akaneiro-demon-hunters
Latest
Spicy Horse downsizes, Akaneiro put studio $1.7 million in debt
American McGee's Spicy Horse has downsized its Shanghai studio and is focusing its remaining staff on The Gate, a card-collecting, real-time strategy game – in the meantime, the team developing Akaneiro: Demon Hunters has been reduced from 15 people to two. Akaneiro raised $204,680 on Kickstarter in February 2013 and it's out as an Early Access game on Steam. "In total, around 360 man-months have gone towards development, bringing our investment in dollars to nearly $2 million USD," McGee writes in a Kickstarter update. "In that same period, we've generated roughly $300,000 USD in revenue – this includes funds collected via the Kickstarter campaign, F2P purchases in-game, and one-time purchases via Steam. In simple math: We've spent $2 million, we've made $300,000, we're 'in the hole' $1.7 million." McGee says the two people assigned to Akaneiro will continue addressing bugs and working toward multiplayer and tablet support, but development will be slower. If The Gate provides the cash flow Spicy Horse needs, it will return attention to Akaneiro, he says: "Life as an independent developer is filled with the constant threat of failure. This isn't the first time in our eight-year history we've faced this sort of challenge. It's not the first time we've had to reduce staff on one of our games. It is different because of the demand for transparency that comes with being a part of Kickstarter. In providing transparency like this, I am asking for your understanding and I am hoping for your support." In 2013, Spicy Horse canceled its attempt to Kickstart OZombie, a twisted take on The Wizard of Oz universe, but it successfully Kickstarted Alice: Otherlands, a project that aims to make animated films of the Alice games, to the tune of $222,377.
Golden Jubilee Bundle offers indie value, keys to newsletter subscribers
Indie Royale has launched its 50th bundle, The Golden Jubilee Bundle, and has included two redeemable keys within the bundle's related email to all of its "regular email newsletter" subscribers. The keys also include a digital copy of Cold Storage's Tik Tak album. For newsletter-less gamers, paying the minimum price ($2.20 at the time of this writing) will grant you keys for Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites, Star Hammer Tactics, Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, Bird Assassin, Amazing Zombie Defense and Zombie Football Carnage. Patrons should note that Akaneiro is a free-to-play game, but that the Jubilee Bundle includes a key for "$4.99 worth of in-game items." Donating $5 or more will also net you Tik Tak. Every game included in the bundle is playable on Windows via Desura. Akaneiro is also available for Mac and Linux.
Rise and Shiny: Akaneiro: Demon Hunters
We're not all of us perfect. We all make mistakes, right? I did last week when I didn't vet my choice for Rise and Shiny and picked Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, a single-player game with optional co-op, a game that is not only not finished but still on Kickstarter. I'm not sure how I did it, but I think it had something to do with an email I received that talked about how good the game was. In my desperation to find something new and original to play, I grabbed this one and ran with it. American McGee's studio, Spicy Horse Games, is behind the project, so that's another reason to get excited. Luckily, the game has many great features and could, one day, feature an MMO-like option. It's also a good choice for those who enjoy games like Drakensang Online or Diablo. But there are some less exciting aspects to the game too, so you know I'll be covering those.
Akaneiro: Demon Hunters Kickstarter just clears goal
Spicy Horse and American McGee's Akaneiro: Demon Hunters Kickstarter squeaked in under the wire. Closing on February 2, the drive ended at $204,680, just surpassing its goal of $200,000. In an update, McGee told supporters that backer rewards will go out as soon as possible, starting with in-game items for Akaneiro. He also stated that Spicy Horse will be looking into a possible Ouya version of the game. As for the success of the project, he said simply, "I'm going to go fall over."The Windows, Mac and browser versions of the free-to-play action RPG are available now, with a Steam version expected later this month. Android and iOS versions are also planned.
Akaneiro: Demon Hunters delayed to Jan. 31 on Kongregate, Feb. 28 on Steam
Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, the latest game from American McGee and Spicy Horse, is now scheduled to launch on January 31, one week after the original release date of January 25. This is for the Kongregate launch; the Steam launch will take a little while longer, expected to hit some time around February 28.Spicy Horse originally intended Akaneiro to launch on Steam today, January 24, but only if it was approved in Greenlight's January round, which it was. Akaneiro has nine days left of its Kickstarter campaign and needs $95,000 to reach its goal and polish off the game."For Steam, integration and testing are taking longer than anticipated," McGee writes in a Kickstarter update. "We could be ready for launch by 7th of February, but because Chinese New Year starts on the 9th, we're forced to delay until the end of the month, meaning launch on or around the 28th of February. We're being extra cautious about launch timing to ensure a balanced and bug-free experience."
