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City of Titans wraps up Kickstarter project with over $675,000
When a company shuts down your favorite game, what do you do? Raise more than half a million dollars in funding to build a spiritual successor, apparently. City of Titans, the fan-conceived inheritor of City of Heroes' legacy, has finished its Kickstarter campaign with a grand total of $678,189 raised. That means several stretch goals unlocked, a huge pile of additional content for the game at launch, and a lot of fan expectations about what the game will contain. As a quick recap for those who have not followed the game's stretch goals, the net result is that the game will launch on both PC and Mac, with iOS and Android versions of the character creator available as standalone apps. The game will also contain wings, extra costumes, and more powers beyond the base version that was budgeted for $320,000. It's quite an accomplishment for the team at Missing Worlds Media and a testament to how deep the passion for a City of Heroes revival remains.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding October 20 - November 2, 2013
The news meter for crowdfunding keeps right on ticking. The last two weeks have seen a score of changes in the realm of community funding initiatives, with some titles experiencing success, others not meeting their goals, and even more joining the ranks. One big name in gaming, Brad McQuaid, is even planning on launching a campaign in the near future. The zombie-centric The Living was unsuccessful, and Story Quest Online failed for a second time. Mixmaster Online removed itself from the field and canceled its campaign. On the other hand, 8BitMMO met its first stretch goal, ensuring that a Mac edition of that game will be available for players. And then there's City of Titans, which is climbing closer to doubling its goal with only two days left. Finally, there are all the progress updates for those already-funded campaigns, conveniently rounded up right here for you in Make My MMO.
Devs dish out details in City of Titans interview
With such an outpouring of support for City of Titan's Kickstarter campaign, you can bet there's a crowd of fans who want to hear as much as they can about the game as often as they can. And thanks to an interview at MMO Games with CoT Project Lead Chris Hare and Technical Director Nate Downes, they can. Fans get to hear some juicy tidbits about their favorite aspiring game like how the game came upon its new title, why CryEngine 3 was dropped in favor of the Unreal Engine, and plans for player-generated content (partially out of respect for a prominent City of Heroes player, the solid track record of Unreal 3, and possible costume contests and sport leagues, respectively). Besides playing a hero or a villain, the team is also planning for a special costume slot to allow players to run around as a secret identity. Devs are also looking at ways of making this secret ID playable within the game. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding October 6 - 19, 2013
This was quite a fortnight in the realm of crowdfunding, and for once we don't mean just Star Citizen news! More than one game met its funding goals, with one title proving that fans can be a very passionate lot: City of Titans reached its lofty goal within days. On top of that, two other games joined the fight for funding. Conversely, Alteil Horizons pulled its campaign at literally the last minute to avoid the stigma of an unsuccessful stamp and plans to launch again. Want the scoop on all these stories and many more? Learn the latest right here in Make My MMO.
City of Titans gives a cab's-eye view of the city
Superhero games aren't just about having fantastic powers; they're about the space you live in. Cities have characters all of their own; Metropolis is all gleaming idealism, Marvel's New York is like an enlarged version of the real New York, and Gotham City is approximately 85% gargoyles by volume. So it's important for City of Titans fans to know what Titan City is like before they start playing. And who better to explain the city than your average Titan City cab driver? As it turns out, pretty much every joke you can think of about superhuman battles has already been made. In a city filled with heroes, you know that every so often there's going to be a villain knocked through your office, and a support structure exists for dealing with just that eventuality. Read the full Kickstarter update for more details on how the game world works and how people can keep living in a city where you occasionally find a portal to nether dimensions opening right above your favorite Thai restaurant.
City of Titans team discusses following and evolving from City of Heroes
There's a hole in the heart of every City of Heroes fan, a hole that City of Titans intends to fill. With the game's Kickstarter quickly moving toward half a million dollars of funding (for an unknown team of volunteer developers), a lot of attention is being focused on the project. Project lead Chris Hare sat down to discuss some of the team's goals in a recent interview, both in terms of mirroring and building upon the foundation laid by Paragon Studios. Hare explains that while the team at Missing Worlds Media wants to recapture the spirit of City of Heroes, there's also a desire to do things that the original game could or would not do. The active combat of Champions Online is cited as an inspiration, as are the public quests of Warhammer Online. At the same time, promising too much and underdelivering is a trap no one wants to fall in. Take a glance at the full interview for more details about how the game promises to evolve while keeping true to its roots.
