Wild Season, Eh?

I've always been a little wary on most things where Kickstarter is concerned since the whole premise can lead to some real issues on a large scale.  It's more or less a house of cards where everyone brings their own cards to someone who says they can make an awesome castle with them, and then you just have to kind of wait and see if they do, indeed, make an awesome castle out of cards that you and everyone else gave to them.  Not everyone can build awesome card castles.  Many people will tell you they can do so, when in reality they cannot.  Some attempt to, but realize they need more cards because whoops, these cards will only make like one card rampart and okay, I'm losing the plot here.  Point is, it's hard to get excited for Kickstarters unless they're being made by people who can be held to a great amount of scrutiny (I.E. known quantities like Comcept and the like) because there's at least an idea of -something- coming from it, rather than that dude just taking the cards and going to play poker with them instead.

However, when I see a project that wants to be another type of Harvest Moon game, rather than a third-person/first-person shooter of some sort, I have to take note.  And when I see a project that aims to be on the Vita, well, I have to take note.  When those two aims intersect, that, my friends, is when I have to inform you about it, because it's something that requires a bit of attention.  I only regret that my attention was not drawn to this earlier, because I'm not sure what, if any impact my attention will offer at this point.

I say this because Wild Season only has five days left in the Kickstarter at this point, and it's probably the worst five days anyone could imagine having at this point, with Christmas rolling over and the like.  It's hard to say whether or not people -have- money to give at this point, and as we know, with Kickstarter if you don't get the funding goal by the deadline, you get nothing but a bit of exposure and goodwill.  It's also something like £4,000 short of its goal, which will be hard to make up in those few days.  They always say the bulk of funding surges happen at the start and at the end of a Kickstarter, so there's hope, and I definitely want to hope because I do want these guys to succeed.  If only so I can hope they go forward with bringing it to the Playstation Family so I finally have a damn Harvest Moon-like game on my Vita.

So why should you care about Wild Season?  Well, as stated, it's a Harvest Moon-like game, though it does quite a bit differently in the formula alone, and it does have some rather interesting elements to it.  For one, it promises something of a 'darker' underlying story, primarily about a 'Secret' the Town holds, and that's kind of neat on its own merits, provided it doesn't put the game on a 'timer'.  Relationships are also much different if just for the fact that you can accrue enemies now instead of being everyone's friend automatically.  Befriending others and getting into relationships (You can be in same-sex relationships, by the way, that's a big deal) takes a more delicate touch as well, as you can be branded 'Creepy' or 'a stalker' for doing things that are notoriously ungoverned in Harvest Moon and Rune Factory.  Bursting into a character's room without permission, for one - especially if you decide that's a great time to stumble over to that person and hand them a gift.  I would be a little weirded out myself.

Characters are also meant to be a little more three-dimensional than the standard HM characters who, while they have their issues, are generally built around one or two little things and thus feel a bit flat.  Wild Season's cast promises to have a little more depth, boasting actual issues and problems that aren't things you can deal with with one little chat or anything quite so easy.  You'll also be able to run for office and personally dictate parts of the town, though what extent of power you'll actually be granted is left to be seen.  You'll even be able to see technology slowly introduced into the town - HM games tend to be a little technology-adverse unless it's Innocent Life, but that barely counts.  All of those things, plus a wider selection of things to do when you have nothing pressing at the moment ensures that it'll be a very different game from what you might expect, and that's enticing.

I have a few misgivings however.  I'm not quite sure how much content can actually be present in the game considering iOS and Android are two of the confirmed platforms, but I suppose mobile games have been getting bigger and bigger (and contain large games now, like Final Fantasy Tactics: WotL and The World Ends With You) so it shouldn't be an issue.  I'm also a little....wary of them showing off the obtrusive mobile controls while the game version is clearly the PC one being played for the video.  Virtual Controllers are things that I'm not too enthused about and while I'll never have to use one, I just wish they could have shown the footage without it for now.  I'm also swinging back and forth on the art style and haven't quite decided which side of the fence I'm on with regards to that.  It's...honestly pretty good, but I'm just never up on Chibi characters.  However, I imagine I'll get over that.

