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Joystiq Weekly: Vib-ribbon launches, Driveclub Review, RE: Revelations 2 preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. "Better eight years late than never," PlayStation Network users probably said during this week's return of Vib-ribbon. Sure, we're not exactly in drought season, but what's stopping you from impulsively bailing on 2014's release calendar to revisit a 1999 cult classic? Beyond money and life's responsibilities, anyway. If Vib-ribbon is fair game for a 2014 appearance, can we go ahead and get our hopes for comparably-unlikely surprises? Sure, StarCraft: Ghost's indefinitely-on-hold status is probably irreversible at this point, but if Blizzard felt like continuing development in secret for years and launching it without warning, we wouldn't be upset. Valve, you're more than welcome to do the same with fresh installments in the Half Life or Left 4 Dead series. There was more to this week than feeble wishes though, including resolution news for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Assassin's Creed: Unity, reviews for Driveclub and Neverending Nightmares, and previews for AC: Unity and Resident Evil: Revelations 2. All those and more are tidied up for you after the break!
Neverending Nightmares review: Bump in the night
(PC/Mac/Linux/Ouya) Neverending Nightmares isn't very good at scaring you – not in a way that would make you jump or kick your legs in fright, anyway. Nothing about its minimalist visuals suggest that you'll need to shut your eyes in disgust. The broken chords of the game's background music are somber and more befitting a funeral than an adrenaline-spiked terror-sprint. The slow, deliberate pace of protagonist Thomas makes each step feel like a cautious press forward, like creeping through a house while trying not to let the floorboards creek underfoot. Neverending Nightmares is, in a word, unassuming. And that is precisely why its moments of horror work so well.
Neverending Nightmares is horrific, repulsive and true
Caution: Some of the following content contains graphic descriptions of violent thoughts that Gilgenbach has experienced in real life. Those sensitive to such information should read with caution, and contact their nearest mental health care facilities if needed. In the US, the national suicide prevention hotline is 1-800-273-8255. Neverending Nightmares is a "Trojan horse of sorts," independent developer Matt Gilgenbach told Joystiq at PAX Prime. At first glance, the game appears to be a stylized horror game full of genre tropes: creepy little girls, old dolls with dead eyes, haunting visions of gore and violence. However, the truth is that Neverending Nightmares is actually an intensely personal exploration of Gilgenbach's own thoughts, intended to communicate the awful feelings someone with depression might experience. It has the potential to be a tool for empathy as much as it might elicit late-night scares.
Steam Greenlights Neverending Nightmares, Fran Bow, Fotonica
Steam Greenlit 37 games and software titles today, and this batch has a distinctly eerie vibe that we'll attribute to our proximity to Halloween. Games include the crowdfunded insane asylum adventure Fran Bow, the similarly psychological Neverending Nightmares, the grim platformer Blood of the Werewolf, along with CastleMinerZ, The Fifth Day, Montague's Mount, Neighbors from Hell Compilation, Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart, (un)Lucky7 and Underhell. It's a lot of hells and bad dreams. There are more creep-neutral games in the mix, including Fotonica, The Fall, Hot Tin Roof, JULIA Enhanced Edition and RimWorld. See? Nice, friendly sounding games. We can't promise these ones are all rainbows and daisies, though. This marks the second round of Greenlight games for the month, with the first one hitting on October 2.
Crowdfund Bookie: Inafune's mighty $3.8 million haul
The Crowdfund Bookie crunches data from select successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that ended during the week and produces pretty charts for you to look at. The power of Keiji Inafune's name couldn't be more evident than in this highly-profitable week in crowdfunding, which covers the Kickstarter projects for Mighty No. 9, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, Sunless Sea, DCS WWII: Europe 1944, Neverending Nightmares, Penguemic, Mysterious Cities of Gold, Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora, Data Hacker: Corruption and Neo-Victorian Skirmish Squad. Mighty No. 9, the action platformer project from the Mega Man creator earned the most money this week ($3,845,170) and had the highest number of backers (67,226). LearnDistrict Inc's educational game Penguemic: Word Domination had the highest average pledge per person of the group ($160.81). Head past the break to see the week's results and our set of fancy charts.
