We've launched an exciting new project of our own! Introducing the Kickstarter app for iPhone!

Funded! This project successfully raised its funding goal on September 22, 2012.

Halfway There!

Update #2 · Aug 25, 2012 · 62 comments

After less than 2 days, we are thrilled to have reached the halfway goal. This is just amazing! Thank you so much for your generosity. But we do still have the second half to go so please keep helping us spread the word. And if you are considering changing your pledge to go up a tier then now would be a great time to do it.

And thank you for your kind comments - it is humbling to read of people's affection for the Broken Sword games, and the reception to the project movie.

Some people asked about the visual look of the characters. They are initially created as 3D models, animated by an animator and pre-rendered to look cell shaded / 2D. When animated at 30fps they must look fluid and solid. We are pleased with the result so far, and this technique allows us scope to adjust until we're 100% happy. Please see Update #1 for a visual.

Others have asked about how we create the backgrounds. Backgrounds need to balance the mood that we require in that scene with the gameplay constraints. Our Art Director, Tori (Cat) Davis works closely with section designers. Tori, who has considerable experience of drawing layouts for cartoon features, has posted some screens that show the development on her blog - see: http://toricat.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/broken-sword-5-is-officially-here.html

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Comments

    1. Fb_profile_picture.small

      Creator Ryan Sherwood on September 20, 2012

      This may be asking too much but when a new Broken Sword game was announced I envisioned the great 2d environments but with a lot more detail going on in the background. Litter being blown down the street, people going about their business in the street behind you, trees rustling in the wind etc. I even imagined how great it would be to have random occurrences in the backgrounds or even weather but that may be a stretch too far as it looks incredibly time consuming to do each background.

      However, if there was more subtle life in the backgrounds I think that would be the icing on the cake for me,

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      Creator -gizmo- on September 17, 2012

      Hi, i'm a backer of Broken Sword now.

      I want to say hello to everyone from Spain and that I love all the games of the Broken Sword Saga (especially the first and second).

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      Creator Peter Schifferling on September 9, 2012

      why there aren't any dutch subtitles?
      There are a lot of fans and backers in Holland too.

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      Creator Bruno on September 6, 2012

      And about the Brazilian Portuguese subtitles??
      I helped to reach the goal. I know that I am only a drop in the ocean, but the firt and second game we had this option. So pleaaaaaase, add portugueses for all brazilian fans!!

      Obrigado!! =)

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      Creator Ayman Şanlıtürk on September 6, 2012

      @Chocwise @Murat Yep you are absolutely right about this matter. At least there will be an option which let subtitles to be translated while development process. Like twitter everyone can contribute to their language.

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      Creator Katrin Neubert ☼ OOTG & Asylum Krazy on August 31, 2012

      Beautiful. I like this George very much.
      I'm happy you decided to dub the game Spanish and Italien. The fans there will be thrilled!

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      Creator Sven Leuthe on August 30, 2012

      For stretch goals i my number 2 and three, would be an orchestrated soundtrack and of course more unique locations (especialy locations that have been rarely used in Games before). But my absoluty favorite addition to the game would be something along the lines of the three paths idea from Fate of atlantis (Wits, Fists and Team paths) becaouse i reals loved this idea and the way it imensly increased the replay value and allowed a different point of view and apprach on many situations and riddles. And of course last but not least .... give us hard riddles.

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      Creator Wouter Cox on August 30, 2012

      ... learn so much about characters, flirt a little with Grace, learn about Moseley's hobby's. It made the world feel so much more alive, and made you care more about the characters.

      In my mind, there's a big difference between 'saving a policeman friend' and 'saving a policeman friend who just went through a difficult divorce and plays the trumpet'...

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      Creator Wouter Cox on August 30, 2012

      My 'wish' if the goal has been surpassed:

      - additional dialogue (and perhaps, descriptions of the games locations)

      So far, I haven't seen any adventure game where this has been done so well as Gabriel Knight 1: you could learn so much about characters, flirt with

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      Creator Matt Thornton on August 29, 2012

      One other thing. Some more Nico gameplay would be great. She felt extremely underused in Broken Sword 4, in my opinion!

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      Creator Matt Thornton on August 29, 2012

      Bravo, Charles. Thinks are certainly looking up for not only the hard workers at Revolution but us fans too.
      As far as requests go, I'd love to see plenty of farmiliar faces from the previous games as well as some interesting Easter Eggs, (seriously the Beneath a Steel Sky and Nico's wiggle E/Eggs still make me laugh!). Oh and I'd like to see alot more locations to explore like in Broken Sword 1. The freedom and choice to explore in that game is one of it's strongest aspects!

