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Shattered Time - A Open Source CRPG

by Couchpotato, 2014-02-12 05:02:42

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.

Information about

Shattered Time

SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Cancelled


Details