So yeah.  As stated (and shown in the video), the game is being set or PC/Mac/Linux and Mobile platforms, but if they can, they would like to embrace Sony and Nintendo's indie strategies for Vita (and probs PS3/4) releases alongside the Wii U.  Harvest Moon-like games are, of course, better as portable titles since they're the type of game you'll want to be able to jump right into and play for a moment, especially when you've got a few minutes to kill between commutes or something along those lines.  Thus, I'm hoping for this to succeed and for a Vita version to materialize because it's...honestly probably the best fit of them all.  With any luck, they'll get that last push to fund them, but even if they don't, hopefully they'll have some sort of backup plan.  Hell, they can always try to contact Shahid Kamal, since he is without a doubt an awesome dude and definitely not titled "The Indie Guru" (among other titles) for nothing.

I'm personally curious as to just how weird the game is going to get, because the potential for weird, creepy shit is off the charts

This is Interesting - Square Enix Collective

 

Crowd-funding is the way to go these days, it seems, what with Mighty No. 9 getting funded in a weekend (and going on to gross over $4 million) and Zeboyd Games taking Cosmic Star Heroine to Kickstarter on top of the other hundred Kickstarter stories I could link here, so it makes sense that other companies, even the big ones, are taking notice.  The notable differences here is that the company involved is Indiegogo instead of Kickstarter and Squeenix isn't actually making a game, but rather encouraging everyone else to do so.  If you're lucky and have a good idea for it, you can even use an old Eidos IP as your basis with Squeenix's blessing....since they're the ones publishing it anyway.  We don't know -what- IPs just yet, of course, but I imagine there's one that's off the table...because of its terrible, awful, no-good, very bad announced iteration that I still refuse to believe is real.

What this collective process is is basically an additional step before going up on Indiegogo that'll get you a little bit of a running start.  You detail your pitch and a community gets to vote on it.  If it's voted for favorably over a given length of time, it's then submitted to Indiegogo so that people can actually contribute to its funding, thus granting it a little visibility beforehand to ensure that word-of-mouth occurs.  It's basically Steam's Greenlight service, except you then add the crowd-funding aspect to it after it's approved, and the extra step should, in theory, help it get noticed.  Which should then, in theory, help it get funded since Indiegogo is...much less known than Kickstarter.  With the end-all goal of being helping out the projects to actually get funded, of course so they can get out there.

It's just an interesting thing all around because of Squeenix's backing and because of their decision to allow for the use of old IPs that they're (apparently) not using.  Most companies tend to just sort of sit on IPs that they're not using nor plan on using and it's a shame because you think back on the games that spawned from them and remember just how fun they generally were, at least if they were.  The only problem with the set-up is that it's just Eidos properties right after you see the Squeenix involvement and laugh because there are so many properties under Squeenix's label that -honestly- need attention.  Proper attention.  Whereas I can't really think of any Eidos properties beyond the ones that are getting games made for them currently.  (Deus Ex, Tomb Raider......Legacy of Kain, technically)  Still, I'm sure there'll be some with potential when we get a list.  After all, what would be the point otherwise?

Of course, it's not -just- a project to have indies make new iterations into standing series, since you'll be able to post just about any idea you could want on the Collective.  The only issue with that, however, is that with Squeenix publishing your game, it's up in the air as to whether or not they're going to want the IP to it or if you'll be able to negotiate that.  Obviously they're going to get a cut of it as well, and you as the indie simply have to decide whether or not what Collective offers is enough that you'll want to give up that much to make it happen.  Personally, I'm assuming there's going to be a very real 'wait and see' approach to this at first which is...less than ideal for this type of project.  The other caveat is that, I'm guessing Squeenix is only publishing, meaning you're not going to get to assume some sort of help with development or funding - after all, you're getting your money from Indiegogo members.  Still, it's an interesting prospect, and there's certainly some things that can come from it!  I look forward to seeing what people attempt, myself.

hello yes, I would like to reboot Robotrek please, it would be awesome

Mighty No. 9 is Mega Man, Funded, Awesome

It's simultaneously easy and incredibly difficult to believe that you have not heard of Mighty No. 9 at this point - on the one hand, it's been a busy weekend in North America at least, and that does sort of make it difficult to find out about Kickstarter news unless you're looking for it, but on the other hand, it feels like everybody already knows about Mighty No. 9.  So for those of you who don't know what the game it, it is basically Mega Man.  It looks like Mega Man, it has the same general concept as Mega Man, the same general playstyle as Mega Man and the same original creator as Mega Man.  Yes, Keiji Inafune, with his company Comcept USA, took to Kickstarter to get funding for the game known as Mighty No. 9 and did so in quite a swift amount of time - just around two days.  For a $900,000 goal on a busy weekend as it has been (PAX and Labor Day), it's rather impressive and it still has a run of 28 days before it closes down and locks in the exact final amount which, thanks to stretch goals, will more or less decide just how much Mighty No. 9 we're going to get.

