Kickstarter of Potential Interest: Mage’s Initiation
Marquillin pointed out, via email, that I’ve given some attention to Quest for Glory and at least one Kickstarter project inspired by that series, and suggested that I draw your attention, ye Dragons and Dragonettes, to Mage’s Initiation, a “classic Sierra-style adventure” game currently in the midst of what will likely be a successful Kickstarter campaign. The reward tiers for this one are actually really generous; just $6 will nab you a copy of the game, and another $10 on top of that will add the soundtrack and some exclusive media.
And as the screenshot above demonstrates, the game looks very much like a classic Sierra title of yesterdecade. The basic plot of the game is thus:
In the quiet, provincial realm of Iginor, evil is stirring. Dangers abound on all sides: the forest, wastelands, and even the once-protective mountains look to the tiny town with glaring eyes. Into this, a young, would-be Mage sets forth to prove himself worthy of joining the ranks of his brethren. This is his journey. A Mage’s Initiation.
You assume the role of D’arc, a sixteen-year-old Initiate who must complete a trio of tasks set by his Mage Masters. Journey through the medieval-styled realm of Iginor. Brave a goblin-infested forest. Navigate a vast lake to encounter an evil so pure, not even beauty can disguise it. Ascend to the peaks of Flyteria, a valley of winged warriors once dedicated to protection of the human town.
Succeed and D’arc shall take his place among his fellow Mages.
Fail and nobody shall remember his name.
The features list is pretty impressive, and the developers are looking to give nods toward both Sierra and LucasArts games with Mage’s Initiation. The Kickstarter version of the game will be released for Windows initially, with Mac and Linux ports coming later. Android and iOS ports are a stretch goal, and will be a go if the developers raise $120,000. Their initial goal, meanwhile, is $65,000, and they’ve raised (at the time of this writing) over $57,000 of that already. With 22 days to go, they’ll likely at least make the base goal.
And hey, you really can’t find fault with that $6 tier, which is a fine price to pay for the game even if it only delivers an experience half as fun as a good Sierra romp.
The people behind this one were also behind some King’s Quest remakes (as AGDI) and Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman’s Mine (their first commercial title). And the Quest for Glory 2 remake was theirs. A good track record, and are worth supporting.
Hey, thanks for the feature WtF!
I’m very excited about this project, because their remakes have been amazing, particularly QfG2. It’s not an easy thing to code and test a complex RPG Adventure hybrid like that, in fact it took them 7-8 years. And for non-profit, that really shows it’s all a labor of love for these guys. It’s about time they got payed for it.
They will soon hit their base goal, but there’s some really nice stretch goals to follow.
Unfortunately, the $6 reward tier is a limited amount, long ago filled, though one can catch the occasional vacancy as someone ups their pledge. But for most, the minimum will be $16 (which is much better then the $60 we payed in early 1990’s for a good adventure game.
Anyway, if you want to get a sense of their style, go to http://www.agdinteractive.com to play their free remakes.
And the goal has now been reached and they’re in stretch goal territory!
Indeed, happy day! And with 18 more happy days to go, hopefully they can keep up the pace and double their money in order to get ports, a novelization, more animated cutscenes, 4 more missions and more glorious monsters. The fully voiced translations will take some doing though at $250,000.
So, what would the Avatar do? Aye, Avatar would back this virtuous game. There’s even a cloth map, Avatar like cloth!
I just pledged. Great to see so many old-school RPGs coming back. I’ve also already pledged to Hero-U.
Even tho I would really like a cloth map, the jump from $16 to $100 was a little steep. Maybe they will offer one more reasonably after release?
Yep, it’s exciting times; besides this and Hero-U, there’s also Quest for Infamy and Heroine Quest on their way, both similar to QfG style. And Shadow Gate of course looks like awesome nostalgia of course. Browncoat games is what I call them. 🙂
I believe the map will be for sale on their site later, and it should be less then $100 once all the other swag is sold separately.
Just an update; the Kickstarter for Mage’s Initiation closes today. They are currently at $118k and change; if they make it to 120k, we get widescreen support and ports to iOS, Android, Mac and Linux. So get out there and pledge!