About
CA$ 17,276
431
2D, hand drawn, comedy-fantasy point and click adventure game in the vein of such classics as "Day of the Tentacle" & "Monkey Island" for PC/Mac/Linux. With future ports to iOS, Android and Blackberry planned.
The story revolves around Reemus, a medieval exterminator and his loyal sidekick Liam the purple bear as they battle giant insects in a quest to legitimize "extermination" as a heroic career path.
Sound ridiculous? Well it is, but don't take my word for it. You can try the earlier games for yourself right now, for free! Just click this link, don't worry I'll be here when you get back.
UPDATE** We're 100% Funded and we've hit every stretch goal!! Take a bow everyone, we did it! If you missed the party, there's still time to get in on the action through Paypal. Thank you for all the support!
The Art book will contain sketches, backgrounds, character designs along with notes on puzzles. It will chronicle the entire journey through making this game.
The Comic book will be a one off collectors edition that bridges the gap between the first Ballads of Reemus and this new game.
**UPDATE - NEW CHARACTERS ARRIVE IN FREDRICUS**
Some brave and generous backers have pledged their support at the "Become a Character" reward tier. To celebrate their arrival into the Reemus universe I've been drawing them early, click here to see all the "Zeebarfed" characters.
This new game will be the 7th outing for Reemus and Liam and the 2nd in the "Ballads of Reemus" series. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's milking an idea for all it's worth!
The original "The Several Journeys of Reemus" series of point and click adventure games have floated around the internet as free to play browser games since 2008. With five chapters in the series, each garnering an award nomination, they've been played millions of time on sites like Kongregate.com and Newgrounds.com. If you still haven't clicked the link to try them, click and play now! Seriously, they're free to play!
In 2012, Reemus made the leap into a full commercial game with a new title called "The Ballads of Reemus". Featuring a new, longer story, more puzzles and full voice acting. It received an award for "Best Story" at the Casual Connect Indie Prize 2013 last month and just because I like you, I'll let you sample that game for free too, here's a link. Click and enjoy, you can thank me later.
So now that you've experienced what the world of Reemus has to offer, I know what you're thinking.
"Jay, that Death Slug storyline was nutty. When are you going to finish it?".
Well my friends, you are in luck! That's what this Kickstarter is all about. I want to finally finish what I started in 2008 and tell the complete saga of the Death Slugs. My plan is to take the first five chapters from the "Several Journeys" series and reboot them, touching on some of the major story elements but with all new puzzles, full voice acting and longer gameplay. The final game will be a shiny stand alone commercial version that tells the full story from beginning to end.
THE STORY SO FAR...
When Reemus the Exterminator’s main competitor Pest-Go reduces pest control to a skill anyone can do with a squirt bottle, Reemus fears his chances of having a truly heroic ballad written about him are over.That is until he stumbles upon an invasion of killer Death Slugs that has all the makings of the greatest quest of all time, one that can not only restore extermination to its former glory but finally put Reemus on the map as a true hero. Now the only question remains, will Reemus and his sidekick Liam defeat the insidious Death Slugs, or will they be the ones exterminated?
WILL THIS BE A FLASH GAME?
No, this time around I'm using a brand new engine. The VISIONAIRE adventure engine is tailor made for creating adventure games. The team at Daedalic games used it for "Deponia" and "Whispered World" among others and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me!
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DO THIS BY YOURSELF?
Can I really juggle that many balls at once? Well I was worried at first, so to set my mind at ease I created a prototype just to make sure the engine could do what I wanted and that I could actually handle programming it.
Turns out it's really intuitive and because it's focused on adventure games it really has all the tools I need to create the game I want.
If you're interested in checking out what I made, click the link below. It's super short and missing a lot of key elements, like voice acting and Liam! Hopefully it's enough to whet your appetite for a full game and showcase a bit of what you'll be in store for.
PLAY THE PROTOTYPE!
PLEASE NOTE *This build is PC Only, the Mac and Linux version will have to wait a bit longer until Visionaire officially releases their porting tools. Don't worry, the full game will be available for all three!
Lets keep this free train rolling, click for another free shot of Reemus. This one is just a tiny morsel. Don't worry it won't ruin your appetite.