The base game....well, why don't I let one of the Kickstarter Bullet Points explain that, yes?

• You play as Beck, the 9th in a line of powerful robots, and the only one not infected by a mysterious computer virus that has caused mechanized creatures the world over to go berserk. Run, jump, blast, and transform your way through six stages (or more, via stretch goals) you can tackle in any order you choose, using weapons and abilities stolen from your enemies to take down your fellow Mighty Number robots and confront the final evil that threatens the planet!

Blatant Mega Man comparisons aside (emphasis theirs, by the way, not mine), it says right there that the original goal is for six stages, but that seven and eight can be added through  the Stretch Goals and is specifically the first one at $1,200,000.  At this point in time, it's -almost- there even, being at $1,141,413 as I'm writing this (and updating constantly as I continue writing, and it wouldn't surprise me if it's fully to that goal by the time I'm finished).  It's not broken apart or anything - that stretch goal is the one that will add the stages for Mighty No. 7 and 8 and thus more or less make it even closer to the Mega Man games we all already know and love.  The other Stretch Goals include Mac and Linux versions (btw, base game is set only for PC, however...), New Game Plus and "Turbo Mode", a Making-Of Documentary and, of course, PS3/360/Wii U versions.  There are also two Stretch Goals which are....mysteries?  I guess?  Perhaps surprises along the way to spice things up or something.

If there's absolutely anything to be disappointed in at looking at Mighty No. 9, it's simply that the Console Versions are the very last Stretch Goal, set in at the $2,500,000 mark, and that there's no 3DS or Vita love, nor Next-Gen love aside from the Wii U.  Of course, Kickstarters are malleable by nature and the feedback on their official Twitter has stated that versions for all the consoles left out are possible, depending on funding and feedback.  The official statement re: PS4/XBone versions is that they're not planning on them due to lack of knowledge about the consoles which....is understandable since they're not even out yet, buy by the time Mighty No. 9 comes out, they will have been and for...a little while.  Obviously, I am that guy, always saying how I want everything on my Vita so this is certainly no exception, but mostly because it's a damn good fit.  Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X (which was free through Plus a while back) played wonderfully on the PSP (and the Vita as well) so Vita/3DS versions of the game just make sense, so long as they can work them properly.

Otherwise, I just haven't looked into it all that much because I don't really....need to.  It's a new, improved version of Mega Man with fun, new little twists and such, but is so much built on a foundation that I already know very well.  Conveniently, that means that I know it's going to be good with some level of certainty, which is nice to have.  However, as much as I like looking at Kickstarter projects - I prefer the ability to actually buy them when they're available or, in some cases, while they're on their way to being released, not when they're mere theories and concepts on paper and computer documents and files.  But I'm old-fashioned like that, it seems, especially when I consider that notion to be a silly one, since there are people who will un-ironically agree with my assertion that I'm old-fashioned because of that.  But that sort of stuff just makes my head hurt anymore.

Anyways, Mega M- Mighty No. 9.  It's going to be a thing and it's likely going to be fantastic.  Let's just see where all it ends up landing and how the Kickstarter plays out.  Certainly going to be interesting if nothing else.

I personally just love how tongue-in-cheek against Capcom the whole thing is

A Look Ahead - Soul Saga

Now that Soul Saga has been over-funded by three times the original pledge with the Kickstarter closed, I believe it's time to really start talking about it, since this is something you'll want to look forward to.  In the interest of full disclosure, the main reason this game is on my radar is because it will be available on Vita (and PS4, Wii U, PC, Mac and Linux) a year from now when it's finished (barring delays) and it looks really, really neat.  Originally, I'd heard the intention was simply those minus the PS4 and Vita (likely because the former hadn't been formally shown off yet, nor extrapolated on, both of which we saw happen at E3 and thereafter) and none of those play options were open to me.  So, admittedly, I just sort of passed on it which is obviously a bit selfish, but it's simply because there are just so many games, you guys.  I'm sure you realize.