Neverending Nightmares heading to PC and Ouya thanks to funding drive
Neverending Nightmares' Kickstarter project concluded with $106,722 in funding yesterday. The horror game is both inspired by games like Silent Hill 2 and Amnesia: The Dark Descent as well as developer Matt Gilgenbach's personal struggles with mental illness. It achieved its funding goals, but not without a last-minute financial mishap that momentarily put the project's success in question. The game is also the second project to achieve funding as part of Ouya's Free the Games Fund. The first, Gridiron Thunder, pulled itself from eligibility following criticism over discrepancies in its funding. Gilgenbach offered his thoughts on the program in mid-September, worrying that the controversy within the program might cause backers to lose "confidence in our project and what we are trying to do." Given the developer's crowdfunding success, they apparently did not. Neverending Nightmares is expected to launch in August 2014 on PC, Mac, Linux and Ouya.
Neverending Nightmares Kickstarter wakes from funding nightmare to funding success
Neverending Nightmares, the semi-autobiographical horror game about depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder from Retro/Grade creator Matt Gilgenbach, has been funded on Kickstarter, but not before a financial mishap caused a fan to pledge $9,000 more than he intended. During the campaign's final hours, Gabriel Pinto, a backer from Brazil, wanted to raise his pledge. Brazil denotes cents with a comma instead of a decimal point, so when Pinto raised his pledge to "$95,00," the Kickstarter system interpreted it as "$9,500." This boosted Neverending Nightmares across its $99,000 goal, but Pinto would not have been able to pay off his contribution. Unfortunately for Pinto, Kickstarter rules stipulated that he could not withdraw funds if doing so would reduce the campaign below its goal. Pinto reduced his contribution by what he could, but was still several thousand dollars above what he had intended. "I felt terrible," Pinto told Joystiq. "Moments later I was on the project comments crying and breathing heavily."
Neverending Nightmares dev offering add-ons in attempt to meet Kickstarter goal
With three days left in the Kickstarter campaign for his horror game debut Neverending Nightmares, developer Matt Gilgenbach is offering a laundry list of add-ons to bring in more funding. Add-ons include a la carte purchases of previously higher tier-exclusive developer videos, a digital art book, and bonuses like developer commentary and additional copies of the game. Though the add-ons are aimed at the over 2,400 who have already helped fund a large portion of the game, it's an enticing offer for those interested in bonuses previously exclusive to pricier funding tiers. Add-ons range from digital to physical items with prices that can be added to a user's existing funding amount. The Neverending Nightmares Kickstarter campaign funding total hovers under $70,000, still a ways from its $99,000 goal. A demo for the game is available for potential backers to play. Neverending Nightmares – a game inspired by Gilgenbach's battle with mental illness – is planned for launch on PC, Mac, Linux and Ouya at the same time; currently slated for August 2014 according to the Kickstarter page. For more on Neverending Nightmares, make sure to watch our recent video preview.
Neverending Nightmares to hit PC, Mac, Linux, Ouya at same time
Neverending Nightmares is now slated to launch on PC, Mac, Linux and Ouya simultaneously, following changes to Ouya's Free the Games Fund program. Yesterday Ouya announced that developers contracted to receive matching funds via Free the Games Fund will be able to launch on PC platforms at the same time as Ouya, among other loophole closures. Neverending Nightmares creator Matt Gilgenbach says he never had a problem with Ouya exclusivity in theory, but it doesn't make sense in terms of Kickstarter: "I feel (and always felt) that making backers wait six months to get the game they funded was not cool. I expressed this to Ouya before our campaign launched, and they understood where I was coming from and wanted to address my concerns. While there has been some negative press surrounding the FTGF, in my own experience, Ouya has been amazing to work with. Those of you who know me personally know that I am honest to a fault and am perhaps a little too reluctant to give out praise, so that means a lot." Neverending Nightmares needs $99,000 by September 29 to fulfill its Kickstarter campaign; it currently has $43,000. We took a look at it in a video preview before the Kickstarter launched and found its Gorey-inspired, macabre art style to be rather horrifying, along with the game itself.