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      Creator Chong Sim Chung on August 28, 2012

      Second the 3d craze looks odd or is it just a rough model. I loved the cartoony feel of bs1 and 2. 3d dragon fight was terrible. The newest games all feature 3d but wasn't good, I know going back to hand drawn is expensive and time consuming so at least a seamless blend of the background and character can be workable. The screenshot above is lovely for the background but George just looks blocky and sticking out like a sore thumb. Also please don't sacrifice good story line and humor to overkill on graphics. A good story in a badly animated game is always better than a high end graphic game with no real substance. Bs besides Lucas arts and telltale games had great story telling potential so hope the tradition keeps up

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      Creator Stephan on August 28, 2012

      Not sure if this is the right place, but regarding the (in my opinion) bad choice of 3D-characters: Maybe a compromise would be to implement hand drawn faces only (their emotional reactions), like it was done in the re-release (?) of the first part, where the characters head were displayed in small frames. I think that added a lot to the athmosphere and I would love to see that again.

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      Creator jaus - Order of the Goat on August 28, 2012

      Update comming soon.. I'm sure tonigh we'll arrive to 300K $, yuhuuuuuu!!!!

      I hope some scenary in this game will be in a oriental country (china/korea/japan..) there are lot of places with a good history and beauty.

      Go Go Go BACKERS!!!

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      Creator Christopher James Young on August 28, 2012

      Broken Sword inspired my MA dissertation this in turn got me my 1st job so I've given $100, if you need a historian let me know, coming from North Yorkshire it's great to know that Revolution are from my City.

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      Creator Mike-Kerona Extra/Over The Half Dome on August 28, 2012

      I too pledged $100. I wish that I could pledge more, but that is as much as I can afford right now. Also, a little birdie from Spielburg told me that another high profile adventure game Kickstarter will be launching in the next month or two.

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      Creator Blanchard on August 28, 2012

      génial , je viens de donner 100$ pour ce magnifique jeu dont je suis tombé amoureux, et les voix french genial ! j'ai reussi a avoir les 4 jeux d'occation . j'adore leur aventures meme si desfois on s'arrache les cheveux. ce que je trouve dommage c'es que sur pc on est pas les aide que sur ipad . enfin bref ! moi je suis amoureux donc j'aide. dommage qu'il faut donner plus pour etre inviter! j 'aurai eu 10 . 000 $ j'aurais donné mais je ne suis pas riche :(

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      Creator Craig McGuire on August 27, 2012

      The graphics look amazing

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      Creator Palindrome Bob-XSF-I'm in AGL589-AK666 on August 27, 2012

      @Alexey: the characters will look and move totally 2D.

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      Creator Alexey Adamitsky on August 27, 2012

      I liked games from Pendulo Studios. The only thing I disliked was 3D characters. I was really happy to see the return of BS, but was disappointed with your choice to make 3D characters. Please reconsider it since 3D characters doesn't feel right at all to me in classical 3D quests.

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      Creator Ahmed Zahran on August 26, 2012

      You guys are awesome and the game looks just amazing. I'm sure it will turn out great.
      Broken Sword will always be my favorite adventure game.

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      Creator Benjamin Caubère on August 26, 2012

      I love what I see until now. I would have been even more pleased with a full 2d game. I'm personally a fan of classic character animation which was so good in the two first episodes.
      Anyway It's great to see that you came back to 2d finally! I cross my fingers so that your reach the 400k, but I'm sure that the whole fan community will back you up. Can't wait for that game. Good luck !

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      Creator Gemma O'Connor on August 26, 2012

      I have grown up playing the Broken Sword games! I'm happy to back the 5th game! Absolutely love the games and looking forward to playing any new Broken Sword installments! :D Good luck!

    24. Missing_small

      Creator Northensnow on August 26, 2012

      I knew about a new Broken Sword being made, but I was completely missing this kickstarter! I really hope a new amazing entry to the series will be born, to be honest I didn't enjoy 3 and 4 all that much.

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      Creator Zappar on August 26, 2012

      I'm wondering a bit why Charles Cecil states here http://www.youtube.com/watch… how important the hand-drawings and "wrong" perspectives were for what people loved about the game and that you lose a lot with 100% correct 3d imagery and animations, but then they didn't go all the way with the characters. To me, this closeup looks really unpleasant for example: http://i.imgur.com/tYRhm.jpg

      But I'm not not all about ranting - the backgrounds and the lighting look phenomenal!

    26. Missing_small

      Creator CHRISTOPHER BRADSHAW on August 26, 2012

      this is the greatest news i had heard in many years, lets get this game backed and get it made, i cannot wait for this!

