Children of War: Blood And Snow from Shadowforge is the next kickstarter in the last few months that failed to get funded. The developer promises they will finish the game.

Hey everyone!  Well as most of you have already surmised, unless there are some last minute angel investors we may not make our goal.  That being said, we are still making this game!  If you want to stay in the loop we'll be starting a mailing list and giving you guys the link.  This will be an exclusive mailing list only for our Kickstarter backer fans (even if we don't get funded).  We want to give you something for your faith and loyalty and keep you in the loop and release early content to you guys, making you part of the closed alpha and beta process so please stay tuned and subscribe to our mailing list when we post it.  It will be a private post to backers only.  So let's stay excited and get this game done using plan B, C or D.  ;)   So please stay tuned for the next update so you can get on the list and stay in the loop!  Thanks so much for your support and loyalty throughout this process!  I know it may seem a little disapointing to some people but don't worry!  We'll make it happen.  It just might take a bit longer now.

The N4G Blog has posted the second part of their new Q&A with Ryan Lamb of Shadowforge to talk about his kickstarter game Children of War: Blood and Snow.

Cat: You described the customization and crafting of weapons, what types of weapons will possible be in game - and what types will not?

RL: There will be a wide spectrum of weapons available in the game.  Swords, staves, spears, knives, maces, fist weapons, axes, bows, crossbows... pretty much anything you would expect to find in a fantasy game.  We're also working on integrating throwing into the system so that you can use any weapon you have as a ranged weapon in a pinch.  ;)

Cat: Some gamers love their loot, others avoid loot-driven games like an incurable itching disease. Where does Blood and Snow fall on the spectrum?

RL: While Blood and Snow isn't a loot-driven game like Diablo or Torchlight, it does have plenty of loot for those who are enthusiastic about finding it.  The properties of the loot are more important than the looks, name, type etc because players will be able to break down any item above a certain level and use it's properties/stats to augment their own crafted weapons.  This will enable players to keep the loot they like the look of instead of constantly worrying about upgrading items that have better stats but don't look as good to them.

Cat: Real time combat may scare off some gamers - I have a gaming friend (whose identity I am honor bound to protect) that struggled with Dragon Age on Easy. Is difficulty a concern?

RL: As they say: You can't please everyone.  Real time combat is something we really wanted to do with Blood and Snow and while I wouldn't say you have to be an amazing gamer to play it well, it does come with some challenges.  We are trying to make the combat systems as intuitive as possible and because they adhere as closely as possible to real-world physics as we can manage, the things that you can accomplish and invent during combat should be accessible to players from varying skill levels. 

The N4G Blog has posted the first part of new Q&A with Ryan Lamb of Shadowforge to talk about his kickstarter game Children of War: Blood and Snow.

Why do you make games?

Ryan Lamb: Games to us are the highest form of entertainment.  There's so much potential in games to create amazing art, music, story and to share ideas and thoughts in a way that the player feels like they are discovering something for themselves instead of being spoon fed.  It's a very powerful medium and we want to tell our stories. 

Why should people play Blood and Snow?

Ryan Lamb: People should play Blood and Snow because it tells an epic story and allows players to create their own stories and legends along with what we have written out.  The combat is unique, the level of customization is amazing and the crafting is being taken to a place that hasn't been seen in games before.

What element of game design do you hold above all others?

Ryan Lamb: The most important element of game design from our perspective at Shadowforge is immersion.  To us that's more than just good sound and visuals (although those things are very important) it's also about making the player feel like they aren't just watching something but experiencing something.  Especially in this game, we want players to put themselves in the shoes of the avatars they create and contemplate humanity as they play.

Shadowforge has a new short update for Children of War: Blood And Snow. Now as for funding the game has only managed sofar to get $9,883 of the $50,000 goal.

Interactive Map and other announcements!

Hey everyone!  Sorry that we've been out of touch.  The last few days have been crazy.  We're still working on the interactive map and will get that out to you guys as soon as possible.  

We've been getting some questions as to whether or not this game is relying completely on Kickstarter or if we're going to make it regardless.  Rest assured that we're making this game no matter what happens with Kickstarter!  And we would love to keep in touch with you guys, our loyal and original fans and we're looking into the best way to do that, whether it be through social media, an exclusive forum or an email list just for you guys.  If you have any suggestions for this don't hesitate to send a message and we'll make sure to take it all into consideration!  Meanwhile, we haven't given up, just planning for the next step, whatever that is!  Keep on checking back here.  We'll have some more updates soon!

OnlySP has a new exclusive video interview for Children of War: Blood and Snow with Ryan Lamb of Shadowforge Studios.

Exclusive interview with Ryan Lamb of Shadowforge Studios as we discuss their upcoming game, Blood and Snow. This is our first audio/video interview so please mind the editing :) Hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave feedback.

