Feb 15, 2012

[Gaming] Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter

Almost two years ago, I wrote a post about how much I miss adventure games - you know, those point-and-click games where you followed a character (or several) through a linear story (with possible alternate endings) in order to complete the adventure. Games like Loom, Day of the Tentacle and The Dig, to name a few. But those types of games rarely get made anymore, at least not outside the independent game market.


Tim Schafer at GDC 2011.
Image via Wikipedia
Enter Tim Schafer and Double Fine Productions. Tim is the same guy who gave us unforgettable adventure games like Full Throttle, Grim Fandango and my all-time favorite Day of the Tentacle, so he knows his stuff when it comes to adventure games. They've launched a Kickstarter project to help fund a point-and-click adventure game since no conventional game publisher will buy into that kind of a concept anymore based on the industry's perception of the types of games that we want to play.

The project reached its $400,000 goal within the first 8 hours of the project posting and is well on its way to generate more than a two million dollars and more for this project alone. But it's totally worth getting involved still since even a modest donation of $15 means you'll eventually get a copy of the game plus you'll get to participate in an online community for the game where you'll get to participate in some of the brainstorming and a whole lot more. High donations get you other freebies, but even just $15 is already an amazing deal.

Projects like Kickstarter are great since it gets the developers in direct contact with the fans and the players. Instead of going through the three ring circus of distributors, market research and all that jazz, now the game is being supported directly by the people who are going to play it. Sure, we've all just "pre-ordered" a game that doesn't even exist. But then what's so wrong about that if it means that it ensures we actually get the game that we want?

I've already pledged my $15, although I'm tempted to change it to donate more. This makes me a "Backer", which means that I'll have access to the online documentary and the dedicated community. And if adventure games are your thing too, then you probably need to get over to the project page and pledge your donation before Mar 13. Let's celebrate the beauty of adventure games together!

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