That was so close! And what that means is that every single one of you, every effort large or small, every interview, post, link, and share was essential to Hero-U getting funded. You all deserve gold stars!
Thank you to every backer. Large pledge or small, you all contributed to reaching the goal. Lori and I feel honor-bound to give you the best game we can make to justify your faith in us.
Thank you to our active commenters. People like Robert (our first backer), Candice, SD, RSF, Micartu, Ratatoskr, Serena, Thom, Nelson, Michael, Elsa, and a host of others who haunted the Comments, kept spirits alive, shared links, and answered other backers’ questions.
Thank you, Sierra veterans who helped us reach other Sierra gamers – Ken Williams, Al Lowe, Josh Mandel, Paul Trowe, Jane Jensen, Chris Pope (honorary Sierra alumnus), Scott Murphy, Mark Crowe. and Cindy Vanous (who convinced several backers to raise their pledges in the final hours).
Stretch Goals:
I’ve added three stretch goals to the main project page. You can help us reach them by continuing to back us by PayPal (http://www.hero-u.net/KS-
It will be a few days before we have the store ready. Please be patient.
One feature of the store will be a button that lets you upgrade your Kickstarter pledge. If I can find a way to make that work. 🙂 You will provide your Kickstarter name and pledge amount, then you can order a higher-tier reward by adding more to your pledge.
All PayPal sales at http://www.hero-u.net/KS-store as well as our final Kickstarter funding amount will apply towards reaching the stretch goals.
- $500,000 – Companion Meep
- $600,000 – Voice Acting
- $700,000 – FIGS (French/Italian/German/
Spanish) Localization
The Companion Meep is a Tamagotchi-like pet that you need to feed, groom, and be nice to. Your Meep will get in your way occasionally, and might even be helpful sometimes.In addition to the listed feature, every stretch goal will give us additional funds to devote to more and better content – additional art, music, design, and programming for your pleasure.
Projects That Still Need Your Help
I’m sure most of you are as exhausted as I am, and many are tapped out. But if you still have a few dollars in your pocket, please visit these other worthy Kickstarter projects and see if you want to support them:
Shadowgate by Zojoi (http://kck.st/VsUwJ9) – Great remake by an excellent team. All through our respective campaigns, Zojoi pointed backers our way (as we did theirs). With just four days left, Shadowgate looks good to fund, but every dollar will help them make a better game.
Spud’s Quest by ChrisD (http://kck.st/PFLUCc) – This is a side-scroller, but it’s charming and has Zelda-like adventure game elements. If you enjoy the combination of action and adventure, check it out. ChrisD has promised a free art book PDF to every backer who also backed Hero-U. 8 days to go.
Furcadia: The Second Dreaming by Dragon’s Eye Productions (http://kck.st/RUc172) – Dr. Cat is involved in this one, and it looks like a cool project. They are in excellent shape, but you might back it just because the game will be fun.
Divine Space (http://kck.st/Qi6MuO) – With 55 hours left, this project is in trouble, but could still make it with a major final push. They’re making a game with educational value that looks interesting and fun.
World of Steam (http://kck.st/TFrFjg) – Lori is backing it because she likes the style. It’s already funded, but ending in 50 hours. Some cool rewards and a fun stretch goal.
Sui Generis (http://kck.st/PkmGrD) – The graphics engine looks awesome. Will the writing and game play be as good? If it doesn’t reach its goal, we may never know. Currently at 45% with 8 days to go. I’m backing it because I think it has serious potential for future “sandbox” RPG’s.
There are many more great projects out there. These are just a few that caught my attention and might be of interest to Hero-U backers.
And thank you, thank you, thank you again! Without you, Shawn would have flunked out of Hero-U before the school even opened. Now he’ll get his chance to graduate.
Even the Kickstarter Campaign Was a Game
John Garretson: Man, this is too cool. This is the first Kickstarter project I’ve backed. When I started, I was happy enough to contribute to a worthwhile cause by standing up in support of the type of game I love the most and sorely miss. I was happy enough standing with other adventure game lovers in support of two game design legends that had significantly impacted my youth with the magic of their craft.
But as the days wound on I discovered that the journey toward the funding goal was much like an adventure in itself. I started off alone and excited at the prospect of the game being proposed. Instantly after pledging, I was connected to a network of all of the worlds biggest Quest for Glory fans. Through the comments system I have been able to relive so many of my favorite gaming moments as all of you have shared your experiences with one another. Together, we watched and together we hoped for a happy ending.
Backers went out of their way to scour the net in public support of the project. We balanced our pledges against our personal budgets, and we found ways to sacrifice and skimp and save in order to stretch our pledges by $2.00 (a coffee) or $5.89 (joining the league) or in the case of an inspirational hero, by $2,500. We left to go about our business, returning each day to bear witness to the progress we had made. We waited with baited breath.
At one magic moment, the Coles actually responded to one of my comments. These people were legends in my house when I was growing up, and all of a sudden, here I was conversing with them! (Thank you for giving of your time so generously to share this experience with your fans.) Before I knew it, I was scouring the Hero-U website and watching a live stream playthrough of Quest for Glory 1.
Now, so close to the end (or the actual beginning), I have come to the conclusion that for me at least, this journey, and everything I have experienced through it so far, has been worth every penny of my pledge. At this point the game is going to end up being the icing on a very sweet cake. Thank you everyone for being so awesome! Looking forward to this happy ending!