Yet another kickstarter: République actually looks very impressive!

piscian18

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I read this over at penny-arcade and I gotta say it'll be a real shame if this doesn't get back. The game actually looks triple AAA quality and it's partially complete. It'll be available for PC MAC and IOS.


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/486250632/republique-by-camouflaj-logan

Trailer with gameplay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emt01IYhQ-Q

You receive a desperate phone call from Hope, a young woman trapped within a shadowy totalitarian state. Using a stolen phone, she calls and begs you to hack into the nation's surveillance system, assume control, and help her escape from the clutches of the omnipresent Overseer.

Developed by industry veterans behind AAA games like Metal Gear Solid, Halo, F.E.A.R., Kinect, and cutting edge videos like the Skyrim television spot and the iconic iPod "silhouette" ads, République represents a strategic alliance between Camouflaj and Logan to make an epic action game designed specifically for touch-based devices.

On October 31, Logan founder, Alexei Tylevich, and I wrestled with feedback we received from industry colleagues who told us that our ambitions were too big. They suggested we do something simple and small like so many other games on iOS... Alexei and I spent hours reviewing the production and financial risks. We discussed our belief that gamers will embrace iOS when more games are made for them. By sunset, we were even more committed to doing something different, big, and risky.

Here are the goals we outlined with the teams: Design a game and write a story for touch-based devices Create an intense action game without a focus on killing Feature a believable, non-sexualized female lead Explore heavy topics, say something meaningful Push cutting-edge graphics on mobile

On Halloween night 2011, République was born.

Symbiotic Gameplay:

On October 31, Logan founder, Alexei Tylevich, and I wrestled with feedback we received from industry colleagues who told us that our ambitions were too big. They suggested we do something simple and small like so many other games on iOS... Alexei and I spent hours reviewing the production and financial risks. We discussed our belief that gamers will embrace iOS when more games are made for them. By sunset, we were even more committed to doing something different, big, and risky.

Here are the goals we outlined with the teams:

- Design a game and write a story for touch-based devices
- Create an intense action game without a focus on killing
- Feature a believable, non-sexualized female lead
- Explore heavy topics, say something meaningful
- Push cutting-edge graphics on mobile

Features:

Here are the specs Camouflaj and Logan are building to:

- 4-6 hour campaign
- "Stealth Survival" hybrid genre
- Metroidvania exploration & 3D map mode
- Branching, gripping, pull-no-punches story
- Full voiceovers
- Real-time cinematics

In the event that we surpass our initial funding goal, every penny will go into building an even bigger game with features that you will help us define.

AAA iOS Experience:

Thanks to the global proliferation of iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, hundreds of millions of people are now carrying a powerful gaming device with them every day. Finally, game makers can truly speak to a global audience, an audience that -- thanks to touch controls -- can easily jump into the interactive experience.

iOS is becoming a great gaming platform, but where are the games for people who love intense action and story-driven experiences? Where are the AAA games designed specifically for touch-based devices? As someone who loathes virtual joysticks, I have great respect for what Chair Entertainment did with Infinity Blade: they built an action game specifically for touch devices. We aim to do the same.

Without fail, every company we've shown our game to has expressed sincere excitement about its creative ambitions. In unison they proclaim: "Yes! This is exactly the kind of game I want on my iPhone and iPad!" But when it comes down to dollars and cents, the most consistent feedback we get is: "You have to prove that there's a market out there for this. And don't use Infinity Blade as an example unless you can guarantee your game will also be featured an Apple national TV spot."

If you believe like I do that that there are millions out there who want more serious games on mobile, please support République and send a message.
 
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From that description, I hope the project and the developers bank accounts go down in flames.
 
Thanks to the global proliferation of iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, hundreds of millions of people are now carrying a powerful gaming device with them every day. Finally, game makers can truly speak to a global audience, an audience that -- thanks to touch controls -- can easily jump into the interactive experience.
Nope.
 
From that description, I hope the project and the developers bank accounts go down in flames.

Agreed. It's bad enough games have been watered down by consoles,last thing we need is for developers concentrating on mobile devices.
 
the game looks liek it could be fun to play atleast once, but i dont have an iOS device so i dont have any real interest in it.
 
So no one read the first line or watched the video? awesome. Your loss I guess.
 
