KickStarter Island, a Robinson Crusoe simulator

[Strange Fellow]

PorkyThePaladin You shouldn't mention DF, as it's been in development since 2002. Never heard of Salem/Haven & Heath, but if you say they're good adaptations of this scenario then I'll have to check them out. However, the fact that they are MMOs make them a different thing altogether, even if the mechanics were exactly the same as Island. And this thing looks a lot deeper than Minecraft when it comes to everything but base building.

They'll probably barely make the 3k

Good. No (additional) console ports or multiplayer.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

DF is trying to simulate EVERYTHING though. A game like this would only have to simulate a small fraction of that, just gathering of island-like resouces, crafting, building, maybe terraforming, some basic animal and enemy AI.

 

[Strange Fellow]

A game like this would only have to simulate a small fraction of that, just gathering of island-like resouces, crafting, building, maybe terraforming, some basic animal and enemy AI.

Is that not what this game is about?

 

[Strange Fellow]

They answered my questions:

Hey Wanderers, cool project you have here! The professionalism on display in the pitch is seriously impressive for such a small and inexperienced (?) team.

Couple of questions for you:
Did you play a game called NEO Scavenger? It's a post-apocalyptic survival roguelite, released in 2014. I ask because I think it has a lot in common with your game; in fact, I backed this partly because I hope this could provide the same experience. If you didn't, I recommend you check it out. It could be valuable to see what it does well, and not least, what it does less well.

Will there be any hand-placed content at all? If not, and if you feel that it is possible, I urge you to consider adding some. Even small encounters could go a long way towards making exploration feel more meaningful, and to provide a respite from the core gameplay loop, which, no matter how good it is, is guaranteed to be welcomed by a lot of players. Again, you could look to NEO Scavenger for an idea of what such content might look like.

In terms of the KS, €3000 seems like an awfully awfully low amount to ask for, even for a niche project like this. I understand it is to pay contractors' fees, and that you will fund the actual development out of your own pocket. Even so, it seems like a small enough amount that you could have managed even without a KS; if you couldn't, giving yourself such little financial leeway seems risky. Do you see the Kickstarter as more of a promotional effort than a financial necessity?

Either way, I hope the Kickstarter works out, and that this game turns out as great as it sounds!

> Strange Fellow

Hey, thanks for your support !

About Island having hand-placed content : we will indeed include a serie of random events to give a layer of narrative to each run. This will usually be multi-choice events with the usual outcomes : a loot, a stat alteration, some negative effect, nothing, or a "narrative hinting". What I mean by this last point is : Imagine for example finding a map, on a dessicated body. This can lead you to a bay with the remains of a stranded boat, or to a cave with hidden resources.
(... I think my english is getting even worse when it's late. Thanks again to all those who offered help in doing the game's "english to english" translation.)

Ah, that game you cited was amazing ! But if I had to more accurately quote a source of inspiration for its way of building a constant pressure for the gamer as well as long term replayability, I would choose FTL.

While this game is obviously in a very different setting, I really loved how the multitude of events, loots, various ship configurations, weapons, and crew, timed with the unrelenting wave of enemy force created an exceptional replayability. For me, the in-game tension stayed high, long after reaching the end of the learning curve.

About the unusually low goal :
3000€ is indeed really low for this game. While this materiel support will us get quicker to our objective, we will finance the rest out of our own funds, as we already did and planned. Collecting a partial fund support is, however, just one of the objectives we are aiming for with this campaign :
Kickstarter is a great way to stress test an idea as well as to gain more awareness for it. Not only that, the larger the crowd the more feedback we can collect, and the more trust we can earn for ourselves in the fact that we are pushing the game in the right direction. We planned to offer our backers to take part in the alpha feedback / beta testing phases for that reason.

I really, really hope the proofreaders do a thorough job on this game.
I like the answers, though. It's great that they're taking inspiration from FTL, and I like the sound of the random events.

I'd be happy to relay more questions if anyone's got them.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Aaaand funded! With 13 days to go.

In my humble opinion they've put very little effort into the campaign, and could probably have done a lot better if they'd been more committed to promoting it. The goal was low enough, though, that they were always going to make it, and to be honest I don't mind devs who are more focussed on actual development than PR, if that is indeed what is going on here.
Now let's hope they don't bring in enough in the remaining two weeks to meet any of the stretchgoals.

Yeah, right.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Aaaand funded! With 13 days to go.

KS update:

Island Kickstarter campaign update: We did it!


Island is funded and close to 120% ! A big thank you to all of our backers !
Next objective is a PS4 version of the game.
Apart from the Nintendo versions, that are already included in the main goal, the PS4 has been by far the most requested console for Island !
We'd really love to include it as a target platform.

Now, a few things we announced last time.

1- Qs & As
During that first part of the kickstarter, we received a few technical questions, that should be interesting to read.

Q : Will a physical edition be released ?
A : We'd really love to have a physical edition for the consoles. This will however depend on the publisher. This will be one of the points we will request.

Q : In what languages will Island be available ?
A : We will make sure that areas with strong popularity toward the game will received a proper translation before release. During development, Island will be available to testers in english and french.

Q : I have that handicap, can you take this into account during development ?
A : The PC version will let you choose between joypad or mouse+keyboard controls, and it can also be played only using the mouse. Also because Island rely a lot on identifying colors (red fruit on tree in green jungle), we will include a specific mode for players with difficulties discerning colors.

Q : Will there be a difference between versions ?
A : Island isn't using much resources when in game, so there shouldn't be any performance differences. The layout may be different on 3DS, depending on what fits best . The initial generation time for the islands may be a little longer on portable machines, but won't have an impact in-game.

2- A special request
Also, as we announced last time, we received a lot of requests to include a certain famous volleyball in the game, as a cameo.
This is actually a great idea, on the condition that it remains a cameo, an event that can occasionally be triggered, and only by those who choose to do so.

A few constraints were applied : 18th century balls were made of leather, and we also had to give it a new name, to make sure we don't infringe any copyrights.

On each run, you will be able to loot a few relics, among dozens of possibilities. You'll sometimes loot the item on the left, and will be able to craft the item on the right, if you choose to do so.

Meet Giddeon :

3- Miscellaneous
We will reinstate the companion reward next time with a few modifications.

Companions are tamable animals that will accompagny you during the game, and bring you a form of assistance. Get your ideas ready !

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask it via DM or comments.

Thanks again everybody !

Controller support in the PC version, woo! And Wilson is in, hands up everyone who's surprised.
Also, what's with them leaving a space before every exclamation mark? Is it a French thing?