Shadowrun Returns

[CeeKay]

Shadowrun Returns is the name, and they're planning a 2D turn based game with tactical combat.  they're at over a quarter of the way to their goal fo $400K with 24 days left.  it sounds fairly ambitious:

Contextual Gameplay in Four Realities

Four realities overlap in the world of Shadowrun (the Physical, the Digital, the Mystic, and the Astral) and associated character classes such as the Street Samurai, Hacker, Combat Mage, and Shaman, each have the ability to view and interact with the world in ways the others can’t.

Here are some ways that selecting each character class allows you to see the map from a different perspective:

    Street Samurai see a threat assessment overlay of the environment that notes enemy appraisals, options for cover, potential weapons, and statistics for drawn weapons.
    Combat Mages see magical auras, granting them the ability to locate magical items, identify spells being prepared, and find the intersections of magic lay lines where they can recharge their power.
    Hackers/Deckers see the digital control circuitry that allows them to manipulate the physical world via the digital one.
    Shaman see the “true world” that lies in the astral plane, distinguishing the true nature of people, plants, creatures, and magical objects while buildings and other “dead” objects appear as mere shadows.

Missions (aka "Runs") in Shadowrun Returns can require interaction with all four realities simultaneously, requiring you to use information learned from each character’s perspective to coordinate their context-sensitive actions to get the job done. . . and survive.

I think I might put in $15 on this one, simply because I miss Shadowrun and would love a decent game based on the world.

[USMC Kato]

Hell yeah, about time. Pledged $20, hope this makes it goal

[Laner]

I wonder if Kickstarter backers are going to hit classic franchise fatigue before too long...

[TK-421]

I wonder if Kickstarter backers are going to hit classic franchise fatigue before too long...

Ask me that question if a kickstarter project for Privateer or Interstate '76 ever comes up.

[Razgon]

Its a dream come true. I've been waiting for a true Shadowrun game for...many years by now, and now one is coming, made by the guy who friggin made the world in the first place.

Simply awesome! And hey, they are at 150.000 already? This will be realized easily...

[EngineNo9]

I wonder if Kickstarter backers are going to hit classic franchise fatigue before too long...

Ask me that question if a kickstarter project for Privateer or Interstate '76 ever comes up.

I would personally self-fund an Interstate '76 remake by myself if I could. 

[skystride]

Never played Shadowrun but I like RPGs so I backed this one and Wasteland.

[EngineNo9]

Looks like they're already halfway there, with $200k already. 

[Destructor]

$320k and they aren't even through the first day? Yeah, I think this will get funded.

[Chordian]

I wonder if Kickstarter backers are going to hit classic franchise fatigue before too long...

I've been wondering about that too. I hope it's not too late when the Tex Murphy Kickstarter starts on May 15, because I really want that one to be a success.

[EngineNo9]

$320k and they aren't even through the first day? Yeah, I think this will get funded.

And indeed they are already over the goal at $414k.

I wonder if Kickstarter backers are going to hit classic franchise fatigue before too long...

I've been wondering about that too. I hope it's not too late when the Tex Murphy Kickstarter starts on May 15, because I really want that one to be a success.

I know that I'm already getting sick of seeing these announcements pop up every couple days.

[morlac]

48 hours and they hit their quota?   This is getting ridiculous! All I i need is an Autodual sequel and you might as well transport me to the 80's  This kickstarter movement will either be the biggest tease in computer game history or the start of a rebirth of gaming goldness the like of which we haven't seen since the 80's.  It reminds me of the time when you would buy games solely on word of mouth and it would come in a plastic bag.  To put the power back into the hands of developers as a opposed to the publishers could lead to the next 'golden age' in gaming.   Oddly enough I think the success of XBLA, and PSN and steam have lead to this.  I have no idea if any of the recent announcements will equal quality gaming but the mere awesomeness of the people involved is literally leaving me grinning from ear to ear.

I don't know exactly what is pushing this phenomenon( nostalgic gamers with large expendable incomes???).  Obviously up front cash is pushing it but honestly.......WTF!!!....  I can't say it enough:  within the last few weeks/ months almost every great game I played in my youth is either getting a major budget upgrade or being re imagined into something awesome.  Not only that but from what I have read almost all of these kickstarts/redux involve original people that made the awesome.

I am floored by all this and have not been this excited for gaming in along time and the last couple of years have produced more good games than I have time for.  

[Azhag]

I'm worried for all of these if the first few don't turn out well it's going to kill the whole idea... I'm only looking at ones with really solid teams with good experience behind them in the hopes they won't just churn something crappy out the door...

[hepcat]

I'm with morlac.  Between board games and video games, kickstarter has given players a Renaissance in their respective genres.  I put in my 15 bucks immediately after watching the video.

[kronovan]

The latest status:

12,867
Backers

$575,369
pledged of $400,000 goal

22
days to go

I've supported quite a few kickstarters recently for P'n'P settings and I agree with others that this is a great tonic for the smaller developers/publisers of the gaming biz. This game has a lot of promise and I'll be donating. I've only ever sat in on 1 session of Shadowrun at a convention, but I did enjoy it. I'm more of an Interface Zero PnP player -which has a very similar vibe- but there'll likely never be a IZ videogame, so I'll play SR to scratch that itch.  