So no one read the first line or watched the video? awesome. Your loss I guess.

This is primarily a PC enthusiast forum. Many of us don't even have iOS devices.

Try going to a Ford forum and posting revolutionary information about an upcoming Honda. Not many people are going to get terribly excited.

Not saying this is useless information, I'm sure there are plenty of iOS fans on the forums who will be interested... just don't be surprised if some people aren't. :)
 
Saying you are going to create a AAA IOS game is like saying you are going to win the special Olympics.
 
OH FFS its iOS, MAC and PC theres going to be two different versions and secondly they're doing full voice and motion capture thats why. If youd watch the goddamn video it explains everything and for once in my life I'll take console kids side stop being so entitled, yeah this is a forum dedicated to hardware and thats why theres 10 mutherfucking threads on Mass effect 3, a console port that does absolutely nothing to push PC hardware. Mobile gaming isn't the enemy here and neither is iOS or MAC.


I can't believe anyone would bitch about a real survival horror game on any platform.
 
Well, I think it looks pretty cool, myself, and I'm backing it. Better games on more platforms is always a good thing.
 
4-6 hour campaign? Seriously? They'd probably be a lot better off not even mentioning this...

This IS only going to be a $5 game right?
 
OH FFS its iOS, MAC and PC theres going to be two different versions and secondly they're doing full voice and motion capture thats why. If youd watch the goddamn video it explains everything and for once in my life I'll take console kids side stop being so entitled, yeah this is a forum dedicated to hardware and thats why theres 10 mutherfucking threads on Mass effect 3, a console port that does absolutely nothing to push PC hardware. Mobile gaming isn't the enemy here and neither is iOS or MAC.


I can't believe anyone would bitch about a real survival horror game on any platform.

It has nothing to do with entitlement. There is no sense of entitlement that PC gaming deserves this or that. iOS IS THE enemy, plain and simple. We wish ill upon it because a great majority of the people in this forum despise it as a platform, regardless of cross-system content. iOS is a locked distribution platform that dictates that all content on one device is vertically controlled by Apple. Mobile gaming is also the enemy because more and more developers, publishers, and money are going to less-powerful (and often lower attention-span) mobile platforms which is the absolute antithesis of what high end PC gaming with high requirements, tight and powerful controls (mouse/keyboard) is about - again, the focus of this forum and preference of the majority of its users. We've seen this happen with $ going to consoles, console ports, and we can see the same trend happening with mobile devices (which ironically is doing to consoles what consoles did to PC gaming) - the tide going out is at the expense of PC gaming as an industry as a whole.

Reading all the press releases and watching all the videos you can see that the developmental focus is on iOS. That's what their target is. PC & Mac platforms are afterthoughts at best.
 
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4-6 hour campaign? Seriously? They'd probably be a lot better off not even mentioning this...

This IS only going to be a $5 game right?

4-6 hour campaign on an iOS device is pretty long. iOS games barely keep my attention for 4-6 minutes. I think the Kickstarter is asking $10. Final game will probably be that pricepoint?
 
It has nothing to do with entitlement. There is no sense of entitlement that PC gaming deserves this or that. iOS IS THE enemy, plain and simple.

Ya that's pretty much my feeling. I don't hate mobile devices, I have an Android smartphone, however I don't want to see that kind of gaming becoming the One True Way(tm) in gaming. The games for Android tend to be very simple, shallow, quick things. That's fine, and actually what I want for that. I play them when I'm waiting at the doctor's office or the like. I don't want anything in depth as I probably only have 10 minutes to play and need to set it down at a moment's notice.

However that's NOT what I want on my PC. Here I want long, in depth, games that can hold my attention. I want something I can really get in to and enjoy in my off time. Also I'd like something that can make use of the heavy hitting processor and GPU I've got, and aren't hamstrung because they were targeted at a very weak device.
 
Reading all the press releases and watching all the videos you can see that the developmental focus is on iOS. That's what their target is. PC & Mac platforms are afterthoughts at best.

That's the feeling I get reading through the description. They are more focus on the mobile platform.
 
