Tag Archives: Kickstarter

Train2Game News: Kickstarter record blasted away

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The two crowd-funding efforts for Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen have come to a close, bringing in a combined $6.2m in pledges.

The game’s Kickstarter wrapped up yesterday at $2.1m in funding and over 34,000 backers, added to the $4.1m raised from the already concluded Roberts Space Industry drive. This smashed the old record, previously held by Tim Schafer which earned $3million.

Roberts’ said “I am absolutely elated by the incredible outpouring of support for this project.

“It’s clear that space sim fans have just been waiting for a game like ours to come along and rekindle some of the excitement that’s been missing from PC games and the space sim genre. With the resources that our fans have provided, it means the team will be able to provide more features in Star Citizen and deliver an even better game.

“With all the tools and tech currently available, I can now make a game that really provides gamers with cutting-edge visuals, a highly detailed, immersive world and visceral, heart-pounding combat that only the PC can provide.

In fact, PC gamers don’t need to take a back seat to any other platform. With Star Citizen, I want them to be able to stand up, be counted and completely enjoy all that their PC can deliver.”

Star Citizen’s development schedule has an alpha planned for a years time for backers who met or exceeded the $30 tier.

Stories such as these are incredibly inspirational as it shows that if the game idea is good you can do amazing things. With a good game, the sky is the limit.

Train2Game News: App in development to ease gamer frustration

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A new app is in development that will allow gamers to take a screenshot of where they are in a game and a walkthrough will be found for them.

Sometimes gamers get stuck in a level and need help clearing it. This means going through the tedious process of pausing the game, reading through hundreds of search engine results and then, just maybe, finding the right help. With this new app developed by Noah Glaser, owner of popular gaming site LegendZelda.net, this could be a thing of the past.

Glaser’s goal is to create this easy-to-use app by May 2013. He will create the app which allows frustrated gamers to simply pull out their phones, take a picture of the screen and submit it. This will pull up a guide in both text/image and video formats for that particular section of the game and how to get past it. No hard-to-follow written steps, the Game Image Recognition Walkthrough App will provide textual and visual demonstration.

This is an interesting and potentially very helpful idea but to develop it he is funding it through Kickstarter.

The bonuses he is giving if you pledge are listed below:

Pledge $10 or more
·         Free app
·         LegendZelda.net logo sticker

Pledge $30 or more
·         Free app
·         LegendZelda.net logo sticker
·         LegendZelda.net bumper sticker

Pledge $50 or more
·         Free app
·         LegendZelda.net bumper sticker
·         Zelda keychain

Pledge $100 or more
·         Free app
·         Zelda plush doll

Pledge $200 or more
·         Free app
·         LegendZelda.net bumper sticker
·         Zelda guidebook

Pledge $350 or more
·         Free app
·         LegendZelda.net logo bumper sticker
·         Zelda branded t-shirt
·         Zelda plush doll

Pledge $500 or more
·         Free app
·         LegendZelda.net logo bumper sticker
·         Built-in recognition within the app
·         Zelda Wii, n64, ds, or 3ds game of your choice

You can pledge here.

Glaser’s gaming sites have a large following and well-established communities which provide him with reliable connections for launching the new app. Through your funding and Glaser’s connections, the app would help gamers worldwide play better and smarter without the frustrating delays of getting through difficult levels.

Train2Game News: Mid-week round up – 31.10.11

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Possibly the biggest news this week is that Disney has purchased LucasArts for $4.05 billion. In doing so Disney now has the rights to everything in the Star Wars vaults. The plan is to release Star Wars episode VII in a couple of years time. LucasArts also makes some of the games in the Star Wars universe so this could mean changes in future games from the company. We will have to wait and see.

Grand Theft Auto V has finally had a release date confirmed. The highly anticipated fifth part of the saga will be coming to PS3 and Xbox360 in Spring 2013. There has been no mention of a PC release as of yet but it is common for Rockstar to release their PC versions several months later.

Another release date has been announced this time for Peter Molyneux’s Curiosity: What’s inside the cube. The release date has been given as November 7 for iOS and Android. The app will be free to download and play.

One of my most favourite games of this year is Borderlands 2 and it has just surpassed five million sales. The sales include retail and digital sales. Take-Two said it has become “one of the most successful releases in [subsidiary] 2K’s history”. In addition Borderlands Legends has been released for iOS today.

The Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 trailer hit the world on Monday. The trailer was directed by Guy Ritchie and has a cameo from Robert Downey Jr. You can watch the trailer here.

Kickstarter, the most popular vehicle for crowdfunding games development projects, is now available in the UK. Previously UK-based developers could only pledge, but not create projects, now they can seek funding on the platform.

A sequel to the terrifying Amnesia: Dark Descent has been announced with a creepy trailer to get you in the Halloween spirit. Frictional games have always asked for fans to record screams, whimpers and blood curdling shrieks to be put in to the game. You can email your screams to piggies@thechineseroom.co.uk. The trailer can be seen here.

