DestinyLeah
Welcome back to the Crowdfunding Roundup. To make this series more enjoyable for everyone, we are making a few changes. The Roundup will feature three projects each week pulled from Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, with a more in-depth look at each. If a project goes on to become successful in its campaign, we will follow it separately in update articles. That keeps the weekly Crowdfunding Roundup short and fresh, with only the projects we think our fans will really enjoy. Without further ado, here are the three projects for this week.
Daymare 1998
Goal: $189,947
Days Remaining: 15
Daymare 1998 is a Kickstarter campaign that has been popping up a lot recently. It’s been in our comments, our inbox, our staff chat, and now it’s finally in an article. While it is always great to see fans of a project bringing it to our attention, it is worth noting that Daymare 1998 has some excellent professional recommendations, as well. Jeremy Blaustein is on the list, as are Resident Evil alumni Kazuhiro Aoyama, Satoshi Nakai, Kenichi Iwao, Yoshiki Okamoto, and Akari Kaida. When that many veteran game developers support your project, and Capcom itself invites you to tour their offices, you’re probably onto something.
Daymare 1998 is the first IP from Italian indie developer Invader Studios, but the team is already well known for their attempt at a modern remake of Resident Evil 2. While that project was shut down at Capcom’s request, the company has shown a great deal of excitement over the obviously Resident Evil– inspired Daymare 1998. Taking survival horror right back to its early glory days, the team is bringing back fixed camera angles, terrifying enemy encounters, and the third-person over-the-shoulder shooter. A few of you probably need new pants after that last part, but maybe wait until the end of this section.
Daymare 1998 tells the story of Keen Sight, Idaho, a happy town with happy people and a large laboratory called Hexacore Genetics. Following a massive malfunction at a Washington lab, the US government ordered the immediate transport of salvageable chemical and viral materials to Hexacore. Something went wrong in the landing and all of the materials were dropped on Keen Sight, turning its once-happy populace into a horde of gruesome creatures hell-bent on destroying anyone left alive. The only people remaining who can contain the outbreak are Hexacore Air Force pilot Raven, Hexacore Advanced Division for Extraction and Research (H.A.D.E.S.) agent Liev, and US Forest Guard Samuel. The Italians must think the US Forest Service is 10,000x more badass than it really is, and god bless them for it.
Daymare 1998 needs to raise around $153,000 in the next two weeks, so check out their page and support it if the project looks interesting to you.
The Lighthouse
Goal: $25,000
Days Remaining: 5
The Lighthouse is an indie project out of California, and is actually a remake of its 2014 2-D point-and-click iteration. The update is a fully realized game created in Unreal Engine 4, with a fleshed-out storyline and beautiful environments. The new game will feature unique puzzles, as well, and unsettling encounters with what could be hauntings.
In The Lighthouse, players take on the role of private investigator Irvine, a man who is preparing for his sixth annual visit to daughter Lily’s gravesite. Every February 18th, Irvine places a fresh candle and a pink lily on her grave and waits there until the candle burns out, but a package shoved under the door this year changed everything. In the envelope were a pink lily and a note begging for help finding a little girl named Lily who disappeared in ‘the lighthouse incident’ two years prior. Irvine could not help but take the case, and thus the events of The Lighthouse begin.
The Lighthouse is set in the 1960s, taking the modern distractions of cell phones, satellite radio, email, and always-available television out of the mix. The result is a world devoid of our comfort filters and safety nets, where the terror of going missing while no one knows your whereabouts is very real. Players can get a feel for the tension and puzzles in the short demo available on The Lighthouse kickstarter, which has five days to raise the remaining $20,000 of its goal.
Vanishing Love
Goal: $400
Days Remaining: 56
Vanishing Love is a VR survival horror game being developed by a small group out of California. It has been self-funded so far, but needs $400 to hire a 3D artist and complete production. The developers hope to bring the theme of punishment from Silent Hill 2 together with the excellent storytelling from The Stanley Parable. He also notes that resource conservation and puzzle solving will be crucial to the game, which is a nice throwback to old survival horror. The demo has flavors of P.T. and Anatomy, while managing to stay far away from clone territory.
Players will assume the role of Brian Grey, who fins himself in a nightmarish version of his usual world, filled with monsters instead of people. To escape, Brian must learn why he is there, and what has triggered this shift in reality. The world is ripe with symbolism, even down to the unique monster designs, so players will have to pay attention to every aspect of the game to fully understand its story.
Vanishing Love has just shy of two months to raise $400, which should not be a hard task. The developers seem more concerned with using the Kickstarter as a way to garner support for the game and build an audience prior to heading to Steam Greenlight than funding the last leg of the project. That shows high confidence that the project will be finished regardless, and is a good use of crowdfunding to build community by a tiny indie team. There is a demo for Vanishing Love, but don’t expect to get it for free. Those interested in playing the demo can either back the project for $1, or submit a signed form promising to upload video of them playing the demo to YouTube in exchange for a ‘free’ copy. As a third option, potential players can just watch the videos others are uploading instead of playing the demo themselves. No matter which path you choose, you’ve got more than enough time to check out this project and let us know what you think.
