Four Awesome Kickstarters Worth Checking Out

Innovative Games Looking for Funding

By Michelle Curtis on October 17, 2014 at 4:56pm

There are currently almost 600 live projects on Kickstarter's gaming section. Tabletop, card, and video games alike are looking for funding to complete their ambitious undertakings. Here's a sampling of some of the great ideas looking for backing.

"Elegy for a Dead World"

"Elegy for a Dead World" isn't a traditional game. It's more like a visual novel.

You are a traveler sent from Earth to record the remnants of fallen worlds. These worlds—named after Romantic writers Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, and Lord Byron—will continue to live on only by your words. Using the writing prompts, you weave fiction based on your findings. In more advanced levels, new information may come along to alter your perception of the land and therefore impact your story. You may also create your stories free-form if you choose to trust your own storytelling skills.

Once you have completed your tale, you can share your story and also read the exploits of other players. You also have the option to upload screenshots of your playthrough to print-on-demand websites to create a physical copy of your journey (for an additional fee).

“Elegy” has already reached its initial goal but there are three days left to get onboard. It is currently being developed for PC, Mac, and Linux for Steam.

"Folklore: The Affliction"

"Folklore: The Affliction" is an adventure board game for 1 to 4 players. You can choose from six different characters—the witch hunter, telepath, the avenging madman, the arcanist, the archaeologist, and the exorcist. In your quest for Lore, you seek to liberate the people from the supernatural foes (appropriately named Afflictions) who seek to destroy them. Gain abilities and gather strong weapons in your quest.

Death is not an option. If your character dies, you can continue on as a spectral version of your character or you can be brought back to life by either the town physician or even a gypsy (who will revive you for a price). Play through intense storylines fraught with combat, or weave your own tales and play the game as an RPG. The choice is yours.

“Folklore: The Affliction” is almost 50% funded with just under a month to go.

"Nevermind"

"Nevermind" is back for its second attempt at crowdfunding. An ambitious title to say the least, its innovation lies in biofeedback and how it increases difficulty based on your reactions.

You play through a series of twisted, labyrinthian levels with complex puzzles inspired by the dark, surreal psyches of psychological trauma victims. The biofeedback information amps up the difficulty by reading your fear and using it to manipulate the game environment and more. In essence, you and your mind become your own worst enemy. By learning to calm yourself and control your internal responses to stressful stimuli in real life, you make the game less difficult.

While the first attempt at crowdfunding was unsuccessful, Intel approached the team behind “Nevemind” to finish the game to support their heart rate monitor technology which can detect your heart rate. With this innovation, the team hopes to reach their new goal to fund the support of additional platforms and monitors as well as the addition of new levels.

“Nevermind” is currently about one-third of the way to their funding goal with just over two weeks to go.

"Dragon Tides"

"Dragon Tides" puts the "kick" in Kickstarter. This relaunched project is a Bruce Lee tabletop game. Yes, THAT Bruce Lee. In fact, this game is officially licensed by Bruce Lee, LLC.

It's a 1-4 player tabletop game that plays like a movie. However, it's not entirely linear in that it involves branching paths and intense battles. Depending on which battles you choose to undertake and the outcomes of those scenarios, each playthrough feels fresh and unique. Interact with objects, customize scenes, and level up as you try to take down the Tiger Organization. Finally, prepare yourself to take on the Big Boss. In addition to Bruce, you can play as his son Brandon (star of “The Crow” and “Showdown in Little Tokyo”) as well as two other characters, Viktoria Jovavich, and Luke Elba.

Complete with custom dice, signature moves, and beautifully-crafted PVC minis, this game is definitely one to keep an eye on. Currently at almost $34,000 of their $40,000 goal, “Dragon Tides” is still 25 days out from the end of their Kickstarter.

Have you pledged to help any of these projects? Any other Kickstarters we should check out? Let us know in the comments, or give us a heads up on Facebook or Twitter.