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It’s hard to believe that developer and indie publisher Double Fine began their Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for a retro point-and-click adventure game in early 2012, bringing in millions of dollars and help pushing Kickstarter into the spotlight for indie devs around the world.
It’s hard to believe that developer and indie publisher Double Fine began their Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for a retro point-and-click adventure game in early 2012, bringing in millions of dollars and help pushing Kickstarter into the spotlight for indie devs around the world. The at-the-time-untitled project was one of the first games to become a super success story on Kickstarter, and the platform (and reputation of industry veteran Tim Schafer) helped greenlight the development of an old school style game that normal triple-A publishers would never have backed.
That adventure game was eventually titled Broken Age , telling the story of two teenagers from very different worlds trying to break free, and after a hefty amount of delays and financial issues, the second half of it (or Act 2) will finally release three years after the crowdfunding campaign began. That’s pretty crazy for what was initially a simple, small game that was promised to be delivered in October of 2012.
To help bring in a extra financing during delays, Double Fine decided to release Broken Age in two parts, the first of which released in January to positive reviews (read our Broken Age review). The critical acclaim for the loveletter to point-and-click adventure games of old helped Act 1 – despite being only half a game – earn a nomination for best indie title a The Game Awards. The event takes place this week, December 5th, in Las Vegas and seems to be replacing the annual Spike Video Game Awards/VGX show.
Last week on the Double Fine forums, producer Greg Rice, posted an update and offered some good news for Broken Age backers and fans.
The team has been steadily growing in size over the past month and progress is being made really rapidly now. The key milestone being that just last week we hit Alpha on both Shay and Vella’s halves of Act 2, leaving just the big finale section until we can say the entirety of Act 2 is at Alpha!
He continues, explaining that the entirety of Act 2 will take players 8-12 hours to complete and offer a “good level of challenge,” hopefully more so than Act 1. There’s apparently nothing that needs any major changes. Right now, they’re working on the voiceover work, finishing up the beta for Shay’s voice and animation (Elijah Wood’s character) as they prepare to finish recording for Vella (Masasa Moyo’s character).
The goal is is to get Broken Age: Act 2 into alpha by the end of 2014 for a full release potentially in “early” 2015.
Follow Rob on Twitter @ rob_keyes.
Sources: Double Fine, Kickstarter