For The King: Kickstarter Campaign Underway

IronOak GamesFor The King — the project that grew out of the cancelled Unity version of The Black Gate Board Game — is now on Kickstarter, its developers seeking to raise funds to enhance the development of the game:

Can you really make a game of this scope and quality for $40,000? Well yes, and no. Over the past year, the three core members of our team have been working full time on For The King, in fact it’s something we quit our jobs to do. We will continue to work on this game with no income until it’s released because we believe in this idea, and this is how we keep our costs low. This campaign is not to replenish our savings but instead to inject content directly into the game and improve it as a product. Any Kickstarter funding will be used to help pay for areas beyond our scope or expertise like an epic soundtrack, high quality sound effects, and custom animation.

I’ve covered the game a fair bit on the Codex here, so some of its features should already be familiar to those of you who’ve read those articles. But here’s the list from the Kickstarter page, just for a refresher:

  • Solo or Online Co-op – Control your own party or play with up to 3 people online. Travel and fight together or dare to set off on your own.
  • Challenging Roguelike Adventure – A highly re-playable, unforgiving adventure designed to keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.
  • Turn Based Combat – A classic battle style with a unique slot and proficiency system. Choose your attack type, spend focus points, use items, and activate special abilities to defeat your foes.
  • Living World – New challenges and horrors emerge at different times of day. Encounter weather and natural events that have a variety of effects, both good and bad.
  • Procedurally Crafted Map – The map, realms, and locations you encounter are different every play through. A unique set of fascinating locations will force you to adapt your play style every game.
  • Persistent Lore – Collect lore and spend it at the town libraries to build a unique game experience. Unlock persistent game mechanics in the order of your choosing.
  • Dungeons – Unique dungeons will require new strategies every time you play. Encounter deadly traps, enemies, and legendary treasure in unexpected ways.
  • Persistent Weapon Crafting – Collect unusual resources and rare weapon recipes to craft powerful weapons over multiple playthroughs.
  • Item, trinkets, curiosities – Find many different objects and items to use along the way. Some helpful and some come with a cost…

  • Turn Based Exploration – Strategically spend action points to navigate through a dangerous landscape full of rewards and deadly encounters.
  • Unpredictable Worlds to explore, uniquely generated each play through.
  • Fantastical Realms are home to strange encounters, dangerous enemies, and untold mysteries.
  • Sail the Seas and explore uncharted waters if you dare tempt what lurks in the deep.
  • Towns, Cities, and Villages provide refuge to rest and resupply but beware of thieves who pray on adventurers with pockets full of gold.

The minimum spend to get a copy of the game upon its completion — the estimated release window is June, 2016 — is $15 CAD, and beta access is available from $20 CAD. Thus far, IronOak have already raised over $7,600 CAD out of their $40,000 CAD goal, which is a pretty good start. The campaign wraps up in thirty days.