Back This! – February 2014
Welcome to the fifth edition of our regular monthly feature here on Nerdly – Back This! – where we take a look at some of the cool content taking the crowdfunding route on sites such as Indiegogo, Sponsume and Kickstarter. This month we’re spotlighting the Indiegogo campaign for Ink, a new horror short from director Andy Stewart (whose last short, Split, is reviewed here) and the Kickstarter campaign for the video game Treachery in Beatdown City.
INK
The third and final installment of Andy Stewart’s body horror trilogy (following Dysmorphia and Split), Ink is the story of a nameless man who takes the path of least resistance (and cost) in an attempt to turn his body into a work of art. From the campaign page:
A gory examination of a fractured mind, INK promises to further demonstrate that Andy and Shining Example Films are a team worth keeping an eye on. Sammy Hayman will handle the physically demanding lead role of “The Man”.
Cinematography will be handled by BAFTA winner Alan McLaughlin while sound will again be designed by David McKeitch, who received praise for his sound work on both Dysmorphia and Split. Grant Mason will also be returning as Special Effects Designer while all tattoo artwork and promotional materials will be designed by Custom Inc Tattoo Studio, Glasgow.
The Ink Indiegogo campaign, which aims to raise $3000 (which is a pretty meagre sum compared to some short film campaigns), still has plenty of time still left to go – 26 days as of writing this – and there are plenty of perks still available: including the usual thanks, DVDs, T-shirts, posters etc. Plus the chance to own Stewart’s entire body horror trilogy on a specially pressed Blu-ray, as well as Associate and Executive Producers credits, a night out with Andy Stewart and co. and even the chance to get a tattoo from Custom Inc Tattoo Studio!
Contributions start at just £1, so get backing now at the official Indiegogo page and support indie horror!
TREACHERY IN BEATDOWN CITY
Previously available via PlayStation Mobile, Treachery in Beatdown City developer NuChallenger has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the game, looking to raise $50,000 to fund the development of Mac and Windows PC versions of this new take on a classic gaming style. Why a new take you may ask? Well whilst you move around the game’s 2D levels like you would in a typical brawler, combat is in a turn-based RPG-style: you choose attacks from a Combo menu and unleash them using Fight Points and a combo meter!
From the campaign page:
It’s 20XX and world stability is in danger. The US President Barak Orama travels to East Fulton to attend a summit at the UN, but is kidnapped during his speech. A mysterious group, the Ninja Dragon Terrorist organization takes responsibility for the kidnapping, demanding $1 trillion for the safe return of the president.
The corrupt billionaire mayor of East Fulton, Mike Moneybags, won’t let the police investigate unless the federal government pays the city billions of dollars in relief. The dutiful chief of police, Antonio Santiago, calls his daughter and two friends to investigate in his stead. He needs to find out what is going on, although in the back of his mind, something about all of this just isn’t right… Welcome to Treachery in Beatdown City, a beat ‘em up game like no other.
The Treachery in Beatdown City campaign still has 25 days to go and is 10% funded as of writing this. Pledges start at $10 and perks range from early digital copies of the finished game to soundtracks, digital manuals, artbooks, t-shirts and even the chance to beta-test builds of the game to help iron out any problems. Higher tier pledges get the opportunity to feature in the game, either as a background character/poster/graffiti and for those willing to fork out the big bucks, you can be a bad-ass 8-bit villain in the game!
To read more on the project, and see some of the fantastic 8-bit character and level design (and of course to pledge) go to the official Treachery in Beatdown City Kickstarter page.