If you're not quite sure what Soul Saga is, because you equally haven't been paying attention prior to this point, then it's a game that bills itself as a JRPG that's been inspired by some of the classics we remember growing up like Breath of Fire, Suikoden and of course, Final Fantasy, though there are some other RPGs that it draws from which I will get into in a bit.  It starts a bit familiarly; the main character, Mithos, is a young man following in the footsteps of his loathsome (from Mithos' perspective, at least) father in becoming a Guild Leader with the ultimate goal of succeeding where his father apparently failed.  Of course, just getting to that point will take some doing as being a Guild Leader obviously isn't a walk in the park.  However, it's through this that a bulk of the rather neat gameplay mechanics come into play, which is why I wanted to point it out beforehand.

I have held off long enough, so I want to get to one of the things that made me -really- excited about the game.  The world of Soul Saga is one made up of Sky Islands that rest upon a reef of clouds, shielding them from the harsh surface world below.  Being that they are -islands- in the -sky-, there's obviously only one way to get around - by airship.  Thanks to some of the stretch goals, the developer is going to be able to implement a Skies of Arcadia-styled Airship Exploration and Airship combat system which is amazing.  I would say that that element was one of the better parts of Skies of Arcadia, but that would be lying because -all- of the parts of SoA were good parts.  The Airship Exploration/Combat is merely something that made SoA stand out from the rest of the JRPG fare at the time and with good reason - not only was it different, but it was so good.  If SS's attempt is even half as good, it's going to be worth the game alone - something that I'm not saying as hyperbole.

Really, all of the stretch goals for the Kickstarter were for love letter-type things like that to older RPGs.  After you got by the basics of funding the game itself, Voice Acting and Wii U/PS4/Vita ports, it begins.  The Airship and combat stuff, I covered as Skies of Arcadia, just now.  The Job Board is something you're all familiar with - side quests to keep you occupied in the form of villager requests and the like, all posted to a central location.  Legendary Weapons is a standard as well, though more celebrated in Final Fantasy than anything I can think of - remember getting the Ultima Weapon for Cloud in FF7, or dodging 200 lightning bolts in FFX for Lulu's best doll weapon?  Yeah, it's like that, only they have their own storylines attached, so it's probably more involved than "Beat big optional boss". 

The Guild Master and Guild Hall areas are where we start delving heavily into Suikoden territory, (Technically Skies of Arcadia as well) in that the former has you scour the land for potential guild members and entice them to join you at your HQ.  The latter then allows you to have these guild members actually -do- things, provided they're not in the party (I assume, if they can even -be- in the party) giving things a sense of life that exists beyond when you're there.  Basically, it enters a bit of management into the game, which just isn't done enough, honestly, and has only met with limited success recently (what comes in my head first is the...questionable attempts by the Assassin's Creed games - send person out, wait, they might win, get reward is hardly exciting or worth bothering with), but can be a genuinely good mechanic.  One of the other stretch goals that was met, Guild Battles, also sounds to scratch the Suikoden itch, sounding to me like the War battles that the series introduced and ran with that were quite different and quite enjoyable.  There's still a few more Stretch goals that I didn't explain, some because they weren't funded (Though Garen's Saga is going to happen even though it didn't reach that total before the funding date) or because I'm just not sure what to think of them (like the Pandora's Boxes, which sound interesting and different), and if you're interested the full list is here with fairly detailed descriptions.

Mechanically, the game just sounds outstanding - a mesh of all the best parts of the best RPGs of the past, which seems to be a popular goal of late and an admirable one to go after.  After all, these neat little parts are -why- those series were beloved, even if it didn't get them the big sales numbers that were just hard to come by back then.  The development cycle of the game is something I'll be looking after with quite a bit of interest, since I can guarantee you that fifteen of my dollars will be going this game's way the moment it becomes purchasable on my Vita.  I am thoroughly sold at this point in time, and if you're not, I seriously have to question why.  Unless...you just don't like JRPGs, which is understandable.  Even still, this is ambitious and while I hope it's ready a year from now, I'll check my expectations here.  When it's done, it's done and if that ends up being more like a year and a half or better, well, so be it.  Just make sure the game is as good as it can be, because we're looking forward to it now, DisasterCake.

please include a giant friggin' Harpoon Gun weapon for your airships please, because that thing was so awesome

Okay, I'll Bite. The -Hell- is an Oculus Rift?

