Back to Back: Indie RPGs to fund

Welcome back to Back to Back! Of the games that ended since last time, Data Hacker: Reboot and Legend of Lotus exceeded their funding goals by a fairly wide margin; Mark of War was canceled; and everything else is still ongoing. We also have a bunch of new games joining the fray, which means that our list is going to be even longer than last time!

So what’s the latest in indie RPG crowdfunding?

  • Age of Grit – last posted about here, Wild West-themed airship-based wRPG Age of Grit is now fully funded with 6 days left to go.
  • Band Saga – this music-themed action roguelike-like, discussed last time, is still $19,000 shy of its $29,000 funding goal, with 12 days remaining to make up the difference.
  • Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King – a charming little 2D Zelda-alike set in a flower-themed world, with a graphical style reminiscent of A Link to the Past. This one needs $41,000 or so in the next 28 days to hit its goal.
  • CodeSpells – as discussed last time, this is not an RPG so much as it is a toy for people who want to learn some basic principles of scripting while pretending to be a wizard. It’s approaching double its funding goal with 14 days remaining.
  • Cube and Me – a hybrid pet simulator and procedurally generated dungeon crawler with real-time combat. Also, all of the pets are weird alien cube things. If that sounds bizarre, remember that the hybrid thing worked really well for Recettear! (Though really, it does sound bizarre.) Cube and Me has about $13,000 left to raise in the next 15 days.
  • Graal Seeker – one of a new generation of would-be Fantasy X-COMs, Graal Seeker combines a procedurally generated overworld strategy layer with a tactical combat layer with the legend of the search for the holy grail. Graal Seeker features a number of randomized events as you travel the map, with choices to make a la The King of Dragon Pass. All good stuff, though the tactical combat layer conducts its party-based combat in real time (not my favorite). It’s raised €795 out of its €10,000 (read: $12,841) goal with 34 days remaining.
  • Hartacon Tactics – a year and a half after its last attempt, this Disgaea-style sRPG is back on IndieGoGo seeking €20,000 in funding. This time around, it’s touting deterministic mechanics and a map editor as well as online multiplayer; 31 days remain to make it happen.
  • Hipster Town Tactics – your eyes do not deceive you: this is a strategy RPG with 3D battlefield and 2D character sprites themed around everyone’s favorite subject of loathing. There’s a job system a la Final Fantasy Tactics, where your characters can switch between classes such as audiophile, barista, and fashionista. Mojo points replace magic points, and characters are equipped with found objects like cooking utensils and musical instruments. God, please let this project reach its $40,000 funding goal in the next 26 days!
  • Ironcast – still clanking away since we discussed it last time, steampunk-mech turn-based tactics game Ironcast is now just £2,200 ($3,600) shy of its goal with 14 days left on the clock.
  • Phoenix Dawn – the Diablo-alike with a combinatorial spell system has made some progress since last time, and is now $15,000 shy of its goal; it has 9 days left to make up the difference.
  • Sanctum Polis – Rest Eternal Memory – a jRPG where you play an anthropomorphic fox trying to solve a mystery in some sort of religious school for anthropomorphic animals. (Think The Name of the Rose, but for furries, and with combat in lieu of all that medieval history.) The footage they’re showing of Sanctum Polis makes it look a lot like it’s running in RPG Maker, but there are some rather nice custom graphics on display here–just check out the fox-protagonist’s attack animation at 2:30 in the pitch video! Plus, the devs are planning to switch to Unity with the funds they’re raising. This one has about $43,500 left to raise in the next 30 days.
  • The Secret Testament – the latest in an ongoing series of Christian-themed jRPGs, the premise of The Secret Testament is simple: “Lucifer has escaped from Hell and has stolen God’s power source. Play as God’s forces to defeat the Devil!” Turns out, God’s power resides in a thing called the “Halocross,” and the knowledge of how to use it resides in the Vatican Secret Archives behind three seals. Well, duh. Who doesn’t know that?! Also, this. The Secret Testament has a super-modest $1,000 funding goal, and 25 days left in which to hit it.
  • Star Traders 2 – discussed last time, the latest Trese Brothers opus is just over halfway funded with just under half its time remaining. I was worried for a minute there, but if things continue this way, it looks like this one should hopefully squeak over the finish line before time runs out.
  • Warlocks — this shooter-y co-op, 2D, side-scrolling action RPG is still plugging away since we discussed it last time; it now has $16,000 left to go in the next 12 days.

 

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