Back in 2012, the creators of Quest for Glory, Corey and Lori Cole, went to Kickstarter to look for funding for a new PC adventure game Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption. Funding came down to the wire as the campaign reached its goal with only a few hours left. Fast forwarding to today, Hero-U and the Coles are back again, though maybe not in the way you anticipated.
A new Kickstarter campaign is live for the adventure game. This time, the goal is $100,000 and, as of this writing, is nearly a quarter of the way funded. While it is odd to see a game that had already been funded get a second campaign, it isn’t unprecedented. Anima – Gate of Memories had what they called an “extended campaign” which saw even more funds come in after their initial campaign ended. Guns of Icarus Online has had two campaigns: one for the main game, one for adventure mode. And need I remind you of the constant crowdfunding that Star Citizen is going through (current estimated funds raised: $1 million bajillion trillion… or maybe just $82 million).
So why are the Coles coming back for more funding? Well, from the game’s website:
Right now, the game has 60 unique areas and several hundred unique events. Hero-U is the kind of game you play over and over again because there is so much to see and do that you can’t do it all in one play-through. However, we want to make Hero-U even more exciting.
We will use the funds to open up new sections of the game. There’s the temple of Gog-Sosloth, the Skull Wall, and the Unspeakable Horror that guards the wreck of the Royal Flush. The Master Wraith will lurk in the Catacombs and the Tower Garden will be available for late-night trysts. We can add all these things and more with the Kickstarter funds.
There is also this little nugget from the campaign page.
We have talked to many adventure game developers, and nearly all of their projects went over budget. They have either absorbed the costs themselves or obtained venture capital.
We chose not to seek outside funding because we want Hero-U to be a game of, by, and for our many heroes. Kickstarter is where we began, and we would like this to be a wholly crowd-funded game.
As for the previous campaign:
In November of 2012, we raised over $400,000 through Kickstarter toward the development of a top-down “rogue-like game with story” based on a previous project developed by our lead programmer. However, as we started to get feedback from our backers, we realized that the majority of them wanted a game more like Quest for Glory, the award-winning game series that Lori and I developed in the 1990s.
Hero-U has evolved into a much larger and more expensive project. While it is taking much longer than we originally planned, the result will be far more than we originally imagined possible. We think it will be a great game and one you will love playing.
It should also be noted that the Coles are also putting their own money into this game, which includes a home equity loan. They also will not be taking any salary until the game is published and all debts repaid.
So, if you wish to help out a second time — or maybe this is your first time and you think this looks interesting — go to their Kickstarter page between now and 3AM EDT on June 16th. Also, if you’re a previous backer and are wondering if you need to up your donation to receive new rewards, here’s a little something from the FAQ that will hopeful clarify some things:
I backed at the $35 or higher level last time. Do I need to choose Double Time to get the Hint Book?
No, you’re covered. We decided to add a digital Hint Book and strategy guide to the game, but we will make it available to anyone who chose the Sophomore ($35) level or higher in the 2012 campaign. The new $20 tier is designed specifically for backers who chose the Freshman level last time and want to upgrade their rewards this time.
Hero-U is expected to be launched in beta later this year.
