Comic sci-fi mystery Murder One: Mars probing for funds on Kickstarter
Classic adventure game fans may soon get a chance to put the old movie tagline “In space, no one can hear you scream” to the test. Canadian independent development studio 4th Monkey Media has brought a concept for a story-driven point-and-click murder mystery with a comedic spin to Kickstarter. The twist? Murder One: Mars is to be set on the Red Planet, away from the safe familiarity of Earth.
Players will take control of special investigators Lloyd and Cole, who have been sent to Mars to solve a murder in Garden Manor, home of the planet’s wealthy mining magnate and Big Cheese, James Garden. Contrasting with the posh manor will be industrial mining facilities and research labs, which are described by the team as “realistic” and “mundane”. Don’t expect a clean, glitzy space colony, but rather the down ‘n’ dirty fare of such classics as Alien and Blade Runner.
4th Monkey has enlisted the help of artists and designers who bring with them plenty of previous experience on various game, TV, and movie projects – over 30 titles all told. Hired to take over script-writing duties for Murder One: Mars, and ensure its comedic nature, is stand-up comic Phil James. Envisioned as the first in a trilogy, the game will feature voice work and hand-drawn 2D artwork and backgrounds, as well as – if the sample footage is any indication – quality animated cinematics as an additional campaign stretch goal.
Though the game is still in its pre-production stage, a delivery date of March 2014 has already been announced for PC, Mac, and Linux. The Kickstarter campaign, running until December 8, is aiming for a $65,000 CAD goal, with a copy of the game available starting at $20. An interesting reward has been included at the top tier, available for only one backer: to actually BE the one whodunit!
Visit the team’s Kickstarter page for more details on Murder One: Mars, and to pick up a copy of the game for yourself with a pledge contribution.
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