crowd-funding Archives - Page 21 of 22

Support H. P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward!

Video Games No Responses » Tagged with: adventure game, crowd-funding

Oct 202014

From video games like Scratches to my own writing, I am a huge fan of H. P. Lovecraft. His writing, together with Silent Hill, are the two things that got me into horror. When it comes to Lovecraft’s stories, their age sometimes shows (and sometimes his own views show more than anyone would like), but other times they are unrivaled at creepiness and cosmic horror.

Today I’m going to talk about H. P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Not the story itself, although it’s one of my favorites. I mean the video game.

From Senscape, the maker of Scratches, Asylum, and Serena comes the first-ever official video game adaptation of one of Lovecraft’s stories. That’s right, it’s not just a game with Lovecraftian themes or elements of the Cthulhu mythos, it’s an actual adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Can we just take a moment to reflect on how awesome that is? The developers of great horror adventure games are turning an excellent horror story into an adventure game! They’re also some of the biggest Lovecraft fans around, and I have confidence in them to get it done right. When I first heard about this game, I was ecstatic. I can’t wait until I get a chance to play this game.

But I may never get that chance if its Kickstarter doesn’t succeed. With only 12 days left in the campaign, it hasn’t even hit the halfway point yet. Far from the dream of a series of Lovecraft adventure games if it exceeds its goal, we might be forced to settle for a more limited project (like one without the Lovecraft documentary) or even have to wait until the future, when Senscape is more established.

If you’re a fan of adventure games and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, check out the campaign and see how fantastic this could be. If you’ve never read the original story, Lovecraft’s works are pretty easy to find. For that matter, you can even find them for free.

Now, join me and support H. P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward! Let’s make this game a reality.

The Great Gaias, Source, and The Eldritch Cases: Dagon – These Kickstarters Could Use Your Help

Video Games 2 Responses » Tagged with: crowd-funding, rpg, the great gaias

May 072014

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I support Kickstarter projects–mainly video game projects. I’ve gushed at length about A Hat in Time, and I’ve referenced Asylum when discussing other games, such as Scratches. Well, I’ve backed three more games over the past few days, and since none of the three have met their goal yet–and time is running out–I thought I’d talk about them a little bit.

The Great Gaias

First up is The Great Gaias, a roleplaying game inspired by old classics like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Xenogears. With 60+ hours of gameplay, lots of sidequests, and a strong story, it sounds like it’ll be a great game for fans looking for a return to the old JRPG style.

The Great Gaias will have a turn-based combat system with tactical elements. Boss battles are promised to be dynamic and unique. And if you miss Final Fantasy’s Limit Break system, you’ll enjoy the powerful Deathblows, each of which works uniquely depending on the character. The thirteen playable characters all have their own personal stories, skills, and abilities, and with thirteen classes (clerics, dragoons, rogues, etc.–you know what we’re talking about), there should be a wide variety of parties to try.

I really love turn-based RPGs, and something about this one just caught my attention. Maybe it’s the inspirations it cites or the level of detail given to its description. Whatever it is, I backed it, and I really hope to see it succeed. The problem is (at the time of my writing this) it has only 26 hours left and just over $1500 to go to make its goal.

So if you love those old JRPGs, take a look at The Great Gaias.

Source

I learned about Source when it was confirmed as one of the indie games coming to the PlayStation 4. Now, I don’t have a PS4 (yet), but it’s also coming to the PC (and the Xbox One, but I don’t have one of those, either). As soon as I watched the video for Source, I knew I had to back it.

It’s an exploration-based, metroidvania-style action adventure game, and while that isn’t one of my insta-interested genres, Source looks awesome.

Beauty, mystery, a sense of what-exactly-am-I-looking-at… and that last reaction is entirely intentional, as part of Source’s goal is to create a surreal world that you won’t understand until you explore and experiment. Puzzles, combat, and metamorphosis through death… Source just isn’t quite like anything else.