Neverending Nightmares dev releases game made to propose to his wife
Matt Gilgenbach proposed to his wife nearly three years ago with a homemade game called A Mobius Proposal. While the closest most such proposals ever get to public release is a video on YouTube, Gilgenbach has released A Mobius Proposal for everyone and anyone to enjoy. You can download the game by visiting the Kickstarter page for Gilgenbach's next project, Neverending Nightmares. Gilgenbach said in a project update that he released the game now because it "shows what games mean to me, how important they are, and what a big role they play in my life." He also clarified in his update that the game has a "lack of polish," and he doesn't plan to revisit or expand on it. Feel free to enjoy A Mobius Proposal as a game, or use it for your proposal. Just remember Joystiq assumes no responsibility should you try to use the game to propose to a woman not named Joanne.
'Neverending Nightmares' and the dream of Ouya's Free the Games Fund
When Matt Gilgenbach took to Kickstarter to fund his horror adventure game, Neverending Nightmares, he also opted in to Ouya's Free the Games Fund. The program, designed to offer additional funding to crowdfunders that raise at least $50,000, has drawn questions surrounding projects like Gridiron Thunder. "It would kill me if due to other projects abusing the Free the Games Fund, people lost confidence in our project and what we are trying to do," Gilgenbach told Joystiq via email. He pointed to Neverending Nightmares' relatively low average pledge amount of $24.68 as evidence for its legitimacy, which is in stark contrast to the $934.48 average by Gridiron Thunder, the game that raised $171,009 from just 183 backers. "We participated in the Free the Games Fund because we felt that the money we needed to make a really terrifying and emotionally powerful game was greater than what we could raise alone on Kickstarter," Gilgenbach continued. "The Free the Games Fund offers a significant contribution to the development budget with very developer friendly terms, so it seemed like a dream come true. I never expected any of this controversy."
Neverending Nightmares lands on Kickstarter, joins Ouya funding program
Neverending Nightmares is now on Kickstarter, seeking $99,000 by September 29. Created by Retro/Grade developer Matt Gilgenbach, the survival horror game is inspired by the likes of Silent Hill 2 and Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and also is the result of Gilgenbach's personal struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. Neverending Nightmares is part of Ouya's Free the Games Fund, and will accordingly be Ouya-exclusive for the first six months of its release in Q3 2014. Kickstarter rewards also include DRM-free versions of the game for Windows, Mac and Linux, which will launch at a later time. Through the game and accompanying developer diaries, Gilgenbach said he hopes to "make a difference in peoples' lives. I can show them that they are not suffering alone! I can tell them that things can get better." Our video preview describes some of Neverending Nightmares' gory scenes as well as its Edward Gorey art inspiration.
Neverending Nightmares Video Preview
Of all the things that developer Matt Gilgenbach could have created after Retro/Grade, a rhythm-based shooter in reverse, a horror game seemed among the least likely. Enter Neverending Nightmares, a horror adventure game inspired by the psychological themes of Silent Hill 2 and the defenseless tension of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. But Neverending Nightmares is also the result of a more personal inspiration, Gilgenbach's own struggle with mental illness. Diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, Gilgenbach has woven many of his own experiences into Neverending Nightmares, infusing it with a genuine, sometimes jarring horror. See it for yourself (if you dare) in our video preview. Neverending Nightmares is slated to launch in late 2014, and a Kickstarter for the project is planned to launch soon. Those who want a firsthand look can check out the game later this month at PAX Prime, where it will be shown in booth 885.%Gallery-194694%
