Welcome back for our 10th Kickstarter Weekly. Seeing as this the 10th article, we now have engrained in us some strange habits; namely, navigating Kickstarter each weak for some cool gaming projects that we believe have potential. In this week’s article we have a balance of old-school sensibility and new-age quirkiness. Reven takes Super Metroid and expands upon it with various features, and Classroom Aquatic is a quirky game that takes the stealth genre to the classroom setting.
Classroom Aquatic
Project by: Sunken Places
Goal: $30,000
Current Funds: $3,895
End: March 5, 2014
I always thought there was something off about dolphins. Despite their cute chirps and happy faces, dolphins are known for some shady behavior. In fact, I, and Sunken Places, wouldn’t be surprised if dolphins were the kind of animals that would gladly cheat on a test.
In Classroom Aquatic, you are a dolphin who is not prepared for the day’s exam. What’s the solution? Why, you need to look at your aquatic classmates’ test, of course! While you have some smart classmates, they wouldn’t appreciate you if they caught you cheating off of their test. Needless to say, your teacher won’t think very highly of you either.
That’s why the dolphin must be stealthy. Players can create diversions like chucking erasers across the room. If you want to pass, then you have to use whatever strategy you want quickly and accurately; most tests are timed, after all.
In all seriousness, Classroom Aquatic looks like a great example of taking the stealth genre and doing something new with it. The game has apparently had a following before they turned to Kickstarter, and the developers need the funding to turn their project into a fully-developed game. Classroom Aquatic will appear on PC, Mac, and Linux; however, the game is also compatible for the Oculus Rift, which would work great with the aquatic imagery.
Reven
Project by: Varia Games
Goal: $18,000
Current Funds: $19,966
End: February 22, 2014
If Classroom Aquatic takes a conventional genre and turns it on its head, then Reven is a game that sticks to the familiar yet expands upon it. More specifically, if you’ve been itching to play Super Metroid–or any of the 2D Metroid games for that matter–then you may want to keep an eye on Reven’s Kickstarter page.
The trailer begins with a narration that eerily reminds me of the intro for Super Metroid. A recording echoes “my name is Eve” a couple of times throughout the video, and it’s accompanied with a soundtrack that makes the space station and other worlds seem lonely. Speaking of the worlds, Reven forgoes 16-bit graphics for a more polished look. I love how exotic the world looks, but the game isn’t afraid to show off its disturbing side.
Reven is a 2D sidescroller that has the look and feel of Super Metroid (and Mega Man, apparently), but it will also have RPG elements similar to those found in the Deus Ex franchise. If you look at the trailer, you’ll see several moves that look like they belong to Super Metroid. I don’t want to make this game seem like a knockoff, as it has its own signature flair. Reven will feature an EDM system, which allows the main character, SyRek, to transfer energy into four aspects of its armor: weapons, shielding, mobility and sensors. What this means is that you can transfer this energy to strengthen what part you deem necessary at the time.
Reven looks like a great game that’s inspired from the Metroid series but is more interested in expanding into other frontiers. There will be plenty of lore to research, items to craft, and worlds to explore. Reven has already been funded, but it has some interesting stretch goals such as a port to PlayStation 4/Playstation Vita and two-player online co-op.
Other Projects?
Have you seen any interesting projects on Kickstarter that you think deserve mention? Are you a developer who is currently running a Kickstarter campaign? Let us know in the comments section, or send an email to garrett@thekoalition.com.
