Hero-U Kickstarter: Quest For Glory spiritual successor

[Oerwinde]

Was a close one. Now we're all awaiting the inevitable Roberta Williams kickstarter project...

[Humanoid]

Every time she's asked she rules out ever going back into gaming though. Though if Williams and Jim Walls (Police Quest) return, that'd complete the suite of Sierra adventure alumni...

 

 

What I fear most is that Derek Smart will try to get in on the Kickstarter action. OhgodIwishIhadn'thadsaidthat.

[Starker]

Every time she's asked she rules out ever going back into gaming though. *snip* *bleach*

 

Most recently, the Coles asked Ken Williams about it and reportedly there's no chance of it happening.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Starker

[Malcador]

I think the affair with Sierra probably has the Williams done with the entire industry. That and I'm pretty sure retirement is enjoyable for them after all those years of work. Still always marvel at what they did with Sierra and how/why it started out.

 

A Derek Smart Kickstarter would be great

[Hurlshort]

Back in the late 80's, early 90's, you could actually go on a tour of Sierra and see their artists and programmers working. The industry sure has changed.

[Keyrock]

I'm really glad all the Sierra alum Kickstarters have been successful, that company holds a very special place in my heart. I was a fan since the days they were called On-Line Systems. As others have mentioned, Roberta Williams seems to be completely done with the gaming industry, so her doing a Kickstarter is highly unlikely. A man can dream though.

[BruceVC]

Back in the late 80's, early 90's, you could actually go on a tour of Sierra and see their artists and programmers working. The industry sure has changed.

Thats interesting, where was it and did you go?

[Hurlshort]

It was in Oakhurst, which is pretty close to Yosemite and the reason half dome was their logo. I went when I was about 12 years old, and I got to see them working on Quest for Glory 3. They were also just getting ready to release The Sierra Network (or maybe it was out already) and they showed us The Red Baron.

 

It was a very memorable tour

Edited November 21, 2012 by Hurlshot

[Keyrock]

It was in Oakhurst, which is pretty close to Yosemite and the reason half dome was their logo. I went when I was about 12 years old, and I got to see them working on Quest for Glory 3. They were also just getting ready to release The Sierra Network (or maybe it was out already) and they showed us The Red Baron.

 

It was a very memorable tour

 

[inner monologue]Don't get jealous. Don't get jealous. Don't get jealous.[/inner monologue]

Dammit, I'm jealous!

 

With all these Sierra alums coming out of the woodwork and having successful Kickstarter campaign it's like I'm going to get to relive my childhood. Add to that Tex Murphy, Broken Sword, Double Fine Adventure... and they said adventure gaming was dead.

[BruceVC]

It was in Oakhurst, which is pretty close to Yosemite and the reason half dome was their logo. I went when I was about 12 years old, and I got to see them working on Quest for Glory 3. They were also just getting ready to release The Sierra Network (or maybe it was out already) and they showed us The Red Baron.

 

It was a very memorable tour

 

[inner monologue]Don't get jealous. Don't get jealous. Don't get jealous.[/inner monologue]

Dammit, I'm jealous!

 

With all these Sierra alums coming out of the woodwork and having successful Kickstarter campaign it's like I'm going to get to relive my childhood. Add to that Tex Murphy, Broken Sword, Double Fine Adventure... and they said adventure gaming was dead.

 

I like this post, its honesty really appeals to me

 

I am also jealous, thats one of the advantages of living in the USA. You get to visit places that many of us just read about or use products that these places produce. But it does make my visits to the USA exciting so I can't complain

 

And I concur, long live Adventure gaming !!!

 

By the way, what do you think of this adventure game on GOG?

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/the_book_of_unwritten_tales

[Keyrock]

By the way, what do you think of this adventure game on GOG?

http://www.gog.com/g...unwritten_tales

I have yet to play it, so I can't comment on it myself. I will say that I've heard nothing but good things. I'm pretty tempted to scoop it up right now, actually.

[alanschu]

Back in the late 80's, early 90's, you could actually go on a tour of Sierra and see their artists and programmers working. The industry sure has changed.

Thats interesting, where was it and did you go?

 

BioWare does stuff like this. Though it's nothing formal or anything. If you're in Edmonton I could easily give you a tour though.

