When it comes to Kickstarter and funding a project you feel you can support in earnest, it’s always important to keep in mind that you’re funding for a product to be made, and not the actual finished product. Of course, there are tiered rewards you can get depending on how much you fund, but I’ve always felt that one should fund a project in order to share it with others, rather than for your own personal gain. Obvious, right? But I digress, as I want to share with you all my thoughts of a project I’m supporting and hoping will be funded by the end of its funding period called Moon Rift. Don’t think of this as a review, but rather, why I enjoy something and think more people should check it out as they might enjoy it as well.
Moon Rift is a little game being created solely by Sam Hutcher for mobile devices as well as the PC, Mac, and Linux. I first came across it in a forum for another game that had previously been successfully funded through Kickstarter and have been following it for a few weeks now. The game takes place in a world where the moon has shattered apart, sending down a number of broken pieces that have crashed on the planet below bringing with them all sorts of nasty creeps just asking for a fight. There’s a promise of loads of randomized guns, maybe even more than Borderlands with all the different possible stat variables and even the enemies get in on the random action using a wide array of randomized weapons. And much like the weapons, the level layouts are procedurally generated meaning it’s generated as you load rather than laid out as a static level that’s always the same. The randomization allows for multiple playthroughs that can still surprise you.
While these may be major selling points in their own right (if a 2.5D Borderlands-esque shooter/RPG is a game you’re looking for, let me tell you about Moon Rift) it’s not what really caught my attention. The first major thing to pop out at me was the art style. I enjoy pixel art as much as the next nostalgic person, but with Moon Rift, Sam seems to have added a layer of depth with each object that just makes it pop and stand out as its own unique style. The character and enemies are easy to tell apart from the background and the weapons and effects are noticeable while not getting in the way of the action with blinding lights, despite a number of explosions and projectiles colored vibrantly. In an almost similar vein, the UI is very intended and informative without having to dig through multiple menus to find what I’m looking for. The look of the game is very thought out and planned, even while other elements are random.
The next element of the game to please me was the movement controls. Usually when I play a new game I have a jarring moment where I have to get acclimated with how my character avatar moves through the world. Surprisingly, in the Moon Rift demo (Click here to check it out!) I picked it up and just went to town. Moving my character felt natural or at least seemed very familiar or reminiscent to Mega Man. And Mega Man had very tight controls much like Moon Rift does where the keys respond and when you jump, it feels like you jump rather than hop. It feels great and you should always feel great when you jump in a game that has jumping.
As the game sits right now in its pre-alpha demo, it’s a solid concept that needs tweaking and more actual content. But, who knows what else could happen down the line because of feedback and suggestions? This leads me to what I love about this period in time where publishers are skipped over and money and ideas and feedback can go straight to a game developer. You see, gaming as a whole is a collaborative project between gamers and developers. It’s a symbiotic relationship that can help create something new and different than what originally would have been created and Kickstarter has given both parties a huge chance to strengthen their bond without a publisher getting in the way.
In the case of Moon Rift, it’s sitting at just under $800 before hitting its goal in 9 days. So, check it out, share your thoughts or other Kickstarter campaigns that others might be interested in, and if Moon Rift is something you can get behind, then fund it and come November we can be playing a fun game that gives you Matrix-like powers and a bazillion different guns to shoot moon creatures with.
The post A Bit of Kickstarter: Moon Rift appeared first on Gaming World Entertainment Network.
