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Watch the first mega Mighty No. 9 documentary episode
The Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter isn't even over and there's already a documentary. Made by 2 Player Productions, who you may recognize from similar films for Mojang, Double Fine, Penny Arcade, and Sony, the first episode captures the lead-up to the Kickstarter's launch around a month ago. If it seems weird to see a documentary for something still being fundraised, bear in mind this is for Keiji Inafune's spiritual successor to Mega Man, and that it's already achieved nearly $2.6 million with four days to go. It's weirder for me to see Inafune in the famous Super Potato retro gaming shop in Akihabara, as only last week I was lucky enough to discover it/nearly lose all the money I have to it. Talking of all the money, by reaching $2.55 million the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter cleared stretch goals for a challenge mode and an extra end stage and boss. The big stretch goal, however, remains the PS4 and Xbox One versions at $3.3 million. As it stands, Inafune's Comcept is set to bring Mighty No. 9 to PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Mac, and Linux in 2015.
Mighty No. 9 surpasses current-gen console stretch goal
Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter has rushed past $2.2 million, meaning is should roll out Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U versions at launch in 2015. The Kickstarter recently added stretch goals for PS4 and Xbox One versions (you know, your likely consoles in 2015) at the $3.3 million mark. With 14 days to go in the campaign, Mighty No. 9 still has plenty of time to rock out, pump up the bass and drum up support for future goals. Those include extra bosses, co-op and a lot of tantalizing "???" goals. Mighty No. 9 secured its original $900,000 funding request in three days. [Thanks, Sunny]
Inafune: Mighty No. 9 looks like Mega Man due to my art style
Mighty No. 9 could present some legal issues due to its similarity, both in terms of art and gameplay, to Capcom's Mega Man series. When it comes to the former, Keiji Inafune told me at PAX Prime it's because he created both Mega Man and Mighty No. 9 – and it's only natural the two should share some resemblance. "If you really do look at something that a lot of people really don't realize, that character – Beck – may look similar to Mega-Man at a precursory glance, but it's because I created it. Artists have their own style and they get comfortable in that style, so the things they make look very similar," Inafune said. "Picasso paintings look like Picasso paintings, so that's my style – I can't help it, that can't be changed, it is what it is." Inafune elaborated that despite the style, Beck and Mega Man are two very different characters, "from the color, from the fact that one has a cannon on his arm and the other doesn't, from the eye size, from the headgear – it's very different." On the note of legality, Inafune admitted he had some concern how Mighty No. 9 may be perceived, but reiterated the game is "one hundred percent, from the ground up, built originally" and doesn't take anything from previous Mega Man games. "I can't say I have absolutely no worry but it's really impossible to say how one side is going to view something. There was no ill will and ultimately I think if it did come down to any sort of legal issue, it would be like: Did I actually have ill will towards Capcom when coming up with this concept? And to that I can one hundred percent say no that is not the case. So for me, it was merely, one hundred percent, I heard the voice of the fans and I've always been somebody who likes listening to them and that's what I'm trying to do with this project."
Mighty No. 9 will have old-school challenge, yet still be 'fair'
One of the chief concepts relayed by Keiji Inafune in his Kickstarter pitch video for Mighty No. 9, a new side-scrolling 2D action platform game from Comcept, was his intention to combine old and new – the classic gameplay sensibilities of the past paired with modern conventions. "Finding that balance is the true innovation of this game, I think – what makes it original," Inafune told me during a PAX Prime interview. "If you are just making an old classic style game, the formula is already set pretty much in stone and you don't need designers to try and come up with anything new; you can just imitate one hundred percent the classics. However, if you make something that's too new and doesn't have enough of the old, obviously the people who want to play these classic games are going to feel left out – some of those are the key fans who have supported us on Kickstarter." For Inafune, Kickstarter is what will drive this balance between old and new, since backers can directly engage with the creators and proclaim what they want from Mighty No. 9. Of course, one can't bring up classic gaming without talking about difficulty. The original Mega Man games are some of the toughest out there. "It will be challenging, as far as the old games were, but it will be fair and have some of the newer, modern game mechanics that allow people to – even if they die – continue to restart and basically rely on their skill and not have to backtrack and do annoying things over and over and over again," Inafune added. "But again, this is something that, with game balance, you have to continually tweak and tweak and tweak. And with Kickstarter, we'll be able to be tied into our fans and they'll help us tweak it with what's the perfect balance." Mighty No. 9 reached its funding goal a mere day after its unveiling. The Kickstarter campaign has earned nearly $1.4 million so far with 28 days to go. The game is slated to launch in 2015 for PC on Steam, but if $2.5 million is raised, Comcept promises console ports on Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 – sorry, no next-gen.
Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 hits Kickstarter goal
Keiji Inafune's Kickstarter for The Mighty No. 9 is a "take my money!" situation if there ever was one, with the project accomplishing its $900,000 goal within three days. The game, which features many alumni from the Mega Man series, is a side-scroller shooter about a robot named Beck who defeats a series of robots and gains their powers. We can sense Capcom's lawyers frothing from across the Pacific. The Mighty No. 9 is scheduled to launch for PC sometime in the spring of 2015 via "Steam and DRM-free digital distribution methods." Stretch goals include Mac/Linux versions at $1.35 million and the highest stretch at this time is current-gen console ports at $2.5 million. If the momentum keeps up, Inafune's going to be scrambling to come up with further goals by week's end.
Mighty No. 9 stretch goals ignoring Xbox One, PS4 due to tech unfamiliarity
Mighty No. 9, the new Kickstarter campaign from Keiji Inafune, has numerous stretch goals, one of which is console ports for Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 if pledges make it to $2.5 million. Since the game is being developed for PC, wouldn't it make more sense to port to Xbox One and PS4? Both of which are built on x86 PC architecture. "One of the clearest reasons is that the developer, who is developing the core of the production, is Inti Creates, and they're not familiar with next-gen," Inafune told Joystiq during an interview at PAX Prime. "So with trying to learn that technology, with trying to understand a new piece of hardware, to get a new development kit, all of that comes with it an associated cost and all of that makes the stretch goal a lot more expensive." Inafune, while not alluding to any possibility of next-gen ports for the game, added that the beauty of Kickstarter is that it allows for direct interaction with the fans – to "reflexively" adapt to what they demand. "It allows us to see how excited they are, what they really want, how vocal they are about certain parts and it allows us to, reflexively, adjust some of what those stretch goals are. What we can say is we're always listening and seeing what they say, but it will forever – and this is the way Kickstarter has to be, unless you're going to be lying to the end user which is what we will absolutely not do – it has to be a balance of what the production realities are and what the fans want." Mighty No. 9, a 2D action platformer harkening back to the classic games of yesteryear, is seeking $900,000 through Kickstarter for its base financing. As of this post it's incredibly close to achieving its goal and will launch on PC through Steam sometime in 2015.
Keiji Inafune's 'The Mighty No. 9' hits Kickstarter
Mega Man mogul Keiji Inafune has launched a Kickstarter to fund the development of his latest game, The Mighty No. 9. The fundraising campaign seeks to raise $900,000 within the next 30 days. If successful, the game will launch for PC sometime in the spring of 2015 via "Steam and DRM-free digital distribution methods." Mac/Linux versions will be produced if the $1.35 million stretch goal is reached. Likewise, Xbox 360, Wii U and PlayStation 3 versions will be developed if the campaign manages to raise $2.5 million. The game's development team includes Mega Man series alumnus Nayoa Tomita and Manami Matsumae, who served as level designer and composer (respectively) on the original Mega Man, in addition to artist Shinsuke Komaki, whose resume includes character/mecha design work on Mega Man Legends. Mega Man 9/Mega Man 10 developer Inti Creates is also involved, with CEO Takuya Aizu listed as being responsible for "executing on the designs his company and Comcept create together for Mighty No. 9." The game is a side-scrolling shooter, which concerns a robot named Beck – the ninth in a series of robots called the "Mighty Numbers." The other eight Mighty Numbers have gone rogue due to a virus, and it's up to Beck (and his female robot companion Call) to stop them. Each defeated Mighty Number grants Beck a new power, but Beck also has the ability to transform his limbs into various tools (giant magnets, tank treads, etc) to dispose of enemies and traverse the environment. You know, call us crazy but this sounds kinda familiar.
