ouya
Latest
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."
Kickstarter project The Fall is sci-fi Limbo by way of Super Metroid
The Fall is a dark and moody cocktail currently seeking $17,000 (Canadian) on Kickstarter so that it can fall into your lap on PC, Mac and Wii U. The game draws inspiration from three classic titles, each representing a pillar of the game's own design: Super Metroid represents exploration, The Secret of Monkey Island represents interactivity, and Limbo represents atmosphere. In The Fall, you won't control a human. Instead, you'll play as an AI programmed into a suit of combat armor worn by a human who has been rendered unconscious. Your task will be to control the suit and make it carry the injured human to safety. The Fall's story will "slowly begin to unfold a unique story of self-understanding and civil rights," according to the game's developer, John Warner. Although the game is initially set to release on PC, Mac and Wii U, stretch goals also list Linux, PS4, Vita, Xbox One and "possibly" Ouya as other potential launch platforms.
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.
OUYA revises Free the Games Fund to lower project goals, reduce exclusivity
It looks like outspoken indie devs are finally getting their wish: OUYA is revising the rules for its "Free the Games" fund. The matching contest (which provides additional funding to Kickstarter campaigns that meet certain goals) has come under fire recently due to OUYA's tepid response to exploitation controversy. One developer, Sophie Houlden of Rose and Time, even pulled her game from console's marketplace, accusing the company of being "incapable of ever correcting their mistakes." Now, it seems, the OUYA is ready to take a stab at doing just that, modifying the contest guidelines to lower pledge requirements, reduce participant exclusivity terms and limit loopholes. Projects applying to the fund now only need to reach a minimum pledge requirement of $10,000 (down from $50,000 previously), and to prevent exploitation of the system, every $10k a project raises must be funded by at least 100 individuals. This is a direct response to criticism of the fund's backing of Gridiron Thunder, which raised $171,009 from only 183 backers (Gridiron Thunder has since withdrawn from the program). Exclusivity requirements are now scalable too, and last for one month for each $10k funded to a maximum of six months. According to OUYA's Julie Uhrman, these changes are designed to protect the original intent of the fund, but suspicious projects will be still be reviewed on a case by case basis. "You need to play by the spirit of the fund as much as the rules. We can't account for every loophole," write Uhrman on the company blog. "So, if we, or our community, feel you are gaming the system, we will review your project (and consult with our developer friends for their advice) and determine whether to fund it or not." OUYA continues to explain the changes in an accompanying video (at the source and after the break), promising that if these changes don't fix the program, that they'll continue to tweak the rules until developers are satisfied.
Ouya overhauls Free the Games Fund
Responding to the ongoing controversy surrounding Ouya's Free the Games Fund, CEO Julie Uhrman issued a statement and video discussing changes coming to the program. For starters, instead of the $50,000 funding minimum required of project creators to be eligible for the program, Uhrman said the requirement is now $10,000. Plus, for every $10,000 raised on Kickstarter by project creators, they will now need to have a minimum of 100 backers to maintain eligibility. "The program wasn't perfect, we're fixing it, and if it's still not perfect, tell us and we'll fix it again," Uhrman said. "But I think it's important to note that we're not going to pull this program. We think great games can be found by you, the gamer, who loves Ouya, who wants to see something special on it." As part of the changes coming to the program, Ouya won't demand a guaranteed six months of exclusivity for project creators anymore. Rather, for every $10,000 in rewards issued by Ouya in matching crowdfunding efforts, developers will need to agree to one month of exclusivity. Uhrman noted one exception to the rule, as developers will be able to launch simultaneously on PC. Uhrman said Gridiron Thunder developer MogoTXT has notified Ouya that it is backing out of the Free the Games Fund, as it "raised enough money on Kickstarter to launch it on their own." MogoTXT earned $171,009 from just 183 backers in its campaign, helping ignite the controversy surrounding the program. Ouya recently removed another game from the program, Dungeons: The Eye of Draconus. To get a brief summary of the Free the Games Fund's short, yet eventful life, check out our video recap.
