Development Info Guido Henkel returns to cRPGs with Thorvalla?

[almondblight]

Of course this couldn't possibly have anything to do with the projects themselves, for instance Hero-U looking like a social game or simply bad/unappealing presentation.

Pretty much. You can't come out of nowhere asking for $290k or $400k without doing any ground work and expect to be funded unless you're very well known/have a great IP. Hero-U and Ars Magica are asking the same amount as Project Eternity, and more than Wasteland2, Shadowrun Returns, and Dead State. The Hero-U guys said they're making a Facebook game because a new Quest for Glory game would cost too much, yet the Quest for Infamy people are doing that, having only asked for $25k and letting people get their game for half the price of Hero-U.

And then there was Shaker.

People have to realize that pulling off a successful Kickstarter is a lot of work. They look at Wasteland 2 or Project Eternity and think that they can just throw anything up there and get millions, and then wonder why they end up failing.

 

[Gord]

And we are still waiting for the inevitable implosion of a big anticipated project.
After that it will likely be even more difficult.

 

[Phelot]

Wow, this is exciting news! Still too early to tell, though.

 

[kaizoku]

kickstarter really seems to be slowing down or something, Ars Magica and Hero-U are going to fail, and some others are very sluggish and probably won't make it

But big names and previous experience mean a lot on KS, and this guy was also producer of PST, so it might work out well

I thought about that as well, but that is not entirely true...
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/?ref=kicktraq
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen/?ref=kicktraq

The thing is, there are a lot more projects now and for those who don't have a name they need to show a lot more (or pitch better) than what was previously being shown.
So the "let's save videogames" hype has now died.

But it's also true that some very interesting stuff is failing.

My guess is that Hero-U would succeed if it looked more like a QfG game.

+1



If he does go KS, I do hope Obsidian and MCA give him a wink and a push.
MCA showing up in the pitch video could do wonders.

 

[FeelTheRads]

Hero-U and Ars Magica are asking the same amount as Project Eternity

Not even together they get close to how much PE asked.

The Hero-U guys said they're making a Facebook game

Actually, they won't do a Facebook game.

People have to realize that pulling off a successful Kickstarter is a lot of work.

Lori and Corey Cole are among the ones that have worked the most on their Kickstarter and they still do and they're pretty much all the time in the Kickstarter comments answering questions.

Guess your amazing Google-fu isn't working quite as well as you thought?

 

[Mortmal]

Now we are only missing the gold box team to reform too . As for hero U and ars magic failing thats sad, maybe the look is too casual yes, they dont have the same prestige as chris robert. Star citizen is suceeding not only cause of the graphics, it has the wing commander aura , you underestimate that license . The beggining of pc gaming is litterally thanks to this guy, you bought your 386 or 486 to either play ultima underworld or wing commander 2 .

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

If he does go KS, I do hope Obsidian and MCA give him a wink and a push.
MCA showing up in the pitch video could do wonders.

Yeah, we can always ask MCA to tweet about it. if he doesn't comply we can threaten to ban him again, or worse, redirect to RPGWatch.

 

[almondblight]

Not even together they get close to how much PE asked.

For the game, $20. Though that was the PE "early order" price, but there were still 25k available.

Guess your amazing Google-fu isn't working quite as well as you thought?

If you want to make the argument that you need to hire PhD's to come up with hermit crab enemies, that other thread is still open.

 

[getter77]

I'm hopeful for this, but I guess we'll all know much more as this things gets unwrapped and the pitch made.

 

[Angelo85]

damn I'm a dumbfuck! As Brother None correctly pointed out "Single player" just means not Multiplayer in modern context. For a second there while reading about TDE my brain switched to oldschool happy place mode where there was no Internetz and Single player RPG totally equaled single character in my mind :D

 

[Brother None]

Hero-U's failing doesn't seem to be that complicated to me. Unappealing title (as in, the actual name), needs to appeal more directly to their crowd and - first and foremost to my mind - that art is a fucking joke. I don't see how you can expect to raise $400K with art that is on par with the average one-person-project interactive graphic novel-type project. C'mon now.

I thought about that as well, but that is not entirely true...
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/?ref=kicktraq

Ooof. 1.25 million GBP? That's almost 2 million dollars. That's one fucking ballsy goal, I'll give him that.

 

[Dorateen]

Star Trail was the best of the Realms of Arkania trilogy. It would be most welcome to see the devloper get back to his roots. I could go for some Norse style adventuring.

Will keep an eye on this, while carefully honing me orc hook with a whetstone.

 

[Kahlis]

Will keep an eye on this, while carefully honing me orc hook with a whetstone.

Sharpening the witch/warlock's broom with a whetstone was the real key to success.

