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[Amir0x]

Boy Shahid is on fire

 

[EdenIndustries]

Wow, this sounds like it could be really cool if done right. I love the idea of having run-of-the-mill citizens as party members.

Thanks! That was the main motivation for the game. I'm glad you like the idea as much as me!

 

[RM8]

Though, to be honest i would have never clicked on this link if earthbound wasn't in the title.

And it is -not- wrong. The game -is- taking inspiration from Earthbound. Whining about this is beyond silly, can anyone explain to me why it's wrong to cite your inspirations when describing your project? It helps to describe the kind of game your'e making and getting the attention of people who like similar games.

 

[NotSelf]

I like the idea of this game but the art style and animation is not my cup of tea.

I wish them luck with there game

 

[EdenIndustries]

I like the idea of this game but the art style and animation is not my cup of tea.

I wish them luck with there game

Thanks! I know everyone has their own preference when it comes to art style. But thanks a ton for your well-wishes, I appreciate it!

 

[Brandson]

As someone who also grew up in Canada playing the same types of games mentioned in the Kickstarter video as inspiration, and seeing how much work already appears to be done, this is an easy decision to back. The game looks and sounds awesome. I like the art style a lot. Good luck!

 

[EdenIndustries]

As someone who also grew up in Canada playing the same types of games mentioned in the Kickstarter video as inspiration, and seeing how much work already appears to be done, this is an easy decision to back. The game looks and sounds awesome. I like the art style a lot. Good luck!

Thanks a ton! We've definitely put a ton of work into it (over a year, basically since our last game Waveform shipped on Steam last year), so I'm really glad you're digging it!

 

[JoeFu]

That's really cool that Nintendo already sent you guys a dev kit. Game sounds interesting, but like some have said already, art style really isn't appealing to me. Hope the Kickstarter goes well for you guys!

 

[EdenIndustries]

That's really cool that Nintendo already sent you guys a dev kit. Game sounds interesting, but like some have said already, art style really isn't appealing to me. Hope the Kickstarter goes well for you guys!

Thanks! We're pretty close with Nintendo having worked with them on Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, Punch-Out!! and others, so it was great to be able to continue that relationship.

And yeah we knew it was risky to try something a bit different art-wise, but we hope there are people out there who like it . Thanks for your well-wishes!

 

[Hero of Legend]

Hey everyone I'm Ryan, the creator of Citizens of Earth. Thanks for checking out our game, and please let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. Thanks!

Why did you guys leave Next Level Games!?

Please still be available to work on future games with Nintendo, I don't want the talent at NLG to break up.

 

[EdenIndustries]

Why did you guys leave Next Level Games!?

Please still be available to work on future games with Nintendo, I don't want the talent at NLG to break up.

Don't worry, NLG is still a very strong company with tons of talent! So you can rest assured that they'll still keep making awesome games. And the reason we left was just that we wanted to try making games that others didn't really want to make! It was very cordial and we're still good friends with them (and in fact many of the folks at NLG have backed our Kickstarter), but we just felt passionate about our ideas for games and choose to try our hand at making them ourselves.

Hopefully that answers your question! Let me know if I can provide any more detail.

 

[frankie_baby]

Thanks! We're pretty close with Nintendo having worked with them on Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, Punch-Out!! and others, so it was great to be able to continue that relationship.

And yeah we knew it was risky to try something a bit different art-wise, but we hope there are people out there who like it . Thanks for your well-wishes!

I think the art style is great

 

[RM8]

I think the art style is a natural Western take on Earthbound, but that's just me. I like it.

 

[EdenIndustries]

I think the art style is great

I think the art style is a natural Western take on Earthbound, but that's just me. I like it.

Awesome, thanks guys! That's more or less what we were going for, so I'm glad it's coming across

 

[JoeFu]

I think the reason I don't really like it is because at first glance it kinda looks like stuff my mom plays on her laptop. Things like Diner Dash and stuff.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Don't worry, NLG is still a very strong company with tons of talent! So you can rest assured that they'll still keep making awesome games. And the reason we left was just that we wanted to try making games that others didn't really want to make! It was very cordial and we're still good friends with them (and in fact many of the folks at NLG have backed our Kickstarter), but we just felt passionate about our ideas for games and choose to try our hand at making them ourselves.

Hopefully that answers your question! Let me know if I can provide any more detail.

