Kickstarters We Love!
about 4 years ago
– Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 10:59:57 PM
Kickstarters We Love!
Thank you all so much for the support for Descent into Midnight! We’re humbled by your energy and we’d love to help share that energy with the other amazing creators running projects during our campaign. These designers are extremely talented in their own rights, and their work to create fantastic worlds inspires the DiM team. Projects ranging from silly to serious, short to long, these projects are all deserving of your love and energy. We’ve collected links below to our favorites, as well as a couple sentences about each. Check them out and consider showing them the love you showed us!
10 Gallon Tank by Winsmith Games LLC - running until February 20, 2020.
Why we love it: It’s fish! It’s got lovely art! And it’s a fun casual game that you can play with the whole family or at a convention in minutes. They’re also offering a donation to Toys for Tots, and we’re all about donations!
Alone On A Journey by Takuma Okada, running until February 25 2020.
Starting with Alone Among The Stars, Takuma created a framework for solo games that inspired dozens of beautiful hacks. Now, this campaign funds a print run for Alone games, as well as support and encouragement for readers to create their own! Gorgeous in art & layout, we’re stoked to have this produced in physical form!
Aquamarine by Moebial Studios, running until February 25, 2020.
The art and animation for this game of contemplative survival adventure in an alien ocean look like things that might have come straight from our brains. Their protagonist is even called the Seeker.
Beam Saber by Austin Ramsay, launching March 2 2020.
Why we love it: It’s an awesome game about Mechs! Beam Saber uses the Forged In The Dark system to tell great mech stories inspired by media like Gundam, Pacific Rim, and other stories about giant robots and the people who pilot them. Beam Saber looks to be a game of great high octane fun & we can’t wait for it! Richard got to play it with The RPG Academy and it’s a blast!
Celestial Bodies, Orbital Mechanics by Mossy, running until February 21 2020.
Why we love it: It captures some of the best stuff we love about emotional science fiction. It interrogates violence in some really cool ways. “In spite of the differences between you and them, however, they still recognize you as kindred spirits and fellow exiles.”
Disk Horse #1: Off To The Races! by Fiona Geist, running until February 27 2020.
Why we love it: Disk Horse is a cool meta-narrative RPG about DMs and their players, interpreting rules of games to fit their ends and replicating discourse about games in general. It looks like a cool take on how we have conversations about games and Fiona is a talented designer to watch.
Don’t Look: A Short Horror RPG by Quinn Milton, running until March 2 2020.
Why we love it: A short pick up & play horror game, this looks like a great zine to back for those who love to be spooked. “There's nothing there. Not in the shadows beyond the campfire, and not in the closet behind you, and certainly not growing on the ceiling above your head. And even if there was, you wouldn't know what it is, because you have never looked at it. You can't know what it is.”
The Flower Court by Jay Dragon
Why we love it: While not technically on Kickstarter, this project is perfect for the ZineQuest energy and even has stretch goals based on its sales. The game is one of fey intrigue, queer flirting, and magical backstabbing romance. It’s sexy, dramatic, politicking at its best and fans of fey should check it out now.
For The Honor by Quinn Vega, running until February 27 2020.
Why we love it: For The Honor is a really cool She-Ra inspired game “about powerful magic users and skilled warriors trying to make their world a better place and getting all tangled up in the process.” It uses the super fun anthology framework of Firebrands by Meguey and D. Vincent Baker.
Heaven Has No Taste; And Other True Statements by Atlas and Luke, running until February 28 2020.
Why we love it: This is a game about demons and angels falling in love after abandoning their divine purposes. Inspired by fiction like Good Omens, and using the brilliant Belonging Outside Belonging system, this project centers feelings like community, love, and purpose.
I’m Sorry Did You Say Street Magic? by Caro Asercion, running until February 26 2020.
Why we love it: If you enjoy the world-building of DiM you need to check this game out. It uses the framework of Microscope but instead of creating a timeline, it creates wildly imaginative cities. As you play you create districts, locations, and residents of your city, and explore the true names of every special place or resident. This game is pure magic.
Lost Roads by Ary Ramsey, running until February 19 2020.
Why we love it: Lost Roads is a game about climate migration and looks to be an interesting climate fiction fantasy. Inspired by road movies and climate fiction, it follows a group of fantasy travellers with connections to the elements.
memoria by a. fell, running until February 20 2020.
Why we love it: Inspired by games like Microscope and Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands, Memoria jumps through time to explore character relationships and focuses on memories and tokens to drive its narrative.
Mermaids After The End: by ELH, running until March 14 2020.
Why we love it: Post-apocalyptic transhumanist mermaids delving the deep for unknown treasures. We were sold right from the start. The art is the main reason for the Kickstarter (the game is done and available now on itch.io) and what we’ve seen looks amazing.
Procession by Zargo Games, running until February 21 2020.
Why we love it: Procession is “a game about monsters and miracles” that promises to be a super cool dive into what makes us human, and what connects us through community, empathy, and storytelling. “It is a game about empathizing with bizarre beings.”
Snow and Salt: Monsters from the Taiga & Mangrove by Danielle Osterman, running until February 24 2020.
Why we love it: This anthology features creative monsters from two specific biomes, the taiga and the mangrove. Fans of DiM will especially love the mangrove monsters, especially as our very own Barky finds their name from the trees that give this biome its name. This super cool anthology is filled with talented creators and showcases a range of awesome creatures!
Space Goblins! by Viditya Voleti, running until February 29 2020.
Why we love it: This game is SUPREMELY wholesome. You play as space goblins driving your garbage ship around the galaxy, smashing it into stuff, stealing garbage to add to your ship, and having a romp in space. During play, you build your ship out of legos or other toys!
This Thing We Started by Tracy Barnett, running until February 24 2020.
Why we love it: BECAUSE WE LOVE TRACY!! This one features a member of the DiM team but we also want to shout it out because it looks like a rad game in its own right. Following the Descended From The Queen framework, this game explores how creators coalesce their creation. It’s a metanarrative of inspiration, creativity, and the relationship between artist and art.
Thistle and Hearth by Natalie The Knife and Aven McConnaughey, running until February 28 2020.
Why we love it: Thistle and Hearth is a supernatural game of community, power, history, and dark fairy tales. It takes place in a wintry village entangled with fey politics, rising dead, and reflections of the designers’ experiences in Lutheran Minnesota.
Venture & Dungeon by Riley Rethal and Jay Dragon, running until March 2 2020.
Why we love it: This pair of Belonging Outside Belonging offers two spectacular takes on dungeon crawl games. Venture is a heady and introspective look at heroic fantasy that encourages players to interrogate the role of the adventurer within their world. Dungeon follows a group of kids playing RPGs while exploring emotional themes through the lens of their fantasy adventures. Both games are super unique and their designers are some of the most talented out there.
We also recognize that there are countless talented creatives out there in countries not supported by Kickstarter. Amazing friend (and talented game designer in his own right) Mahar has compiled a great Twitter thread of folks you should also check out!