OH FFS its iOS, MAC and PC theres going to be two different versions and secondly they're doing full voice and motion capture thats why. If youd watch the goddamn video it explains everything and for once in my life I'll take console kids side stop being so entitled, yeah this is a forum dedicated to hardware and thats why theres 10 mutherfucking threads on Mass effect 3, a console port that does absolutely nothing to push PC hardware. Mobile gaming isn't the enemy here and neither is iOS or MAC.


I can't believe anyone would bitch about a real survival horror game on any platform.

Considering this game will very likely only "push" hardware from 4 years ago due to shitty coding on the PC, I wouldn't be comparing it to Mass Effect 3.
 
Developed by industry veterans behind AAA games like Metal Gear Solid, Halo, F.E.A.R., Kinect, and cutting edge videos like the Skyrim television spot and the iconic iPod "silhouette" ads, République represents a strategic alliance between Camouflaj and Logan to make an epic action game designed specifically for touch-based devices.

Something seems weird with that statement they made...

Credits of metal gear solid... Cannot find any of their names, especially not main "behind" kind of people.
Halo..again, none of them.
Credits of F.E.A.R. again. :confused:

They might have made some adverts (the credits aren't listed), but thats not game related! :p

Searching for the main 2, you'll find Alexei Tylevich part wrote the script for the opening of one of the scenes from MGS...4...not 1, and the other guy was some guy at 343 industries...a.k.a. the bad Halo producers :p
 
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:/

Always worrying when people have to try to claim to be something more than they are. Makes one wonder why.
 
If youd watch the goddamn video it explains everything and for once in my life I'll take console kids side stop being so entitled, yeah this is a forum dedicated to hardware and thats why theres 10 mutherfucking threads on Mass effect 3, a console port that does absolutely nothing to push PC hardware.

That's a great point. I remember when Mass Effect 3 was announced on Kickstarter, done by some small time and/or no-name developers. Yeah, the hype was crazy, and for no good reason. I mean, Mass Effect 3 didn't have any pre-existing fanbase, no proven formula of a game that people enjoyed, no storyline that people were waiting to continue, and had ambitions primarily for mobile gaming. I remember thinking "Wow, this is going to be a GREAT game to play for 5 minutes at a time in the bathroom".

Come to think of it, I'm going to go start some more threads on République. Just to make it exactly even with Mass Effect 3... since it's already even with ME3 in every other way I can think of.



Edit: Made a spoilers thread for this game. Don't click it if you don't want to see spoilers.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1689734
 
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i dunno, game looks pretty interesting probably something my sister would be interested in. given that the most powerful device she has is an ipad she'll probably enjoy this(just found a new birthday present to buy her, lol).

yeah i get the whole arguement of not needing mobile games but i mean give me a break that arguments effing old. do you guys really think PC gaming is going to be around forever? hell no and quite frankly its about damn time ios gets a real game other than angry birds.. it would be quite interesting to see what ios and the ipad can actually do gaming wise with a real game even though i can't stand the ipad or ios to be honest it would still be interesting to see what it could do.
 
This seems to bring up all sorts of warning flags:

1) Assuming they did proper budgeting of a game for mobile development, how are they going to ask for the same funds to make a game for 3 operating systems? They were targeting iOS before which has a limited target spec to make sure a game works. PC alone has a lot of configurations to test for. Are they getting a another development team for this?

2) Take note the game is actually has a $1 Million estimated budget. They are asking for half a mil. $1 million for mobile game when most mobile games do not make that money back. EA, Ubisoft, you name it, have more marketing power and years of experience behind them have games with long histories. Games that flop on mobile. That just seems like a crazy amount for a game that will most likely not return that much back in revenue. I guess this makes me think: Have they researched the market they were targeting in the first place?

3) What is coming first? iOS? PC? Mac? Priority development?

4) Is it a simultanious release? If if flops on System X, is it coming to System Y anyway?

SIDE NOTE:
Anyone ever play or support a game called The Experiment? The premise is very similar in where you only can use cameras and a computer console to help guide someone through a facility. I'd suggest playing that first before funding a kickstart company that basically is proposing a iOS/Port? version of the same type of genre. I loved it and would think a mobile version would be cool. But I don't have iPhone/tablet nor plan on getting one (iPod touch gen 2 and Samsung Galaxy 10.1) so they shut me out earlier. Now with a sudden "Hey! We'll make a PC version too!" is very after thought planning.

