John Smedley, ex-chief of Sony Online Entertainment, announced that he’s launching a Kickstarter campaign for an RPG by PixelImage Games. Kickstarter has often been selected over Indiegogo for films, video games and other visual art projects.
Hero’s Song Will be Funded on Kickstarter, Not Indiegogo
The game will use 2D pixel art animation, and will have the look and feel of the classic RPGs we know and love. This game will be developed by Smedley’s brand new company, PixelImage Games, as well as Bill Trost and Patrick Rothfuss.
According to the campaign, the game is set in a ‘dynamic world’ where the backstory changes every time gamers start a new game. Depending on which gods player’s choose, the entire narrative can change. The pantheon of gods chosen can have an effect on the game’s terrain, the races of the characters and their histories. Even their family trees can change. Gamers can host their own servers, too.
A Combination of Dwarf Fortress, Diablo III and Ultima Online
Some of the inspiration for this game comes from Dwarf Fortress, made by Tarn and Zach Adams in 2006. The gameplay for Hero’s Song is expected to be just as intricate and budding. According to Smedley, the game is a combination of Dwarf Fortress, Diablo III and Ultima Online. Now that’s a killer mix.
The team behind the game have declared that they’re very focused on gameplay and not so much on graphics. Smedley has a lot of experience with online MMO’s, having developed games like PlanetSide 2, and he’s deeply devoted to pixel graphics.
The Kickstarter Campaign is A Popularity Test
Launched in 2015, PixelImage is Smedley’s own game developing company. He joined as CEO right after leaving Daybreak Games, which was responsible for titles like EverQuest, H1Z1 and Landmark.
Currently, the game as $1 million worth of funds that came in through private donations. The Kickstarter project is aiming for $800,000. Not only will this help finalize development and fine tune details, but it’ll be a test to see if it can become a hit with gamers from around the world.
Smedley admitted that the last time he’d crowdfunded was for EverQuest, but the trend has grown to galactical proportions since then. Indiegogo and Kickstarter have become go-to’s for many startups since people are now more motivated to donate to causes than they ever were before.