    27. Missing_small

      Creator Luke Storey on August 26, 2012

      Looks fantastic. Cant wait to see more progress!

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      Creator Jasmin on August 26, 2012

      wow the background is really beautiful, you guys are fantastic!

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      Creator Sam Holdsworth - Order of the Goat $7.77 on August 26, 2012

      Everytime I look at the finished picture, my excitement for this game rises. George looks great!

    30. Goat_twitter_avatar.small

      Creator JJ - Order of the Goat on August 25, 2012

      I can't stop looking at the last picture, it is friggin' amazing! Everyone at Revolution is so damn talented! Keep up the fantastic work guys, we're so proud to be your fans.

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      Creator Baptiste Kumala on August 25, 2012

      Very nice. Guys, please, don't mess this up, I've been waiting for over a decade for a new 2D (at least not full 3D) Broken Sword.

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      Creator Massimo Cesario on August 25, 2012

      Please create a cover for facebook diary so we can spread the word ;-)

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      Creator Tom Whitaker on August 25, 2012

      I'm so excited I just upped my pledge to $250!

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      Creator Moeez Siddiqui on August 25, 2012

      Living on a Prayer!

    35. Goat.small

      Creator jaus - Order of the Goat on August 25, 2012

      Awesome work guys!!!

      I sent my 100$ from SPAIN, I hope don't forget me, I'm sure you'll translate this wonderful game to Spanish.So please continue working, this game will be best. No doubts.

      I remember when I was a child, playing each day Broken Sword 1 each day when I came back from school in my Pentium 1 120mhz...

      Greetings for hours and hours of entertaiment you gave me!!!

    36. Fb_profile_picture.small

      Creator graham carr on August 25, 2012

      Why say it when the Pointer Sisters can sing it.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch…

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      Creator Oliver Hoelzl on August 25, 2012

      Some amazing work here - I like the drawn backgrounds and the overall look. Keep up the good work!

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      Creator bk534 on August 25, 2012

      It's great!

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      Creator bk534 on August 25, 2012

      It's great!

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      Creator Darren Singleton - Order of the Goat on August 25, 2012

      It isnt just generosity, we really really want this game and believe in it and everybody involved!

    41. Fb_profile_picture.small

      Creator Javier garcia on August 25, 2012

      Changed from 50 to 100 $

    42. Goat_twitter_avatar.small

      Creator JJ - Order of the Goat on August 25, 2012

      The lighting is brilliant. Sets a great atmosphere. Gives it a maturity and looks very cinematic. Fantastic!

    43. Avatarcommission2pekepeke3jpeg.small

      Creator Juan José Peralta on August 25, 2012

      The lightning and George's shadow look great.

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      Creator Rainbow Entertainment on August 25, 2012

      Great update! Keep up the great work!

      We are waiting!

    45. Img_0065.small

      Creator Tom Whitaker on August 25, 2012

      I feel a lot better after reading more about the animation process of the characters! Would you be able to post an update with a little clip of the characters moving within a scene to illustrate your point? Many thanks!

    46. Missing_small

      Creator Abdulaziz Alrefae on August 25, 2012

      Hello Charles!

      I would really recommend putting your interview with AdventureTreff in your next update! It was a great and insightful interview that lets the audience know more about the game and its history and what you guys have planned on doing with "The Serpents Curse". I really think it would be insightful to current backers and very benefitial to potential backers!

      Here is a link to Part 1:
      http://youtu.be/iu-Nkk4E9VM

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      Creator Stephen R Gibson on August 25, 2012

      It'd be nice to know more about a couple of the rewards, the shirt in particular. Mostly just hoping you have a more interesting design in mind than simply the logo/box art on a black shirt.

    48. Missing_small

      Creator Mike on August 25, 2012

      It's a breath of fresh air to see such detailed and rich backdrop, completely faithful to the original series, but at the same time higher-res and updated to take advantage of the resolutions and colours we have access to on computers today.

      Really looking forward to playing this!

    49. Missing_small

      Creator Porto on August 25, 2012

      Great work guys!
      Keep it up!

