Finally crawled out from under that rock of yours? Confused about what Kickstarter is and why everyone is talking about it? We're here to help.
Kickstarter has been around for quite some time now, but since Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert got together to create their own Kickstarter project the internet has literally (not really) exploded with excitement on all things Kickstarter. But maybe Kickstarter is new to you, or maybe there are projects you've managed to miss out on. So, ever the helpful souls, we figured you'd appreciate a quick rundown of Kickstarter, what it is and which projects you should care about.
What Is Kickstarter?
As the name suggests, Kickstarter is a crowd-funding website that enables creative projects to be pitched to the internet for a target goal. If you like the sound of a project – whether that's in video games, board games, music, art, food or many other categories – then you can 'back it'.
What this means is that you pledge any amount of money to the project in the hopes of reaching the target – often 'purchasing' a final product once it has been funded and created.
For gaming you're mostly dealing with indie games, though recently there's been an insurgence of fan-demanded games (like Wasteland 2 or a new, classic Ron Gilbert/Tim Schafer adventure game) become funded. It's a great way for developers to create games they want to that publishers wouldn't otherwise find the value in.
When pledging for a video game project you can offer just $1, while increasing tiers of pledges will provide various gifts. Usually a basic $10 pledge will get you a copy of the game once it's been released (since most of these are digital releases anyway) while higher tier pledges – anywhere up to $10,000 – will often provide a special and, in some cases, limited offer. This could be a meal with the developers, a character of your design in the game or a pen-and-paper tabletop game with the original creator of Shadowrun.
So what projects should you know about?
Double Fine Adventure
Funding Goal: $400,000
Final Total: $3,336,371
Status: FUNDED
The Kickstarter project that kickstarted (sorry) the current craze. The project is a classic point-'n’-click adventure by masters of the genre Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert and will be developed by Double Fine Studios over a period of 6-8 months. Little else is known about the project, but backers will be able to discuss it in their own, private forum and – in some cases – even vote on where the game should go. There are over 87,000 backers.
The different pledge tiers will provide backers with a copy of the game, special art and prints, a "DF Adventure Backer" t-shirt and – at the highest tiers – lunch with Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert and a tour around the Double Fine studio.
Wasteland 2
Funding Goal: $900,000
Current Total: $2,119,304
Status: FUNDED
Days Left: 10
Wasteland was a classic, isometric RPG and the godfather of post-apocalyptic games, perhaps the reason we're still playing Fallout all these years later. Brian Fargo, the man behind the original Wasteland, pitched this Kickstarter project in order to answer the regular requests he receives from fans and create a game he's always wanted to return to.
The game itself will be built by various members of the original Wasteland team. Headed by Brian Fargo, Wasteland 2 will also have Alan Pavlish and Mike Stackpole on board – the original's primary designers – while other original developers are being tracked down.
It will be a top-down RPG and "no first-person shooter". It will be turn-based and tactical, with writing that is gritty, grim and satirical. You'll have to face the consequences of your decisions, too. It'll be 6 months pre-production, then 12 months development before it's out – though a private beta will appear on Steam.
Takedown
Funding Goal: $200,000
Final Total: $221,833
Status: FUNDED
Without a big name attached to it, Takedown likely wouldn't have made it into funding if it wasn't for ex-Infinity Ward, Call Of Duty developer Robert Bowling and his last-minute pledge of $10,000.
But that doesn't mean it's not an interesting project. There's a whole host of developers with experience working on Takedown, and they're aiming for a classic, tactical first-person shooter. The type of "old school shooters where thinking meant more than running and gunning or perks". Think the original Rainbow Six.
There will be single-player, co-op and multiplayer modes. You'll also need to equip your team with the right tools for the mission and then plan your insertion and routes through the mission. And if a squad-member dies, they're gone. So, very much like Rainbox Six, then.
The Banner Saga
Funding Goal: $100,000
Current Total: $420,662
Status: FUNDED
Days Left: 13
It's a sad day when "ex-BioWare" is more interesting than just "BioWare", but that's just the way it is with the way the developer is going. Anyway, The Banner Saga is a "Tactics" game of old, meaning isometric, grid-based strategic RPG by a group of people who know who to do that.
