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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 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 Extra: Interviews with Champions Online and The Phoenix Project
I promised you that we would be doing interviews next time, but astute readers would note that I did not say "next week." So welcome to our special extra installment of the column looking at two different sides following the City of Heroes shutdown. We've already seen two projects coming from the ashes of CoH; The Phoenix Project and Heroes and Villains are both currently being assembled by passionate fans of the now-departed game. But we'd be remiss if we failed to note the impact that the game's closure has had on existing games like Champions Online and DC Universe Online. Rather than just speculating on any of this, we decided to just ask. So today you've got two interviews. One is with Brad Stokan, Executive Producer at Cryptic Studios, about how the City of Heroes shutdown has affected Champions Online and the studio that helped bring the game to life in the first place. The other is with the lead staff at Missing Worlds Media, the team behind The Phoenix Project. So let's take a look behind the scenes, yes?