It seemed like I saw post after post over at Joystiq mentioning the Oculus Rift (Though, to be fair, it was apparently only four or five posts) which constantly brought the question "What the hell is that?" to my mind.  At first glance, it is basically what it seems to be - a virtual reality headset.  It is not the first, nor will it be the last venture into this, the Next Next Big Thing™, and that is because it is an entirely commendable venture.  Everybody, on some level, wants Virtual Reality, something that works, that is fully immersive, and anyone who says they don't is a goddamn liar.  If not even for what boils down to 'video game use' (which, if VR was super wide-spread would be a much broader field than currently), then for the practical uses it can be applied to the field of which I can't think of a goddamn instance.  Like...virtual meetings, I guess?  Sort of like Skype conferences for people who can't be at an office except even more unnecessarily technologically advanced.  Maybe like a virtual repository for ideas or something too?  I don't know, fuck that, we just care about the games and stuff, right?  I think we can all agree on that.

Of course this...uh....this is where I get a bit lost, since it's fairly technical in that aspect and I am not very good at that.  It lists some technical specs on the Kickstarter Page for the thing, and I'm sure they mean something to somebody, but said person is certainly not I.  And, of course, it's just the Dev Kit and not the final product since there....-is- no final product at the moment, really.  Still, I'd be remiss if I didn't list the specs here, just to show them off so that I may point out just how useless I am with things such as it.

Technical specs of the Dev Kit (subject to change)
Head tracking: 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) ultra low latency
Field of view: 110 degrees diagonal / 90 degrees horizontal
Resolution: 1280x800 (640x800 per eye)
Inputs: DVI/HDMI and USB
Platforms: PC and mobile
Weight: ~0.22 kilograms

So, yeah.  I.....I get the weight and the platforms (PC-only at the start, but they've stated they want to adapt it to everything...we'll see on that front, however), and more or less the Inputs, but the rest is....well, it's not complex, I'm certain, but I just look at it and see numbers and words instead of something that means anything.  The Field of View, from the video on the Kickstarter Page, basically just seems to me like it's trying to mimic the entire (or most of) field of view of normal vision, thus meaning you slide the goggles on and -see-, instead of simply seeing what is being filtered into the screens.  By keeping the latency low (lost, so very lost), they said it makes it easier for 1:1 movement (my words) in that you can move your head and the 'camera' moves that way instantly, without a delay to enhance the immersion.  Resolution, basically, is just where I throw my hands up and back off swiftly because shit I don't -know-.  I'm seeing a lot of comments saying that that only takes it up to 720p resolution which I don't get how they come up with that, but that is apparently a 'bad' thing since EVERYTHING MUST BE 1080p FOR THE FUTURE or something.  Entitlement, etc.

There's been no real lack of support for this thing, of course, as the whole Kickstarter project for it was ridiculously over-funded in a single day, even though it was meant mostly for Developers (at least the higher tiers, where the lower ones could be anyone) to get in early, get a Dev Kit, and get stuff working on it.  As a proof of concept, every Dev Kit that goes out there comes with a copy of the up-coming Doom 3:  BFG Edition which has been made to support the device since John Carmack is pretty much just all over this friggin' thing.  I get the idea from the Kickstarter video that he might have approached the Oculus Rift guys early on and worked with them most steps along the way.  I gotta say, if you want something that depends on first-person Field-of-View, there aren't many people higher than iD Software that you want behind you, despite the lengthy amount of time between games they seem to have.  Of course, he's not the only one who has voiced their support for the thing as the ranks have filled out since with Cliffy B, Gabe Newell and recently Notch who wants his new game to support it, and would love if Jeb would agree to have Minecraft support it.  (Since Jeb is the lead on Minecraft now and basically knows how to actually -make- it, so we're lead to believe.)

Now while I am excited for it, it is a very very measured level of excitement that I have because of....well, a few things.  Chief among them is the simple fact that I am just not a PC gamer, which is what this thing is going to be built for, plain and simple.  It can be adapted for consoles, perhaps and this and that, but at the end of the day, it's made for PC Games and that is a market that I have not, and am not too keen on tapping into because of the myriad of issues that it raises simply by existing.  The other issue is, of course, that if they're working on this, chances are that Microsoft and Sony at least have been working on it as well, and are likely to bring out something similar, specifically made for their consoles if just to shut out the competition to try and corner their market.  Which is why I'm very wary on thinking that the Oculus will be anything beyond a PC device.  So I suppose I'm getting more attached to the concept and the end-product rather than the branding and such it'll carry.