[CeeKay]

[ydejin]

Never played Shadowrun but I like RPGs so I backed this one and Wasteland.

Same for me.

[Thry]

Meh @ an additional city

I'd rather see co-op

[TiLT]

I'd rather see co-op

And I'd rather not. It's good to see that they're sticking with their original vision. If they weren't, that would be a potentially major problem.

[morlac]

I'd rather see co-op

And I'd rather not. It's good to see that they're sticking with their original vision. If they weren't, that would be a potentially major problem.

Agreed.  Save to Co-Op for a sequel potentially.

[CeeKay]

I'd rather see co-op

And I'd rather not. It's good to see that they're sticking with their original vision. If they weren't, that would be a potentially major problem.

Agreed.  Save to Co-Op for a sequel potentially.

or an add-on.

[kronovan]

Meh, I'm a huge fan of co-op, whether its split-screen, same-screen or online, but I can't really see it working for a TB-RPG like this. Heck I'm not even convinced it works that well for TBS's, where it seems a more natural fit.

[CeeKay]

48 hours and they hit their quota?

just over 24 hours actually.

[KC]

Can you only get the PC version for paying-in $15?  What if I want the Ipad version?  Also, how much will this cost for the procrastinators?

[Destructor]

Can you only get the PC version for paying-in $15?  What if I want the Ipad version?  Also, how much will this cost for the procrastinators?

In the FAQ they mention that due to how the stores and such work, they can't give out an iPad version and such for free with this. So yes, it'll only be the PC version you'll get with this.

[EngineNo9]

Can you only get the PC version for paying-in $15?  What if I want the Ipad version?  Also, how much will this cost for the procrastinators?

In the FAQ they mention that due to how the stores and such work, they can't give out an iPad version and such for free with this. So yes, it'll only be the PC version you'll get with this.

So how do all of the iPhone/iPad/Android projects on Kickstarter do it?  It can't be all that bad.

[CeeKay]

1 million now gets Linux support added in.  from the Kickstarter page:

Linux is a bit of a different story, however. While it’s true that we have a great environment for cross-platform development (how else could we target PC, Mac, iOS, AND Android!), it does not, at this time, include support for Linux. Because of this and because we needed to add Linux to our small studio’s skill-set, we felt that committing to a Linux version was unwise, so we (reluctantly) took it off the table.

Since that time, two important things have happened:

    We reached out to members of the Linux community to better understand the scope and developmental risk that a Linux port would introduce.

    Our partners at Zipline Games (the creators of our dev environment, Moai) have rearranged their development roadmap to support Shadowrun Returns and add Linux to their list of supported platforms.

So here’s the deal: We can now say with confidence that if we hit our $1M stretch goal, we will be able to partner with the right external developer, port Shadowrun Returns to Linux, and deliver it in a reasonable amount of time after the game is released.

[CeeKay]

and they've hit 1 million.  second city!

[CeeKay]

and now 1.5 million will get a special backers only exclusive mission that ties together the stories of the original SNES and Genesis title.

[Purge]

281%  funded
$1,125,884  pledged
12  days left

[CeeKay]

USB dog tags are tempting.

[Isgrimnur]

I went in at $15.  As much as the Doc Wagon appealed to me, it wasn't a $45 upgrade.  And the book, while nice, would get read once, then languish on a HD somewhere.

[kronovan]

I love this; it's successful to the extent that a few of the bigger publishers might take notice and think about opportunities they`re missing. Of course their suits would probably get their sticky fingers in so deep on something like this that'd it'd flop. Still, like the better indy titles, this is showing them their fingers are far from being on the pulse. I`m curious if there`s ever been another kickstarter PC game that`s been this successful?

[Destructor]

I`m curious if there`s ever been another kickstarter PC game that`s been this successful?

*cough*Wasteland*cough*. (18ish hours left as of this post)

[EngineNo9]

I`m curious if there`s ever been another kickstarter PC game that`s been this successful?

*cough*Wasteland*cough*. (18ish hours left as of this post)

*cough*Double Fine Adventure*cough* 

[kronovan]

I`m curious if there`s ever been another kickstarter PC game that`s been this successful?

*cough*Wasteland*cough*. (18ish hours left as of this post)

*cough*Double Fine Adventure*cough* 

You guys need to see your doctors for a prescripton - that's a lot of heavy coughing you're doing. 

[ydejin]

USB dog tags are tempting.

I was already at the $100 level and there was a significant amount of swag offered for upgrading to $125 so I went ahead and upgraded.  

[Destructor]

A few great updates:

One of the recurring themes in the stories we hear is how the music of the Sega and SNES Shadowrun games stays with you after all this time. Whenever we read your comments and whenever the team talks about it, the conversation always comes back to, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we could get the guys who wrote the original music?”

So we did.

Today, we’re incredibly excited to announce that Marshall Parker, who wrote the music for the Super Nintendo game and Sam Powell, who wrote the music for the Sega Genesis game, have agreed to COLLABORATE on the music for Shadowrun Returns.

Holy crap.

Also, concept art of the DocWagon card is now included. 4ish days to go with this. Get in now!

[Vidiot]

I'm pretty damn excited about this one.  If only to get Shadowrun out in the public light again in a positive way.  There is just so much you can do with it.

[Vidiot]

1.5! If we hit 1.75 we get physical adepts!