Thanks. Fills me with confidence.

All four of you NLG folks are full-time at Eden now and were full-time at NLG? Or were any of you technically contracts like the composer can still work with NLG in the future?

Looking at Weegee's credits at Mario Wiki, you're not credited at all, odd.

Your two audio folks were audio designers, but not all of them. And Chris was one of the Level Designers.

What did you do at NLG anyway?

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Backing for $25.

So, do tell, does Next Level have Wii U dev kits? *wink wink nudge nudge*

 

[EdenIndustries]

I think the reason I don't really like it is because at first glance it kinda looks like stuff my mom plays on her laptop. Things like Diner Dash and stuff.

If you check it out in motion, I think you'd find it's actually much more detailed! We really wanted to go with a fluid animation style that gamers would appreciate.

Actually, I may as well put my money where my mouth is. Are you interested in giving the game a try? I'd be happy to send you a demo. You may still not like it, but at least you'd be able to judge more accurately I think

 

[Hero of Legend]

Backing for $25.

So, do tell, does Next Level have Wii U dev kits? *wink wink nudge nudge*

We know they're cooking up something, it was on a Linkedin profile, they said it was big? No platform or even mention of Nintendo.

BUT THAT'S OBVIOUS, they ain't going to just twiddle their thumbs. XD

 

[EdenIndustries]

Thanks. Fills me with confidence.

All four of you NLG folks are full-time at Eden now and were full-time at NLG? Or were any of you technically contracts like the composer can still work with NLG in the future?

Looking at Weegee's credits at Mario Wiki, you're not credited at all, odd.

Your two audio folks were audio designers, but not all of them. And Chris was one of the Level Designers.

What did you do at NLG anyway?

Actually Scott (composer) still works at NLG! But he doesn't get to make music there, just sound design. So in order to stretch his musical muscles he helps us out on the side.

The rest of the former NLG-ers (myself, Chris, and Denise) are full-time at Eden, yep!

And I'm not sure why I wouldn't be credited at the Mario Wiki! That's weird. You can find my name in the credits of Mario Strikers: Charged and Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon if you have copies of either of those lying around. On both of those games, I worked as a programmer. Specifically a UI programmer on Strikers, and I did the ghost AI on Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon.

 

[JoeFu]

If you check it out in motion, I think you'd find it's actually much more detailed! We really wanted to go with a fluid animation style that gamers would appreciate.

Actually, I may as well put my money where my mouth is. Are you interested in giving the game a try? I'd be happy to send you a demo. You may still not like it, but at least you'd be able to judge more accurately I think

Actually I did watch the video and I think the only thing that bothers me is the background art... I dunno.

I do like how the characters look! And no need to send me a demo. I think the game is interesting though, and if it does come out on the Wii U, I'll probably end up getting it anyways.

 

[EdenIndustries]

Backing for $25.

So, do tell, does Next Level have Wii U dev kits? *wink wink nudge nudge*

Thanks! I really appreciate that. Also...no comment, sorry

 

[EdenIndustries]

Actually I did watch the video and I think the only thing that bothers me is the background art... I dunno.

I do like how the characters look! And no need to send me a demo. I think the game is interesting though, and if it does come out on the Wii U, I'll probably end up getting it anyways.

Well the background art is actually something we're turning our focus onto over the next while to make that pop a bit more. So stay tuned! And I'm glad you like the characters!

 

[Hero of Legend]

Actually Scott (composer) still works at NLG! But he doesn't get to make music there, just sound design. So in order to stretch his musical muscles he helps us out on the side.

The rest of the former NLG-ers (myself, Chris, and Denise) are full-time at Eden, yep!

And I'm not sure why I wouldn't be credited at the Mario Wiki! That's weird. You can find my name in the credits of Mario Strikers: Charged and Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon if you have copies of either of those lying around. On both of those games, I worked as a programmer. Specifically a UI programmer on Strikers, and I did the ghost AI on Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon.

I was wrong, you're under Gameplay Programmer as Ryan Dyck.

 

[EdenIndustries]

I was wrong, you're under Gameplay Programmer as Ryan Dyck.

Ah, there we go. Mystery solved

 

[JDSN]

Those guys should contact fansites like G0nintendo and nintendolife, "Earthbound-insipired RPG by the makers of critical and financial success Luigi's Mansion 2" has a lot more weight to me than Shantae, and I like wayforward a lot.

