Our regularly revised feature keeps you up to date on the Kickstarter games worth watching, and helps you track projects both before and after they’re funded.
Welcome to the Kickstarter Compendium, a gathering of games and game-related projects that we’ve come across that deserve your attention. The crowd-funding model for video games has resulted in some fascinating new game ideas, and new projects are going up on a weekly basis that deserve your attention.
The only problem is keeping track of it all – what’s worth watching, and what are these different projects about? As an ongoing feature, our Kickstarter Compendium is your guide to games seeking funding through Kickstarter. After funding projects are complete, this feature will also track what games (and game-related projects) got funded and what games didn’t, and where possible, offer links to the projects as they are developed.
[Editor's Note: This feature was co-written by Cameron Koch, Isaac Federspiel, Katie Seville, Liz Lanier, Kayla Herrera, Ali Rapp, Mike Mahardy, and Matt Miller.]
Games Seeking Funding
Amplitude
Developer: Harmonix Music Systems
Fundraising Goal: $775,000
Funds Due By: May 23
Before Guitar Hero, Rock Band, or Dance Central, Harmonix had an enthusiastic following of fans for its fantastic PS2 music game, Amplitude, an evolution of an earlier project called Frequency. After years of hearing fans beg for a follow-up, Harmonix is leaving it up to the vocal fan base to fund a sequel. The original Amplitude is a controller-based music game requiring incredibly fast reflexes and frenetic controller button tapping, and includes a fantastic party game multiplayer mode. Harmonix hopes to launch this new version on PS3 and PS4.
Armello
Developer: League of Geeks
Fundraising Goal: $200,000
Funds Due By: May 8
Only a few days remain to throw your support behind this digital card and board game. The project has already hit its fundraising goals, but it’s not too late to contribute to stretch goals (and snag some snazzy rewards). Armello stars a cast of anthropomorphic animal heroes that live in the kingdom of Armello. The game promises to mix role-playing with classic tabletop gaming mechanics, but all set on your digital screen. Your furry hero travels across a beautiful map, completing quests, fighting monsters, and more. Armello is targeting release on iPad, and PC/Mac/Linux, but a yet-to-arrive stretch goal would add Android and Windows tablets.
Breach
Developer: Space Rhino
Fundraising Goal: $35,000
Funds Due By: June 1
Developer Space Rhino is taking a chance on combining features from several popular strategic game genres and seeing how they mix together. At its core, Breach utilizes tower defense mechanics to defend against waves of attacks, but with a tinge of competitive MOBA and RTS thrown into the mix. The team hopes to eliminate some of the more passive elements of tower defense in exchange for an active, competitive 3v3 experience set in a rich fantasy backdrop. Initial release is headed towards Android and iOS.
The Breakout
Developer: Pixel Trip Studios
Fundraising Goal: £49,500
Funds Due By: May 12
Inspired by classic point-and-click adventure games, as well as the fondly remembered The Great Escape (1963), The Breakout casts players as a WWII prisoner of war who must try and escape the dreaded Verdammen Hof prison camp. Players move through the camp, sneaking, stealing, and hiding their to find a way out. Unlike many adventure games, if you don’t prepare well for your escape attempt, you can die in the process of trying to complete the story. The Breakout hopes to release on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Buck
Developer: Wave Interactive Games
Fundraising Goal: $75,000 (Australian)
Funds Due By: May 28
Game designer Gal Kfir always promised himself he’d make a game about his childhood dog, Buck, and now he is making good on that promise. Buck is an action/adventure about the titular dog, who is exploring a massive desert while investigating the loss of his beloved. The game draws on the existing tradition of modern 2D action games, and adds in weapon customization and non-linear storytelling. Initial release is headed towards PC, Max, and Linux platforms.
Codemancer
Developer: Robert Lockhart
Fundraising Goal: $12,000
Funds Due By: May 27
Looking for a project with an educational twist? Codemancer is set in a fantasy universe of magic and monsters, but is actually a teaching tool targeted at 9-14 year-old kids who might be interested in learning programming. The game’s magic system is based on the same principles as coding, and the team’s stated goal is to cover the same fundamentals that would be communicated in a university Programming 101 class. Codemancer already nailed its fundraising goal, but if you’d care to add to the total and show your support for this kind of game, there’s still time to contribute.
DieselStörmers
Developer: Black Forest Games
Fundraising Goal: $50,000
Funds Due By: May 23
This unabashed action extravaganza is a 1-4 player cooperative run ‘n’ gun. DieselStörmers features procedurally generated levels and customizable weaponry as players charge through stage after stage of chaos in a medieval city overtaken by futuristic weaponry and the hunger for oil. The multiplayer mode includes an interesting twist on the standard formula in the form of an arcing energy ball that connects the onscreen characters, which helps to confront and defeat enemy forces. An initial release is headed to PC/Linux/Mac, with later releases on PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U.
Exogenesis ~Perils of Rebirth~
Developer: Kwan
Fundraising Goal: $32,000
Funds Due By: May 22
Fans of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Zero Escape should perk up and pay attention to Exogenesis. The game combines the traditions of adventure gaming with visual novel storytelling to tell an original tale. Set in 2069, the main characters are a young team of treasure hunters; in the course of one of their quests, the main character’s young sister is tragically killed. The subsequent story involves the quest to bring her back. Make sure and check out the fourth-wall-breaking pitch video, where the anime-inspired main characters make their case for the project, which is aiming for release on PC, Mac, and Linux.
