The video is worth watching just to see the apology for the first person shooter Shadowrun game.
Jordan Weisman, the creator of Shadowrun, is back and Shadowrun Returns (for Apple & Android tablets and PCs) is the game that Shadowrun fans have been waiting for a long time. A graphically rich 2D turn-based single player game with deep story interaction, meaningful character development, and highly-contextual tactical combat, Shadowrun Returns is not only going to make some old geeks (like us) very happy but it will introduce new players to a dynamic gaming universe that is beloved around the world.
$15 to get a copy and help make it happen seems reasonable, right?
Last edited by Smoove_B on Sat Mar 28, 2015 1:34 pm, edited 3 times in total.
To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?
Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
I think most of these kickstarters won't see anything come from them except for ones done by already very well established studios like doublefine and inxile.
Turtle wrote:I think most of these kickstarters won't see anything come from them except for ones done by already very well established studios like doublefine and inxile.
I would consider myself more cynical than most, but if you were to add up all that I've contributed towards Kickstarting PC games, I'm pretty sure its still less than paying release-day prices for another Call of Duty annual map pack. I do think the whole experiment is walking the fine line between awesome success and complete failure, but until that happens, I'm happy to spend very little money funding the hope that it's a viable option.
Well I gave in and signed up for KS and backed my first project. I love me some Shadowrun and $15 up front for a shot at a new turn based Shadowrun game with a mission editor is just too much for me to pass up.
Shadowrun universe? Turn based RPG? Game editor included? My god, this is awesome news. I love Shadowrun and had given up all hope for this after that FPS abortion. I sure hope they can deliver.
I'm also really hoping that Kickstarter gets established and proves to be a viable alternative to traditional publishers. If it does, it's going to deliver all kinds of cool games that were felt to be too 'niche' by publishers. It could be the dawn of a new age of PC gaming.
I wonder what old school beloved IP will show up next? I know Crate is currently working on getting a Kickstarter ready for Grim Dawn. Hey, maybe David Bradley will kickstart a new Wizardry game.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
ColdSteel wrote:Hey, maybe David Bradley will kickstart a new Wizardry game.
Also want. I know Wiz8 was kind of hit-or-miss for people, but I loved it.
Also, looks like Shadowrun will hit its funding target with no problem. It's at $165k/$400k already with 24 days to go.
Also note that they're doing the "5% of all profits from this game will be re-invested in Kickstarter projects" thing, which is awesome. That doesn't count funds contributed to their own Kickstart; it's for funds they receive by selling the finished game.
This just keeps getting better and better. Great promotional video. I'm signed up.
FYI, they are almost 1/2 of the way there, I suspect this will end up oversubscribed. It went up by $11k in the 5 minutes it took me to watch the video and post
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G.K. Chesterton
ColdSteel wrote:Hey, maybe David Bradley will kickstart a new Wizardry game.
Also want. I know Wiz8 was kind of hit-or-miss for people,
Give me names of the "miss" people and I will mercilessly gut them.
Sonofa...how many more awesome, old fart developers are going to come out of the woodwork now that they see the success of their peers? Stupid video had me at "turn based RPG". Literally stopped playing it at that point and plunked down.
I also wonder how much money these oldsters made off their awesome titles, like Mechwarrior or Crimson Skies for instance? I doubt that back during the golden era of C gaming, salaries were as high as they would be today (relatively), for the lead designer or programmer for something like Diablo III or Skyrim. Or take Brian Fargo...I wonder if he still gets residuals on things like the making of the modern Fallouts?
Carpet_pissr wrote:Give me names of the "miss" people and I will mercilessly gut them.
Sadly I was one of those people, but for one single reason...
I loved the game on the whole, but when it started taking over half an hour to fight a handful of trash monsters because it took them forever to move I had to give the game up. I've heard there are mods that fix that issue, but I've never had the time to go back and revisit 8.
I backed this project. Loved Shadowrun back in the day. Turn-based RPG. The whole flavor of the SR setting/universe. Was nice to see them detail their plans if they achieved a fund-raising surplus, though most of those ideas don't affect me (additional languages, mac version, etc.). And the "Kick It Forward" idea .. I'm interested to see how it plays out over the next few years.
Incidentally, the average donation is over $46 at the moment. That seems pretty impressive to me, although I have no idea how that stacks up to the other indie Kickstarts.
Zurai wrote:Incidentally, the average donation is over $46 at the moment. That seems pretty impressive to me, although I have no idea how that stacks up to the other indie Kickstarts.
The two who pledged $10,000 probably skewed the averages a bit.
But, I doubt I will. Like most of these projects, they're going to live or die with or without me, so I can always pick it up on release if it makes it. Supporting something you believe in is great if you have the spare cash, but it only becomes something special if you can afford the larger donations.
I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
Just received an email update that exuberantly announced that they had met their goal in 28 hours. Good for them. Sounds like they'll be adding more stuff to the game as the funds increase.
And another update. They're obviously adding stuff, but there's a bit of news in there which some might consider bad, but which I consider very good:
We continue to be blown away by your level of support and your passion for Shadowrun. In fact, we were almost carried away on the wave of enthusiasm over the last couple of days. But yesterday we took a step back and refocused on our core design principals and what we want Shadowrun Returns to be. (That’s why you create core design principals in the first place—to refer back to them in situations like this.)
As part of our review, we came to the conclusion that feature additions such as a Linux version, Multiplayer PvP, and Cooperative Play are beyond the scope of the project and would cause us to lose focus on the game you reacted to so positively (and the game we really want to make).
(emphasis mostly mine)
While lack of co-op is kind of sad, the fact that they're actually sticking to their core design and not trying to add things that would overly complicate the project is a good sign that the game will actually be both completed and worth playing.
Agreed. While I don't mind if they had gone ahead and added those extra features, I wouldn't have gotten any use out of most of them. So I'm glad to hear of the focus on the single player game experience. And hopeful that it will lead to a quicker, successful release.
hepcat wrote:If we could get a game which allows folks to design their own adventures and distribute them, I would be incredibly happy.
That was one of their initial promised features for the base funding level, so assuming they actually deliver what they promised, we should both be happy at the result Whether they deliver or not remains to be seen, of course, but as long as they stick to their guns with regards to their core design, we should get something that can at least be modded into an awesome game.
Turtle wrote:I think most of these kickstarters won't see anything come from them except for ones done by already very well established studios like doublefine and inxile.
I would consider myself more cynical than most, but if you were to add up all that I've contributed towards Kickstarting PC games, I'm pretty sure its still less than paying release-day prices for another Call of Duty annual map pack. I do think the whole experiment is walking the fine line between awesome success and complete failure, but until that happens, I'm happy to spend very little money funding the hope that it's a viable option.
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire
By the way, it's totally cool the way be mentioned wanting to please fans of the SNES and Genesis games. Who would have thought they'd care, or even remember?
I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
Sudy Nym wrote:By the way, it's totally cool the way be mentioned wanting to please fans of the SNES and Genesis games. Who would have thought they'd care, or even remember?
Has there been anything released since that would overcome them in memory? Not in my memory.
I presume most of their fans are of the P&P game. And while the Shadowrun 16-bit games have dedicated followings, they're far from ubiquitous.
I saw a commercial on late night TV. It said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were. -- Mitch Hedberg
New update posted today. Linux support back in by popular demand if they hit $1 million. Up to $832K with 17 days left.
"This game is best played with a warm cup of Folger's coffee in your hands, so you can actually smell the oppression while you relive the greatest period of all time. The period when white people discovered the world, and decided they didn't like it." - EUIV Steam user review