As I write this, its Kickstarter campaign has 3 days left to go, and it still needs to earn about $33,500. That’s no small amount to get in just a handful of days, so check if its unique sense of wonder captures your attention like it did mine, consider backing it.

The Eldritch Cases: Dagon

The Eldritch Cases: Dagon is described as “a Lovecraft horror adventure.” Do I really need to explain why as a fan of H.P. Lovecraft and adventure games, I jumped on this one as soon as I heard about it?

The game takes place in Innsmouth, where the Esoteric Order of Dagon is secretly in control, along with Dr. Herbert West, the warden of the local asylum. (Yes, this game is a Lovecraft-fest.) Now we’ve got Insmouth, Herbert West, and asylums to add to my excitement. There are two playable characters: Detective Thomas Malone and nurse Rose Babcock. It has classic point-and-click adventure gameplay and promises you might meet “a very old one.”

If there was any doubt left in my mind by the time I got that far down the page, it vanished entirely when I read the game’s atmospheric inspirations, which include Scratches, Dark Corners of the Earth (I’ll play it if I ever get my copy to work), and Silent Hill.

Best of all, Dagon is planned to be the first game in the Eldritch Cases series. A series of Lovecraftian adventure games. This needs to become a reality!

Right now, The Eldritch Cases: Dagon has 8 days left to earn its remaining £10,000. My fellow horror fans, I’m calling on you to help support this game!

So there you have it: The Great Gaias, Source, and The Eldritch Cases: Dagon. Three very different games, all of which appeal to something in me, and I hope to something in you as well. You can learn more about them at their Kickstarter pages, or press me for further comments. I may not be an expert, but I’d be happy to explain in more detail why I hope these games succeed.

My Time with A Hat in Time (alpha)

Reviews, Video Games 7 Responses » Tagged with: 3D platformer, a hat in time, crowd-funding

Mar 032014

Back in June, I gleefully gushed about the Kickstarter for a collect-a-thon platformer called A Hat in Time and implored anyone who would listen to me to back the project so that it could make all of its stretch goals. It did (check out the Kickstarter page for more details on the content planned for this game), and after months of progress, the developers finally had an alpha build ready.

As a backer, I am one of the people who got to play the alpha. When I started it up, it warned me that it was just an alpha, not a finished product. There would be bugs and incomplete areas. So with all that in mind, I stepped in to give it a try. And I gotta say, it blew me away.

Even the music on the menu screen made me nostalgic for Banjo-Kazooie (speaking of which, Grant Kirkhope is doing several songs for A Hat in Time), and it just got better from there.

Mafia Town: Banjo-Kazooie Meets Super Mario Sunshine

The first level took me to the wacky island called Mafia Town, where the humorous Mafia of Cooks hold the town in an iron grip. Although these guys are, well, thugs, it’s impossible to hate them. As they talk about beating up barrels dressed like old ladies, punching seagulls with children, and similar wacky antics, you’ll love them even as you beat them up with Hat Kid’s umbrella.

Mafia Town has an aesthetic vibe similar to that of Super Mario Sunshine or The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, while its gameplay retained the promised reminiscence of games like Banjo-Kazooie. Although the game encouraged me to chase after Mustache Girl, who seems rather entertaining despite her planned role as Hat Kid’s evil nemesis, I went off on my own to explore the island. I collected lots of things, including orbs, special ability-granting badges, and hats. The reason Hat Kid isn’t wearing her signature top hat in these pictures is because I’d already collected a different hat by the time I thought to take screenshots. The alpha doesn’t have an inventory feature yet, although the full game will allow players to switch between hats.

