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The Banner Saga Kickstarter project by Stoic [Ended, 723K funded]

Sentenza

Sentenza

Member
Minsc said:
Looks like you might wanna revise your timeframe a bit, nearing 90% and has been holding on to a steady pace!
Click to expand...
Well, not that I don't like the news, but from where I'm looking it (GTM +1 timezone) it went from 75k to 89 k in several hours, and there are less than 6 hours left to the end of the day, so at this pace it would indeed reach the goal tomorrow.
Still, I must admit I was thinking about something like tomorrow morning, with my estimation

EDIT: Woah, 96k now. They are really doing it.
 
M

Man-is-Obsolete

Member
If it is true that they would bring it to psn and vita with additional funding I would definitely back this 100%. My computer sucks and may not handle this very well, and in general I don't like to pc game. My wife uses the pc for Facebook and pinterest, so even if I wanted to I couldn't play games on it freely.
 
E

esserius

Banned
Hoping this becomes funded in excess. Would really like to see a game with such a wonderful style. Has an almost Last Unicorn feel to it.

edit: Oh wow it's $300 away. Gogo gadget videogames!

edit edit: Yay, it's funded! *slinks away*
 
Alexios

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Man-is-Obsolete said:
If it is true that they would bring it to psn and vita with additional funding I would definitely back this 100%. My computer sucks and may not handle this very well, and in general I don't like to pc game. My wife uses the pc for Facebook and pinterest, so even if I wanted to I couldn't play games on it freely.
Click to expand...
I'm sure your PC can handle it, it looks like a browser game outside having lovely art most such games can't have developed and it should benefit from cursor controls given the genre it's in. Try getting past that pc gaming mental block.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
I shot them off a question about the drm-freeness of this - they've confirmed that there will be a standalone version of the game that does not used steam - and added it to their faq. :)

Have now backed this.
 
P

Pachterballs

Banned
brian fargo tweeted about this and I had a look. Looks great. Came to gaf and there's already a thread. they've already hit their funding which is excellent. The kid in the basement/garage with the cloak reminds me of jonathan mecher and his brother + their rotoscope story... so this is neat.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
This looks awesome, I hope it gets enough backing for having console versions and even a Vita version! I would get them all, since I can't back them right now.
 
A

Almighty

Member
Looks pretty good. I haven't decided if I will donate to it or not yet. I will at least be keeping an eye on it though.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
I'm not sure about this whole "take a survey to decide which platforms we'll put the game on" thing. Depending on how they proceed, I may be removing my funding. I just want them to commit to Windows, Mac and Linux and not the consoles and handhelds. When you commit to making it on wildly different platforms, I can't help but imagine that certain things will be compromised. I'm also not really interested in funding a bunch of platforms that I have no interest in playing the game on.
 
Minsc

Minsc

Gold Member
Zefah said:
I'm not sure about this whole "take a survey to decide which platforms we'll put the game on" thing. Depending on how they proceed, I may be removing my funding. I just want them to commit to Windows, Mac and Linux and not the consoles and handhelds. When you commit to making it on wildly different platforms, I can't help but imagine that certain things will be compromised. I'm also not really interested in funding a bunch of platforms that I have no interest in playing the game on.
Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying, but what exactly do you envision being compromised given the video we've seen of the game? Consoles/handhelds/iOS have had story focused sRPGs/TBS/RPGs without compromising other platforms. Unless you expect them to make it control gamepad only or something, I don't see the problem.

More platforms = more funding, even if you disagree with the decision, unless of course the genre/game is highly reliant on a certain input device. It's your money, but there's nothing inherently bad about releasing a game like this on any major platform I can think of.
 
I

Ignis Fatuus

Banned
Threw my money in. Sounds irresistible, right up my alley. I'm surprised they're asking for so little.

Minsc said:
More platforms = more funding, even if you disagree with the decision
Click to expand...
I think this is only true to a point, namely after you secure Windows, Mac, and Linux. The Wasteland 2 polls have all indicated that no more than 2% of contributors are interested in tablet ports. I find it hard to imagine that there are more than a tiny, vocal minority who would only chip in if they could get it on tablets.

Personally I also believe strongly that resources should be devoted to the actual content before worrying about putting it on the iPad. That would end up pleasing everyone who contributed rather than a tiny subset.
 
E

esserius

Banned
Minsc said:
I understand what you're saying, but what exactly do you envision being compromised given the video we've seen of the game? Consoles/handhelds/iOS have had story focused sRPGs/TBS/RPGs without compromising other platforms. Unless you expect them to make it control gamepad only or something, I don't see the problem.

