The Big Blue (that Ecco thing) kickstarted after all.
I doubt I’ll pledge but I’ll keep a lazy eye on it.
It’s for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
Prototype here.
It’s a questionable project with the stretch goal taking it to the mmo route etc.
The Big Blue (that Ecco thing) kickstarted after all.
I doubt I’ll pledge but I’ll keep a lazy eye on it.
It’s for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
Prototype here.
It’s a questionable project with the stretch goal taking it to the mmo route etc.
[quote=“Al3xand3r”]The Big Blue (that Ecco thing) kickstarted after all.
I doubt I’ll pledge but I’ll keep a lazy eye on it.
It’s for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
Prototype here.
It’s a questionable project with the stretch goal taking it to the mmo route etc.[/quote]
To be honest I have agree that it’s questionable. After reading the whole thing, watching the video, playing the prototype (which they probably shouldn’t have released) and going over the stretch goals and the pledges… I can’t say it’s a project that inspires confidence. I’m backing the project nonetheless, hopefully they can fill out the details a bit in the following days. I didn’t expect them to ask as much money as they did though, reaching that goal is definitely not going to be easy…
Yeah, I’m sure most people would have been way happier if it was something like Aquaria (a self funded indie project that most certainly didn’t cost that much to make) instead of this thing. Just beautiful 2D art, great music, mood, and good gameplay. I don’t understand this.
Ed had to pull the mention of turning the game into an MMO after getting a lot of negative feedback on it. Not sure what they were thinking anyway, especially with offering a lifetime subscription on the MMO in the pledges… I’ve started voicing my concerns over several aspects of the project in the comments on the Kickstarter page. The project missed its start and something is really going to have to change for the project to meet its goal.
The MMO stretch goal does seem odd. Perhaps they were planning a separate sub game that uses the same engine, rather than expanding the single player campaign into an MMO. Focus is good though; I can imagine the MMO development taking away time from the single player campaign.
I think making the game 3D is a good idea. To capture the feeling of being underwater, a 360 experience will help create that illusion. Perhaps they didn’t need to make the pledge goal so high though, especially as the game shouldn’t need voice acting (if all the characters are indeed non-human animals).
You know, after doing more research I’m actually considering canceling my pledge altogether. There’s a lot of warning signs that I initially ignored simply because I’m a big fan of the Ecco the Dolphin games, but what they’re promising is simply not something they can deliver on. I’m still going to wait a bit to see if they show us something other than stock images and videos (even the prototype seems to use stock 3D models from Unity’s assets store), but like Al3xand3r I also don’t understand what they’re trying to accomplish here. Why not make another 2D action/adventure game? There’s plenty of people that would support that.
I just tried the prototype. The game appears to be very early in development. I think they should have waited until they had something more substantial to show. Draikin, what makes you think they can’t deliver (if they meet the pledge goal)?
http://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/1216396/jellyfish-ascending-blue.html
http://www.unseen64.net/2008/06/02/virtual-ocean-ps2pc-cancelled/
http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/121410-Sea-life-pack (take a look at the ammonite)
I think that should sound a few alarm bells.
Maybe they’ll replace the assets with their own once the game is further along in development. Or perhaps they’ll use the Unity assets for the more generic creatures. I assume it’s legal if they pay for the assets. Using preexisting assets for some parts of the game would give them more time to work on other parts that need unique models. I agree that they haven’t really shown anything substantial. If the Kickstarter fails, they should relaunch it when they’re further along in development.
The problem is that I don’t think there’s any development going on. When using Kickstarter it’s crucial to be honest and transparent about the project. That’s not the impression I’m getting. They state for example how they’ve very experienced in lighting and water effects. How so? Has anyone on their team worked on 3D games? The prototype looks like something Ed himself made rather than something a team worked on.
Laszlo Szenttornyai is listed as designer for Ecco: Defender of the Future on IMDB:
imdb.com/name/nm2170898/
The creature designer, Jon Berg, doesn’t appear to have worked on any games, but is listed as working on models for films such as Revenge of the Sith. That movie was quite CG heavy, but it also may be the case that he worked on physical models which wouldn’t be applicable to a video game.
imdb.com/name/nm0073802/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2
I agree, it would be good if they cited specific examples of how they have the “best game programmers and 3D artists in the world”.
