RPGWatch Feature: Bloom - Interview

[Myrthos]

Bloom is a game in development, which is currently on Kickstarter and is tagged as an adventure-RPG. We asked Project Lead Dani Landers some questions to see if we could get more information on this game that is quite different from other games on Kickstarter.
More information.

 

[joxer]

Read it all and definetly got my interest, so I went to KS to pledge.
I mean... What's not to like there?

And then I got down by smartphones stretch goal.
Sorry but I'm skipping it.

 

[guenthar]

This doesn't look like the type of game that I would play so I won't be disappointed if it doesn't succeed. A simplistic character development, not being able to have a sense of accomplishment (which is the reason why I stopped cheating in games a long time ago) and no consequences means I would get board pretty quickly. Having an obstacle you need to get past to progress is essentially what makes a game and if you don't have that or you can just skip by it then it is no longer a game.

PS. I do agree about not having time sinks but not even having something that you need to surmount to progress in the game is not the way to make a game. Having puzzles or quests that make you think or an enemy that is extremely challenging and can't be taken down easily and needing to get past that to progress will give you a sense of accomplishment which becomes enjoyment. Combine that with a good story, dialog, choices & consequences and you have the potential to have a great game but without those elements it's like you tried to build the rpg but it is missing a piece and will likely collapse under your weight.

 

[Myrthos]

And then I got down by smartphones stretch goal.
Sorry but I'm skipping it.

They have a stretch goal supporting Android to be able to play it on Ouya.
Then again, it looks like $50K will be already difficult enough to achieve, let alone a stretch goal.

 

[joxer]

Well pardon me for my ignorance but I don't know what Ouya is.
The word Android is what bothers me a lot, in fact when I see that a game is set to be ported on it, or on iOS, all I can think of is removing so many fun elements from a game just to make it portable downgradable/dumbdownable.
Everything else written on KS and in the interview I really find intriguing and would love to try such game. I was serious when I said that after reading the interview I went to pledge on it just to find something I really don't want to support at any cost. I mean, here we have a game that could bring out some fresh and innovative things to the genre, or genres, and maybe I do get feeling sorry for not supporting it in the first place, but hell. Haven't joined a single KS project that involved Android/iOS and am not changing my mind no matter how interesting the project looks.

In case the project gets rebooted without Android/iOS plans, I'll definetly jump in.

 

[Dajjer]

I have it set as a reminder, I am intrigued. But I don't see this game making it this kickstarter go around. The smart phone possibility doesn't bother me but having it be a stretch goal does bug me. To me that means less features for the PC player. They can port the game after they get it on the market.

 

[Roq]

Well pardon me for my ignorance but I don't know what Ouya is.
The word Android is what bothers me a lot, in fact when I see that a game is set to be ported on it, or on iOS, all I can think of is removing so many fun elements from a game just to make it portable downgradable/dumbdownable.
Everything else written on KS and in the interview I really find intriguing and would love to try such game. I was serious when I said that after reading the interview I went to pledge on it just to find something I really don't want to support at any cost. I mean, here we have a game that could bring out some fresh and innovative things to the genre, or genres, and maybe I do get feeling sorry for not supporting it in the first place, but hell. Haven't joined a single KS project that involved Android/iOS and am not changing my mind no matter how interesting the project looks.

In case the project gets rebooted without Android/iOS plans, I'll definetly jump in.

Ouya is a console, whose design generated the largest Kickstarter funding to date. It is meant to allow Android games to be played on larger screens…

I do agree with you to some extent about Mobile/console ports, but think it is OK if they are designed first for the PC, without compromising mouse/keyboard controls or nerfing the gameplay. Then they can the port it wherever they like as far as I'm concerned.

Since Unity makes porting to mobile platforms pretty easy, we can expect to see a lot of Kickstarter games adapted for other platforms in the future, I think.

 

[Nameless one]

I do somewhat agree with Joxer.While it's not instant deal breaker for me rest must be really convincing,and I never pledge more than preorder price for those game.I even reduced my pledge from Dreamfall chapters from 160 to basic preorder once it port was announced(they didn't reach it) as one of stretch goals,and TLJ is one of my all time favorite games.

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

Shadowrun returns also targets tablets, and if that doesn't look like kick-ass PC TB RPG awesomness, than I don't know what does. And Ouya is designed as an open console, in itself a worthwhile cause, although I am personally not that interested in it, but many indies try to support it for that reason alone.

As to Bloom, gah I don't know. The art is really interesting, as is the unusual story and setting - but I am not yet convinced by what I have read about the gameplay. Maybe too much action adventure and too little RPG for me. On the other hand it's just the kind of small quirky projects I like to support on KS... decisions, decisions....

 

[Dusk]

They seem to be having hard time in finding their targeted audiences.

In theory, I can agree quite many of their design decisions but the games which the interviewee listed here were 8-bit (?) action games. Since, to say nothing of these action games, I'm not into even ARPGs, naturally, I had difficulty in picturing what the interviewee was depicting. Gameplay-wise, I couldn't even associate myself with it in any conceivable way. How subjective "fun" can be! Even if she had used thousands of words to describe how "fun" the gameplay which they are going to realize will be, they wouldn't be able to convince me.

 

[rjshae]

In theory, I can agree quite many of their design decisions but the games which the interviewee listed here were 8-bit (?) action games. Since, to say nothing of these action games, I'm not into even ARPGs, naturally, I had difficulty in picturing what the interviewee was depicting. Gameplay-wise, I couldn't even associate myself with it in any conceivable way. How subjective "fun" can be! Even if she had used thousands of words to describe how "fun" the gameplay which they are going to realize will be, they wouldn't be able to convince me.

Umm, 'she' is a he... (No worries, I made the same mistake. )

 

[Roq]

Umm, 'she' is a he… (No worries, I made the same mistake. )

LOL - The lady on the panel in the pitch video is similarly confused: "I love her artwork, soo much".

 

[rjshae]

This Kickstarter has been picking up a healthy amount of momentum recently. It's good to see they've finally surpassed '9 Year Old Builds Her First RPG…'. That would have been embarrassing for the gaming community. (No offense intended to the young gal, but this is a business.)

 

[Dusk]

Oops, sorry about that.

Anyway, kind of mixed feeling here for the unsuccessful funding. While I cannot be interested in this game in terms of the gameplay, I still feel it's shame that it didn't make it for other factors…

On the other hand, I guess I don't feel I need to post any info about DOS here since we cannot convert the converted.