Akaneiro: Demon Hunters targets Steam release by January 24
Spicy Horse aims to publish Akaneiro: Demon Hunters on Steam by January 24, although that depends on a big if. Posting on the game's recently unveiled Kickstarter page, Spicy House founder American McGee said if the Japanese-tinted action RPG is selected in the next round of Steam Greenlight, his team will "push to publish the game on Steam by January 24th."We should know more by tomorrow, as Jan. 15 is the scheduled date for an announcement of the next batch of Greenlight inductees. McGee is confident the game will be selected, stating that with "Akaneiro currently sitting at #3 it's pretty much certain" of a place. McGee hopes getting the Greenlight approval will bring more people and funding to the Kickstarter campaign, which is currently sitting at just under $70,000 of its $200,000 goal with 19 days to go.Whatever happens, you don't have to wait until January 24 to give Akaneiro a whirl. The game entered open beta last week, and that doesn't close until Wednesday, Jan. 16.
Alice creator American McGee turns to Kickstarter for Akaneiro: Demon Hunters
American McGee, the man behind Alice, Grimm, and most recently Alice: Madness Returns, is the latest prominent developer to try out Kickstarter. McGee and his Shanghai-based Spicy Horse studio are seeking $200,000 in funding for Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, a free-to-play action RPG detailing the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but with a Japanese slant.The more modest sum compared to some of the big names of last year reflects on Akaneiro having already been in development for around one and a half years. According to the Kickstarter page, Spicy Horse needs the money to provide Android and iOS ports in addition to the already planned PC and Mac versions, cross-platform support, co-op multiplayer, community support, and an equipment crafting system. The page also lists potential stretch goals including two new expansions, a Linux version, a player versus player arena, and guild creation.Spicy Horse collaborated with EA to release Alice: Madness Returns in 2010, but McGee since said that will be the studio's last physical release in light of much better returns from F2P games like Akaneiro. In the video on the Kickstarter page, McGee says his studio's goal is now to "deliver console-quality content to mid-core gamers, and to do this without having to rely on traditional publishers" and that "Akaneiro is the result of those efforts."
First Akaneiro: Demon Hunters shots put the color back in Little Red
American McGee's Akaneiro: Demon Hunters puts a fairytale spin on Japanese mythology, then puts all that in a blender with a box of Crayolas. The first screens for Akaneiro traverse the Shigemori River, showing Little Red with a bow, axe and fireball powers. This ain't your mom's bedtime story.%Gallery-168659%
Akaneiro: Demon Hunters beta pits Little Red Riding Hood against Yokai in feudal Japan
Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, the next game from American McGee's Spicy Horse, is holding beta sign-ups right now via its official site. First, we suggest checking out the first-ever gameplay trailer above to get a feel for the hand-painted, dungeon-crawling, demon-slaying action.Akaneiro is a free-to-play ARPG that tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood, set in feudal Japan. As a member of the Order of Akane, Red must rid the Hokkaido village of the invading Yokai, demons inspired by Japanese folklore.After the launch of Alice: Madness Returns with EA last year, McGee has left behind traditional console development to create free-to-play, browser-based games such as Big Head Bash, and now, Akaneiro. Sign up for the beta here.
American McGee on F2P, Ouya and his 'acceptable' experience with EA
American McGee's Spicy Horse studio is shrugging off the madness of console development to create free-to-play, browser- and cloud-based games such as Kongregate's Big Head Bash. This move follows Spicy Horse's partnership with EA to launch Alice: Madness Returns last year as a mainstream, boxed and digital title. Alice was Spicy Horse's last foray into the physical space, McGee tells Game Informer."Our studio wouldn't consider going back to traditional console development, but I do think we'll end up being in the right place when consoles come back to us," he says. "By that I mean we fully expect the definition of 'console' to shift radically over the next two years. Our consoles will become our mobile devices (Or if you prefer: Our mobile devices will become our consoles)."Spicy Horse has already seen a larger return on investment from its free-to-play games than Alice ever produced, or likely ever will. This is the future, McGee says, and static games locked to specific physical media will be unable to compete with always-updating, fluid titles in the free-to-play universe.
American McGee takes on Red Riding Hood with Akaneiro
After all the madness Alice could muster and social action game Bighead Bash, it look's like American McGee's Spicy Horse studio is ready to move on to another new project. Entitled Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, the action role-playing game retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood with a feudal Japanese twist, reports Kotaku. As part of the Order of Akane, players are charged with putting an end to a Hokkaido village's demon problem. Akaneiro uses mid-19th century Japan as a backdrop, as tensions arose and the country reluctantly opened itself to western trade.The game will be free-to-play and will be playable on PC, tablets and via the web. Early screenshots suggest gameplay similar to Diablo, Torchlight and other dungeon crawlers. A beta is planned for later this year.