City of Titans funded, clock starts ticking for urban criminals
City of Titans, the fan-made successor to Paragon Studios' superhero MMO, City of Heroes, has reached its funding goal on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter campaign has exceeded its required $320,000 since its debut on October 2. Developer Missing Worlds Media has not secured the rights to City of Heroes, but City of Titans will offer similar mechanics and features alongside character customization. City of Titans has 27 days left to go on Kickstarter. Stretch goals haven't been announced, though the Kickstarter page mentions any funds exceeding $320,000 may be used to finance middleware or license established systems from other developers.
City of Titans reaches its Kickstarter goal after five days
After launching its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on October 2nd, City of Titans has met and exceeded its $320,000 funding goal. The self-proclaimed spiritual successor to City of Heroes still has 27 days left in its campaign as over 2,200 backers chipped in to see the project become a reality. Community Manager Lauren was thrilled at the news: "Well, that'll brighten up a Monday! As a special thank you to everyone for your support, your patience, and everything you've done for us, we've decided to unleash the beard! Everyone who backs us in the Kickstarter will be given a very, very special costume piece: The one, the only Nate 'Doctor Tyche's' beard, complete with animated eyes. Wear it with pride in Titan City. Thank you, guys. Watch this space for stretch goals and heartfelt thank yous from our developers. You are all amazing. Never let anyone tell you differently." Future stretch goals for the title include an Android port of the avatar builder at $350K, an iOS port of the avatar builder at $400K, and a MacOS version of the game for launch at $450K. [Thanks to Zjeven for the tip!]
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A marvelous, titanic super-hero September
I'm breaking up my usual format a bit for this month. Part of that is just out of necessity; DC Universe Online launched a big DLC pack that I talked about in the last column, which obviously was the focus for most of the past month. Champions Online just had an invasion event going that I didn't actually take part in; I've had enough invasion-style events to last the remainder of my natural life, even if the rewards for this one do look pretty awesome. Call me cynical. No, this month I'm focusing on two games, only one of which is actually out at the moment. One of these games has been firing on all cylinders and might force cynical old me to eat a bit of crow, which I'll happily do if it means that the game is better for everyone enjoying it. And the other... isn't. You can probably guess what I'm talking about, but you can also go ahead and jump past the cut to eliminate any possible doubt. I encourage it!
The Phoenix Project dubs itself City of Titans and launches on Kickstarter
So how have you been doing since the closure of City of Heroes? If you haven't been doing so good, City of Titans is certainly meant to be your sort of game. If you've been fine... well, maybe you'll still want to check it out. One of the fan-made spiritual successors to City of Heroes, this game was previously known as The Phoenix Project but now has both a finished title and a Kickstarter project available. The game is taking aim at a modest $320,000 goal (and is already $60,000 toward it as of this writing), with the funding paying for servers and necessary production software. Developers are promising that the game is meant to focus on character attitude rather than skills or classes; players choose how a hero wishes to do something and abilities changed based upon that. Whether you're an old friend of the movement or just like the idea of a different sort of superhero game, consider throwing a few dollars toward the campaign. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superheroic news for July
So how's everybody been? You all doing well? Because I'm super, and thanks for asking. For some reason, July was one of the first months since its announcement that seemed to be fairly quiet for Infinite Crisis; I can only guess that most of the staff was too busy playing to make announcements, which would be the ideal situation. But the other superheroic games on the market certainly didn't quiet down, with Marvel Heroes and Champions Online both making plenty of noise. Even DC Universe Online got in on the action, or tried to until SOE Live wound up being all about one game. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You want a rundown on the super scene from last month? It's all here behind the cut, so come on down and take a look. It's the third month since we moved over to the new format, and I can't help but hope that I'm starting to get into the cadence.