However, my biggest problem that I have, which might be a matter purely mired in my lack of technical know-how is that I have no idea how you're actually expected to control games with it.  Yes, you move your head to control the 'camera', which basically negates the right control stick/mouse (minus mouse buttons) entirely, but even without that, you still have an entire rest of the controller and/or keyboard to contend with.  With PC gaming especially, it sort of helps to be able to see the keys on the keyboard if you're expected to use them, so if this basically just cuts out using the mouse to look around, and you still need WASD to move...well...what's really the point here?  I haven't -seen- anything that tells me there is something beyond this, which I am assured that there is, which indicates a failure on the selling point itself.  Teach me how I, the potential consumer, am going to use this, and why it will be useful.  I understand that it is totally fucking cool, and it certainly is, and I can see -some- uses, in that it'll just make it easier to...well, see things and pay attention to things in game, but I can't entirely divorce that from the experience itself.  Hopefully as more information comes out on this we'll get a clearer picture, but for now, all I see is a pair of goggles with screens in them.  And for as awesome as that is (and it is very awesome), I need to know what it will be used in conjunction with for me to really get excited.

Okay, I'll Bite. The -Hell- is an Ouya?

I mean, yes, I understand what the Ouya is, and I understand the concept behind it and all of that, but it still manages to confound me on several basic levels as I look at it.  So perhaps it's less a question of 'what is' the Ouya and moreso 'why is the Ouya a thing'?  It is apparently a pretty common question, and I would suggest that it's not one born of ignorance or anything like that.  Rather, I don't think it's an inherently negative thing to question this thing, since all of these gaming devices invariably get questioned by the dumbest people for the stupidest reasons anyway as is.  I qualify this, of course, because the people that believe in this thing, believe in it hard, as these types of things tend to draw, so questioning it doesn't generally end well.  At least, a little less well than questioning something like the Wii or the Vita or the like would go.  Since those types of things aren't exactly as 'new' as the Ouya, and thus have been around such scrutiny for much much longer than this.

So, for the uninformed, of which I imagine there might be several of you, my question of "What is the Ouya" might be your own.  Essentially, the Ouya is a $99 Gaming Console that will cater specifically to games on the Android marketplace, serving as a hub to bring those games from your phone to your television.  Yes those games that are always featured so prominently as "Also on the Android Marketplace" (after the iTunes App Store) that sell for peanuts since they don't have to go through any real certifications or the like (ESRB and the equivalent ratings, mostly) are going to be playable on your TV through this box.  I say "Are going to be" instead of "would be", because this thing is going to be a thing, barring some patent infringement injunctions or the like.  Thanks to Kickstarter, the thing raised $1 Million in a single day, which completely funded it, as the goal was $950,000 over the course of 30 days.  So, it's well over that and there's....still 29 days left.  And people will throw absurd amounts of money at this thing regardless, since the minimum backing (of $99) nets them a console and controller, meaning they'll be able to get it and...uh...play...things on it.

So, using basic math to get rough numbers, since the actual Kickstarter page is going to be a hotbed of action for a week still, let's point out a few things.  As I said, minimum backing (just looked at the Kickstarter, and there's a few pledge tiers below that.) bare minimum to get the Ouya is $95 (Well, technically, the $95 pledge limit has been reached, leaving only the $99), so let's just make that a nice, even happy $100.  Take the fact that pretty much by the time that Joystiq article went live, they already breached the million mark into account.  Just roughing the numbers up a little, that's ~10,000 people interested enough in the device to throw down money for it's eventual maybe release on the very first day such a thing is possible.  I think the actual numbers were something around 8,000 people, since there are several levels of pledges, of course, but like I said, the Kickstarter page will be wild for a time yet and any numbers I give you here have no chance of being anywhere near 'up-to-date', so I'm not going to bother a whole lot.  So let's just run with what I said and say that 10,000 people want to buy this thing, or more importantly at this juncture, simply want this thing to exist.  And the question I have for these people specifically is the one I posed earlier:  "Why?"

