Game News Jack Houston and the Necronauts wants money

[DarkUnderlord]

Tags: Adventure Codex; Jack Houston and the Necronauts; Kickstarter

Yes, it's yet another KickStarter but the video was really kind of cool. Or at least the concept art was - which on reflection I'm not certain if it's actually their concept art or just stuff they pinched from somewhere. If it's the former, awesome! If it's the latter, than meh.

It's a point and click sci-fi adventure game set on a pulp fiction version of Planet Venus. How cool is that? The guys making it do some indie crap in the film world. Also the video drops too many names of people we don't care about in the fashion of " The music is being done by Bob Smith, who totally did the music at our high school production! And it was awesome!". Anyway, here's the vid:

Jack Houston and the Necronauts is a pulp sci-fi inspired adventure game where you portray Captain Jack Houston on his deadliest mission: to man the first rocket to explore a savage, alien world!

Jack’s adventure takes place not far from home, on our neighboring planet of Venus. But this isn’t the lifeless planet we know today, this Venus is a sweltering vine jungle teaming with strange beasts of horn, tooth and claw. This is the Venus imagined by science fiction authors and artists in the first half of the century.​

At 4:54 I wasn't thinking about rewards. I was thinking: Tell me about the fucking game, you fucking fucktards. If that interested you though, the KickStarter is over here, where you can see some more of that awesome concept art.

 

[kaizoku]

At 4:54 I wasn't thinking about rewards. I was thinking: Tell me about the fucking game, you fucking fucktards.

So fucking true.
Their concept is really interesting and has lots of potential. But it would have been nice to know more about the game.

The irony is, as we have already noticed before on some kickstarter projects, if you're able to throw in some concepts or promises, and some awesome looking reward goodies then the money flows in... $24k in 1 week. (he has 2 pledgers at the 6k level)
OTOH it's good to know they have "some" experience in cinema and games. But it would have been so much fucking better if they had finished their free "han solo adventures" game before jumping on board of this project. That would back their competence as game designers.

Maybe I'll bug them with some questions...

 

[LeStryfe79]

Yeah, that's a well made kickstarter. Gonna have to wait and see until more details emerge however.

 

[MicoSelva]

I don't see how it is connected with RPGs at all.
The concept art is truly awesome, though. The kickstarter project was worth linking to see it.

 

[Davaris]

The irony is, as we have already noticed before on some kickstarter projects, if you're able to throw in some concepts or promises, and some awesome looking reward goodies then the money flows in... $24k in 1 week. (he has 2 pledgers at the 6k level)

Yeah, I am going off the rewards thing, as it takes the focus off the games. Beyond a hard box, which could be sold separately, a clear explanation of the design, is what should convince people your game is worth supporting. Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world.

 

[Baron]

Does Jack Houston have a Russian trained chimpanzee sidekick? Is it bromanceable? I'm reluctant to send money before I see more of the game content or concept artwork of the monkey.

It's like that thing Cuba Gooding Jr said. Show me the monkey.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

Will there be venus-babes to shag? No? Fuck this game.

 

[Baron]

Despite the error message... his earlier game looks like a reasonable attempt of Star Wars : Le Chuck Strikes Back.

Meh, it wouldn't kill me to play an adventure game with a pulp scifi theme where Capt' Jack trekked about Venus and met its multi-limbed inhabitants, romancing the shaggy green hide off the noble born ones.

 

[mbpopolano24]

..... I cannot believe I wasted 5 minutes watching the retarded video.

 

[Stacy Davidson]

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words about Jack Houston and the Necronauts!

Definitely 100% in-house created concept art. That's the real Jack up there on the box.

Not an RPG, it's a point & click adventure all the way, although I love RPGs and even proudly worked for Lord British for a time.

The Han Solo Adventures project is a separate thing, just my fan game hobby project. Sorry about that video, don't waste your time with that. It was a Diablo III joke. Check this one out instead:


Thanks for the interest guys, and let me know if you have any questions: stacy (at) warbirdgames (dot) com

-Stacy D.

 

[DwarvenFood]

You have a strange way of video capturing..

 

[Wyrmlord]

This is the coolest and most creative Kickstarter video I have seen so far.

I am damn impressed.

 

[Ulminati]

I'd love to know more of the game before releasing jewgoldz, but I'll definately be keeping an eye on this. Concept art is beautiful, and the ERROR 37 joke nearly made me spew my coffee all over the screen. Well played.

So go on, Stacy Davidson. Tell us of the gameplay! Look at all the lovely codexian virtual cash I'm dangling in front of you!



Also, welcome to Codexia. Careful, the natives sometimes bite (just see what we did to the poor Stoic Entertainment guy a while back), but we also back stuff that's genuinely interesting (See Wasteland2/Deat state fundraisers).

 

[Stacy Davidson]

Thanks guys!

