Unsung Story
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I tried to play 'Unsung Story' and fell for 'Mario Party' instead
It was the only mini game I won the entire time my friends and I played. So, let’s talk about Mario Party instead. Yes, Mario Party. Because after all, the points don’t matter in Mario Party.
Kickstarter cautionary tale 'Unsung Story' hits Steam early access tomorrow
One of the most infamous games in Kickstarter history has something approaching a release date
Crowdfund Bookie, winter quarter: Hibernation
The Crowdfund Bookie crunches data from select successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that ended during the month and produces pretty charts for you to look at. Money spent on crowdfunded games dropped 51.1 percent in the three-month period of December 2013 through February 2014. In this winter quarter, 76 projects received a total of $6,138,890, which compares unfavorably to the combined $12,543,198 in funding for the fall quarter (September through November 2013). While the funding space squeaked by in December and took a nosedive in January, it gained a little ground in February in terms of dollars spent, with $2,961,953 pledged in that month alone, which stands well with other months we've tracked dating back to June 2013. The catch, and where the trend continues to be a concern, comes from the number of projects and backers overall. Only 16 projects were funded during February, and 20 in January. The average number of successful projects per month from June through December was just over 32, so roughly half the number of projects are being funded on Kickstarter and Indiegogo at this stage. One of February's few funded projects was the wildly successful Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Kingdom Come earned $1,842,218 thanks to 35,384 backers. Without that game's contributions, February would have amounted to $1,119,735 in pledges from 28,355 backers. Looking at January's figures as well, there's a clear downward trend in crowdfunding at the moment. Whether it was a lack of enticing projects, a stack of holiday bills or just the winter doldrums, something kept backers from adding their two cents to crowdfunding. The median, or middle points in the data set for the quarter point to a positively-skewed distribution as well, and gives a better indicator of how much projects actually earn when compared to mean averages. When comparing the median averages to the previous six months, we find that more backers (616 versus 542) are funding fewer projects, and at a lower spending amount ($18,087 versus $25,188). Unless the crowdfunding space has simply gone into hibernation and will return to life in the spring, the next few months may prove more difficult for project creators than in the past. Head past the break for a list of the quarter's top ten earners as well as a breakdown by genre.
Unsung Story fundraising continues on PayPal
Unsung Story developer Playdek finished its Kickstarter campaign for the game on February 14, pulling in $660,126 for its $600,000 base funding goal. Stretch goals for the tactical RPG are currently beyond the raised funds, but Playdek has opened PayPal donations for fans that want to change that. Donations won't be based on charity, of course - available rewards include copies of the game, posters, soundtracks, beta access and in-game content. The PayPal page states that the current bundles will be available for two weeks, after which Playdek will "change out the packages." Various stretch goals include a New Game+ mode, co-operative play, a map creator, ports to the PS4, 3DS and Vita and more. You can check the required funding amounts for each by scrolling down Unsung Story's Kickstarter page. As it stands, the game is being developed for PC, Mac and Linux and will be ported to iOS and Android devices. Final Fantasy Tactics director Yasumi Matsuno and Bravely Default Art Director Akihiko Yoshida are among the Playdek team, which estimates to deliver Unsung Story to backers in July of 2015. [Image: Playdek]
Matsuno's Unsung Story shuffles handheld stretch goals, adds PS4 port
Unsung Story publisher Playdek has reorganized its Kickstarter stretch goals in response to backer feedback, giving the game's PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS ports higher priority over other previously-announced funding milestones. If funding reaches $1 million, Playdek will begin production on a PlayStation Vita port, and will hire on Final Fantasy 12 composer Hitoshi Sakimoto to score the project. Playdek additionally announced that a PlayStation 4 version of Unsung Story will be developed if funding reaches $1.25 million. A total of $1.5 million will ensure development of a Nintendo 3DS port. Helmed by Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story director Yasumi Matsuno, Unsung Story will bring its unit-focused tactical strategy gameplay to Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android platforms in 2015. Playdek is currently exploring the possibility of cross-platform play. Unsung Story's Kickstarter currently sits at just under $400,000 earned toward its initial funding goal of $600,000, with 23 days left in the campaign.
