Shattered Time - A Open Source CRPG

[Couchpotato]

Shattered Time is a new Open Source RPG from a developer called Daniel J Swiger. He is asking for $100,000 on kickstarter to fund his ambitious game.

A mysterious Rift has torn it’s way backwards through time and space, echoing from an event that hasn't happened yet. Begin your journey in one of three timelines to unravel a sequence of events leading to the end of all life on Earth.

The game has two updates already with more information.

Update #1 - Why is the goal so high? / Why is the goal so low?

Many Indie Games on Kickstarter are looking for less than $10k, why are you asking for ten times that?

In a lot of cases these games are mostly complete, and looking for just enough funding to finish the game and launch on their chosen paid platform. Or they are much smaller overall projects, aiming for 2-4 hours of gameplay in the final product. In many cases they already have significant investment in the game, but run short on their budget and need a final push.

In my case the game is a much larger project, in very early development, seeking to be fully funded. I considered a lower starting goal, but in budgeting out the development, I had serious doubts about completing the game to the quality I want to build.

100k is both a large amount, and at the same time, it will be a very tight budget. The average, single American income makes that much money in approximately four years. The average household income, in two. For a three year budget, with significant upfront costs and zero planned return, this a very low amount.

Update #2 - Workflow and Tools of the Trade

"So how is it that a game like this is possible for an Indie Developer?"

Primarily because of the advancements in the tools available today. There are a few aspects of the development process for a game this size that stand apart as, some might say, "monumental" tasks. One of those is content creation.

When I was a teenager and playing around with 3D modeling programs for the first time, in the dawn of the current century (always fun to say that), it was no small task to create a 3D model. Actually, one might say it was quite a lot of time consuming work, with very expensive pieces of software.

Things have changed considerably since then. Now there are even a number of free programs, like Scupltris, from the same company that produces the even more powerful Zbrush. Which, with a stylus in hand, is as easy as working with clay. In many respects, easier, actually.

More information.

 

[Couchpotato]

Since no one replied yet I have to say back this game do it now. The game will be as moddable as NWN. Here is a snippet about mods.

Spoiler: Mod News

Whether you are a Gamer, Modder or a Developer, you may want to read through this section to know just what this project is really trying to accomplish.
I don’t just want to make this game. I want to inspire and empower other individuals to step forward and make the next leap in Indie Gaming. Some people love Indie Games. For others it’s a term synonymous with low quality, cheap advertising, and micro-transaction games on their phones.

To that end, I want to take the crowd-funded model in a whole new direction. With enough investment to properly make the game, and hopefully be able to eat for the next couple of years, I can’t honestly see any reason to continue to make money off of the game.


You might have to read that last sentence again. It’s okay, I really did type that.


I want to redefine what it means to produce a Free game with no micro-transactions or pay to win mechanics. More than that, I want to be able to turn around and make everything that went into this game freely available to anyone with an interest in game design. All the code and scripting released under Open Source licensing. All the 3d models, textures, and assets under Creative Commons to be freely usable by all. The Game itself DRM free, with no user analytics monitoring your gameplay, or a required net connection of any kind.

I want to create, not just a game, but a platform to hand the community all the tools they would need to go beyond just reviving a genre. This project has the potential to be one of the largest repositories of game development resources to be found anywhere on the web.

If you are a developer than you know that complete game projects are incredibly hard to find. And high quality project files with access to everything that went into the game just don’t exist for download and easy access. Something I feel is holding the growth of all of us back. Looking at the development and modding communities out there, I can only imagine what people could do with a full game to work with and learn from.


If we can work together to make this campaign a success, I hope it will inspire more developers to follow the same ideal. Crowdsourcing is a new and innovative means of financing, it deserves a new and innovative business model to go along with it.

Maybe these screenshots, and more story details will help you also.

Spoiler: Expanded Story Details

In 1200 AD, the forests of Europe are alive with magic and secrets lost to time. When the Rift tears through the land, whole kingdoms vanish, new threats and monsters terrorize the people. Once great Camelot lies in ruins, and rumors speak of Avalon appearing in the mists.

In 2000 AD, a world unlike the one you know, a history changed sometime in the distant past. A world of industry built upon Magic as a source of energy. With the appearance of the Rift the world is losing its magic at an accelerated rate. Society on the brink of destruction, a World War on the rise. A solution is promised, a machine to control the Rift and turn it against the enemies of Europe.

In 2400 AD, magic is all but lost in a world wracked by a war that nearly destroyed it. Society is split in two, the great Dome Cities rising above the ruins below. War has been declared again, but no one knows against whom. The Rift appeared the day the moon was split in two, the world is doomed to destruction, and no one knows who is responsible.

The mysteries at the core of each of these timelines, improbably connected across time, will reveal the threads of a plot spanning millennia. Secrets that will question the history of the world itself.

A storyline spanning across six major timelines and countless minor Rifts. Discover a world much like our own, as you uncover the lore of an altered history more and more divergent across time. Is there a source? A common point where something changed, or simply a picture of ‘a world that could have been,’ if myths and legends were true?

 

[Nyx]

I'm tempted. Reading about it tickles my brain in a good way but that video was cheesy as hell
I'll bookmark it in any way, and think about it..if anything think about how much I'd like to pledge.

 

[Kostas]

He touches upon this in the FAQ but I'm pretty sure it's technically misleading to call this Open source since the engine, Unity, is closed source and only scripts and assets are going to be OSS. It's still leagues beyond what all other RPG KSs that I've seen but it's nevertheless limited.

Looking at the current pledges chances are he's not going to make it.

 

[joxer]

The game will be as moddable as NWN.

I'm not supporting a new opensource engine below Crytek quality. And those shots look worse than the ugly Aurora.

If I undersood correctly, this is in fact a modified Unity engine with predefined ugly stuff you can combine and make some playable thing.
Definetly not my pair of shoes. Sorry and good luck to developer.

 

[mercy]

Somehow the pitch didn't come through. He could have completely cut that weird first part with him in spooky lighting speaking in a magical voice.

 

[TheSHEEEP]

Somehow the pitch didn't come through. He could have completely cut that weird first part with him in spooky lighting speaking in a magical voice.

Yeah, that was … pretty awkward.

I really don't see how a pitch like that on a one-man project (who nobody knows) with not much to show that would put some confidence into potential backers is ever going to come close to 100k.

It seems like a great idea, sure, but neither in the video nor in the KS page itself I saw anything that would make me think "Sure, this guy can do it!".
Those screenshots and gameplay scenes did not convince me, mostly because I know how easy it is to get some basic gameplay done with Unity. So, no great achievement there.

If all those screens were achieved with a selfmade OpenGL engine, now that would pique my interest (and inspire some confidence into his skills as a developer).