The N4G Blog had the chance to interview Ryan Lamb of Shadowforge to talk about his kickstarter game Children of War: Blood and Snow. Don't forget to read our own interview from earlier this week for more information.

Cat: Who is Shadowforge LLC, and what is your game design philosophy?

RL: Shadowforge is made up of a core three man development team;  Ryan Lamb as programmer/modeler, Devon Burnett as writer/game designer and Josh Lamb CEO, who also contributes game design, story and concept art.  Additional team members include artists Daniel Tyka, Markus Lovadina and Joel Serrano and our amazing composer Austin Lawrence.  

Our philosophies about game design originates from our lifelong love of games and and the criticisms we have made about those games.  Every  time I play a game, ideas and thoughts of ways to improve the system or some of the content come to mind.  These experiences have developed into ideas that become part of the foundation for our game design philosophy.  Story and immersion are at the heart of our designs.  We view games as a form of media that are meant to be experienced as much as played.  We think that an RPG should focus on character development and draw upon intellect and ideology while eliciting real human emotion.

Cat: What is Blood and Snow?

RL: Speaking technically, Blood and Snow is an Action RPG set in an open world, viewed through an isometric camera.  This game has a deep level of customization that allows you to more fully immerse yourself into your character.  There is a large open world with random events and side quests. Most notable is a strong central story line presented in the form of a main quest line.  There are mysteries with lore strewn across the world waiting to be found.  We love the feeling of discovering something new and feeling like it's possible that you're the first or only one to ever discover it.  To enhance the experience there are relics, landmarks and characters with stories that fall outside of any quest line, waiting for the player to find and enjoy.

We had the chance to interview COO/Program Director Ryan Lamb of Shadowforge a few questions about his kickstarter Children of War: Blood and Snow.

RPGWatch: Can you give a short description about your game company Shadowforge?

Ryan Lamb: The Shadowforge core team consists of me (Ryan Lamb), Devon Burnett and Josh Lamb (Ryan’s brother).  We founded the company about 2 years ago because creating mods and our own little proprietary add-ons has been a lifelong hobby and we wanted to turn our dreams into a career.  Josh is the CEO and runs the business side of things as well as contributes concept art, models, story and game design.  Devon is the main writer and lore guru, which as you can imagine on a game like this is a full time job.  Ryan is the lead programmer and modeler and contributes code and models/animation.  Our favorite games are mostly steeped in deep lore and engaging story and we want to bring back that rich, story-telling tradition to create worlds where players can be fully immersed.

Three of the developers from Shadowforge studios did a new video interview to share more information about their kickstarter RPG Children of War: Blood and Snow.

Tom, Jacob, Steve and Randy sit down with Shadowforge studios to talk about their new kickstarter Children of War: Blood and Snow.

Shadowforge has posted the third update for Children of War: Blood And Snow with a thank you to all  backers who bought the Early Bird special pldege.

Shadowforge has two new updates for their A-RPG Children of War: Blood and Snow that share news of their first $1,000 reached, and mention a new bonus.

Hey backers!  I'm going to avoid flooding the news stream and subsequently your inboxes with updates that don't have any content but we're excited to have broken the $1000 barrier with only 22 of you backing us so far!  Thank you so much and congratulations to all you very very early birds.  Spread the word and send your friends.  Don't forget about the "Bring Your Buddy" bonuses if anyone you refer mentions you in a message to us!  We'll tie your accounts together so that any time you're playing on any character in the same party, you'll have a modest xp bonus!  Thanks guys and let's keep pushing to the next benchmark!

Children of War: Blood And Snow is the next promising RPG kickstarter asking for $50,000 to get funded. The developer Shadowforge describe the game as following.

What is Blood And Snow?

Blood and Snow is a 3D isometric single player or cooperative Role Playing game.  Although Blood and Snow is set in an open world there is a strong central story-line presented through quests.  We focus on giving players lots of choices but unlike other games, we think it's important to make you choose between bad and worse instead of bad and good.  The grey areas of life and the complexity of the human psyche are our focus and we want to drag you into the depths of moral conflict.

You will play as a Demigod who was charged in the past with guiding humanity in a world where humanity as a whole fears you.

There are no classes in Blood and Snow.  Instead you will have access to a flattened ability tree which allows you to customize your play style and level individual abilities and spells as you see fit.

Your Demigod is completely customizable down to very minute detail as is your armor, weaponry and mount.

There will be a branching dialogue system in story quests which will allow you to shape the world as you play.Blood and Snow is being developed in the Unity engine and will initially release for PC, Mac and Linux.

The game will be available in English with plans to translate into Japanese, German and Spanish initially.  (If there's a big demand for another language we'll look into adding it.)

Blood and Snow will be distributed DRM-free (Steam is our targeted primary distribution network but we will also distribute on other DRM-free networks.