Thanks, I really appreciate that! We're certainly trying our best. As you can probably imagine, it's tough making indie games, but we really hope people enjoy our game!

Yeah, another question, it seems that the game is playable and a demo will be shown to backers when the funding is over. Why not show it now? Or do you fear that people will fail to read the "Work in progress" bit?

 

[wilflare]

I hope the talk with Sony works out and we can see this game on Vita PS4

 

[Hero of Legend]

Ah, there we go. Mystery solved

Thanks for all the answers and BEST of luck and success to you all!

 

[D-e-f-]

Is this that Earthbound-inspired game that was on nintendolife or something?

Yes. I'm pretty bummed that this is now on kickstarter and we need to throw money at it preemptively. I'm hopeful and looking forward to it but it gets really tiring to continually be asked to "help us get this cool thing you'd like made or it won't get made at all" ...

 

[Stone Ocean]

No plans for a Steam release yet?

 

[EdenIndustries]

Those guys should contact fansites like G0nintendo and nintendolife, "Earthbound-insipired RPG by the makers of critical and financial success Luigi's Mansion 2" has a lot more weight to me than Shantae, and I like wayforward a lot.



Yeah, another question, it seems that the game is playable and a demo will be shown to backers when the funding is over. Why not show it now? Or do you fear that people will fail to read the "Work in progress" bit?

I have actually contacted G0Nintendo (I've chatted with RawMeatCowboy about the game in the past) and NintendoLife. Just waiting to hear back from them.

Regarding the demo, to be honest it's something we debated a lot, and continue to debate actually! I guess it came down to a few factors. And please understand that I don't intend to say that is the best decision, but it's sort of the one that we feel ok about so far.
#1: Most people actually don't even watch the video or read the site, let alone install a demo and play it. As a result, we felt like adding the step of the demo might slow down a person's ability to absorb the information that was already more immediately accessible.
#2: We thought it'd be a fun way for backers to get involved in the Kickstarter, if they knew that they could play the demo immediately once it's funded.
#3: As you guessed, we're a bit worried about the "Work in progress" nature of it. We're already trying to do a Kickstarter that is much further along than most game Kickstarters (in that we've been working on it for over a year, and it's not just an idea with concept art), and we have received comments along the lines of "It already looks done. Why should I give you any money?"

So in light of that, we've elected to handle the demo as a reward to backers once it's funded. But it's possible we may change our minds through feedback from the community. As I mentioned earlier, we don't consider ourselves masters at Kickstarter/marketing/community management, etc. We're just trying to make a great game. So it's possible we may stumble a few times in trying to get word of the game out there, but we try to be flexible and respond to what the community is telling us.

 

[EdenIndustries]

Yes. I'm pretty bummed that this is now on kickstarter and we need to throw money at it preemptively. I'm hopeful and looking forward to it but it gets really tiring to continually be asked to "help us get this cool thing you'd like made or it won't get made at all" ...

Well we're not necessarily saying, "help us get it made or it won't get made." After all, we've already spent over a year developing it, we certainly don't want to give up on it! But with the massive amount of content in an RPG, we're hoping for some help from the community to make it as good as possible. Please understand that the funding for this game so far has come out of our personal bank accounts. So it can be hard trying to pay for the art and other content required to make such a game, and to the quality level we're trying to hit.

 

[EdenIndustries]

No plans for a Steam release yet?

We are planning on Steam, yep! I'm currently chatting with Valve about it. Since we released on last game, Waveform, on Steam, I have a good relationship with Valve. I'd really like to avoid Greenlight if possible, so I'm talking to them about that possibility. But either way, yes we absolutely plan on releasing on Steam!

 

[D-e-f-]

I wonder how this trend started. In the beginning it was people comparing the game to their own older games and then it turned into people comparing their games to someone else's older games.


Though, to be honest i would have never clicked on this link if earthbound wasn't in the title.

They're called indie devs. You know, mostly people who haven't made a specific game before that they want to make a new version of. Making original games that are influenced by certain designs from older games you like and not calling out those inspirations is just plain stupid. Why do we have to make it sound shady now?

If I go make a game and put it on KS and my game is heavily inspired by the combat and exploration in Dark Souls at the same time I have this atmosphere and progression system from Super Metroid and the Dark World/Light World mechanic from A Link to the Past, why would I not cite those as inspirations/games I base my current pitch on?