Ouya removes family-funded Kickstarter game from Free the Games program
When Golden Axe-inspired Dungeons: The Eye of Draconus met its funding goal thanks to help from a family member and was just two days from seeing the end of its Kickstarter campaign, Ouya removed the project from its Free the Games Fund program. In an update on the project's page, SuckerFree Games developer William McDonald wrote, "If we had remained silent we very likely would have received the funds, our transparency and honesty apparently was our undoing." That transparency came from a backers-only update on the project last week, which explained how the project ultimately reached $54,067 with donations from just 180 people. McDonald states in the update that although his family and friends initially refused to offer financial support, his father spent a large retirement check to help fund Dungeons: The Eye of Draconus' three episodes, thereby making it eligible for rewards earned from Ouya's Free the Games Fund. "It appears we were thrown under the FTG bus. Ouya gets their fall guy and Grid Iron keeps their money," McDonald wrote regarding Ouya's decision, referencing Gridiron Thunder, a game that received $171,009 on Kickstarter from just 183 backers as part of Ouya's program. Due to Ouya's decision, McDonald said the team opted to cancel the Kickstarter project, noting that the developer has "no plans to develop for Ouya further." This isn't the first time Dungeons: The Eye of Draconus has received funding, as it earned $5,177 on Kickstarter back in May 2011. In an August 18 update on that project's page, McDonald notified backers of his plans to enter Ouya's funding program, and that the developer had invested over $10,000 of its own money into the project since the first Kickstarter campaign ended. We've reached out to McDonald and Ouya, and will update as we learn more. For a brief summary on the Ouya Free the Games Fund's issues so far, check out our recap video.
Recap: Ouya's Free the Games Fund so far
Ouya's Free the Games Fund, designed to reward successful Kickstarter projects with additional funding in exchange for six months of Ouya exclusivity, has suffered criticism in recent weeks. We're here to get you caught up with a convenient video recap of the events surrounding the program. In July, Ouya announced the Free the Games Fund. In late August, the first two eligible games met their funding goals: Elementary, My Dear Holmes and Gridiron Thunder. Elementary, My Dear Holmes was later suspended by Kickstarter. Gridiron Thunder was successfully funded, earning $171,009 from 183 backers. Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman responded to the Free the Games Fund controversy, noting the company would not alter the program. Indie developers criticized Uhrman's response, with Rose and Time developer Sophie Houlden opting to pull her game from Ouya's store.
'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."
Gridiron Thunder to launch September 30
Gridiron Thunder will launch September 30 on Ouya, MogoTXT CEO Andrew Won told Joystiq. The football game recently received $171,009 on Kickstarter from just 183 backers, raising questions among the crowdfunding community. Won denied any ongoing scrutiny over the project. "Kickstarter conducted a full investigation and found nothing wrong with our campaign. This is conclusive and our campaign came to a successful close last Sunday," Won said. "I've answered the same question many times and I have nothing more to add. There is nothing left to discuss." Gridiron Thunder is part of Ouya's Free the Games Fund, designed by the console manufacturer to stimulate Ouya development by matching funds raised from the Kickstarter community of at least $50,000. Developers must promise at least six months of Ouya exclusivity before receiving the full reward from the program. Gridiron Thunder was one of two games that were successfully funded as part of the program, the other being Elementary, My Dear Holmes, which was suspended by Kickstarter late last week.
Metroid-style action game Blood Alloy jumps to Kickstarter
Suppressive Fire Games recently launched a Kickstarter project to fund its first game, Blood Alloy, a 2D "Metroidvania-styled" action game. The game is in development for PC, Mac and Ouya. Blood Alloy has players running-and-gunning through a dystopian, futuristic world "teetering on the brink of apocalypse." The game's creator, Frank Washburn, cites the Metroid, Turrican and Dark Souls series as inspirations for Blood Alloy's "non-linear exploration with optional pathways, hub areas, shortcut creation and discovery, and tons of secrets." Washburn is seeking $50,000 by October 10 on Kickstarter, and says that 75 percent of the Blood Alloy's funding will go towards paying the independent contractors that will help develop the game, while another eight percent will cover marketing, legal and licensing fees. [Thanks, Hannah!]
Indie game devs push back on OUYA's 'Free the Games' fund, some pulling games
OUYA's "Free the Games" fund, which matches funds for any indie game on Kickstarter with at least $50,000 in funding (up to $1 million), is embroiled in backlash from the indie game developers it sought to court. After two Kickstarter projects tied to the initiative were found to be taking advantage of the promotion -- investing their own money or those of friends to receive the matching funds -- OUYA head Julie Uhrman attempted to assuage concerns with a blog post last evening. In it, Uhrman says, "Recently, the intention behind our Free the Games Fund - to provide additional funding to crowd-funded games bound for OUYA, and enable developers to make more of them - seems to have been lost." The post, however, seems to have caused more harm than good. Indie developers took to the comments section to berate Uhrman's response. "This reads like a press release from a console company locked into a foolish policy and using aspirational language to shift the blame, weirdly, onto its critics," Thomas Was Alone developer Mike Bithell wrote in the comments. "You can do better." One dev says she's removing her game from the OUYA marketplace altogether as a result of Uhrman's deflection. "After reading Julie Uhrman's blog post last night it became very apparent to me that the company does not support indie developers who need the support most, and that they are incapable of ever correcting their mistakes," Rose and Time developer Sophie Houlden posted to her blog. "I'm simply no longer comfortable supporting the company." Aside from a single statement on Twitter, Uhrman (nor OUYA) hasn't responded to critics just yet. "No we are not changing the Free The Games Fund. We are sticking with it," she wrote last night with a link to the blog post in question. We'll update this piece should OUYA decide to alter its course.