Lastly in more worrying news the terrible storm, Hurricane Sandy, that has hit the US has knocked out Activisions data centers and shut down online play for a number of games including Call Of Duty and Guitar Hero. My best wishes go out to all those affected by the storm.

Train2Game News: Kickstarter rides in to the UK

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The popular business model, Kickstarter is coming to the United Kingdom on October 31.

Kickstarter is the service that allows developers to show their plans and ideas to the public and, if it is liked, people can donate money to the development of the project. It lets consumers decide what gets created.

Kickstarter has announced that it will be opening to projects in the UK on October 31, 2012. Users can begin building their projects today.

The Kickstarter team said “We thought the three-week gap would give everyone plenty of time to build and tweak their projects before launching. Beginning October 31, they can launch and share their projects with the world.”

Kickstarter really flexed its muscles in February earlier this year with Tim Schafer’s Double Fine. Their latest project earned record breaking funding. It has seen many high profile developers creating new interesting projects, which some publishers may not of allowed them to do.

UK campaign amounts will be listed in pounds sterling but international parties that attribute will see their donations in the approximate equivalent of dollars.

Other localised changes see UK backers not being redirected to Amazon for payment, international shipping has been streamlined, and new options are available to campaign organisers to alter reward tiers for international backers.

Train2Game news: Double Fine Kickstarter hits $3 million with just hours until deadline

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Train2Game students only have a few hours left if they want to back Tim Schafer’s Kickstarter project to receive exclusive access to the Beta when the Double Fine adventure reaches that stage.

With mere hours to go before investment for the crowd funding project closes, Double Fine Adventure has topped $3 million in backing from fans.

If you wish to pledge your support to Tim Schafers Kickstarter project, you can do so here, so long as it’s before the end of today.

For more about Double Fine Adventure beta access, see this post on The Train2Game Blog. The Kickstarter project’s goal was to reach $400,000, a target that was reached a matter of hours after the funding page went live.

Double Fine will present a special live stream to mark the end of their Kickstarter campaign, which will be able to watched on their UStream channel from 10 p.m. GMT.

This video featuring Double Fine’s Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert discussing game design is also interesting viewing for Train2Game students.

Get more news about Double Fine here on The Train2Game Blog.

Have you pledged support to Double Fine’s Kickstarter project? If so, what are your main reasons for doing so?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Double Fine Adventure Game donators get exclusive beta access

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Train2Game students may have seen last week’s post about Double Fine reaching the $400,000 required to develop their Kickstarter funded project.

Well, a week later Adventure Game has raised over $1,850,000 and Double Fine’s Tim Schafer has released an update explaining what the studio can do with the extra cash.

Speaking in a video, Schafer thanks everyone for their support and reveals Adventure Game will be developed for PC, Mac and Linux as well as Android and Ios mobile operating systems.

The extra money also means that Double Fine’s Adventure game will have a full voice cast in the English version, with text translations into French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Schafer also reveals that all Kickstarter donators will have the exclusive opportunity to beta test the game through Steam, and that when the game is released, backers versions will be DRM free.

Watch a rather sleepy looking Tim Schafer give the first update about Double Fine Adventure Game in the video below.

There’s still time to lend your support to the project, and you can donate via the Double Fine Adventure Game Kickstarter page.

What do you make of the support for the project? Have you funded Double Fine Adventure Game?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Double Fine turns to crowd funding for new project, reaches $400,000 goal in hours

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Train2Game students should find this news very interesting. Double Fine, the studio of adventure game veteran Tim Schafer have turned to Kickstarter – the crowd funding service for creative projects – in order to develop a brand new game.

The adventure game from the man behind the Monkey Island series, has reached the $400,000 needed to fund the project in just a matter of hours.

Members of the public can use Kickstarter to fund indie game projects, with studios, including Double Fine, offering incentives to those who pledge certain amounts.

“Crowd-sourced fundraising sites like Kickstarter have been an incredible boon to the independent development community,” said Schafer.

“They democratize the process by allowing consumers to support the games they want to see developed and give the developers the freedom to experiment, take risks, and design without anyone else compromising their vision.”

“It’s the kind of creative luxury that most major, established studios simply can’t afford. At least, not until now.”

What Train2Game student may be particularly interested in is that Schafer has committed to using the funds not only to make a brand new, old school adventure game, but also to make monthly behind the scenes documentaries showcasing the game development process.

“There’s an unprecedented opportunity to show the public what game development of this calibre looks like from the inside,” he said

“This documentary series will strive to make the viewer as much a part of the process as possible by showing a game grow from start to finish, with all the passion, humour, and heartbreak that happens along the way.”

“Double Fine is committed to total transparency with this project, ensuring it is one of the most honest depictions of game development ever conceived.” Schafter added.

For more information about the Double Fine project, and the awards available to backers, visit the Double Fine adventure Kickstarter project page.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Double Fine turning to Kickstarter? Would you consider using the model? Will you donate to Double Fine?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game Forum.