Tag Archives: crowdfunding

I’m Not Okay: Speaking Frankly About Mental Health, Frustration and Ambition

Hello, dear readers. I’m going to take you a bit “behind the curtain” today, as there are some things I need to talk about for the sake of my own wellbeing.

Oddly enough, the last time I talked about this stuff was at roughly the same time last year, so I’m not sure if there’s something in the air in August or what… but regardless, apologies in advance if I end up going over any of the same ground, which I probably will.

Normal business will resume tomorrow, but for today… indulge me if you will, please. These things are important to talk about.

Continue reading I’m Not Okay: Speaking Frankly About Mental Health, Frustration and Ambition

Editorial: Supporting the Little Guys

Good morning folks! There’s a MoeGamer 2019 Awards post coming later today, along with Warriors Wednesday, but a few things have been on my mind of late, so I wanted to think them through “out loud” and share those thoughts with you.

What I’m going to talk about today was primarily sparked by the recent plagiarism accusations levelled towards Niche Gamer by Sal Romano of Gematsu, but it also ties in with other surrounding matters such as the horrendous attitude towards a wide variety of marginalised groups displayed by One Angry Gamer and the hostile and abusive point of view expressed by the mainstream press towards fans of particular types of entertainment.

Let’s talk!

Continue reading Editorial: Supporting the Little Guys

Summer Daze at Hero-U: Corey Cole Talks Kickstarter, Characters as Puzzles and More

While the idea of the “gaming auteur” is a relatively recent concept thanks to modern creators such as Hideo Kojima, Taro Yoko and Goichi Suda, those of you who have been gaming for as long as I have will doubtless be able to name some “big names” from much earlier in the evolution of the medium.

Many of these names were associated with Sierra, a company established at the very dawn of computer gaming history in 1979 that became primarily known for its adventure games — though this was far from the only type of software they put out.

One of Sierra’s most beloved franchises from “back in the day”, was Quest for Glory,Β a series of five games that offered an engaging blend of point-and-click adventuring, role-playing game mechanics and a pun-tastic sense of humour. These were the creation of Lori Ann and Corey Cole, a married couple who, between them, displayed considerable flair for both game design and entertaining writing.

In 2018, the Coles brought us Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption,Β a long-awaited spiritual successor to Quest for Glory that featured the pair’s iconic blend of good humour and solid design. Now, in the year ofΒ Quest for Glory’sΒ 30th anniversary, development has begun on a new Hero-U title, so I took some time to chat with Corey about its influences, what the pair learned from the previous game, and how we can expect to be enjoying our Summer Daze at Hero-U.

Continue reading Summer Daze at Hero-U: Corey Cole Talks Kickstarter, Characters as Puzzles and More

#ThankYouPatrons – A Message of Gratitude

I posted this quite late last night, so although it’s technically a day late I’d like to share something important.

Yesterday was #ThankYouPatrons day on Patreon, and creators from all over the world have been sharing messages of gratitude for the people who support them — whether it’s generous contributors on Patreon or similar services, or those who help out in other ways, such as leaving likes and comments, following on blog pages and social media, subscribing on YouTube and all that good stuff.

I love doing this, and every day I am filled with gratitude that other people enjoy and appreciate what I do, too. So hopefully that comes across in this message to you all.

If you’d like to support my work, please do stop by Patreon to find out more, and get access to exclusive daily blog posts, weekly vlogs and monthly wallpapers. You can find my Patreon page at https://patreon.com/petedavison.

Magical Diary: Wolf Hall – A Wolf in Wizard’s Clothing

Those of you who have been following my work for a while may recall a good few years back now I was rather enthusiastic about a game called Magical Diary: Horse Hall.

This unusual game, developed by Hanako Games and Spiky Caterpillar, blended elements of visual novel, life sim and first-person dungeon crawler to create something very interesting indeed — and something that was clearly intended to be the start of a series.

That was back in 2012. Now, in 2019, we’re finally getting a follow-up — so let’s take a first look at what the sequel,Β Magical Diary: Wolf Hall, has to offer, and how Hanako Games and Spiky Caterpillar will be making use of crowdfunding to realise their goals.

Continue reading Magical Diary: Wolf Hall – A Wolf in Wizard’s Clothing

VenusBlood Frontier: Divine Conquest

If you are one of the many people disappointed in the recent news surrounding Sony cracking down on content with even the slightestΒ whiff of “adultness” about it, you need to start paying attention to the Japanese PC games market if you’re not already.

Parallel to all the kerfuffleΒ  surrounding the cancellation of Omega Labyrinth ZΒ and the news that Xseed was being forced to cut out the “Intimacy” feature from the upcoming Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal, the localised Japanese PC games market has quietly been becoming an even more open and welcoming place to fans of games with adult content than it was already: just recently we’ve seen the release of AliceSoft’s excellentΒ EvenicleΒ on Steam, MangaGamer is continuing to work on English versions of the Rance series… and a long-running, well-received series of fantasy-themed games is getting a much-anticipated localisation.

I’m talking aboutΒ VenusBlood Frontier,Β an upcoming Kickstarter-funded localisation project that, as I type this, you have a little over a day to back if it sounds like something you might want to see more of. Hop on over to Kickstarter if you’ve already made your mind up… or read on if you want to know more.

NOTE:Β For those who care about such things, I am a Kickstarter backer of this project but am otherwise unaffiliated with either Ninetail or JAST USA. Continue reading VenusBlood Frontier: Divine Conquest

Mighty No. 9: “Better than Nothing” – The Game People Love to Hate

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Mighty No. 9 is an interesting tale from 21st century gaming that has doubtless been very influential… though perhaps not in the way that was originally hoped for.

One of the earliest success stories of the crowdfunding boom in the early 2010s, the Kickstarter campaign forΒ Mighty No. 9Β promised something a lot of people were hungry for: a newΒ Mega ManΒ game in all but name. And ohΒ boy, people were hungry for it; the campaign smashed through its initial $900,000 goal within days of its announcement, and the final total raised through crowdfunding cleared $4 million.

It was a game that should have gone down in gaming history. Instead, its lasting legacy was as an example of how not to manage a crowdfunding campaign, and a final product that had a somewhat mixed reception. But was itΒ actuallyΒ that bad?

Continue reading Mighty No. 9: “Better than Nothing” – The Game People Love to Hate