More platforms = more funding, even if you disagree with the decision, unless of course the genre/game is highly reliant on a certain input device. It's your money, but there's nothing inherently bad about releasing a game like this on any major platform I can think of.
Click to expand...
Well, it does also mean that they have to spend time porting code so that the game will work in various environments. There aren't a lot of languages or development environments that allow for this to easily occur (sadly, there aren't too many SCUMM environments in the modern day). Despite this, it would still be great if the game were released to as many spaces as possible, as the more these games are exposed, the more I think games will be appreciated in a way that hasn't been seen before. It's actually really great that Kickstarter has begun to fund some of these really ambitious game projects too, rather than watching them be put through publisher grinders and become horrible money-grabs using nostalgia for past franchises that have nothing more than name value.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Minsc said:
I understand what you're saying, but what exactly do you envision being compromised given the video we've seen of the game? Consoles/handhelds/iOS have had story focused sRPGs/TBS/RPGs without compromising other platforms. Unless you expect them to make it control gamepad only or something, I don't see the problem.

More platforms = more funding, even if you disagree with the decision, unless of course the genre/game is highly reliant on a certain input device. It's your money, but there's nothing inherently bad about releasing a game like this on any major platform I can think of.
Click to expand...

The gameplay should be fine, but my main concern comes with the fact that the only really open platforms are Windows, Mac, Linux and maybe Android. The other platforms all come with their own sets of rules, regulations, certification processes, etc. that I don't want to have affect the game in any way. For example, I don't want a "press start button to play" screen in the game just because they had to add one to conform to XBLA's policies and found it too much trouble/not worth the effort to remove it for the other versions. I'm not pulling any funding at this time, but I'm just a bit wary of the fact that they are considering a ton of platforms even before the game is close to being finished. I'd rather they spend more development of the actual game and worry about other platforms after it's finished.
 
D

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Looks really cool, I should thrown in a few bucks. Referencing Shining Force and FFT in their pitch has me interested too, especially since this gen has seen a big downturn in available SRPGs.
 
M

Man-is-Obsolete

Member
I pledged to this. Screw it, it looks great and the guys seem like they want to make this right and the FFT feel I am getting is all the more sweet. Do hope they raise enough extra dough to bring it to the PSN and Vita and of course all other platforms still.
 
I

Ignis Fatuus

Banned
New Update:

I'll admit, we weren't prepared to post something this soon, and it's because of your unbelievable support. Once again, (and you'll probably hear this a lot more over the next 30 days), thank you and skol!

When we set out to make The Banner Saga we weren't sure what kind of response we would get. Would people dig the art style or slam us for not going 3D? Was turn-based strategy too small a niche to support us? Would the theme of the game click with people? Those are tough questions to answer when you're putting up your life savings.

Kickstarter has made it all possible, but more importantly than that it answered the question "do people actually want this?" more resolutely than we ever could imagine. We've had so many comments, questions and emails - overwhelmingly positive - that we've spent the last three days doing nothing but churning out answers and thank yous.

We've had one person tell us the project has spread across their art school like wildfire and they're hoping to raise enough for the rotoscoping prize so they can take the experience back with them to share. We've heard from a man who wanted to immortalize his father from Norwegian descent as a viking god. And we've had dozens and dozens of emails from people who had the same experience growing up as we did; playing the same games as us as kids so much that they got into the industry themselves.

I can't tell you how good that feels. We'll do everything we can to give back the love.

Because we've significantly exceeded our goal already, we wanted to give you a heads up on how we're already planning to use the funds and other plans for the future.

Just today we've already gotten back from talking with a local Austin 2D animation studio about getting additional and incredibly professional animations in the game, as well as higher quality cinematics that may remind you of Myth: The Fallen Lords, which will really help to make the game feel like a big, living world in a way we couldn't have before.
We're already in talks with a major sound studio who have worked on several games that we really respect. On our shoestring budget we were going to be snapping branches out back with a hand-held recorder but now we have the option to put incredible, professional sound into the game.
We'll be ramping up our programming support very soon to make sure we get back all the little features we thought we'd have to skip, as well as making the game as stable as possible and making our multiplayer release as robust as possible. Not to mention staying on schedule!

We've gotten a lot of questions about what we'll be doing with additional funding. It's extremely important to us to deliver on our promises and we're dedicated to using the funds to improve the game while balancing our deadlines.

Every additional dollar we get is going into upping the quality and making the game better. Kickstarter has opened a lot of doors to other passionate professionals who want to help us make something special, and your funding has given us the option of working with them.

We've also started a poll to see what other platforms people would most like to see supported. If you've already backed the project take a minute to weigh in on that as well.

We'll continue to give you updates on the our polls and collaborations with great developers as they happen, as well as additional platforms and languages we'll be making available.

Our sincerest thanks,
Alex, Arnie and John
Click to expand...
 
O

OccamsBlender

Member
I love Fire Emblem. I love Heroes of Might and Magic.

If this game mates Fire Emblem with classic WRPG storytelling, this will be the engrossing thing to me since Fallout Tactics.

Backed at the $25 level. Gimmie my artbook!
 
I

inky

Member
Just ran into this when visiting Kickstarter. Ran immediately back to GAF to see if it was here already (I'm too LTTP it seems).

Had to drop $10 into this one. Might up it to $25 before the period is over and I don't feel like I need to say it, but it looks fantastic and I am so glad it was successfully funded already.
 
