Kickstarter: What Games Have You Backed and Why?

rossrjensen

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Wasteland 2 — The original Fallouts are the most cherished video game experience of my life. I cannot wait to see what Fargo and company will do with a return to the post-apocalyptic setting. I have high hopes for this one. It is my most anticipated game at the moment.

Grim Dawn — I have been following this game's development for quite some time. I will admit that I am a pretty big fan of ARPG's since the original Diablo. And although I never got too deep into Titan Quest, it is supposed to be one of the best out there. The setting in this one looks really cool, and everything I have heard since the Kickstarter, such as a more open-world format and factions, makes it sound even more impressive.

Dead State — Another one I have been following for quite some time thanks to this site. Turn-based combat, impactful C&C, and a new approach to video game zombie horror all come together to make this one very promising. Being headed by Brian Mitsoda helps too, though I have also never finished VtMB.

Planetary Annihilation — Total Annihilation is my all-time favorite RTS. This one promises to do just about everything I have ever looked for in a RTS game and more. Plus that pitch video rocked!

Project Eternity — Obsidian is my favorite developer. An isometric RPG with Baldur's Gate inspiration to go with modern graphics and mechanics? Count me in! I even went deep enough with my pledge to get the expansion.

Torment: ToN — Kickstarter's biggest game in term of pledges to date. I actually played Planescape through pretty recently. A modern game with similar thoughtful themes sounds terrific. Perhaps it's slightly misplaced from the nostalgia of my past gaming days, but I have tons of faith in inXile.

Divinity: OS — Loved DD and really liked D2: DKS too, though I haven't completed it yet either (I got stuck, meaning it fell down my backlog). Larian seems to be doing everything I ever look for in a game with this. In fact, if I ever find the time, I plan to make my personal gaming magnum opus using the editor that will ship with the game. Easily my second most anticipated title.

Road Redemption — Memories of good times with Road Rash and Skitchin on the Sega Genesis were enough to snag me here. I am not real sure about the proposed guns and shooting mechanics that may be implemented though.

Chasm — This one reminded me of a Neo Geo arcade-style side-scroller mixed with a bit of Terraria (minus mining and building) and including RPG-like leveling. Looks like a good time to me.

Massive Chalice — I might have been a little caught in the hype here, but the lineage mechanics sounded interesting enough for me to take the plunge. I am not entirely sure how this one is going to look or play still though.

Satellite Reign — Syndicate with modern graphics and an open-city? Sounds awesome. And looks even better after the little gameplay video they recently released. This one and D: OS deserve more funding then they got based on the quality of what I have seen so far. This one still has a few more days to go. If you haven't seen it, check it out and pledge.

How about you?
 
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Nice post - thanks for the opportunity.

Supported:
- Grim Dawn
- Project Eternity
- Torment
- Shroud of the Avatar
- Satellite Reign

Why? for the same reasons that I am on this forum!

By the way, Satellite Reign is funded and have few days left.
 
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  • Wasteland 2
    I love the Wasteland/Fallout setting
  • Project Eternity
    Great talent working on it
  • Divinity: OS
    turn based and with an editor
  • Elite: Dangerous
    I was Elite on the C64…
  • Grimoire
    Wizardry fan
  • Ghost of a Tale
    looks good

and some more that were canceled or I have forgotten :)
 
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Most of the above, + iceblink engine (currently in alpha and I'm having a lot of fun with it - my best investment so far), antharion, paper sorcerer (love the art style!), tortured hearts 2, valygar the Viking, shadowgate, shadowrun returns, shadowrun online (kinda regret that one - not really into MMOs), and errr a couple of others I can't remember.

Heh good going on getting to elite, Hidden x! I played it for what seemed like years and never got passed "deadly". I loved it though - the thargoid traps in hyperspace were special! I didn't back the new one in the end, wish I had in retrospect. Guess i'll pick it up on release.
 
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too many to list, but basically turn-based + party-based = sell.
 
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For me all but one (not 37 though :)) are CRPG, namely
- Satellite Reign (just funded!!)
- Frontiers
- Unrest
- Divinity: Original Sin
- Consortium
- Torment

Yes, all similar, Single-player, reasonably classic
 
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I just added Balrum to my list. It seems like a feature-rich RPG, but to be honest, it will probably be a ways down my ever-growing back-log (which I have hardly made any progress on lately due to time constraints).
 
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I have funded 30 games, and now I need to make a kickstarter calendar for all the games I have upcoming.

I mostly support CRPGs but have also funded a couple board and card games. And a couple graphic novels (Tomorrow Girl and Tesla). Of course I have supported Kickstarters version of the AAA games (ShadowRun, Wasteland, Project Eternity, Numerica, Divinity)

Why do I back the games? Because I look at Kickstarter as a pre-order service not some game developer shot in the dark. Over optimistic on my part but whatever.

But the 3 projects I look most forward to are:

Arkakion = a very weird looking RPG that has creatures reminiscent of Morrowind

Among the sleep = an adventure horror game told from the perspective on a toddler.

This last project I did not get a chance to fund but it has probably made me a fan of Kickstarter for life, it was:

Lifeless Planet = an adventure game with the story of the US finally getting to Mars only to find out that we were apparently beating by the Russians a very long time ago.