 

[empi]

Definately will pledge, cautiously so fucking excited

 

[kaizoku]

http://www.crystals-dsa-foren.de/showthread.php?tid=3947&page=3 + google translate

Thorvalla is party-based, and gives the player control of all party members.

The main version will be English, which is in the meantime, my main language - you will not believe how hard sometimes zusammenzubekommen after 16 years still decent German, because one's vocabulary is lost - and because the team is just here in the U.S. .
A German version I'd like to do, but that remains to be seen, and will probably be a stretch goal for the Kickstarter project. This means that if there is enough money to pay for translations and so, I'll definitely take the eye.

No, the focus for Thorvalla is united and alone on the desktop versions. Windows, OSX and Linux, as well as a stretch goal.

 

[SCO]

It's the end of days

 

[crafthack]

I would sell my soul to Satan for another roa-like game with first-person perspective (with portraits) in town, isometric perspective in battle, and a big overworld map for exploration

 

[Marquess Cornwallis]

I will pledge. Guido Henkel was one of the designers of the first pseudo-RPG I ever played (Lords of Doom on the C64; certainly not the best game ever, but I loved it) and I really liked the RoA series, especially Star Trail. I remember how at the time it was one of the few titles going against the industry trend of having several CDs' worth of horrible multimedia content (full motion video) and no gameplay to speak of (my Star Trail box contained a couple of floppies in the same year that Under a Killing Moon came on full four CDs). This new project may prove not quite up there with the RoA games in the end, but then again, I don't remember buying Lords of Doom, so I owe Guido one from back then.

Speaking of which, are there any German Codexers who played Drachen von Laas? Would it be worth tracking down the DOS version?

 

[Luzur]

Now we are only missing the gold box team to reform too . As for hero U and ars magic failing thats sad, maybe the look is too casual yes, they dont have the same prestige as chris robert. Star citizen is suceeding not only cause of the graphics, it has the wing commander aura , you underestimate that license . The beggining of pc gaming is litterally thanks to this guy, you bought your 386 or 486 to either play ultima underworld or wing commander 2 .

you forget the old Elder Scrolls and Might and Magic teams.

 

[LeStryfe79]

Guido Henkel ‏@GuidoHenkel
There is already quite a bit of discussion going on over at @RPGCodex among RPG fans about my new project, THORVALLA — http://ow.ly/faT6G
Details

 

[Morkar Left]

I'm really, really interested but I'm starting to get worried that there are really too much rpg kickstarters going on lately without having seen one so far.

Guido clarified over at crystals-dsa-foren.de that it will be a pc-centered game and that it will not be for mobile devices and the like. Quite remarkable considering that mobile gaming is what he does for a living now.

Why isn't Mother Russia already masturbating all over the place here? What's up Andhaira, this should be a rpg dream come true for you!

 

[Wintermute]

Guido Henkel ‏@GuidoHenkel
@rainvillain It is going to be a computer role-laying game that I am trying to crowd-fund through Kickstarter soon.

Romance confirmed?

 

[Mother Russia]

This....this MUST be!!!

I just hope he is using the Thorwarl thing to drum up interest...RoA had Thorwalians, but they were just one class out of 14. The game was not viking based at all, though it had elements of it.

Anyhow, whatever he does, I hope there are spell schools, with Daemonology being one of the schools!

 

[Kosmonaut]

 

[kaizoku]

Guido clarified over at crystals-dsa-foren.de that it will be a pc-centered game and that it will not be for mobile devices and the like. Quite remarkable considering that mobile gaming is what he does for a living now.

Most of us have to do filthy things for a living.

Guido Henkel ‏@GuidoHenkel
There is already quite a bit of discussion going on over at @RPGCodex among RPG fans about my new project, THORVALLA — http://ow.ly/faT6G
Details

Since Guido is very likely checking this thread, we might as well anticipate butthurtness and post here what he want to see.

For me... make it fully isometric





Without even knowing what game he will be pitching (especially the production aspects of it) it's too early to tell, but I have to wonder on how much he will be able to fund.
How big is Das Schwarze Auge in the 4th Reich anyway? Or better put, how big are the RoA games there?

Maybe I'm being a pessimist here, but asking more than $250k may not be wise.
One has to remember that the BaK guy, some months ago, went ahead and tried to size up his fanbase on how many could gather $500(?)... and there weren't enough of them to make the game happen (silly poll he made anyway it would have been better to ask on how many would pledge $15 or $20)
Now, this is a very rough comparison, but if you look at GOG's forum page for both series (BaK and RoA) you see they have about the same amount of activity. So maybe they have about the same fanbase size too.
It could also make a world of difference if he already has some working prototype to show.