Crowdfunding: The Best of The Best

After having gone through the crazy, emotional and extremely exciting experience that was Kickstarter ourselves, I can't help but feel that word of mouth really has much more of an impact than anyone might think. And there are so many wonderful funding campaigns out there, constantly, deserving of far more attention than they are actually getting!

So, without any further ado, I welcome you all to go ahead and post any notable projects, gaming or otherwise, right here in this thread. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, even just a web site with a Paypal donation box-- all are welcome here.

I'll go ahead and get us started here with two notable entries from two different genres!

FRAN BOW (A Very Creepy Point and Click Adventure) -- Before anything else, I just have to give major kudos to the art style, which manages to look like a cross between Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket and Day of the Tentacle all rolled into one. I also have a weakness for "psychotic little girl" narratives, and the gaming style itself feels truly classic (in the best of ways). Definitely give it a look if you're into traditional adventure games!

HEAVY WATER: A Feature Film -- An independent film project centered around the harsh realities of drug addiction and broken family ties, taken to the next level with science fiction elements to add an unsettling dystopian feel to the proceedings. Definitely a solid group of film-makers here, along with a very talented cast-- go and check them out!

Lacuna Passage: A hard sci-fi mystery --- You wake up on Mars. What happened? Where is my crew? Why can't I remember anything?
Oh sh** I'm running out of oxygen. I have to find shelter. There's a rover over there, better check it out. Maybe I can piec- *crunch* What was that!? Fellow crew member?.....Nothing there. Have to keep walking. Found the rover, had vague reports on a mission called "Heracles". Was I on that mission?
Why can't I find anyone? My head hurts. I have to get out of here. I need some water, I've been in this suit too long. I have to get out of here! All I see is red. Where am I even going? Are those...footsteps? I'VE BEEN GOING IN CIRCLES!!! I can't breathe, if I can just get this mask off...GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!

Anyway, this game has great potential. Pre-alpha footage, uses real science along with real Mars topography. Also uses real NASA concepts of habitats and transport vehicles.

Here's a few that I'm currently backing:

Precinct - Precinct is a new police adventure video game from Jim Walls, creator of the classic Sierra series “Police Quest”.

Alice: Otherlands - Rendered in beautiful 3D animation, Alice enters the "Otherlands" of London's most beautiful and terrifying minds.

Alum - A retro classic point&click adventure game. All original storyline, world, characters, puzzles, ect... A quest of epic proportions!

There's also that Sierra documentary, but I've lost all hope or interest in that project.

These are the current campaigns i'm backing:

Adventurezator Create your own adventure game without doing any programming or art design. OK, the result won't be as good as St. Chris. But it sounds like a lot of fun.

the Dyvox sandbox Create boats, planes, buildings, ... out of blocks and other items and use them to combat user generated campaigns.

DwarfCorp Exploit simulated dwarf miners and build you're own Moria in this mining simulator.

BalrumAn open world RPG where you can also build your own house and farm your own herbs for potions.

I'm also backing Lacuna Passage, which is funded now and the campaign ends in less than a day.

I'm also backing Precinct, Celestial Tales Old North and Shadow of the Eternals.

Intendant S wrote:There's also that Sierra documentary, but I've lost all hope or interest in that project.

Selena-- out of curiosity, why did you lose interest??

I guess this comment sums up my (and others) feelings on the matter:

Luke, listen to the community here. You're not just hurting your chances of getting funded but hurting your chances of EVER having a successfully crowdfunded endeavour. Unless you guys get your act together and stop ignoring us and listening to our advice you're going to get nowhere.
I want this project to succeed as much as any other Sierra fan, but you're not helping matters by keeping silent. I've seen projects that did a LOT more communication and fail miserably. You're actually VERY lucky to have gotten what you have so far. Don't squander the opportunity to have so many rabid fans at your back.

Or this:

This is rather depressing. Not even an attempt to defend themselves. They've just gone and given up. It's like they don't care about the project, which is rather sad.

Or this:

@Nelson: Such an excellent question. Luke, tell us. WHY should we care? If there IS a third attempt, I'm pretty certain a lot of us will not be backing it. Just because of the way you handled the first two. Silence is NOT the way to handle a Kickstarter.

Laney, thanks for making me aware of Fran Bow! It looks awesomely cute and creepy at the same time, so I had to back it! They have a playable demo for those of you who want to check it out.

I found Fran Bow to be too creepy for my tastes.  Besides, I have problems with IndiGoGo (don't ask).  Still, I did an article on it for the blog.  Check it out: http://www.kickstartadventure.com/home/now-on-indigogo-fran-bow/

And I'm also backing a Pathfinder RPG supplement called Ponies for Pathfinder.  Think My Little Pony meets Dungeons & Dragons.

