviving and tending the magnificent gardens of the Gnomes, who have been imprisoned by spiders. On top of this, players can build personal islands, own a home, and explore the world by boat for more adventures. Black's goal is to provide a vehicle for kids to experience and learn valuable life lessons like helping others in need and investing in themselves while having fun in game. Enspira Online is currently in internal alpha testing, and the Kickstarter campaign is to facilitate closed beta. For a look at the game, check out the video after the break.
Project Snowstorm raises cash for scalable cloud MMO
If you've been struggling to find and love a mobile MMO, SnowFury Studios is right there with you. Founder William Diehl is disappointed with the failure of most mobile titles to draw players into virtual worlds, promising that his company will be forging the way with Project Snowstorm: "I'm so excited about the opportunity to craft an epic storyline for Project Snowstorm, one that incorporates input and feedback from backers and fellow gamers." Diehl said that Snowstorm will be an MMO featuring eight 3-D zones, a storyline that changes based on player actions, a real-time battle system, customizable pets, and a rated PvP system. Interestingly enough, there's a turn-based combat option for players who want to go back-and-forth over a period of days or weeks. The studio will be leveraging cloud computing to make this game look and play a lot more like a standard computer or console title and less like a mobile game. SnowFury's team of 40 developers is poised to make this game happen for iOS and Android devices, although raising a half-million dollars in funding would be somewhat helpful. The studio has launched a Kickstarter campaign to pull in $500,000 by the end of August. Backers will be invited behind-the-scenes to watch the development in progress without an NDA. If all goes well, Project Snowstorm will land in our laps in late 2014.
The Soapbox: How to run a successful Kickstarter campaign
The past few years have seen an absolute revolution in the games industry, with an explosion of studios securing funding through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter. In a time when banks worldwide are tightening their belts, Kickstarter represents a lifeline for indie developers and a way for the bigger studios to work on their own projects free from the need for outside investors or publishers. But with the growing number of projects seeking funding each year, developers are facing stiff competition and the rising challenge of running a successful campaign. Most developers don't release all of their stats or write up advice and insights following a successful crowdfunding campaign, and those who do are often lost on obscure blogs that don't appear when you Google for advice. But I'm in the unusual position of both being a games journalist and having successfully Kickstarted a small game project (unrelated to MMOs and my work on Massively). Six months ago, I ran a campaign for my new sci-fi 4X game Predestination, and in the process I learned some valuable lessons on what works and doesn't work on Kickstarter. We've since published the campaign stats and gone on to help a few other campaigns hit their goals. In this article, I run down the lessons I learned the hard way during the Predestination Kickstarter campaign and give some advice for developers hoping to get funded.
Some Assembly Required: Kick(start)ing the sandbox genre
Sandbox aficionados are known to reminisce about the "good old days." You know, that time long lost in the past when the greats of open-world play like Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies (pre-NGE of course) enjoyed their heyday. Many a lamentation has also been heard about how things have never been the same, or how nothing has filled that void. Of course, the sandbox never died. In 2012 we started the year off with a guide to games sporting sandbox features to scratch a variety of virtual world itches and we ended with a look at some promising upcoming titles for 2013. With plenty of choices abounding, why are sandbox fans still decrying the lack of a home? It could be because they want one home for everyone to settle in together, basically one game to rule them all. But how realistic is that? Even with the plethora of offerings now, many folks want to play their ideal sandbox, and everyone has their own idea of what the perfect one would be (and conversely, what would kill it). Perhaps the answer, then, is to forget about a single universal home that accommodates the masses and actually create a number of niche games where people find exactly what they are looking for. Wait, that's already happening? Enter Kickstarter.
Topia Online Kickstarter touts a build-your-own sandbox
There's no denying that 2012 has been a year of Kickstarter campaigns as developers with specific ideas come forward to build their ideal worlds. One project called Topia Online, however, is actually aiming at giving the tools to the players to make their ideal world, not the developers'. How will this be accomplished? Topia Online is a sandbox that will be completely run by the players, from creating abilities to building cities and from controlling all creatures through scrips to customizing and coding NPCs. Uniquely, folks can be any of the creatures in game (including wolves, slimes, and other assorted monsters). Players remain in the persistent world even when offline, and advancement comes through "influence," a currency that players collect each hour of play and can be traded freely. Players can also look forward to crafted everything in the world or even creating their own game worlds governed by their own rules. For even more details, check out the Kickstarter campaign page. [Thanks to Johan for the tip!]
Gloria Victis forecasts realistic weather system
If you need a reason to check out and possibly support indie MMO Gloria Victis, Black Eye Games hopes to tempt you with realistic weather. Actually, it's more than that; the team dubs it the Seasons system. The idea behind this system is that the game will change seasons, lighting, and weather on a regular basis, and these conditions will affect combat and strategic planning. Movement will be hampered by rain, for instance, and visibility by fog and blizzards. In addition, some NPCs will change their activities based on the weather, and some mobs will only come out in the daytime or nighttime. The team also reports that it's completed a "major overhaul" of its animations. Gloria Victis is still seeking crowdsourcing capital and is nearing pre-alpha stats. [Source: Black Eye Games press release]
Gloria Victis hits Kickstarter
Black Eye Games is an indie studio trying to bring MMOs back to the Dark Ages, and the team needs your help to do that. The team has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund Gloria Victis, an MMORPG that harkens back to the good old days of gaming. The listed perks of Gloria Victis include a combat system that steers away from lazy targeting and homing projectiles; magic that is reserved for elite skills rather than handed out to every character upon birth; historically accurate medieval weaponry and armor; and a classless system that allows for unrestricted character development. The game will be free-to-play with a cash shop that provides only cosmetic and quality of life goods. Check out the game's Kickstarter to get better acquainted with its development direction.