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      Creator Sam Holdsworth - Order of the Goat $7.77 on August 25, 2012

      The background art is incredible! Also, it'd be cool if we could get some higher res screens too...maybe in another update? It'd be great if barrington could return as well :)

14,032
Backers
$771,560
pledged of $400,000 goal
0
seconds to go

Funding period
Aug 23, 2012 - Sep 22, 2012 (30 days)

  • Pledge $15 or more

    4932 backers

    BROKEN SWORD SUPPORTER: • Download of 'Broken Sword - the Serpent's Curse' - PC & Mac • Regular Developer Diaries, Ideas Exchange Forum & Video Updates • Access to Exclusive Digital Content: Game Artwork (inc. posters and wallpaper); and Director's commentary on previous Broken Sword games & Archive Videos

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $25 or more

    3952 backers

    BROKEN SWORD MEMBER: All above rewards plus: • High Resolution digital Comic Books of 'Broken Sword - the Serpent's Curse', 'Broken Sword: Director's Cut', and 'Broken Sword - the Smoking Mirror: Remastered' • History of Broken Sword eBook • 'Broken Sword - the Serpent's Curse' digital Concept Art - character sheets, layouts etc. • Game's digital Soundtrack • Copy of any one previous Revolution game on GOG.com (Broken Sword or otherwise - PC only)

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $50 or more

    2036 backers

    BROKEN SWORD SILVER MEMBER: All above rewards plus: • Exclusive digital game design content: Scripts of 'Broken Sword:Director's Cut', 'Broken Sword - the Smoking Mirror: Remastered', and 'Broken Sword - the Serpent's Curse' • Game Design Document for 'Broken Sword - the Serpent's Curse' • Archive of Game Design Documents for previous games • All Revolution Games titles on GOG.com: 'Broken Sword 1 - 4', 'In Cold Blood', 'Lure of the Temptress' & 'Beneath a Steel Sky' (PC only) • ‘Broken Sword Silver Member’ Credit in the game!

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $100 or more

    2172 backers

    BROKEN SWORD GOLD MEMBER - All above rewards plus: • Boxed Kickstarter special edition of the Game, includes: CD / DVD game with full packaging; printed Comic of 'Broken Sword - the Serpent's Curse', 'Broken Sword: Director's Cut' & 'Broken Sword - the Smoking Mirror: Remastered'; Large game Poster; CD of soundtrack; & Kickstarter Backer T-Shirt (shipping in US, EU and UK included) • Early access to digital Music Soundtrack • ‘Broken Sword Gold Member’ Credit in the game!

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $175 or more

    113 backers

    BROKEN SWORD PLATINUM MEMBER - All above rewards plus: • Your box signed by key team members and Rolf Saxon • Printed copy of the Game Design Document • ‘Broken Sword Platinum Member’ Credit in the game!

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $250 or more

    530 backers

    BROKEN SWORD KNIGHT - All above rewards plus: • Printed copy of Game Design Document signed by the Director • Signed 'History of Broken Sword' color Book • Templar Keyring Pendant • Signed Comic Book of 'Broken Sword: the Serpent’s Curse' • Private invite to Code Jam once per month – ask questions and get live answers! • 'Knight of the Broken Sword' credit in the game!

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $500 or more

    137 backers Limited (863 of 1000 left)

    BROKEN SWORD KNIGHT COMMANDER - All above rewards plus: • Signed limited edition Kickstarter Backer Certificate • Signed Poster • Nico's "La Liberte" Reporter's Notebook! • Signed limited edition George and Nico Print • 'Broken Sword: Knight Commander' Credit in the game!

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $1,000 or more

    26 backers Limited (974 of 1000 left)

    BROKEN SWORD KNIGHT SENESCHAL - All above rewards plus: • Personal written message from Charles Cecil • Early backers' access to game assets • Special Kickstarter Broken Sword Hoodie – wrap around color, fantastic! • Broken Sword baseball cap • ‘Broken Sword: Knight Seneschal’ Credit in the game!

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $5,000 or more

    2 backers Limited (48 of 50 left)

    BROKEN SWORD KNIGHT MASTER - All above rewards plus: • Personal Voicemail Message from George or Nico • Invitation to Launch Party in UK (excludes travel and accommodation) • A unique Drawing of you, in a suitable pose, with either George or Nico (your choice) • Broken Sword Knight Master Jacket – wrap around color, ultra high quality! • 'Broken Sword: Knight Master' Credit in the game!

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013
  • Pledge $10,000 or more

    0 backers Limited (8 of 8 left)

    BROKEN SWORD GRAND MASTER - All above rewards plus: • Broken Sword Grandmaster Jacket (replaces 'Knight Master' jacket) – wrap around color as above, best quality – the ultimate! • Original pencil Storyboard Sheets (option to be signed) • Exclusive high quality Aluminum-printed Poster • Lunch and Studio Tour plus hands-on sneak peek of game in development (includes accommodation but not travel) • Invitation to the Wrap Party in exotic game location with key team members (includes accommodation but not travel) • All Broken Sword Grandmasters are drawn into the game in a group photo, that George and Nico can get a close up of and comment on! • 'Broken Sword: Grand Master' Credit in the game!

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2013