 

[JoeFu]

And please understand that I don't intend to say that is the best decision...

Please understand that the funding for this game so far has come out of our personal bank accounts. So it can be hard trying to pay for the art and other content required to make such a game, and to the quality level we're trying to hit.

dat nintendo influence!

 

[EdenIndustries]

dat nintendo influence!

haha yeah I guess you're right! Please understand that I try to treat people with respect as much as I can

 

[D-e-f-]

haha yeah I guess you're right! Please understand that I try to treat people with respect as much as I can

It's nice to talk ...

edit:

Likewise! Awesome gif too

full disclosure: stolen from the internets

 

[EdenIndustries]

It's nice to talk ...

Likewise! Awesome gif too

 

[JDSN]

Ok, im in. The game is looking really far into development, the overworld is really something. Someone make gifs, Neogaf loves gifs.

 

[EdenIndustries]

Ok, im in. The game is looking really far into development, the overworld is really something. Someone make gifs, Neogaf loves gifs.

Yes we are already over a year into development! We just need help from the community now to develop the remaining content. As you can probably imagine, there's a ton of content (specifically art) in an RPG!

 

[Hero of Legend]

Yes we are already over a year into development! We just need help from the community now to develop the remaining content. As you can probably imagine, there's a ton of content (specifically art) in an RPG!

So if you slice a Telefawn in half, does that mean it's call was cut short?

 

[Omega]

this sounds awesome lol

 

[EdenIndustries]

So if you slice a Telefawn in half, does that mean it's call was cut short?

I'm not sure if you've noticed in the video, but the VP provides commentary in battles, including making fun of the enemies when they're defeated. If you don't mind me stealing the line, that sounds like a great one for the VP to say when a Telefawn goes down

 

[Hero of Legend]

I'm not sure if you've noticed in the video, but the VP provides commentary in battles, including making fun of the enemies when they're defeated. If you don't mind me stealing the line, that sounds like a great one for the VP to say when a Telefawn goes down

My pleasure! But I accept no less than 101% royalties for the line. ORIGINAL LINE DO NOT STEAL! XD

Spoiler

Do I get credited?

I can make more if you show me more enemies, I have a talent for making jokes upon seeing things.

 

[EdenIndustries]

this sounds awesome lol

Glad you like it! Help us spread the word and let's make sure everyone gets a chance to play it

 

[JDSN]

So if you slice a Telefawn in half, does that mean it's call was cut short?

 

[EdenIndustries]

My pleasure! But I accept no less than 101% royalties for the line. ORIGINAL LINE DO NOT STEAL! XD

Spoiler

Do I get credited?

I can make more if you show me more enemies, I have a talent for making jokes upon seeing things.

Although it's not a trivial investment, if you pledge via Kickstarter to create your own enemy in the game you'll not only be credited in the game as an Enemy Designer, but you'd get to create the look of the enemy and your own dialogue for it . So that's probably the best way to get involved.

But if that's not a feasible pledge for you, I'm sure there'd be an opportunity for you to still chip in with some funny jokes as well

 

[RM8]

Conspiracy Guy is never leaving my party.

 

[EdenIndustries]

Conspiracy Guy is never leaving my party.

He is pretty awesome! Also, one fun feature of the game is that whoever is in your party provides stat bonuses to the other Citizens on level up. With the Conspiracy Guy in your party, everyone else will get boosts to Focus (think Int or Sp. Attack from other games) when they level up, making your party a terror when it comes to Special Attacks!

 

[Exile20]

Well we're already working on the Wii U port since Nintendo was kind enough to send us a free dev kit. So I'd wager the chances of releasing on Wii U are very strong, even if it doesn't hit that stretch goal. Hitting the stretch goal would pretty much guarantee simultaneous release on Wii U, but it's something I want to do even if we don't hit it.

And, if I may be so bold as to ask, if you're able to pledge now anyway, that'd be very beneficial for us in getting it seen in the Popular on Kickstarter section and elsewhere. And if you really want to drop your pledge later if you think it's not going to hit the Wii U goal, you can always do that. I know that's a lot to ask, but I just thought I'd throw it out there.

Thanks for your support either way though!

Oh damn this shit looks so good. I like the vibe a lot. Wii U version almost a given? Backed for day 1.