The Phoenix Project developers talk passion, grieving, and moving forward
When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade; when life kills your favorite game, you make a better one in its honor. That's the philosophy behind The Phoenix Project, and a recent interview with the team behind Missing Worlds Media talks about what it's like to try making a new game after the closure of City of Heroes. And one of the game's core design principles has come about precisely because of that closure, because the team wants to make sure that even if the game isn't a major hit it can keep running in maintenance mode. Kickstarter is not the last chance for the project, as the team has no plans to shelve it if funding goals are not met, but no outside sources have been approached yet. The interview also stresses that the game is not meant to simply be a clone of City of Heroes, with a development focus on including the best parts of the game rather than simply copying everything. For a deeper look behind the scenes, read through the full interview. [Thanks to Asteria for the tip!]
City of Heroes spiritual successor plans Kickstarter for Sept. 8th
One of the candidates vying to be the spiritual successor to City of Heroes will be moving into its fundraising stage come this September. Missing Worlds Media's The Phoenix Project, is preparing a Kickstarter campaign for September 8th. The team says that if all goes well (read: the project gets the moolah it needs), the title could be launched by the end of 2015, although it's hoping to get an avatar creator in our hands by next summer. In an interview with Polygon, Technical Director Nate Downes said that the project is 25% to 33% done, although the game is being made completely by 136 volunteers who have other jobs or are full-time students. The Phoenix Project is being built using the Unreal Engine, as Epic has licensed the engine to Missing Worlds with no money down until the team gets funded. Downes hopes that fans will continue to rally to the cause: "This project has grown out of the community that was left behind when City of Heroes closed, so it's really just a lot of passionate people getting together to rebuild that home for themselves."
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Another look at Plan Z
When life hands you lemons, you build a new life. Out of lemons. The metaphor is a bit tortured, but the ultimate point is still the same: When City of Heroes fans found out the game was shutting down, some decided to band together and make a new game to incorporate all of the best of CoH while not being, you know, shut down completely. It's something that I've discussed a few times now because it's a really neat idea that also has some really big potential pitfalls. The Phoenix Project and Heroes & Villains are the two big games working at getting themselves together, and they've had about half a year to do so. Both have been moving forward, networking, and putting together everything needed to make the games actually exist. And there's good news and bad news about both, some in tandem and some separately. So despite the possibility of missing an important context clue or two, we carry on with our look at what's going well and what is... less so.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The rocky road ahead for city revivals
I can't currently talk about The Phoenix Project or Heroes & Villains in great detail because neither game is actually a thing just yet. They're both products of the best parts of City of Heroes fandom, of players deciding that if the game was going to shut down, they were not going to go gently into that good night. No, they were going to just make a new game that keeps all of the feel and winds up better besides. Rather than decrying what happened, they're building something new. This is a good thing, and the thought of having a new game in the same vein as the lost one makes me happy for understandable reasons. But at the moment, it's just that -- a thought. Both projects have big goals, and I don't fault either of them for lack of ambition. Nonetheless, I wonder whether either will wind up coming to fruition. The fact of the matter is that making an MMO is really hard, even more so when you're working in a genre with several pitfalls, and ambition alone does not make a game.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: How superheroes died and why it's good
2012 was probably the worst year ever for fans of superheroes in the MMO space. The best months of the year were just kind of there, and then the biggest game in the genre unexpectedly closed. Unpacking what caused the City of Heroes closure is something that's ongoing to the moment, and I'd be remiss to not talk about the recent anonymous claims that City of Heroes was profitable up to its closure combined with a denial that... isn't, really. At the same time, I'm a firm believer in the idea that bad things can have positive outcomes. So I think that for all the bad that happened in 2012, we might be looking at 2013 as a banner year for superheroes. Not that it's certain by any means, but between last year's media and the current state of affairs, there's space for some awesome possibilities. And a lot of screwups, too, but isn't that always the case?
The Phoenix Project aims to give a new home to City of Heroes expats
In the wake of City of Heroes' closure, one group of fans has decided that it's not enough to move on to a new game. The Phoenix Project aims to become a spiritual sequel and recreation of the game for players and by players, with a new trailer showcasing concept art as well as serving as a statement of purpose. Formed by several regulars of the Save CoH movement, The Phoenix Project is the work of Missing Worlds Media, a studio composed of several independent designers, programmers, and artists united by their love of the lost game. The game is still very early in the concept stages, but the studio has already announced that it will be built using the powerful CryENGINE 3. If you're looking forward to the prospect of running around in Titan City, check out the trailer past the break, and keep your eyes peeled for an interview with the staff from our regular superheroic column, A Mild-Mannered Reporter.