I have a few theories, of course, which are the only things I can come up with to really justify the existence of the thing.  Obviously the first and easiest bullet point for this to make is the idea that the full console experience is simply $99 upfront, wherein thereafter you can theoretically enjoy the thing without adding in another cent.  This is because the developers of Ouya ask (read:  Will probably make it mandatory) that everybody who supports the device offer at least -some level- of free gaming, whether it be a trial version and/or a demo, or simply making their game free-to-play with micro-transactions.  Which of course right there means that every Android game out there already will not be compatible with the Ouya by default.  If the controller didn't make that obvious enough, at least.  Of course, this kind of relies on the hope that the people who work on this thing won't be jerks and only make demos of their games to put in the bare minimum in an attempt for the max level of profit that could be wrung from an indie game (which varies from none at all to astronomical amounts, apparently).  I mean, I'm not saying that I expect that to happen, I'm just saying that when it comes to going the extra mile, I can't really name a lot of developers that are willing to do it.

Honestly, pretty much the only other reason is because I imagine a lot of people will see it as 'legitimizing' mobile gaming if there's this console directly related to the games for it.  Since you're not going to see traditional 'console' games (Beyond those that have been ported to Android/iTunes for a quick buck, but shut up that's not indie maaaan) on this thing, but simply games that have been specifically designed for....well, I guess not specifically the mobile scene anymore.  I guess it's more a creature of circumstance, since it's a console specifically built for indie designers, who have simply taken to the mobile scene for the ease of use and development when compared to actual consoles.  And PC, apparently.  Not quite sure how that works, but there you go.  Regardless, that's really what I think this whole project is, less about pushing the Android platform and more about simply giving Indie developers a console since apparently there's no place for Indie Developers in modern gaming.  Not like XBox Live Indie Games, Playstation Pub Fund or, you know, PC Gaming exists or anything.

Anyways, something I had been wondering about, which the Kickstarter page sort of tentatively confirmed for me is whether or not the Ouya itself would be a development platform or simply a box that plays games.  It seems that it's the former, thankfully, which makes a -ton- of sense, so that is something entirely in its favor as well.  While I'm a bit wary about the possibility of games being made 'only' for the Ouya (from people who want to take advantage of the controller rather than the full touchscreen interface) I admit that it's not a terribly bad option if the games themselves are worth it.  That's sort of where Indie Gaming as a whole proves to help and defeat itself at the same time, I think.  For every Minecraft and every Breath of Death VII, you get poorly slapped together clones of other games and games like Alphachimp by the barrelful simply because it's just as easy as coming up with some sort of idea and knowing just enough coding to slide by with the barest of essentials.  Because it's so easy, everyone can do it, but because it's so easy everyone can do it.  I hope the italics sort of helped deliver the underlying message there.

Still, with the launch of the Ouya not happening til March 2013 at the earliest (barring some legal issues or such as I mentioned before.  Personally, looking at the Ouya dashboard makes me think of the 360's, but I'm not sure if that's accurate.), there's still plenty of time for the plot to thicken.  As it's a console where things must be developed -for- it within the rather lax guidelines provided, it's going to have to find some support, and I'm not sure there's a whole lot of it out there.  At least, not in the terms of people who want to develop for something specifically assuming there are people who have spent $99 on this device who are also going to be willing to play your game.  As with most consoles, we could probably see the rather easy porting of existing games (but will companies like Squeenix and EA who have mobile games out there support it?) but if people are as consistent as they've proved to be, there will be no end of the bitching until fresh new things come out of it.  So maybe we'll see something of a renaissance of new innovation come out of this.  Or...maybe everyone will just forget about it come March.  I probably will.

Double News for Double Fine

If you've been paying to the internet in any capacity these last couple of days, chances are you've come across both stories I have.  Regardless, I'm going to elaborate on them in my own viewpoint because that's kinda what I do, and aside from this, about all I could do is write some more about Alpha Protocol which I'm not fully prepared to do just yet.  I want to get at least a little bit more through my new playthrough (Yes, I beat it -and- started a new game almost immediately) before I elaborate on how AP went from eh, to bad, to good, to great.  Anyway, Double Fine news, right, yes, right away on that.  We'll go with the earlier, less-publicized story first which is, by all rights, incredibly popular on its own.

Have you ever caught yourself saying, "Man, if only I were rich, I'd totally help make" and then fill in a sequel of your choosing to a game you quite obviously enjoyed?  I'm sure you have, as I'm sure we all have, really.  It's fairly normal, I should think, since even though we complain a lot about sequels, they all started as new IPs at some point, and obviously sequels are okay if they're of an IP we enjoy.  But how many of us would actually do it, or at least really volunteer that if it came down to it?  It's likely something the majority of us will never know for sure, but Indie Darling "Notch" of Minecraft fame, has at least offered to put his money where his mouth is for a sequel that he, as well as a good chunk of gamers out there, would absolutely love to see made:  Psychonauts 2.