I wonder if it’s only Ed working on the game right now. The rest of the team might join him when they obtain funding.
You can read my comments on the Kickstarter page, Ed’s reply only increased my doubts about the project. And even if it wasn’t for that, the latest update about the way they intend to sell creature cards made me lose any interest I had in the project anyway. This isn’t anywhere near an Ecco game. This is not at all how I expected things would turn out.
I read through the comments and agree with your concerns.
That update about the creature cards makes the game sound terrible! It’s basically DLC that comes on physical cards. Horrible idea.
So, Shadowrun Returns is coming out in June.
However, they will not release a DRM-free version to the public and the second city backers funded is now an extra DLC to be released later, not part of the game.
Backers of $15 and up still get a DRM-free version, and the second city DLC, but the DRM-free version will not get any future updates and DLC, so it will become obsolete at some point. They also provide a Steam key for backers though.
I’m personally not happy with it. I might have still funded the game if they had only said they will release a Steam version, but the fact is they promised a public DRM-free release they now claim is impossible due to licensing issues.
The second city issue is big too. I don’t care that I get it for free as per my reward tier, the campaign was to fund a single game, the second city was a stretch goal for that game, not a game and additional DLC. I want every buyer to get the second city as promised without having to pay extra for it.
If every project turned their stretch goals into DLC, not part of the main game, things would get very ugly very fast. It’s very shitty of them in my opinion.
I’m also curious about the length and quality now, it’s only been about a year in development and it’s only been about a month since they first showed some work in progress in-game content. It did look promising then but it seems too fast, unless they were just that good in planning it, though the other issues don’t hint at that. Plus, they just spoke of how they can’t have loot and save anywhere systems because they’re too hard for their small team. This could turn out to be some RPG-lite for casual iPad gamers.
Edit: just got my refund as I requested. Hopefully the game will be good enough to buy it later on. If not, hopefully the rest CRPGs will make up for it.
Indeed, even though the game will be the same for you, there’s also the principle of the matter to consider. The tactic of offering a different distribution experience for different groups of people doesn’t seem like a fair approach to me.
Yep.
Divinity: Original Sin seems pretty awesome. It doesn’t look like they will reach some of the nicer stretch goals but at least it’s funded so what’s there should be polished at least (as the game was to be made anyway and the Kickstarter is for extra work).
So many great looking RPGs on Kickstarter. The multiplayer dialogue system in Divinity: Original Sin sounds fun.
I do wish their were more controller-based RPGs on Kickstarter though. Are there any? They all seem to be top down/isometric mouse-based games.
What do you mean controller based? First and third person action RPGs can use the keyboard and mouse, like Elder Scrolls. I guess those are made more commonly by big publishers and also are more expensive to do well. Check out Two Worlds II, Kingdoms of Amalur, Divinity II and Risen 1 if you haven’t. The Witcher 3 is coming too (I was disappointed by 2 but I think they could get this right). On Kickstarter there was Realm Explorer which was to be like Minecraft with more gameplay to it but it wasn’t funded though they’re still working on it. It probably won’t be great without that money, if ever.
Edit: also, Planet Explorers is almost funded with 6 days to go but it’s also not a conventional RPG with crafting, building and survival aspects and thngs like that sci-fi game you posted about the other day. I didn’t pledge because it doesn’t look like my thing, even if I love some of the games they were inspired by (Monster Hunter for one).
Consortium was barely funded too, I’m not sure about the results either.
Found some more.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/460738485/legends-of-aethereus
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1957160474/illegal-aliens
There were probably others that didn’t get much attention either.
Games that you can use a control pad to play, such as most console games. Basically, any of these or these would qualify. You’re right that these kinds of games are often made by big publishers, but it doesn’t seem like that has to be the case. I find using a control pad more relaxing for long play sessions than a keyboard and mouse; RPGs typically fit this long play session style.
This game looks interesting:
kickstarter.com/projects/995 … f=category
“The Realm”, a point and click adventure game. I like the art style they’ve gone with. Richard Jacques is composing the music.