It's games like that, that have me checking the Kickstarter game listings about once a week.
 
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I almost forgot about that one. It was originally scheduled for a July, 2013 release. Has it been delayed?

Yeah, they delayed it until the "last quarter of 2013" (I'm taking that to be December / January!) :). They send out monthly updates and progress is looking really good.
 
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I have backed:

Shadowrun returns - this was an instant knee-jerk pledge for me because it's shadowrun - one of my favorite P&P settings. The chance to see an actual CRPG based on it on the PC was too good to pass up, even if the team was unknown to me as a CRPG developer.

Tortured Hearts (failed) - Bit of a mercy pledge - it was not a good campaign, but I kinda liked what they were going for and wanted to express my support. When I pledged it was already almost certain they would not make it. They are still occasionally posting updates, so apparently the project is still alive. I hope they come back with a sstronger campaign one day.

Wasteland 2 - Well, who didn't.

Dead State - I followed this game from the beginning, as a regular on the ITS (Age of Decadence) forums. Although I am not a fan of the Zombie genre, I was quickly taken in by them stating it's more about survival and human interaction than zombies. So it was a pretty clear case for me to support this.

Sui Generis - high risk, high reward if they can realize their vision. It seems overambitous, but the team also showed some impressive technical skill, so I am hopeful I'll get something interesting out of it in the end.

AAIMIE (failed) - Grid based Sci Fi game, sounded fun. Why did so few people back this?

Antharion (backed twice, first time they failed, second successful)- New team, but they could show quite a bit of development already, a pretty nice engine, solid pixel art, and it's an open world game. New teams deserve a chance and this one seemed convincing enough to back. This is one of the super-minimum-shoestring budget ones, So I am curious how it will turn out.

Hero-U Rogue to redemption - Well, this was sort of a last minute pledge. The campaign seemed on the verge of not making it, and while this is not the kind of game I get super exited about, it also seemed too good to let it fail. Plus the Coles are such nice people :)

Thorvalla (failed) - well this was a really poor campaign, but I liked the setting and the basic ideas presented, and I had some trust that Guido Henkel would put something cool together in the end, so I backed it anyway.

Meriwether - inspite of some doubts regarding the gameplay, I backed it because it seemed a really unique take on the RPG genre, and because of it's historical setting. The world definitely needs more RPGs with non-Fantasy settings.

Torment - tides of Numenara - Well, how could I not? A dream team of RPG writers want to put together a spiritual sequel, to PS:T, something we thought we would never see again? Take my money. Here, take some more.

Divinity Original Sin - well I like the Divinity games. I also like Larian, for the open communication, but also because they are one of the few examples of successful mid-sized independent self-funded developers around. I want their model to succeed and other developers to follow them. Also the RPGwatch campaign and Codex rivalry was fun ;) - the latter is the main reason I pledged more for this than any other KS - i blame you, HiddenX ;)

Balrum - Falls into the same category as Antharion - new team, nice demonstration of stuff already developed. Some new ideas to set it apart with the focus on crafting and building.

There you have it. Since I generally buy other games at sales, my Steam budget probably exceeds my other game purchases over the last year.



Some I notably did not back:
Project Eternity - I was dissapointed with what I perceived to be a lack of vision here: The campaign relied heavily on the Infinity Engine nostalgia, presented a largely generic fantasy setting, and only the vaguest likewise generic plot outline. I was very disspointed that Obsidian of all developers didn't tackle something more risky, more ambitous. What I heard about it since sounds pretty good though, I'll probably buy it when it's out.

Shaker/Old School RPG - I actually liked the basic idea / setting, but come on, this was just an abysmal campaign, they had nothing prepared, nothing to show, plus the obvious pandering to "old school" fans was an additional turn-off.

Shroud of the avatar - to me it sounded the whole time like they wanted to make an MMO, but didn't quite want to scare the Ultima fans, so we get "single player will be great also!". Plus, the demos they showed, and the hour-long video updates turned me off further. Pledged initially, but withdrew.
 
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Shadowrun Returns - Slacker backered (wasn't trolling Kickstarter like I am now). TB RPG, one of my favorite word combinations.

Wasteland 2 - Slackered. Because I didn't enjoy Fallout 3 (felt like post apocalyptic Morrowind with guns). Really enjoy the theme and RPGs so anything that's more about story than exploration, I'm all for it.

Dead State - Slackered. TB RPG

Telepath Tactics - Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite games ever. Love a good story and did I mention, <3 TBS?

Tides of Numenara - Because Planescape

Divinity Original Sin - With the exception of 2, I love the Divinity series. The co-op ideas seem really interesting.

Forsaken Fortress - Slackered. RPG + base building? Yes please.

Balrum: Pretty much the same as above.

Roam: Building and mindless killing

Project Eternity - Slackered. I love Obsidian. The fact that they don't have a publisher pushing an unfinished game out the door should fix their one major problem. Absolutely love what they're trying with the monk and paladin. Hoping they build it into a great franchise.

Jagged Alliance Flashback - While JA: BiA is a decent game, it's no JA.