Developers react to Ouya's defense of Free the Games Fund
Yesterday, Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman voiced her support for the company's Free the Games Fund, noting that nothing about the program would be altered. Since then, indie developers have expressed their displeasure over Uhrman's statements. Sophie Houlden, who launched Rose and Time on Ouya in July, announced that she will be pulling the game from the Ouya store. Houlden said that after reading Uhrman's response, "it became very apparent to me that the company does not support indie developers who need the support most, and that they are incapable of ever correcting their mistakes. I'm simply no longer comfortable supporting the company." Free the Games Fund was first announced in July with the intention of encouraging Ouya development by rewarding successful Kickstarter project creators with extra funding in exchange for at least six months of Ouya exclusivity. Two eligible games came under scrutiny as they met their funding goals in late August: Elementary, My Dear Holmes and Gridiron Thunder. While Elementary was recently suspended due to suspicions over Kickstarter accounts that backed the game, Gridiron Thunder was successfully funded, bringing in $171,009 from only 183 total backers. Houlden isn't the only developer backing away from the platform. Kairo developer Richard Perrin noted via Twitter that he "had an Ouya on my desk since launch. Nearly finished porting Kairo to it. Gonna pack that away until a time when they become credible again." In the comments of Uhrman's response to the growing concerns over the program, 100 Rogues Ouya developer Wes Paugh said that "the campaigns that aren't setting off red flags are failing tragically, and that is a real shame, because some of those ideas are ones gaming would greatly benefit from." Thomas Was Alone developer Mike Bithell also criticized Ouya's response in the post's comments, saying it "isn't an acceptance of criticism, or an explanation of how clearly dodgy as hell schemes are being supported by [Ouya] publicly," but that it "reads like a press release from a console company locked into a foolish policy and using aspirational language to shift the blame, weirdly, onto its critics."
Ouya not changing Free the Games Fund: 'This response surprised us'
Ouya isn't suspending or altering Free the Games Fund, despite allegations of fraud in some of its related Kickstarter projects, founder Julie Uhrman says. "Recently, the intention behind our Free the Games Fund – to provide additional funding to crowdfunded games bound for Ouya and enable developers to make more of them – seems to have been lost," Uhrman says. "This response surprised us – we thought this was going to be great – how could it not be?" Free the Games Fund offers a pool of $1 million in matching funds to Ouya-exclusive Kickstarter projects. It's an "open" way to get games off the ground, Uhrman says – but many bystanders noticed that it's a little too open. One Free the Games Fund campaign, Elementary, My Dear Holmes, was suspended on Kickstarter following allegations that the pledges were fake. "In launching this campaign, we've been called everything from naive and foolish to crazy and idealistic," Uhrman says. "This is not the first time we've been called any of that. Maybe we're naive ... and yes we're definitely idealistic. It's gotten us this far. We believe (still) that great games from great developers can be discovered this way – by you." On Twitter, Uhrman is more concise: "No we are not changing the Free The Games Fund. We are sticking with it." Gridiron Thunder, another Free the Games Fund title under suspicion from fans, was successfully funded with $171,009 on September 8. An Ouya representative told us that the project met all guidelines and would receive the match. There are now nine games live on Kickstarter involved in Free the Games Fund and Uhrman encourages people to support them. Elementary, My Dear Holmes, doesn't make her list, of course.