[BruceVC]

Back in the late 80's, early 90's, you could actually go on a tour of Sierra and see their artists and programmers working. The industry sure has changed.

Thats interesting, where was it and did you go?

 

BioWare does stuff like this. Though it's nothing formal or anything. If you're in Edmonton I could easily give you a tour though.

 

Nice one, I'll keep that in mind if I am ever there

[Malcador]

Thought most companies would be too corporate for that kind of thing.

[Cantousent]

Back in the late 80's, early 90's, you could actually go on a tour of Sierra and see their artists and programmers working. The industry sure has changed.

Thats interesting, where was it and did you go?

 

BioWare does stuff like this. Though it's nothing formal or anything. If you're in Edmonton I could easily give you a tour though.

alan, ya bastard, I'm going to keep this post handy and cash it in if I make it up to Edmonton. ...And I travel a lot. ...And I would be very grateful and probably grease the wheels with a bottle of scotch, soda, mountain spring water, or some other token of esteem.

[alanschu]

Lunch works

[Hurlshort]

Hmm...contemplating the 1,600 mile drive to Edmonton for my next summer trip

 

Actually I've been thinking about Calgary, my wife wants to see the Rodeo some day. So if I make it that far, I can probably swing up north for a visit.

[ShadySands]

 
Update 63

 

Starting May 12, we are taking a very unusual step - Two and one-half years after successfully completing the Hero-U Kickstarter, we are coming back to ask for more funding and more support.

We will need your help to succeed, and I want to show you here why supporting our second Kickstarter is both the right thing to do, and why you will benefit from supporting us.

It won’t take much - If every backer from our first Kickstarter pledges just $10, we will be more than halfway to our $100,000 goal. If you all pledge $20, we can reach our goal on the first day.

This game will be amazing! Thanks to you, we’ve made amazing progress over the last two years. Here is an example of what we showed you in late 2012 compared to what the game looks like now:


We are putting in the time, effort, creativity, and expense to bring this level of quality to every scene and every aspect of Hero-U. This will be a game that each of us - backers and developers - can look on with pride and say, “I helped make that!” Thanks to your support, you are part of our team.

Check Out the New Game Play Demo

We have a great new version of the playable demo for you with all-new art, programming, interface, and dialogue. If you log on to your Humble Bundle account, you will find WIndows, Macintosh, and Linux versions waiting for you to download and enjoy.

We have also just completed our first combat prototype, a playable experience that lets you explore a section of the cellars underneath Hero-U, fight monsters, and collect incredible treasure. We plan to release that to Insider and Beta Test backers today to get their feedback, and to everyone next week.

The rest of the game is also progressing well. We recently added Aaron Martin to the team to work on 3D environments. Most of the castle is now explorable, and we are steadily filling out the text and dialogue. With the demos complete, we expect to make rapid progress on other areas.

There is still a long way to go. Each scene is like a rough gem that needs to be refined, cut, and polished before becoming a jewel worthy of adding to the Hero-U treasure chest.


How You Can Help, and What You Will Get

Every dollar contributed the new Kickstarter campaign will make a big difference to the quality of Hero-U.

For those of you who backed us at the $20 level in 2012, we’ve created a special $20 pledge level just for you. For that second $20, you will receive all the benefits of our new $50 tier. That will include a hint book with tips and strategies for reaching different goals in Hero-U. We will give you the complete soundtrack with all of Ryan Grogan’s stunning musical compositions along with any music we add to the game in the coming months.

You will also get the “Making of Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption Art Book”, highlighting many of the stunning portraits, paintings, and background art from the game. It also includes an insider look at the process our artists went through to complete the game art, including the original design notes, early sketches, and “color comps”. It’s a pretty awesome reward level!

More than half of you (3300 of 6100 total) backed at the original $20 level. Check out the math - As a numbers guy, I think it’s pretty cool. 3300 x $20 = $66,000. That leaves about 2800 backers. Each of you kick in just $10, for 2800 x $10 = 28,000. Add those together and you get $94,000, and the new campaign is nearly funded. It doesn’t take a painful amount from anyone - All it takes is a community and a commitment to this game.

Would you like to help more? We have added some great new rewards at the higher levels including a new t-shirt design depicting all of the types of Heroes at Hero-U. A new hat design will feature the awesomely cute Hero-Unicorn.