Stonehearth - Some interesting ideas and I really love builders.

Massive Chalice - All I can think of is FF:T + Saga Frontier 2. The heroes dying and playing a new generation was something I really enjoyed.

Satellite Reign - While I hate squad RTS in comparison to TBS, I'm willing to take a flyer here.
 
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Hmm I don't remember to be honest. I think I've put about $1500 into various Kickstarters in total, the biggest ones being Divinity, Torment and Eternity. I've backed them because I believe they can deliver special RPG experiences, not because of any particular type of gameplay or combat.
 
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I've backed the following + plus various hardware project.

Shroud of the Avatar
Divinity: Original Sin
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Dreamfall Chapters
Broken Sword
Project Eternity
Carmageddon: Reincarnation
Grim Dawn
The Banner Saga
Wasteland 2
 
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-Wasteland 2
-Project Eternity
-Torment: TON
-Divinity: OS
-Frontiers

Biggest pledge was for D:OS, because they're Belgian and awesome. :)
The rest I backed at the lowest digital copy tier, with the exception of Torment where I added a little more to get an extra add-on.
 
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Divinity Original Sin == Early access + community
Satellite Reign == Cool cyberpunk feel
Double Fine's MASSIVE CHALICE == Like the concept + Double Fine
Jagged Alliance: Flashback == JA2 + Know some of the people via The Bear Pit
Torment: Tides of Numenera == Planescape was best game evar!!1!
Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey == TLJ is best Adventure games evar!!1!
Star Citizen == Nostalgia for good Space sim
Elite: Dangerous == Elite was one of the best games of its time + space sim
Hero-U == Interesting premise + giving indie a shot
Arakion == Respect Chris as developer + giving indie a shot
Project Eternity == Obsidian team have made the best games evar!!1!
Expeditions: Conquistador == Interesting premise + giving indie a shot (like the game)
Dead State == Interesting premise
Xenonauts == Like JA2/XCom
Leisure Suit Larry == Nostalgia
Shadowrun Returns == Kick ass premise
The Banner Saga == Interesting premise + giving indie a shot
Wasteland 2 == Wasteland #1 was one of first RPGs ever played. Started the addiction.
Double Fine Adventure == Tim Schafer the brains behind Psychonauts and others.

Canceled
Shadow of the Eternals - Interesting Premise
Tortured Hearts - Whimsy
THORVALLA - Whimsy
SHAKER - Whimsy
 
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Lets see..

First and foremost, the Dungeon Management Sim "War for the Overworld"
Dungeon Keeper was one of my first, and still to this day favorite computer games. This is looking like it's going to scratch that itch, moreso than any other modern title that has danced around it like Impire, Dungeons, etc.

I support Cleve's game, the infamous Grimoire

One of the non-game kickstarters that a friend got me all excited about, and I ended up throwing a hundred bucks at is Dwarven Forge's dungeon tiles. With the stretch goals met and them far exceeding, I'm getting a ton of extra shit. Between his set and mine, we have tons of dungeon mat'l. It's gonna rock, i cant wait til October.

that's right, $1,908,155 pledged of $50,000 goal. Unreal


TUG (or "the unnamed game")
looks like everything I could ever want in a sandbox/survival/rpg/adventure/you-name-it game. I'm so there.


Worlds of Magic.
Actually this one was more of a pity-pledge. 4x strat isnt really my thing, I like more RTS style games. 4x just puts me to fucking sleep every time. But people were making fun of them, and i was feeling charitable so I threw them my support because they seem like a cool team with a vision and I think we need more people like this making games. Here's 20 bucks, good luck

And they did make their goal, so all is right ='.'=


edit -
just added 7 Days to Die

Open-world zombie survival horror rpg thing. I'm all about it
 
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Haven't backed anything yet.

I'm waiting for a single Kickstarter game to live up to its potential - before I feel I can truly trust the model. I'm sceptical, because I think there are several pitfalls that might be hard to avoid.

Unfortunately, so far, I seem to be right - though very few of the interesting ones have come out. But they've all seemed to be quite underwhelming and very limited in scope - with the recent Shadowrun being a prime example.

I don't want to support commercialism, incompetence or greed on any scale - and that includes the indie scale. I don't want to support Kickstarter as an ego-driven platform where hungry developers can get their quirky hype-oriented underdogs funded.

Seems to me there are a LOT of developers taking advantage of nostalgia - and relying on people blindly supporting anything that even remotely resembles the golden age of the 80s and 90s. It's clearly working, so far :)

I want it to be a real alternative to the publisher model, with the emphasis on gameplay, depth, complexity and a vision that doesn't corrupt itself for the masses - WITHOUT the superfluous production values of the publisher model.

I don't want "pretty" but cheap rehashes of ancient games - and I certainly don't want ancient gameplay designs dumbed down for the masses - with a spicey new old-school feel to the experience.

No, I want gameplay to EVOLVE - not proudly stagnate from where we were 20 years ago.

I need to see a demonstration of true passion - and though I'm almost certain I WILL be seeing that with one of the upcoming titles, I'm still waiting for it to actually happen.
 
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