Well, we’ve certainly got quite a few crowdfunded projects to look at over the next few weeks, so much so that it can only be accomplished through double features. Today, for your consideration, we present American McGee’s Akaneiro: Demon Hunters and Gas Powered Games’ Wildman.
Akaneiro: Demon Hunters
If you’re familiar with American McGee’s work, you know that he has a number of fairy-tale-inspired games, such as American McGee’s Alice, American McGee’s Grimm, and Alice: Madness Returns. So it’s no wonder that he and his Spicy Horse team chose Little Red Riding Hood as inspiration for Akaneiro: Demon Hunters—as well as certain Japanese themes.
Akaneiro is an action-RPG that stars you as a member of the Order of Akane. Members battle Japanese folk monsters and demons known as Yokai, receiving red Karma Shards in return. It is because of these red shards that the Order members are known as “Red Hunters.”
The game will go the route of a free-to-play game with the ability to buy in-game currency—a system Spicy Horse likes to call the “buy it all” model. It has also been Greenlit for Steam.
So, why does this game need funding? Because they need help making “the most complete version of the game.” The major aspects they can accomplish through crowdfunding are co-op multiplayer, an equipment-crafting system, improved community support, and versions for Android and iOS tablets (on top of the Windows and Linux versions already planned). Additionally, there are more than a dozen other things they would like to add, including expanded weapon and armor varieties, a Hand/Fist weapon class and mastery, further training levels for abilities and masteries, and an improved chat system.
There are many reward tiers for the project, from the most basic ($5 USD Aka Backer Kit with wallpaper, avatars, and banners) to the extravagant ($10,000 for a fully paid trip to Shanghai, China, to meet and dine with the Spicy Horse team). In between, there are exclusive in-game items ($15 Little Red Cap’s Hooded Cloak, among others at higher tiers), digital Akaneiro comics from Dark Horse ($20; includes the exclusive item Clever Huntsman’s axe), the soundtrack ($25), several tiers that include autographed items from Alice: Madness Returns, the Akaneiro art book ($75 for a digital copy, $105 or more for a physical copy), and the ability to name and design a weapon ($250).
If you’re worried about the game not reaching its funding goal, I wouldn’t worry too much. Funding for the game has been jumping by leaps and bounds the past few days. I would be surprised if it didn’t reach its goal before its Saturday deadline.
If you wish to donate through Kickstarter, click here. If you have issues with paying through Amazon, a PayPal option is available through the official website.
Wildman
You’ve already heard a bit from us about Wildman developer Gas Powered Games’ financial troubles in a previous post. Well, you’ll be happy to know that the backers have convinced company founder Chris Taylor to continue with the campaign.
For those unfamiliar with the project, Wildman is an action-RPG with real-time strategy elements considered a spiritual successor to another GPG game, Dungeon Siege. You’ll get dropped into the middle of a war zone and fight your way out. Afterwards, you can explore the world to find secret dungeons, fight hordes of rampaging monsters, and find and equip new weapons and armor. You’ll also be able to steal technology from your enemies to use against them in future battles.
So, what will we get by funding Wildman—besides watching GPG be able to hire back their workforce? Well, bigger, richer worlds with enemies out the wazoo, translation into several languages, and the ability to mod the game to create your own worlds and game modes that you can, in turn, give away or sell in-game. Also, you’ll be paying for a score composed by Jeremy Soule, the composer behind the last three Elder Scrolls games (Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim) as well as Dawn of War, Supreme Commander, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Dungeon Siege.
Of course, there are also the rewards that will come from donating. New entry tiers for forum-posting access ($5) and access to the beta ($10) lead the way, with the Executive Edition ($10,000) topping it off. Copies of the game begin at the $20 level. The soundtrack becomes available at the $30 level. The art book and a Wildman novella become available in the Digital Collector’s Edition ($60; $45 for the next 1702 backers as of this writing). Other tiers include testing Wildman at the GPG offices in Redmond, Washington ($100); the Boxed Collector’s Edition that includes physical copies of the game, soundtrack, art book, and novella ($150); a Collector’s Edition that includes a hardcover version of the art book and 10 extra copies of the game to share with friends and family ($250); a Personal Edition that includes a Gold Level in-game credit and a personalized weapon ($1,000); and an Animated Edition that includes a special animation for your character ($2,500).
Funding is currently sitting at just under $400,000 with over two weeks to go. If you want to help out the project—and, in turn, give dozens of people their job back—then click here to go to Wildman’s Kickstarter page. Funding ends the night of February 15th.
Well, that’s what we featured this week. Here’s a quick look at other crowdfunded projects we’re currently following:
Telepath Tactics
Kickstarter Project. Status: Unsuccessful.
Coming up less than $7,000 short of its goal, the deadline passed for this Fire Emblem-style game. However, that hasn’t stopped Craig Stern and his team at Sinister Design. The team is claiming success for the ability to spread the word about the game and will try again sometime in March. Expect us to cover it once again.
Radio the Universe
Kickstarter Project. Status: Funding Successful.
The game already reached its funding goal well before we talked about it. The campaign surpassed its modest goal of $12,000, being funded seven times over. Updates are expected once every month (not sure if they will be public or for backers only). Expected release time frame is March 2014.
Elite: Dangerous
Kickstarter Project. Status: Funding Successful.
Let’s just do a roll call of what will be coming soon for this game. You get a new space exploration game for Windows and Mac OS that will include many playable ships (10 more were added by way of a stretch goal). There will also be a massive expanded universe with up to 12 books planned so far. In addition, developer Frontier Developments has released a web app to help backers manage their rewards. Expect this game to be out sometime around March 2014.
LA Game Space
Kickstarter Project. Status: Funding Successful
Going back to the first Crowdfunding Spotlight for this one. LA Game Space is currently in the development stage as the team transforms the warehouse.
Meriwether: An American Epic
Kickstarter Project. Status: Funding Successful
A couple of updates to inform you about. First, the game will be upgrading to the new Unity 4 engine, improving performance and allowing the team to include new features for character animations. Second, they are developing a level “based on the [Corps of Discovery’s] encounter with the Teton Sioux,” which, from the sound of things, could make for some interesting political gameplay. New updates have been announced for once a month. The beta is expected to be ready by August, with the final product hopefully ready by November.
And that’s it for this week’s Crowdfunding Spotlight. If you want, you can take a sneak peek at what else we have in store for the upcoming weeks.
