Kickstarter – An Independent Paradise

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Funding creative projects like books, music, and games has always been traditionally handled by publishers. However throughout the years it has become easier and easier to self-publish. However many higher tier projects requiring multiple people and large budgets didn’t really have a choice but to find a willing investor. Often these investments would be tied to strict deadlines and loss of creative control.

Kickstarter - Crowd Sourced Funding for Independent ProjectsSince 2008 there has been a new kid on the block, Kickstarter. This company specializes in helping everyday people and independent businesses get crowd sourced funding. At this point you’re probably wondering what does crowd sourced funding mean? The simple answer is a lot of little investments by anyone and everyone that in the end helps fund the project or idea to be accomplished.

Today there are a plethora of projects all with enthusiastic creators who are ready to bring you and me projects that we care about. Sure there are some projects out there that are just not worthy however the ratio of good to bad if ever estimated would probably be about 1000 to 1. The good thing about all of this is that if the project misses it’s goal even by a small amount the project does not get funded and your money is never withdrawn.

In some cases many projects have overshot their goal and in very rare cases have done so by millions. For instance let’s take a look at the Pebble: E-Paper Watch and it’s goal of $100,000. This funding run just ended and netted the project $10,266,845. Now if you think that this project was being funded over the course of a year, well sorry to say but you’re wrong and in fact the funding for the project began on April 11, 2012.

One of the amazing things is that there are plenty of other success stories. Crowd funding is not some kind of sham or hogwash but a great way for people to get together and make things happen. Just take a look and see if there are any projects you’re interested in. Start small and work you’re way up as feel comfortable giving more. In return you get cool stuff and in many cases at costs far discounted from retail. Join the Kickstarter and become apart of the social economy.

Spring 2011 New PC Releases

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Issac Clarke

Issac Clarke

Well it’s 2011 and it is going to be a great year for video game players worldwide. The game industry this year is bursting at the seams with sequels and several new titles. In comparison with this years titles 2010 was ultimately a poor showing even though the game industry still raked in plenty earnings for the year. However many will quickly forget past transgressions with this years lineup.

Starting off this year’s spectacular releases was Dead Space 2, a survival horror TPS, developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. A continuation of the previous story players once again take on the persona of Issac Clarke. The game starts off with Clarke waking up in a hospital inside a dense metropolis built on a shard of Saturn’s moon, Titan. He has lost all his memories over the last three years and now must find the answers to what happened to him on USS Ishimura before it’s too late. As Issac you will once battle the necromorphs as you uncover your past and the secrets of Marker. This story is truly one that shouldn’t be missed and with this new installment comes the long awaited multiplayer modes. Although matches at times are frustrating there is no doubt you will enjoy shooting and slashing your way through every single enemy you find.

Bulletstorm

Bulletstorm

Next up is Bulletstorm a game, developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games, that breaks barriers and brings back gameplay that is helluva lot of fun. This game literally takes shooting and smashing your enemies to the next level. Like the games’ catchy moniker “Kill with Skill” you truly do have plethora of options available at your finger tips to unleash on your enemies. From crushing elevators to well placed boot kicks in sensitive places it really does show you that this game is anything but lame. It may not have the dialogue of a Call of Duty game but its fresh and almost immature one liners keep you laughing while you’re racking up a huge score. Speaking of scores not only does Bulletstorm offer traditional multiplayer it also allows players to compete on individual sections of missions to see who can attain the highest score. Releasing February 22nd this game is a must have and will no doubt be delight to continue playing especially with the promise of DLC on the horizon.

Homefront

Homefront

In mid March gamers will get a nice new refreshing first-person shooter, Homefront. Developed by Kaos Studios in coordination with Digital Extremes and published by THQ, Homefront is the new kid on the block. Like all FPS titles on the market some parts are duplicated but Homefronts’ setting and story are quite rare in nature. The story written by John Milius, co-writer of Apocalypse Now and writer of Red Dawn, portrays a future America in 2027 after the Korean People’s Army Invades the USA. As the story so far has been told Kim Jong-un succeeds his father Kim Jong-Il in 2012 and reunites with the Korean countries. Forced into action by rising gas prices and instability back home in 2016 America withdraws it’s troops from Japan, shortly after the Greater Korean Republic destroys a Japanese nuclear facility which in turn Japan surrenders. After years of unrest, martial law and disease America is hit by high altitude EMP in 2025 knocking out almost all above ground electronics. Shortly after the GKR invade America and Homefront begins. Game will feature single player gameplay between 8 to 10 hours in length and exciting multiplayer mode with some influence from Kaos Studios first title, Frontlines: Fuel of War. It will be released on the  PC, PS3, and Xbox360. OnLive is also running a big promotion for Homefront as well, in-order to market their new mini consoles. Look out for the Homefront invasion on March 15, 2011 here in America.