I describe the concept as "The Dig", if Ben from Full Throttle gut-punched Boston Low and commanded the mission in his place. The interface will be a fairly streamlined verb coin point & click interface. The setting should be familiar to anyone who's seen Tom Corbett: Space Cadet or Perry Rhodan, bubble helmets rockets 'n rayguns galore.

Here's something I haven't actually revealed anywhere else. The story will begin with a series of radio dramas, short episodes that will be distributed via podcast and YouTube. These short stories will dramatize the early missions of "Test Pilot: Jack Houston" and a few other characters that will become important to Jack's back story. The first episode will be released during the Kickstarter campaign, and future episodes will continue to be released through out the production of the game. The final episode will actually lead directly into the game's intro, and the whole of the season will serve to setup the character and universe of Jack Houston. Nothing in the radio drama will be critical to players, but it will certainly enrich the story and even provide hints that will be useful during play.

The plot of the game is this: In the year 1999, a retired Jack Houston is recruited by the Venture Aeronautics and Space Transportation (VAST) corporation for one last mission: to man the first rocket to Venus. The rocket is designed to penetrate the hazy atmosphere and land on the surface, where some believe Jack may find the first signs of life in our solar system. En route, something goes terribly wrong and Jack's rocket crash lands in an alien ocean, where he rests in cryogenic sleep for 1,000 years. The world he wakes up to is one of savage beast men who worship a devil god with the power to control the dead. This isn't the mission Jack signed up for, and even if he finds a way off the planet, the Earth he knew is gone. What Jack will find, however, is a whole new universe where space travel is common place and aliens are everywhere. A galaxy of adventure he could never have dreamed is waiting for him, if only he can survive the perils of Venus!

The world Jack Houston takes place in is not the one we know, it's the vision of the future that was portrayed and glorified in sci-fi magazines and novels of the 40's and 50's, where humans conquered space and found a new frontier beyond our imagination.

Thanks for taking interest, guys! I'd like to leave you with a Q&A from the Kickstarter that answers a lot of further questions if you're interested to know more: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/warbirdgames/jack-houston-and-the-necronauts/posts/259272

-Stacy Davidson

 

[Zed]

I am slowly reaching for my wallet...

 

[Ulminati]

I set a reminder on my phone to check in on this project in a month and toss an appropriate amount of money at it if the updates continue to look this promising.

 

[Angthoron]

The plot of the game is this: In the year 1999, a retired Jack Houston is recruited by the Venture Aeronautics and Space Transportation (VAST) corporation for one last mission: to man the first rocket to Venus. The rocket is designed to penetrate the hazy atmosphere and land on the surface, where some believe Jack may find the first signs of life in our solar system. En route, something goes terribly wrong and Jack's rocket crash lands in an alien ocean, where he rests in cryogenic sleep for 1,000 years. The world he wakes up to is one of savage beast men who worship a devil god with the power to control the dead. This isn't the mission Jack signed up for, and even if he finds a way off the planet, the Earth he knew is gone. What Jack will find, however, is a whole new universe where space travel is common place and aliens are everywhere. A galaxy of adventure he could never have dreamed is waiting for him, if only he can survive the perils of Venus!

Loved the art style alone, and now DAT PREMISE sounds good too, definitely supporting and promoting you. Best of luck with your project guys, hope you'll manage to accomplish all you've set out to do (and more?).

 

[DwarvenFood]

Sounds great, I love the concept of time travel forward into the future.

 

[SuicideBunny]

if only this was rpg-/quest for gloryish...

 

[Stacy Davidson]

if only this was rpg-/quest for gloryish...

Oh, GFQ fans should definitely check out this one! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...my-an-adventure-game-by-infamous-que?ref=live
Their KS is over, but you can still jump in via paypal I think.

 

[FeelTheRads]

Seems pretty interesting. I hope I can jump in for the boxed version.
If you'll allow me some nagging about the logo, though.. it reads like "And the Jack Houston Necronauts". The "And the" part should really be to the right side.

 

[Kosmonaut]

I describe the concept as "The Dig", if Ben from Full Throttle gut-punched Boston Low and commanded the mission in his place.

Pledged. I'm almost sure that I will be disappointed, but well, I'll lose just 15 bucks.

 

[SuicideBunny]

if only this was rpg-/quest for gloryish...

Oh, GFQ fans should definitely check out this one! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...my-an-adventure-game-by-infamous-que?ref=live
Their KS is over, but you can still jump in via paypal I think.

we have a thread about it over in the adventure forum:
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...st-for-glory-like-on-kickstarter.73019/unread

but a pulpy retro sci-fi rpg adventure hybrid would still be nice and there can never be enough quest for glory-like adventure rpg hybrids.

 

[Ulminati]

Tossed 15 kwabucks into the pot. 100 kwabucks + shipping for physical goodies is a bit too steep for my liking, but I'm well aware the pricing is probably reasonable for the cost of producing small runs of physical goodies.

 

[MaskedMan]

3 days and 4k dollars to go!