Heart Forth, Alicia
Developer: Alonso Martin
Fundraising Goal: $60,000
Funds Due By: May 15
Already well past its funding goal as of this writing, your interest in Heart Forth, Alicia at this point may be about looking forward to a brand new entry in the fan-favorite “Metroidvania” genre. Alternately, if you’re interested in the remaining stretch goals, your money could make them happen, including a version of the game on Wii U. Heart Forth, Alicia stars a young wizard on a quest to save her homeland. The game combines '90s-era graphics, Metroid-style exploration, and some light RPG elements for a charming aesthetic. The game also includes an intriguing second story about a real-life woman told through live-action footage – how the two stories intertwine remains to be seen. PS4, Vita, PC, Mac, and Linux releases are all currently planned.
Hover: Revolt of Gamers
Developer: Midgar Studio
Fundraising Goal: $38,000
Funds Due By: May 22
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why there aren’t more first-person free-running games in the style of Mirror’s Edge, you should keep an eye on Hover. The project cites Jet Set Radio and Mirror’s Edge as chief inspirations, and watching footage of the game, it’s almost exactly what you’d expect if you mashed those two games together. Players sprint and leap their way through a futuristic and colorful city in an effort to depose the reigning mayor and his anti-video game politics. The game is already funded, but several thousand more dollars will bring about a Wii U port. Midgar’s parkour game is already running in the direction of release on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, and Linux.
Last Life
Developer: Sam Farmer/Rocket Science
Fundraising Goal: $75,000
Funds Due By: May 9
There’s still a little time left to put some money towards Last Life, a science-fiction game with noir overtones. The player controls a detective who was murdered but then 3D printed back to life to solve his own murder, which leads to a wide-ranging conspiracy. This initial Kickstarter is meant to support the crafting of the first of three episodes in the storyline, which cites Kentucky Route Zero and The Walking Dead as storytelling inspirations. The game is getting a helping hand from Double Fine in distribution, and is targeting a release on PC, Mac, and Linux. Help the team reach the next stretch goals to add additional voiceover work throughout the game.
Mark of the Old Ones
Developer: Hit the Sticks
Fundraising Goal: $46,000
Funds Due By: May 8
Only a few days remain if you want to fund a game that combines the gameplay traditions of Metroid and the storytelling milieu of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror fiction. The story revolves around controlling a powerful being named Mogal that must delve into the mysterious caverns under the mountain once built in worship of an ancient being called Kraal. Mark of the Old Ones offers a twist on the classic exploration game, as your character navigates the world using strange dark tendrils that reach out to grab the environment and swing around. Hit the Sticks' unusual but intriguing game is headed to 64-bit PC and Linux.
Mechrunner
Developer: Spark Plug Games
Fundraising Goal: $25,000
Funds Due By: May 16
Spark Plug Games is behind this transforming robotic battle game, in which players navigate an endless series of arcade action fights. At first glance, the game calls to mind endless runners, in which you’re constantly surging forward along a static track. The difference here is that your transforming mech robot regularly encounters things that need to be blown up with heat-seeking missiles and lasers. If all goes well, Mechrunner will charge into battle on PS4, Vita, and Steam.
The Old City
Developer: PostMod Softworks
Fundraising Goal: $40,000
Funds Due By: May 28
The Old City offers an ambitious premise – a first-person game built entirely to communicate story rather than action, with themes that explore epistemology (the study of the scope and nature of knowledge) and other philosophical concepts. If you’ve ever found yourself in an argument about video games and their willingness to tackle challenging topics, The Old City seems to be aiming high. The player controls an isolated individual who lives in the sewers as he or she travels to the surface and the old city that waits there. If PostMod gets the funding it needs, The Old City will arrive on PC.
Prisonscape
Developer: Lunar Enigma
Fundraising Goal: $49,500
Funds Due By: May 9
With only a few days left, and more than half of its funding goal still ahead, it’s going to need a big push to find success this time around, but Prisonscape is certainly a project that stands apart from the crowd. Lunar Enigma’s game looks like an old-school JRPG on the surface. But the story itself is all about surviving in the harsh and unforgiving world of prison. Players build makeshift weapons, form alliances, and develop their prisoner’s skills, all with an eventual eye towards escape. Whether it manages its Kickstarter goal or not, I hope Prisonscape sees the light of day at some point for its targeted release on PC, Mac, and Linux.
Source
Developer: Fenix Fire
Fundraising Goal:$50,000
Funds Due By: May 11
A husband-and-wife development team is behind this visually arresting project, which presents a strange alien world to discover and explore that is inspired by the experience of the couple’s first child and his experience of understanding the world. You control a strange firefly creature navigating a vast 3D environment, battling creatures, solving puzzles, and upgrading over time. The visual presentation of Source in early screens and videos is stunning, but Fenix Fire still needs a big push if they’re going to hit the game’s Kickstarter goal. Source is hoping to come to PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with a stretch goal for a Wii U edition.
The Universim
Developer: Crytivo Games
Fundraising Goal: $320,000
Funds Due By: May 24
The Universim is aiming to explore a field of games that used to be a little more common: the god game. Players control the development of life on a planet, but don’t control the people directly. Rather, players help guide major decisions, such as the evolution of major technologies. The game even lets you unleash wrath (in the form of asteroids and other events) to indicate your displeasure for decisions that your people make. Eventually, your species can evolve to head out into space, encountering new planets that have their own distinct challenges. The initial design seems ambitious and visually vibrant. As of now, The Universim is headed towards PC, Mac, and Linux.
[NEXT UP: Peruse the numerous games that have been successfully funded through Kickstarter, and track their progress after funding is complete]