$15k you say? That's barely enough for groceries, never mind padding the budget to go on an extravagant trip! Well, that's how I roll. My passion runs deep for this project, so I'm not looking to retire on kickstarter money. I just want enough to cover my living expenses so I can focus all my energy into the game.
I've also managed to guilt some of my friends into investing into the project, with that I've been able to lay the ground work for the game. Writing, design and art have already begun. So I just need another hot cash injection to pull it over the finish line.
Okay, we both knew this rain of freebies would end. It's time to ask for some money but to ease the pain I've created a bunch of cool rewards for you. Check them out...
If I manage to exceed my goal, all money will be re-invested back into the game in the form of:
- Added Production Value (Extra music & animation)
- Increased Marketing Budget
- FRIGS language translation
- Pizza
If I completely shatter my goal, I would like to expand on the content by including some new, optional side quests.
I have some ideas for small Reemus quests that could be expanded into optional bonus stories that don't affect the main storyline. I've also always wanted to create new content by telling stories with secondary characters.
For instance if Reemus visits a honey bee in the main storyline, I'd like to add content that involves controlling that same honey bee and telling a bit of the story from his perspective. By doing this I can add new puzzles and story without having to create a whole new set of art assets which, because of the time consuming nature of art production, is what would cause delays in the schedule. Also by telling other stories within the game, the main story line doesn't get padded with filler and the original vision stays intact.
But for now I'd rather just promise to make the best game I possibly can with my current design document.
WHAT PLATFORMS WILL IT BE FOR?
Visionaire will support PC, Mac and Linux. I also have plans to port the game to all mobile devices.
WHEN CAN WE PLAY IT?
I'd like to launch the game by June 2014.
WILL IT BE ON STEAM?
I'm actively working on getting the first "Ballads of Reemus" game on Steam. So we'll see what happens but I'm definitely trying to get it on there. In the meantime you can vote for the first game on Steam Greenlight right now!
While you're there, show some love for The Ballads of Reemus 2 concept page!
HOW WILL IT BE DISTRIBUTED?
It will be available as a DRM-Free digital download from my site, www.Zeebarf.com.
My name is Jay Ziebarth aka "Zeebarf". I've worn many hats over the years ranging from cartoonist to TV actor/writer. I've been creating games since 2007, with 26 games to my credit, 15 have been adventure games. I have a passion for character and story telling and have loved the adventure genre since playing "Maniac Mansion" on my commodore 64 in the 80's. My goal is to be a part of the adventure renaissance that is currently unfolding, I want to continue to do my part to keep the genre alive and well.
Sergiu is a music and sound composer for mobile and computer games, film and other visual media. Mixing orchestral tracks with electronica and ethnic elements, Sergiu is known for his powerful musical scores, ambient textures and edgy soundscapes.
Sergiu's past collaborations with my games include "The Visitor: Massacre at Camp Happy", "The Visitor Returns" and "Wentworth".
Mitch is a music producer and Canadian indie rock musician associated principally with the bands Chore, Don Vail and The Priddle Concern.
Mitch has contributed original music to all six Reemus games.
Articles about The Ballads of Reemus 2
Risks and challenges
Keeping a game on time and budget is easily the most challenging aspect of the entire process. The risk is always one aspect of the game will be much harder than anticipated to complete and as such requires more than the allotted time to finish. This usually starts a chain reaction and before you know it your deadline whizzes past you.
Having already tackled a full commercial game as well as a large scale iOS project, I feel I've gained enough experience to accurately predict how long each step of the process is going to take and have allocated the appropriate amount of time for each stage.
Using an existing engine will dramatically cut down on development time as most of the heavy lifting has already been worked out. If I do run into any snags, Visionaire has an active community that can help solve any problems I may have.
With my past experience, coupled with a strong work ethic, I feel ready to tackle the challenges ahead.
Okay, that's it! Nothing more to see here. If you think I've missed something, drop me a line. I'm more than happy to answer any of your questions! In the meantime, try my old games. I've made 15 adventure games since 2007, all free to play in the browser. Check out the full list at http://zeebarf.com/games/
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- (30 days)