Do you remember the days when you’d hear the line “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this”? While there have been a couple action-adventure games covered in a “Currently Kickstarting” article, none have captured the charm of the early days of the likes of the original Legend of Zelda games. Sword ‘N’ Board looks to be one more game that will tickle your nostalgic bone. Instead of a point-and-click romp through a Sierra or LucasArts style game, you’re hacking and slashing your way through dungeons.

The mind is such a complicated thing. People have been diving into the human psyche for ages, trying to plumb its depths and unlock its secrets. Which is why it comes as to no surprise that psychological horror is such a popular subgenre in media these days. The latest adventure addition to the Kickstarter stables is Shades of Sanity, a contender for surreal and maddening awesomeness.

I played the Sword 'N' Board demo. I think Robert has all the right ideas, and I love the style.  The demo is pretty basic, but I'm impressed that he got a playable version up for KS all by himself!   I noticed this in the Aug 15 update: "Also, since it seems to be a pretty big thing that people want, I will also be giving the game 8 directional movement, so you'll be able to move Sidd diagonally!"   I hope that also means diagonal attacks.   It could be a really great game, and needs funding help.

I virtually "sat down" with Robert Busey to ask him a few questions about himself and Sword 'N' Board. Learn more about the man behind Sidd!

http://www.kickstartadventure.com/home/interview-with-robert-busey-creator-of-sword-n-board/

That's a lovely interview Serena, thanks for sharing!

I never had to live through a "blackout" like Robert did, but I grew up before the Internet and I was well-acquainted with elaborating my own imagination in backyard and woodland adventures. I find it really touching that Robert has sought to translate his technology-deprived experience into a classic style game. I really want that KS to succeed.

Wonderful interview, Serena-- I really LOVE the look of Sword 'N' Board. The graphics are outstanding-- I need to give the demo a try now!

In any case, I've got another one for you all. Here's the blurb:

CONSPIROCRACY: A schoolteacher wakes to find his entire life is missing from public record. His bank account, his health care, his credit cards are all frozen when the government declares him to be a non-person. As he takes the steps necessary to pull his life back together, he becomes aware of nefarious forces that have conspired against him. The truth, it seems, is rarely pure and never simple.

The best part is that part of the proceeds go to the Foundation Fighting Blindness! Really, check it out, it has the looks of a traditional point-and-click, but with some unique twists. And one of our own backers, Edwyn Tiong, voices the lead!

That project looks great and it's awesome that they're putting some of the funds towards a worthy cause. Too bad it's IndiGoGo or I'd back it. I'll still support it with an article, though.

What is it about IndieGoGo that ticks you off, Selena?

The fact that they only take PayPal and PayPal hates me. If they were using any other payment method I'd probably have no problem.

I've never liked that a lot of Indiegogo's projects have flexible funding.

I think I've only backed one project on that site, which was "J.U.L.I.A.". Those guys went through hell with their publisher and deserved to survive.

I almost backed "Gods Will Be Watching", which just looked fantastic. I don't know why I didn't.

Steel and Steam

Steel & Steam is a retro fantasy steampunk JRPG taking place in a large scale world. Need I say more?

Well, I did the best I could for Conspirocracy and posted a "Currently Kickstarting" article for it. Someone let them know that it's up, please, since for some reason IndiGoGo won't let me contact anyone without backing the project first. Here's the link: http://www.kickstartadventure.com/home/now-on-indigogo-conspirocracy-2/

Elementary, My Dear Holmes!

A point-and-click adventure game starring legendary sidekick John Watson on an epic quest to prove that Sherlock Holmes is just a jerk.

Survival horror is such a popular genre in gaming, and we have yet another adventure with supernatural leanings to showcase in “Currently Kickstarting”. U55 – End of the Line looks to be another great addition to the roster with not only crap-your-pants horror, but it also offers the use of a unique technology that can make your blood curdle with feelings of fear and anxiety if done right. Get ready to experience a subway ride that you won’t soon forget. Read on if you dare.

U55 looks great.

"Elementary My Dear Holmes" sounds like a scam and people are starting to figure it out.

Guy finds a pattern

Joystiq covers the story about GridIron Thunder

Story run by Kotaku

Read the comments

Another Pattern

Sounds like they're funding themselves, using fake accounts with an absurdly high average per backer, knowing that Ouya executives will pay them back in the "Free the Games" Ouya  contest.

I don't think it's a scam, at least not on the part of the developers. I do agree that something smells fishy and I wouldn't be surprised if the OUYA peeps have something to do with it.

Remember in the developers chat where we talked about the greatness of Uwe Boll?

The Uwe Boll Kickstarter. Yes this is real.