Wasteland 2 announced

What makes a game indie? In my view, it’s simple: indie is short for “independent,” as in “independent of any publisher or funding entity that can exercise control over the content of a game.” By that measure, any game funded entirely through Kickstarter counts as indie–even if the game just so happens to receive more than $1 million in the process.

Following fast on the heels of just such an event by adventure game developers DoubleFine comes Wasteland 2, already fully funded by Kickstarter users within less than 48 hours of its posting, and now accumulating funding in excess of $1 million.

Why are so many people (full disclosure: I am one of them) so excited about Wasteland 2? Here’s the thing: Wasteland is the game that basically invented the post-apocalyptic RPG. Fallout was created as a spiritual successor to Wasteland. Wasteland is a big deal.

The CRPG Addict has a great write-up of his playthrough of the original game, if you’re curious to know what it was like. As for Wasteland 2, many of the details are currently being hashed out: publicly, on the developer’s forums; and privately, among the developers (which include Brian Fargo, Michael Stackpole, and other luminaries who created the original Wasteland).

You can essentially pre-order the game by visiting its Kickstarter page and pledging at least $15 to the cause. This will net you a “Digital Downloable copy of game DRM free for PC” upon its release. If the game hits $1.25 million pledged before the drive ends on April 17th, a Mac OSX version will be produced as well; and if it hits $1.5 million, a Linux version to boot.