The visuals are reminiscent of a classic 80s cartoon and the theme is around a Viking march to war, but without utilising Norse stereotypes. What does that mean? "Giants: yes. Horned helmets: no"
There's an emphasis on story here, while the choices in dialogue will truly affect the story. A mature story that doesn't mean "sex, violence and swearing." The Banner Saga will also have multiplayer, but it's not clear how that will work.
Leisure Suit Larry In The Land Of The Lounge Lizards
Funding Goal: $500,000
Current Total: $206,986
Status: Not funded
Days left: 25
Despite being on Kickstarter for a little while now, this return of the lewd world of Leisure Suit Larry has yet to get funded. There's still plenty of time for it to make up the rest of the fund for the goal, but most 'big name' projects that we've seen so far have been funded by now.
This will be a ultra high-res, totally brand new Leisure Suit Larry point and click adventure game created by Larry creator Al Lowe. There's no mention of a PC version, but since the additional platforms are "XBLA, PSN, Android, iPads, iPhones, Windows Phones, Kindle, Linux and of course, Mac!" it's probably safe to assume that will be the initial platform.
It will have fully-voiced characters, the same classic humour of the series and a whole new interface for the genre.
Shadowrun Returns
Funding Goal: $400,000
Current Total: $627,326
Status: FUNDED
Days Left: 21
Except for the Double Fine Adventure – which had the backing of pretty much the entire games industry with the media coverage it got – Shadowrun Returns was the quickest of the Kickstarter projects to reach its target, hitting the goal in only 28 hours.
We've talked about Shadowrun Returns before, and what we can expect, but to reiterate – it's a 2D, turn-based RPG set in the Shadowrun universe.
And we knew little else about it, until Jordan Weisman took to Kickstarter in a new video to explain just what is involved. It's set in Seattle – the original Shadowrun setting and the location of Mega Drive and SNES versions of the game. It will be an "XCOM-like" game with contextual gameplay, enabling the four realities available to Shadowrun to decide how battles can unfold.
There won't be multiplayer, however, despite toying with the idea in a previous update.
Yogventures!
Funding Goal: $250,000
Current Total: $79,311
Status: Not funded
Days Left: 29
The latest high-profile Kickstarter is Yogventures, the video game of the Yogscast – you know, the ones who do those videos about Minecraft you've probably seen.
Their game – which will be developed by indie dev Winterkewl Games – will basically be, well, Minecraft. A randomly generated landscape, shapeable terrain, novel building materials, creatures and NPCs, a crafting system and physics mechanics pinning it all together.
It's a little more 3D than Minecraft, with deformable terrain by the looks of it and a less of a reliance on cubes but the basic premise is the same. Yogventures, however, much like the videocast that helped spawn the idea, will focus largely on creating your own adventures in a fashion similar to the different theme adventures that the Yogscast undertakes through YouTube.
It's not yet funded, but there's plenty of time yet. We wouldn't be surprised if it took off soon.
Similar Article: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/general/a-kickstart-roundup-double-fines-adventure-wasteland-2-shadowrun-more/
Related posts:
- OP-ED: I'm Ecstatic Over Double Fine's New Adventure Game, But I Feel Uncomfortable Donating
- Shadowrun Returns: Kickstarter Revitalises Classic RPG For PC & iPad
- Wasteland 2 Kickstarter May Start an Admirable Trend
Epic games is known these days for Xbox titles such as Gears of War, however it's sometimes easy to forget they were also one of the all-time greats in the PC arena. The Unreal series pushed the boundaries of competitive multiplayer, and even PC hardware well ahead of anything else of its day. A few select titles such as the original Gears of War and Bulletstorm made their way to the PC, however the controls just didn't transfer well to the mouse and keyboard. Those longing for the good ole days of Epic PC exclusives finally have something to look forward to, with Design Director Cliff Bleszinski confirming the existence of a PC only title to panel attendees at PAX East. 
NVidia has a homerun on its hands with the new GTX 680, however in the tablet arena they are still struggling to carve out a niche for themselves. Dozens of Android tablets are sporting the latest and greatest Tegra 3, however Apple claims to have them beat when it comes to graphics horsepower, and we've even heard rumblings that a lack of built in LTE could hamper future OEM adoption. That's not to say the Tegra 3 family isn't great lineup of SoCs, but the factors listed above could be the reason
The Asus Transformer Prime is far and away one of the most popular Android tablets on the market, and while that isn't saying much, we were still a bit surprised when 