Matsuno tactics RPG Unsung Story seeks more platforms via Kickstarter
Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy 12 designer Yasumi Matsuno's new tactics RPG could come to PC and Mac if a newly launched Kickstarter proves successful. Developer Playdek says it will release Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians on iOS and Android regardless of the crowdfunding campaign, but the studio hopes now to raise $600,000 to turn the page onto Windows PC, Mac, and Windows tablets, then 3DS and Vita via stretch goals. The game's spread across platforms might not end there, as Playdek CEO Joel Goodman told Joystiq. According to Playdek's press release, the San Diego studio will also use the $600,000 to "deepen the content and add to its creative 'dream' team." With "Kickstarter funds and stretch goals," Playdek wants to bring in FF Tactics and FF12 composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, as well as translators Alexander Smith and Joseph Reeder of Kajiya Productions, who've worked on the Final Fantasy and Phoenix Wright series and Matsuno's Vagrant Story. Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians is due on iOS and Android next year, and it features a "completely envisioned Matsuno world" according to Goodman. The game is centered around the "77 Years War," a multi-layered conflict that draws inspiration from the wars of 16th and 17th century Europe, and the fractured rule of Saxon Britain. The game's name derives from Matsuno wanting to focus on the more ordinary heroes of war who come to the fore in the gameplay. As for that aspect, Matsuno has said we can expect Unsung Story to play somewhat similarly to FF Tactics, which he directed.
Console releases for Matsuno's Unsung Story may be dictated by cross-platform play
Yasumi Matsuno's Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians features cross-platform online play, and that may affect which platforms it comes to. The tactics game from the Vagrant Story director is only confirmed for iOS and Android curently, but developer Playdek is definitely looking at other platforms, and their policies towards cross-platform play. We asked Joel Goodman, CEO of tabletop studio Playdek, whether or not that could close off the game from certain platforms. "It potentially could and it potentially couldn't," Goodman said. "We're not speaking [about] any secrets here, we know for some platforms that will be more feasible to do than on others. At that point, then, we'll have to look at it and say, well, what's the more important part here? Is it that we end up with a platform that has a pragmatic community, and we don't want to do that, or that it's well worth it because it's still a gaming community that we want to address and make sure that they get this product as well." Asked if it was fair to say it sounded like he was talking about previous-gen and current-gen consoles, Goodman replied, "That would be fair." Well, then.
Vagrant Story creator Matsuno working on digital game Unsung Story
After leaving Level-5 last year, Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story director Yasumi Matsuno is now working with tabletop publisher Playdek on a new strategy game called Unsung Story, coming to digital platforms. That'll include iOS and Android for certain, Playdek CEO Joel Goodman told Joystiq today, but he was keen to not limit the game to those platforms. At the Tokyo Game Show, Matsuno explained to us that Unsung Story will be based around nine small countries, each one fighting one another. Matsuno is taking inspiration from the Saxon Britain of the 5th to 8th centuries, an era following the Romans' retreat. As the name suggests, Unsung Story will focus on the more ordinary people of war - the footsoldiers rather than the Eisenhowers, as Goodman put it. As for the tactics-based battle system, Matsuno said Unsong Story will play somewhat similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, based around a small number of combatants rather than large armies. In contrast to having a story based around a main character as Tactics did, Unsung Story lets players select whichever country and its leader they want to at the start of the game, and how they work through the various countries. That sounds a little complicated to build a narrative around, but Matsuno said that despite the game's name, narrative isn't as big a part of the game. Speaking to Matsuno and Goodman, it sounded like much of Unsung Story is still in germination; I didn't see the game in action, and the pair still has to talk and agree about how multiplayer should exactly be implemented, for example (for the record, there'll definitely be online PVP). However, there are some concrete plans in place. A two-player digital card game set in the Unsung Story world , co-designed by Cristophe Boelinger, will precede the tactics game when it arrives in 2014.