Gridiron Thunder Ouya Kickstarter concludes with $171k, many questions
Gridiron Thunder's Kickstarter project ended over the weekend, earning $171,009 in its 30-day campaign. Gridiron Thunder was under suspicion when it first met its funding goal in late August, thanks to curious funding spikes witnessed by backers. To reach its goal, it received more than $10,000 apiece from a limited number of funders, as revealed by Kicktraq. It was one of two games that reached its goal as part of Ouya's Free the Games Fund, a program that rewards successful Kickstarter project creators by matching the crowdfunding results in exchange for six months of Ouya exclusivity. The game had just 183 total backers, making for a rate of $934.48 per person. In recent months, the closest any project has come to that average is Yargis, which had an average of $275.05 per backer thanks to a lone $5,000 pledge. The results of 84 projects in the past three months revealed a mean average of $50.59 pledged per person, making Gridiron Thunder a statistical anomaly. The other Ouya game in question, Elementary, My Dear Holmes, was suspended by Kickstarter on Friday after the developer addressed concerns to both Kickstarter and Amazon surrounding "suspicious accounts" that backed the project. The game's creator, Sam Chandola, said the developer "wanted to get on top of this and did not want anything to do with any of what was happening as it was an extremely negative campaign for us." Kickstarter declined to comment on the project's suspension.
Cross Plane puts a screen in a controller for PC, PS3, 360, Ouya
Advanced Gaming Innovations LLC began its Kickstarter campaign last week for the Cross Plane, a controller with a touch-less, seven-inch screen that functions as a main display for PC, 360, PS3 and Ouya users. The campaign is seeking $350,000 to begin production of the controllers, which backers can receive one of by contributing $350. The Cross Plane will use a wireless HDMI transmitter to send data to "control paks," which can be swapped out from the back of the Cross Plane to make the hardware compatible with different platforms. While the project's Kickstarter page notes that the 360 control pak will be a one-trick pony, the PS3 control pak will also work for the PC and Ouya due to "compatible Bluetooth connectivity technology." Support for the Xbox One and PS4 is also planned "should the project be successful." The Kickstarter page states that the prototype is capable of a 20 foot line-of-sight range, but Lead Designer Chris Downing clarified to Joystiq in an email that the range of the final product should be increased by rearranging internal hardware. "The remedy is simply a matter of relocating the receiver at which point I'm confident we'll be able to get back to the 60-plus foot range," Downing said.
Ouya Free the Games Fund project 'Elementary, My Dear Holmes' suspended by Kickstarter
The crowdfunding campaign for Elementary, My Dear Holmes was suspended by Kickstarter today. The point-and-click adventure game had already reached its $50,000 goal, earning $58,770 before its suspension, days before it was slated to end on September 13. The reasons for the project's suspension by Kickstarter are unclear, though the developer said it addressed concerns regarding "suspicious accounts" that supported the game. "When the uproar against Elementary, My Dear Holmes was brought up, we contacted Kickstarter and Amazon, asking them to investigate the accounts and take action accordingly," the game's creator Sam Chandola told backers. "We wanted to get on top of this and did not want anything to do with any of what was happening as it was an extremely negative campaign for us. Strong personal accusations were going up against us, and it was a huge drain on our time, energy and resources." Ouya announced its $1 million Free the Games Fund program in July as a means of encouraging developer support of its console by offering monetary rewards for successful Kickstarter-funded games that vow to remain Ouya-exclusive for six months. Elementary, My Dear Holmes was one of two games that reached its funding goals last week as part of the program. The other game, Gridiron Thunder, fell under scrutiny for the amount of funding it received from just 126 backers. According to Ouya, the project "successfully qualified to receive the match," and is still up on Kickstarter, sitting at $114,437 from 161 funders with 46 hours before the campaign ends.
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.
The Walking Dead migrates to Ouya this winter
Telltale's The Walking Dead is making its way to Ouya in 2013. The full first season, along with the self-contained 400 Days add-on chapter featuring five different stories, will make its debut on Ouya later this year. The first episode of The Walking Dead's first season will be free for all Ouya owners to download. The second season, which is set to launch this fall, has also been confirmed for Ouya. Not much is known about the second season, though Telltale Games has confirmed that Clementine will return.
Telltale Games bringing 'The Walking Dead' to the OUYA this winter
It's safe to say The Walking Dead game has had a pretty successful term on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 -- still, there's always a chance to grow beyond the more traditional consoles. With that in mind, Telltale Games announced today its plans to bring the zombie-heavy gaming series to the OUYA later this year. The game studio behind the title doesn't go beyond saying it'll be "coming this winter." However, it did say the release will include The Walking Dead: Season One along with the 400 Days DLC. The second season, meanwhile, is said to be in the works and due to follow at some point in the future. Owners of the tiny, Android-based box will be able to play the first episode at no cost, which should help decide if they want to carry on with the rest of the story or, you know, keep playing You Don't know Jack.
