The Wheel of Time Kickstarter Drive Launched

It seems like every time a Kickstarter drive ends a new one pops up, and this time it looks like it’s Red Eagle Games’ turn, which you might remember as the company who owns the rights to make games based on the Wheel of Time license. They’re now turning to Kickstarter to get enough funding to develop a tactical RPG for mobile platforms, with the help of Jet Set Games:

As Jordan fans, all of us have waited years to see these stories brought to the video game environment without the undue influence of mega game studios. After years of work, we have chosen the indie path of development to maintain creative control. Our search for capable, true fan, game developers, who share our passion for The Wheel of Time, led the team to Las Vegas-based Jet Set Games. Founded in 2008 by Brett Sperry and Rade Stojsavljevic, rabid Jordan fans, helped define real-time strategy gameplay at Westwood Studios and EA with favorites like the Command & Conquer series, Blade Runner and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth.Recent work includes Highborn, the critically acclaimed turn-based strategy game for iOS and Android.

Your input will help guide our course thru the places and experiences of The Wheel of Time. There is no limit to the number of games or direction our development will take. Our collective vision for digital entertainment will carry the The Wheel of Time all the way to the Age of Legends and the Core AAA games many fans hope to see. Like all really good things however, our story needs a strong beginning. Together we will create a future that includes all of your most wished for places and times including titles like The White Tower: Book of Novices, a social game of channeling, weaving and sharing, The Colonization of Seanchan, 100 Years of Kings, and The Trolloc Wars . These titles are all in the design stage. Help us take our first step into this legacy by answering the Call of the King and diving into the Aiel War.

This Kickstarter project will deliver Game One of the Aiel War. Designed as a tactical RPG for mobile platforms with a social component, it will…well, here is a brief description but to say more will spoil the surprise.

(Twenty years ago, an enigmatic warrior people from the desolate eastern wastelands sent a great force west across the mountains known as the Dragonwall beginning three years of blood soaked chaos. So began the Aiel War, a conflict that saw the birth of the Dragon and the legends that would shape events for a new age. The early days of that war were marked by a great siege, a battle that saw the destruction of Cairhien, capital of one of the world’s greatest nations. This is the story of those desperate days, and of the heroes of the First Banner of the Rising Sun; a ragtag unit of old soldiers and stable boys pressed to defend the people of Cairhien, city and nation, from the onslaught of the savage Aielmen.

Take command of the soldiers and heroes in First Banner of the Rising Sun and lead them into battle against an army made up of the greatest warriors in the world. Follow the exploits of the Banner as they grow from a motley assortment of ruffians to one of the most highly honored units of the Aiel War.)

When you help us, you gain access to all the official and exclusive WoT collectibles and more importantly, at certain levels of support, we will put you in the game. Check out our rewards, get the t-shirt, and reserve your handle in the ‘˜official’ The Wheel of Time video game. You can help us name your place in The Wheel of Time games or become a permanent important character in the entire game silo of the Aiel War. Join our family! . . . And help us Drive the WHEEL!

I admit I’m a little confused by this, considering that Red Eagle Games announced 2 years ago that they’d be enlisting the help of Obsidian Entertainment to develop a series of titles, on which, as far as I’m aware, the Irvine-based studio never really started working on. Has that partnership been finally completely dropped? Only time will tell I suppose.