Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption Kickstarter Campaign Updates #11-12, $203,000 and Counting

People who have already chipped in for Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption and potential backers alike will probably be pleased to know that two new updates for the project have been published on Kickstarter (here and here). The updates deal with a variety of subjects including a new pitch video to replace the old one, Linux support, and a long write-up on what makes the title different from other Kickstarter and titles on the market.

I’m going to quote that for our customary excerpt:

What Makes Hero-U Different

I did an interview for www.gamingfurever.com this morning, and just have to share my answer to one of their questions with you, our backers. Pablo Romero asked, “What’s unique about Hero-U and its world? What kind of experience can your future players look forward to, once the game is finished?”

With each Hero-U game focused on a single character, the story can be tighter than in our previous games. And of course, making story central to a game immediately distinguishes it from most games being made currently.

We also have a dynamic mix of game play between the University, taking classes, studying in the library, making friends with other students… then going down into the catacombs, exploring, fighting monsters, and solving the mysteries of why Shawn got sent to Hero-U and what’s going on in the outside world. Our plan is to have a strong balance between the story, character interactions, and role-playing elements of the game.

We’re trying to create a game for which walk-throughs will be inadequate. Each player can make choices about how to interact with other students and teachers, where to spend their time, and on what they want to focus. All of these choices will have effects on relationships and the story, so the game may seem different to every player. That’s a much different idea from watching a film or playing a tightly-scripted adventure game.

The constant for all players is that more of the game world and mysteries will open up for the player as the game progresses. Eventually you’ll reach one of a number of satisfying conclusions.

We intend to let players save their status, then “import” that into future games. But it won’t work like a Quest for Glory import. Shawn will be present in the later games, and what you did in the first one will affect his personality and elements of the story, but you’ll be playing a different character with a completely different backstory and character abilities by then.

In the last game, all of that will come together through a Cunning and Subtle Plan that Lori and I hope we’ll know how to pull off by then. 🙂