Then there is the mysterious Rogues Gallery deep in the catacombs beneath Hero-U. If you are one of our Most Wanted Backers, your picture could appear on a Wanted Poster in the Gallery.

Is there a reward you would treasure more than anything else? Contact us at support@hero-u.net with your ideas.

What’s New At Hero-U?

We’ve simplified our main www.hero-u.com web site and made it mobile-device-friendly. The latter is important for Google’s changes to search priority. From the main page, you can get to the Kickstarter, the What’s New blog, our stores, and the discussion forum. The latter are still on hero-u.net for now. Here are the main links:

www.hero-u.com Main page and navigation to everything else
www.hero-u.com/kickstarter Countdown timer and link to the new Kickstarter
http://hero-u.com/category/hero-u/ The “What’s New at Hero-U?” blog articles
http://hero-u.com/stores/ Pre-order, collectible, and Cafe Press stores
http://hero-u.com/about/ Information about the game, project, and team
http://hero-u.net/forum/ Discussion forum
http://www.hero-u.net/hero_u_alumni.html Thank you to our backers
Let’s Make This Happen Together

We’ve had an amazing and exciting time developing Hero-U so far, full of ups, downs, and sideways. For all the challenges, we wouldn’t trade the experience. We have been thrilled, delighted, and relieved by your continuing support, confidence, and encouragement for this most difficult project.

Check back on Kickstarter on May 12 for the start of “Hero-U Adventure Role-playing Computer Game” by Corey Cole. www.hero-u.com/kickstarter will count down the time left, and then link to the Kickstarter page once it goes live.

Be sure to share the good news with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and real life. We’ll see you there!

 
 
Update 64

 

A number of backers were angry at my previous update, feeling that we were asking them for more money without having delivered anything for their previous pledges. That was never the intent. The object of that post was to:
Announce the upcoming supplementary Kickstarter (starting May 12)
Share the new version of the break-in room demo
Show how the game is finally progressing from concept art to a real game
Show that a small donation from many people can make a big difference
Thank you for your past support and bearing with this delayed game
That was all. It certainly was not intended to demand more money from backers who were generous to us when we had nothing more than a game concept. You are the 6,000 who believed in us more than any of the other hundreds of thousands of Quest for Glory and Castle of Dr. Brain players. You mean the world to us.
As you know, nearly all of my updates have been open to everyone. Yesterday's update was the first of a series of backer-only updates to keep you posted on why we are doing the new Kickstarter and other project details that we feel are of more interest to you than to the rest of the world. There won't be any secrets here, but there will be some very honest talk that some will take negatively.
One of the questions raised several times yesterday is, "What did you do with the first $400,000? Why do you need more?" It's a great question, and I'll answer it here.
But first let me put it in perspective - $400K after our costs of making and shipping rewards, Kickstarter fees, and so on, is actually less than $300K net towards the project. That was enough money to pay for one programmer and four artists for a year, even with no other expenses (music, Unity licenses, etc.) and paying Lori and me nothing.
We started with four artists, a musician, and a programmer. If nobody had left the team and we completed it in 8 months, we'd have broken even. That lasted one month before a key team member quit and we could not find a replacement.
Let’s look at all the money we've received from crowdfunding and our site:
Pledged on Kickstarter (Gross): $409,000 (but some did not pay)
PayPal and Humble Bundle (Gross): $26,000
Total Crowd-Funding to Date (Gross): $435,000
Deductions and Funding Costs: $60,000
Total Crowd-Funding to Date (Net): $375,000
Here’s where we spent the original Kickstarter funding:
Art and Animation $205,000 (includes work on virtual rewards)
Programming $85,000
Music $25,000
Taxes/Fees/Overhead $75,000 (includes cost of funding)
Software/Supplies $10,000 (Unity and other licenses)
Rewards and Shipping $35,000
TOTAL: $435,000
Of the $85,000 spent on programming, $45,000 went to work that proved unusable by team members who later left the project. We’ve deferred about $25,000 of additional programming expense until after the game is released.
$84,000 of the art expense went to Contract Art House for 3D character models and animation.
Note that there is no category for game design, writing, or management. Lori and Corey each took a $20/hour salary for the first year, resulting in $15,000 in taxes. Once we started running low on funds, we returned every dollar of our salaries to Transolar Games in the form of a personal loan.
We estimate the total project cost at $550,000 to get the game out the door. We are deferring an additional $75,000 in costs until after the game becomes profitable - Deferred contractor payments and cost of producing and shipping physical rewards such as game boxes.
Lori and I are personally covering all expenses beyond the crowd-funding amounts. In fact, we’re literally betting our house on the project - Since we have no income from the project, we are using a $150,000 home equity line of credit to cover Hero-U development and pay our living expenses. We are completely committed to finishing Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption and making it a game that players will love.
We will not make any money from Hero-U until everyone else is paid, backers have their games, and we manage to sell some copies.
If this campaign is successful, here is how we will spend the funds (based on exactly meeting the $100,000 goal):
$10,000 Kickstarter and bank fees
$20,000 Cost of project rewards
$40,000 Programming
$20,000 Art and Animation
$10,000 All other expenses
If the project reaches $200,000:
$20,000 Kickstarter and bank fees
$40,000 Cost of project rewards
$70,000 Programming
$40,000 Art and Animation
$20,000 Game testing, production, and shipping
$10,000 All other expenses
Any additional funding will be used for:
Improved game play, art, and sound effects
Debt reduction to lower interest expense
Additional section of the Sea Caves (Temple of Gog-sosloth)
Localization and Voice Acting
Android and iOS Tablet versions of the game
Our artists have been doing amazing work on the project over the last 2.5 years even as we had to change the specs because of programming issues. Our new strike team of four part-time programmers are all doing great work. Many of the team members are making sacrifices to keep the development costs reasonable, and we hope we can make it up to them later. They are Hero-U's biggest fans (all were backers before they joined us), and we are blessed to have them on our team.

