Pair (formerly trio) of new adventures test their luck with crowdfunding

Written by Jack Allin — January 25, 2013 at 11:41

Note: This news has been updated to reflect the change in status of Inherit the Earth 2.

The crowdfunding deluge continues this month with two promising new adventures seeking public support, while a campaign for a familiar name was similarly launched and already canceled early.

(un)Lucky 7

Speaking of anthropomorphic animals, walking, talking critters (and one android) are also the stars of (un)Lucky 7. These are no cute and cuddly types, however, but hardened criminals sentenced to life imprisonment. Their one chance at freedom is to become the "Lucky 7" explorers of uncharted space in a ship with an experimental new engine. This "chance of a lifetime" soon proves anything but, however, as "upon arriving on an alien planet they find an entrance to a strange base, seemingly lifeless and abandoned. Soon, they are trapped inside, forced to fight for their life and searching for a way back home."

(un)Lucky 7 is the product of two-man Polish studio Asylum Creatures, who describe the game as a "horror, sci-fi themed, jRPG-view, story-driven, pixelart puzzle game." Playing as a pilot named Moro, players will need to "explore this hostile place, uncovering its history and solving its dark mysteries. All the while developing and maintaining different relations with the rest of the crew (many of which depend on your actions)."

The game will include both inventory and logic puzzles to solve, as well as some that require group participation in order to make use of the particular skills of the rest of your crew. The main focus of the game, however, is on "telling a great story with a lot of unexpected twists, unique characters and relations between them. And of course quite a few good scares." Decisions matter in (un)Lucky 7, as the developers promise multiple endings depending on your chosen path throughout the game.

In order to release the game as intended by July, the developers are seeking €46,000 by February 20th. As an Indiegogo campaign with flexible funding, the developers will benefit from all contributions, regardless of whether it meets its target goal, though fewer pledges will result in a longer production time and fewer features. A €10 contribution will get you a downloadable copy of the game upon release, while upper tiers include rewards like a "bonus standalone short game connected with the original story", posters, and an NPC based on you or a character of your design. For complete details, visit the (un)Lucky 7 Indiegogo page. You can also vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.

Homesick

With not an animal in sight (or even a protagonist), Homesick is a first-person, free-roaming 3D adventure. During the day, you'll peacefully explore an abandoned building as its caretaker, "encountering puzzles and clues, and opening new areas of the building. You seem to have been there so long that direct sunlight is blindingly bright, yet you feel at home. But when you sleep, you are plagued by nightmares, frantically running down hallways chased by darkness, an axe in hand, trying to escape."

Developed by two-person American team Lucky Pause, Homesick is a game of discovery, as you "learn who you are, what you are doing, and what happened" in this unusual building. Inspired by such diverse adventures as Monkey Island and Myst, the developers are promising to include a variety of challenging but logical puzzles, some of which have multiple paths and some completely optional. There will be both a daytime world and dark nightmare world to explore, and the puzzles you solve in one will effect the other.

Seeking to raise a modest $8,000 by February 18th on Kickstarter, the goal is to release the game on PC by July, with Mac and Linux options possible if enough funds are received. A minimum $10 pledge will earn you a downloadable copy of the game and your name in the credits, while larger donations will result in more interactive options like printed content written by you or a photo of yourself appearing in-game. Also eligible for voting on Steam Greenlight, you can learn more about Homesick and contribute to the campaign through the game's Kickstarter page.
 

Also seeking funding this month was Wyrmkeep Entertainment's Inherit the Earth 2. However, due to an unanticipated lack of game-related assets to support the appeal, the Kickstarter campaign has been canceled. Indie developer Joe Pearce says he does hope to complete the game through other means, but there are currently no firm plans in place to pursue that goal. Following is the original news story in its entirety.

Inherit the Earth 2

It's been nearly 20 years since Rif the Fox and his fellow anthropomorphic animal companions appeared in their first adventure, but Wyrmkeep Entertainment is looking to revive the fantasy franchise at long last with a family-friendly sequel, Inherit the Earth 2. This time around, unfounded rumours abound among the "Morph Tribes of the Known Lands" that the Orb once used to predict the weather had not been destroyed as originally believed. At first dismissed as idle gossip, "the arrival of a chieftess’s daughter with a startling revelation leads to Rif embarking on a new adventure."

The sequel takes place after the original game and the subsequent Little Lost Wolf webcomic, which themselves were set far in the future, long after mankind has disappeared, leaving the world in control of civilized animal tribes. Inherit the Earth 2 will feature "entirely new art, music and story, incorporated with a modern adventure game engine."

The design is already complete and the game in pre-production, but in order to make it a reality, the developers are seeking $135,000 by Feb 17th. A successful Kickstarter campaign will enable a fully-fledged adventure targeting a November release on Windows, Mac, Linux and iOS, though failure to raise the necessary funds would inevitably jeopardize the game's size and scope and delay it considerably, and possibly result in its cancelation altogether.

As usual, pledge rewards include a free downloadable copy of the game, this time with a $10 minimum, with higher tiers offering such perks as private forum access, signed artwork, T-shirts, and an original character of your design appearing in the game. To donate or simply to learn more about the game, check out the Inherit the Earth 2 Kickstarter page.