My time in Mafia Town was filled with exploration, collection, and laughter. I saw many hints of things to come in the full game, including a group of dancing Mafia. When I asked the Mafia in charge to let me join in, he told me only Mafia are allowed to participate, although he mentioned that Geoffrey hadn’t shown up yet. Of course, I claimed to be Geoffrey. He looked at Hat Kid and said he didn’t believe I was Geoffrey, because everyone knew Geoffrey was a jerk, and I didn’t look like a jerk. I attacked one of the dancers with my umbrella, and the Mafia guy relented–“You convince me. You Geoffrey.” That was as far as I could go, but I can’t wait to see what sort of mini-game or sidequest that is set up for.

Mafia Town just has a brilliantly goofy atmosphere. From a random Mafia who insists he “has a Ph.D in Mafia,” to the weird graffiti on walls, it cracked me up and assured me I’d made a great decision in supporting this game.

Funny graffiti in the alpha for A Hat in Time

“Wall now belong to Mafia”

I eventually got back on track, followed Mustache Girl, fought some Mafia (and collected their ties to trade in at a bazaar, which isn’t functional yet), and got my first hourglass. Although that opened up a new Mafia Town level with “no Act attached” (in other words, Free Play in Mafia Town) and three new hourglasses to collect, I decided to try the other area available in the alpha.

Queen Vanessa: RUNJUSTRUN!!!

I knew A Hat in Time had a spooky world called the Subcon Forest, and from what I’d seen, I expected a cutesy sort of horror like that of Banjo-Kazooie’s Mad Monster Mansion or Super Mario 64’s Big Boo’s Haunt. You know, a dark little world that might have some startling moments, but nothing that could really be called scary.

The first thing I discovered was that I couldn’t move the camera. I debated over whether or not it was a bug, correctly decided it was not, and smiled at the possible nod to survival horror’s fixed camera angles. I snatched up some collectibles, unlocked the door leading up to the first floor of the mansion, and found myself in a dark hallway. As I looked around, Queen Vanessa screamed out in anger that I’d dared to enter her home and emerged into the hallway to chase me.

Queen Vanessa adds some horror to A Hat in Time

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

After one horrific game over, I made it to the safety of the next room, where the evil “ohgoshI’mgoingtodie” music faded into a merely unsettling melody punctuated by Vanessa’s eerie calls that she would find me. I calmed down and got to work on solving the first puzzle, to get the key to the next floor.

Before long, I’d attracted Vanessa’s attention again.

As I hid and prayed and listened to the terrifying music, it occurred to me that I was no longer in Banjo-Kazooie Meets Super Mario Sunshine. I’d veered off into Banjo-Kazooie Meets Amnesia.

In fact, the more Vanessa taunted me, and the more I read about her on my way through the mansion, the more convinced I became that I was in Banjo-Kazooie Meets Amnesia: Justine. (Thankfully, it is not that scary, as I still haven’t managed to beat Justine.) Later on in the mansion, I had to deal with the Snatcher instead, which returned me to the tamer level of spookiness I’d expected from the game.

And then Vanessa chased me again.

If she catches you, it’s all over.

Thoroughly shaken by the experience, I collected the hourglass feeling happier than ever. I mean, I thought Mafia Town was great, but Queen Vanessa gave this already-awesome game the sort of heart-pounding tension I love in my horror games.

Several Hours Later…

Of course, even if I decided to only play through the scary level once (you’re joking, right?), I still had my Mafia Town free play to check out. More collecting and exploring! To put it simply, even the alpha of A Hat in Time has a great amount of content. There are hidden platforming levels very similar to those found in Super Mario Sunshine, with rotating platforms, and a balloon race that feels like a large shout-out to the boss races in Diddy Kong Racing. All in all, Steam reports that I’ve played the alpha for 6 hours, and I’ve loved every minute of it.

And on top of everything–collectibles, goofy Mafia, terrifying chases–the one thing that keeps getting me is that this is just the alpha. I can’t wait to see what the beta build will look like…and the full game after that!

So read up on A Hat in Time, let me know in the comments if you have any thoughts or questions, and always remember… if it’s not Mafia, then it’s not quality!

…And if it is Mafia and not quality then YOU ARE LYING!

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