Tag Archives: Kickstarter

One-Shots

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

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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, 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, 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 of Quest for Glory’s 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 →

One-Shots

The Secrets We Keep: A Modern Love Story

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I’ll level with you, dear reader: as a heterosexual man, I’ve never really made checking out boys’ love (BL) media a particular priority — though I must also admit that I’ve been curious for quite a while to see what it’s like.

My past experiences with otome games aimed at heterosexual women have been universally positive, after all (play Sweet Fuse, it’s amazing!) so there’s absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t be able to enjoy a BL title, too. As I’ve discovered since leaving the mainstream side of gaming behind, keeping an open mind and stepping outside of what you might typically think of as your “comfort zone” pretty much always pays off with some memorable experiences.

And thus, when independent developer Studio Senpai reached out and asked me to take a look at their work-in-progress visual novel The Secrets We Keep, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take my first steps into a brave new world. Also, the concept of the novel sounded highly intriguing, too, so that definitely helped! So let’s explore together.

Continue reading The Secrets We Keep: A Modern Love Story →

One-Shots

Bluemoonpark: The Most Precious Wings

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It’s always a pleasure when a developer, publisher or localiser reaches out to me and asks if I’ll take a look at their project, because it tends to expose me to things that I might otherwise have been unaware of.

In turn, I can then share those things with you, and you can check them out as well! Everyone wins.

The latest title I’ve encountered in this manner is Bluemoonpark, an upcoming Kickstarter-funded visual novel by LA-based startup Amateras Inc and Korean developers Archive Factory Creative Group and Project Team Heimdallr. Let’s take a first look!

Continue reading Bluemoonpark: The Most Precious Wings →

One-Shots

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

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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, 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 →

One-Shots

VenusBlood Frontier: Divine Conquest

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If you are one of the many people disappointed in the recent news surrounding Sony cracking down on content with even the slightest 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 kerfuffle  surrounding the cancellation of Omega Labyrinth Z 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 excellent Evenicle 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 about VenusBlood Frontier, 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: 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 →

One-Shots

Slipstream: The Road to ’80s Arcade Racing Nirvana

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OutRun is consistently cited as one of the best, most influential arcade games of all time, so it’s surprising Sega hasn’t done more with it over the years.

And speaking more broadly, I’ve seen enough people bemoaning the lack of arcade-style racing games in today’s landscape that it’s even more surprising more developers haven’t attempted to capitalise on this apparent hunger for old-school, no-frills racing.

It was with this in mind that, on January 16 2016, when my friend Chris (of MoeGamer Podcast fame) noted that “here’s a Kickstarter worth $5“, I didn’t hesitate to fling the aforementioned five bucks in the direction of Slipstream, a humble project from solo Brazilian developer Sandro Luiz de Paula, aka ansdor — someone who seemingly wanted nothing more than to make a new OutRun.

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Call

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I have a bit of a thing for robot girls, I won’t lie.

It’s perhaps more accurate to say that I have a bit of a thing for certain types of robot girls, particularly those as depicted in Japanese video games and anime. I am, to be specific, a fan of robot girls who speak Japanese in a voice that simultaneously sounds kind of emotionless but also infused with urgency; a fan of robot girls who deliver their lines with a delightfully percussive, clipped tone; and, of course, robot girls who are cute.

I most certainly, in short, have a bit of a thing for Call from Mighty No. 9.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Call →

Cover Games

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

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cropped-header-6691213This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
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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 for Mighty No. 9 promised something a lot of people were hungry for: a new Mega Man game in all but name. And oh 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 it actually that bad?

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

Essentials, Puzzlers

Puzzler Essentials: HuniePop

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HuniePop from Ryan Koons’ studio HuniePot was partly developed as a sort of “protest” game: an attempt to fight back against the growing trend of political correctness that was starting to take root in the games industry.

There was clearly demand for such a game, even back in late 2013; a successful Kickstarter campaign allowed those who were similarly frustrated with the situation to put their money where their mouth was and show their support for the kind of thing they wanted to see more of: something lewd, crude and rude — and unashamed of being any of those things.

The remarkable thing about HuniePop was that it ended up being a damn good game as well as a resounding middle finger to the “everything is problematic” crowd. Not only that, it also demonstrated that independent Western developers were more than capable of putting interesting new twists on Japanese-style aesthetics by combining anime-style artwork with a hilariously abrasive and distinctively modern, American script.

Continue reading Puzzler Essentials: HuniePop →