Kickstarters do not guarantee success for a game being created. Caution with Kickstarter.
 
Half million goal? who are they kidding? The game looks interesting, but for a company that has apparently zero history they are asking too much. That's 100k more then Tim Scaefer's project, at least he's proven his worthiness over the years
 
These kickstarter games are interesting, but I cannot get myself to actually donate money for a copy of a game, that might be released, and if so probably not what I was hoping for. Although some developers are better than others, I cannot imagine many of these low cost productions will actually be enjoyable. $500k is a lot, but nothing for a video game developer.
 
Kickstarter has protections in place for projects that are never finished.

But I wonder what's going to happen when somebody pitches a great concept, with great previews and such, only to find out that the game is an empty shell that only does the ABSOLUTE bare minimum of what was promised?

Then it'll just be 'CAN'T REFUND BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THE GAME, LOL'.

It's gotta happen eventually...
 
Kickstarter has protections in place for projects that are never finished.

But I wonder what's going to happen when somebody pitches a great concept, with great previews and such, only to find out that the game is an empty shell that only does the ABSOLUTE bare minimum of what was promised?

Then it'll just be 'CAN'T REFUND BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THE GAME, LOL'.

It's gotta happen eventually...

Which is why you dont give money to crap like what the OP has posted, a couple nobodies trying to pass themselves off as movers and shakers for past titles. To say you need $1 million to develop what they are pitching is shady as all get up.
 
The game looks like it could be good, however I'm not nearly interested enough to put up money for it upfront and even though you said "It'll be available for PC MAC and IOS" all I'm hearing in that rundown is iOS iOS iOS iOS. Having a AAA iOS game really just doesn't interest me all that much.
 
The game looks like it could be good, however I'm not nearly interested enough to put up money for it upfront and even though you said "It'll be available for PC MAC and IOS" all I'm hearing in that rundown is iOS iOS iOS iOS. Having a AAA iOS game really just doesn't interest me all that much.

OH MY GOD BUT IT SAYS IT'S BEING DEVELOPED FOR PC HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY GO WRONG
 
Kickstarter has protections in place for projects that are never finished.

Kickstarter has protections for projects which are never funded. If it isn't you get your money back.

The project once funded has to give you 0. You are a donator, not an investor. Any money you give to a project is given to them. It is not in exchange for goods, like if you bought it off amazon, it's in exchange for the promise of goods.

Who is responsible for fulfilling the promises of a project?


It is the responsibility of the project creator to fulfill the promises of their project. Kickstarter reviews projects to ensure they do not violate the Project Guidelines, however Kickstarter does not investigate a creator's ability to complete their project.

Creators are encouraged to share links to any websites that show work related to the project, or past projects. It's up to them to make the case for their project and their ability to complete it. Because projects are usually funded by the friends, fans, and communities around its creator, there are powerful social forces that keep creators accountable.

The web is an excellent resource for learning about someone’s prior experience. If someone has no demonstrable prior history of doing something like their project, or is unwilling to share information, backers should consider that when weighing a pledge. If something sounds too good to be true, it very well may be.

Who is responsible for making sure project creators deliver what they promise?

Project creators are solely responsible for fulfilling the promises of their projects.

Pretty much they can give you nothing, and will face no consequences, other than if you went class action against them for your $15.
 
What really amazes me about the 'backers' on Kickstarter is the amount of high-end donations. For instance, someone has already backed Republique @ $7,500. How many people have that kind of cash laying around for a unknown IP?

But kudos to the team as this title looks great!
 
What really amazes me about the 'backers' on Kickstarter is the amount of high-end donations. For instance, someone has already backed Republique @ $7,500. How many people have that kind of cash laying around for a unknown IP?

But kudos to the team as this title looks great!

I would assume most of the high donors on these little games are either the devs themselves (to drum up support... wow, must be looking good or somebody to have donated that much!) or friends/family members.

Unless there's some independently wealthy sect of indie gamers out there that like taking gambles.
 
I would assume most of the high donors on these little games are either the devs themselves (to drum up support... wow, must be looking good or somebody to have donated that much!) or friends/family members.

Unless there's some independently wealthy sect of indie gamers out there that like taking gambles.
Absolutely agree with that.
 
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