Q

Qwomo

Junior Member
I'm kinda bummed that this game isn't getting the same surge of a bajillion+ dollars like the Double Fine and Wasteland kickstarters did. Obviously those two projects are the exception, but still! Think of how great the animation for this game could be with a million dollar budget! ;_;
 
H

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
Qwomo said:
I'm kinda bummed that this game isn't getting the same surge of a bajillion+ dollars like the Double Fine and Wasteland kickstarters did. Obviously those two projects are the exception, but still! Think of how great the animation for this game could be with a million dollar budget! ;_;
Click to expand...

Its a new IP and its kickstarter isnt nearly as advertised. Double Fine, Tim Schafer, Brian Fargo and Wasteland all have more pull among people.
 
C

Coverly

Member
HP_Wuvcraft said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stoic/the-banner-saga/posts/195885?ref=activity

New update: if you donate or have donated $50, you get all three games.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this kind of thing. They already have to finish one game, and nobody knows if it will sell well enough to warrant the last two. I would like to up my donation, but I'm still hesitant.
Click to expand...

Nice, went ahead and increased my donation to 50. I originally wanted to put 50 down so I can get my own banner but was hesitant. But now with the addition of getting all three chapters that really sealed it.
 
K

kevm3

Member
I find much joy in the return of the non corporate driven breed of games where actual imagination is used instead of 'market driven' games, aka generic fantasy with gruesome violence to make it stand out and smart mouthed characters, and 10,000 supersoldier shooters.
 
R

ReaperXL7

Member
This is the one Kickstarter so far that I would donate to, but I would want it most on my Vita, and while it would be awesome, I don't know if there would be enough of a fanbase yet for them to push for that as a viable platform for release.

If they could give us some type of estimate on how likely each platform is for release i'd feel more comfertable donating the cash up front.
 
L

lostxii

Member
ReaperXL07 said:
This is the one Kickstarter so far that I would donate to, but I would want it most on my Vita, and while it would be awesome, I don't know if there would be enough of a fanbase yet for them to push for that as a viable platform for release.

If they could give us some type of estimate on how likely each platform is for release i'd feel more comfertable donating the cash up front.
Click to expand...

They put up the results for the platform poll.
platforms.png
 
Minsc

Minsc

Gold Member
HP_Wuvcraft said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stoic/the-banner-saga/posts/195885?ref=activity

New update: if you donate or have donated $50, you get all three games.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this kind of thing. They already have to finish one game, and nobody knows if it will sell well enough to warrant the last two. I would like to up my donation, but I'm still hesitant.
Click to expand...

I think they just couldn't offer three at $100,000 as a sure thing, but now they're over $250,000 they feel comfortable enough of the kickstarter funds covering the additional games.

The project might end up at over 500k, + post release sales, so completing the three chapters is not one of my bigger worries.
 
I

Ignis Fatuus

Banned
Minsc said:
I think they just couldn't offer three at $100,000 as a sure thing, but now they're over $250,000 they feel comfortable enough of the kickstarter funds covering the additional games.

The project might end up at over 500k, + post release sales, so completing the three chapters is not one of my bigger worries.
Click to expand...

With 500k I hope they find some way to sex up the battle scenes. The animations are great and the artstyle is beautiful but for some reason when I look at that plain grid I'm reminded of cheap flash games.
 
I

Ignis Fatuus

Banned
I gotta say I'm surprised that there isn't more of a buzz around this given how much they have to show already and how awesome it all looks.
 
Z

zoku88

Member
Hmm, this looks like an interesting project. I'll probably decide to help fund it if they actually decide to do a Linux port. According to the faq, they're at least looking at the possibility...
 
S

SovanJedi

provides useful feedback
HP_Wuvcraft said:
I'm surprised iPad is not higher.



I just wonder how much each game costs to make.
Click to expand...
If approached at face value it is budgeted at $100k, as the Kickstarter goal declares - but even if it's more, the other two parts will have shared assets from the first one, making them significantly cheaper to make. It seems they have already gotten enough funding for the whole trilogy right here.
 
H

HP_Wuvcraft

Banned
As of now, there are going to be 866 individual clan banners in the game.

I have no idea how they will incorporate all of them. They really needed to put a cap on that reward.
 
Minsc

Minsc

Gold Member
HP_Wuvcraft said:
As of now, there are going to be 866 individual clan banners in the game.

I have no idea how they will incorporate all of them. They really needed to put a cap on that reward.
Click to expand...

I think when they say they'll put it in the game in this case, they just mean exactly what they wrote:

In both single and multiplayer, players will choose a family crest that represent them; this is your chance to get your family or guild symbol into the Banner Saga
Click to expand...

My impression of it is, when you start a game, there'll be a screen or two of the default banners and a button to browse additional banners, this is where the 1000+ backed banners will be seen. Not expecting anything more from that description.
 
I

Ignis Fatuus

Banned
It's over 300k now. Maybe it's worth updating the title to reflect that they're now 300% funded?

I'm really excited about this game. I might even upgrade to $50 for all three parts.
 
Q

Qwomo

Junior Member
1 gb game, 10 gigs of banner textures :p

Anyway, awesome to see it hit 300k! Man I'm so pumped to see how this game turns out.
 
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