Lori, I and the team are really excited about recent progress and what we expect to happen this year. We'll keep you posted on all of it!

 

[Vaeliorin]

I gotta be honest, this is the one Kickstarter that I funded that I've written off as a lot cause. At this point, I don't expect to see anything worth playing out of it. It's too bad, as I loved the Quest for Glory games (well, not 5, but that's a given) but I just don't see it working out.

[Starker]

At this point, I don't expect to see anything worth playing out of it.

 

Just out of curiosity, did you try the new demo?

[Bryy]

Starting a second Kickstarter to help fund the original project?

 

Yeah, no.

[Hurlshort]

I haven't tried the demo, but I've definitely lost a lot of confidence in the project.  I pledged $75.  I will not be putting more towards it.  

 

I get that it is difficult to budget this stuff.  I was expecting something low tech and indie looking with some fun dialogue, and I think they want more, which has put them in a bad spot.  I don't regret the bid, I think it is a fair price for a bit of reminiscence of my childhood favorites.  

 

The Space Quest team seems to be stuck in a similar state. 

[lobotomy42]

I feel bad for them. This feels like a classic case of scope creep.  The original pitch was a really basic, flash-esque 2D cartoon RPG thing.  Over time, it became a full-fledged 3D adventure/RPG hybrid like a modern Quest for Glory, which is clearly what fans wanted but also COMPLETELY NOT WHAT THEY BUDGETED FOR.

 

I'll still fund them because, I guess, I hate money and I feel bad for the position they're in.

[Vaeliorin]

 

At this point, I don't expect to see anything worth playing out of it.

 

Just out of curiosity, did you try the new demo?

 

No, I haven't. And I don't think that there was any ill intent on the part of the Coles. I just think they've let their imaginations run away with them, and the project will never really be in a finished state, particularly since I really doubt the second kickstarter will succeed.

 

So, while I still expect to get a game out of it, I don't think it will be one that's really complete, but rather one that they're forced to put out because they run out of funds.

[Bryy]

I haven't tried the demo, but I've definitely lost a lot of confidence in the project.  I pledged $75.  I will not be putting more towards it.  

 

I get that it is difficult to budget this stuff.  I was expecting something low tech and indie looking with some fun dialogue, and I think they want more, which has put them in a bad spot.  I don't regret the bid, I think it is a fair price for a bit of reminiscence of my childhood favorites.  

 

The Space Quest team seems to be stuck in a similar state. 

While I appreciate how candid and honesty they were in explaining their situation and where the new money would go, they also have a habit of not being the best diplomats. It's not just this time, either. They tend to berate their backers instead of finding another way to politely say "no".