Psychonauts is one of those games that, even if you haven't played it, you've heard of it.  And if it ever comes up in conversation that you haven't played it, people look at you cross.  Sometimes if even they themselves haven't played it either which results in everybody looking at everyone else weirdly.  It falls into the same archetype a lot of Double Fine games find themselves in; a fun, funny, imaginative story that draws you in and keeps you til the end even if the gameplay isn't up to snuff which, as implied, it generally isn't.  Regardless, Psychonauts stands out even more than usual and found its way into many a gaming heart back when it was released and years after, so to say that it's constantly at the forefront of the general gaming 'hive mind' sort of goes without saying really.

So when asked about a Psychonauts 2 possibility for no doubt the upteenth time, Tim Schafer said that he'd love to do it, and has even pitched it to plenty of people, but nobody's buying and nobody's funding.  With a couple million in the bank, they would be able to fund it, assuredly, and make it a thing that happens, but that money isn't just going to poof in from nowhere.  Yet with a single tweet, it seemed as if the money might just yet come from somewhere; from the jolly ol' Swede who managed to sell millions of copies of a game that wouldn't even be released for two years after people started buying it.  After hearing that 'all it would take' was funding, he sent off a tweet to Tim Schafer that said simply "Let's make Psychonauts 2 happen."  Chaos ensued and all while the Double Fine man himself slumbered away.

When he awoke to the aftermath of twitter madness that followed Notch's statement (and subsequent admission that he was serious to Rock Paper Shotgun), Schafer and Notch carried on in the public eye (which is not uncommon for either of them) for a while before quietly being ushered into private conversation by people with business sense, but no sense of fun.  The official word that came from it was no word at all really.  "Tim and Markus are talking" which we all knew, became the word and shortly after that the word became, "If this does pan out, don't expect an announcement right away, of course" because, you know.  Even with more money than is necessary, these things take time.  Though Schafer did have another unrelated game announcement which leads directly into the next story quite well.

Tim Schafer went on to say later that he wanted to really get back to the basics, back to his roots which, as we all know, means adventure games since that's pretty much where Schafer started out.  Rather than try to travel about from publisher to publisher asking for funds with this one, Schafer decided to try a different tact; one not wholly originally, but not exactly on the magnitude as it was projected to be and assuredly not on the magnitude it's ended up at.  To make a classic point-and-click adventure game, all Schafer asked for was a mere $400,000 from the collective of the internet through Kickstarter which does this stuff on a fairly regular basis.  The premise is simple (and in fact, has somewhat been covered before in this blog) - a person or a company (usually small) sets up a page that presents exactly what they want to do, a pricetag that they need to do it, a break-down of where that money is going, and rewards for anyone who wants to contribute certain amounts (or above).  A deadline for that cost is set and if, and only if, they've raised enough money to meet or surpass their cost, they get that money to then go on and put towards doing what they want to do.

The deadline that Double Fine set was an entirely reasonable one of March 13th, giving just over a month to raise the money, indicating that they hoped to start development rather soon.  They went on to make their deadline in eight hours.  Eight hours is all it took for the internet as a whole to throw $400,000 at Double Fine in hopes that they would do what they do best in simply making a game.  If breaking one record wasn't enough by being the fastest funded Kickstarter project ever, well, the internet was happy to push itself into breaking yet another one.  In less than 24 hours, the Double Fine project managed to get One Million Dollars in funding and hasn't even stopped yet. 

As of this writing, the project is up to $1,143,713 with 32 more days to go, though I imagine funding will drop off in the next couple days.  Maybe.  While Double Fine has promised to funnel any 'extra money' back into the game they make through all sorts of means, one of which is porting it to non-PC platforms (considering they're imagining utilizing touch-based technology, I'm sure you all know what I'm hoping for) I'm not sure just what they can realistically expect to do.  As it is, the project is $743,713 (which is an ever-shifting number) overfunded, so unless they're planning on hiring only A-List Voice Actors in something of a show of opulence they've been afforded, I imagine it's going to take some doing to figure out what to do with all that money.

Truly a position to be envied.  But it's well-deserved and even though I haven't played many of Double Fine's offerings (nor have I uniformly enjoyed the ones I've played), I like Double Fine.  How could you -not-?  So here's hoping to only the best for them, though they're not going to need a whole lot of hope.  Money bags, yes, but not hope.