We are participating in OUYA's #FreeTheGames Fund, created by OUYA to support developers making new and creative console games. OUYA will match your pledge dollar-for-dollar up to the goal amount (and a max of $250,000), so help Crucible get there and be a great game for everyone! To be eligible for this match, we commit that this game will be an OUYA exclusive for a period of time. To learn more about OUYA, go to www.OUYA.tv.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Be sure to check out the extras we're giving away to anyone who contributes more than $5, thanks to Black Raven Comics - comic books, posters, and more!  You can full details in this update!   https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/920388055/crucible-for-ouya-pc-mac-android-and-ios/posts/930993

 Crucible is a love letter to some of the great things that came from the 1980's - Gauntlet, the video game, and Terminator, the movie.  Set in a game world that spans from the dawn of mankind to the far future where mankind begins experimenting with time travel, with disastrous results.  

All of mankind disappears in the blink of an eye, except those protected by The Crucible, the experimental time-travel project.  Now, step back in time to find where the AI is hiding it's own copies of the Crucible, destroy it, and bring humanity back!

Presented as a top-down arcade style game, Crucible also throws a number of RPG and adventure elements into the game without slowing down the game or forcing the player to stop for endless dialog boxes during gameplay.  Crucible's unique leveling system is a good example of that.  In most games with the ability to gain experience and level up a character, the game either has to stop and present a dialog box, or the player has to find a safe moment to bring up the level up screen.

With Crucible, death becomes a tool.  Players collect experience and "parts" for character and weapon level ups.  When they die, they are returned to the beginning of the level, it resets, and the level up dialog boxes appear - they can now bring the character back in to play, stronger than ever!  This also presents a unique system where even if a level is too hard, a player will continue to gain power while on the level, until they can finally beat it!

This is primarily a single-player game, with one exception: on the OUYA, we'll be doing a four-player multiplayer update down the road!  Why only the OUYA?  First, we want to support OUYA partially because of the Free The Games Fund - which is amazing and awesome - but also we really want to see the platform grow.  So, we're hoping that when you're blown away with your PC or Mac versions, you really want to jump in with the OUYA version with your friends, sitting on the couch yelling and having a good time.  You know - having fun, like gaming should be!  And since we're not targeting the XBox One, PS 4, or Wii U, the OUYA is a GREAT platform for this idea!

That's just a sample of some of what we're up to - we'll be revealing more specifics on many portions of the game (for instance, a non-linear system of time travel) that allow Crucible to be a non-stop action game while still providing a sense of strategy and growth!  Look for new video updates every two or three days that focus on specific portions of the Crucible concept!

Here's a quick rundown:

Platforms:

OUYA (we're doing the Free The Games Fund!), PC, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux releases, in that order.

Levels:

Unknown.  Our initial version is planned to ship with about 45.  Just like Jumpman Forever, we're doing this with a long release cycle, with quarterly updates for new levels and content for two years after the release.  Potentially before the two year cycle is over we could be in the 250 levels range.  Keep in mind, we haven't discussed all the aspects of the game - just because you clear a level doesn't mean it's done: you'll find yourself going back in time to previous levels, reclaiming it from an even stronger enemy than before!  So, 45 levels goes a lot farther than it does with some games!

Characters:

12 playable characters, though you only start with one - you have to find the other hidden characters!  Two exclusive characters are available for backers who choose the right reward level :-)

 If you hadn't noticed, we've got a pretty wide range of rewards for the Kickstarter, ranging from thank you's and copies of the games all the way to some interesting advertising options for corporate level contributors (similar to what we did with Jumpman Forever) 

The initial ones are fully explained - copies of the game, get in on the beta, copies of previous games, TShirts, and more! 

The ones that require some explanation start a the $150 range - it mentions advertising in two magazines, both print and online.

First, what are the magazines?  

 At the end of 2012, after a 8 years in publication online and offline, Residential Aliens put on hold, along with Fear and Trembling.  At the end of 2013, they were about to be shut down permanently due to lack of time on the part of the publisher and editor.  Midnight Ryder Technologies purchased the assets, name, and rights to both magazines before their complete shutdown, and began the process of preparing the magazines for a much wider re-release.  This included a complete re-thinking of the image, design, and goals of the magazines.  

Now that they are getting close to ready to go to print, we realize we're missing something: we actually want ads in there.  So, along with a mention in Crucible's credits (or even the splash screen), we're offering these ad spaces - both online and offline - as part of our rewards for the Kickstarter!

We're doing advertising in the magazines along the lines of what you expect, though just less of them per issue.  It's the online ads that are a little more impressive: they are permanent ads.  When we accept an online ad, it becomes attached to a specific issue and story, and print with that ad.  In the online version, we stick that ad in the same place, and leave it there indefinitely.

So, this isn't a reward to be in one issue of the magazines, and a month online: this is a permanent online advertisement for your link, product, service, or website which is worth a lot more than most ad models! 

There is an upsell service outside of the scope of the Kickstarter - if you don't have an appropriate ad, holler, and we can design one for you.

One more thing: if the Kickstarter doesn't make it's goal we are still going to honor all ads reward levels!  In other words, if we don't make it, you still get the reward for ads in Fear And Trembling and Residential Aliens Magazines!

The team that comprises Crucible's development efforts is nearly the same team that developed Jumpman Forever, which is currently released for OUYA, and is in beta for PC and Mac users (with iOS and Android versions coming after that.)    Lead developer Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr is a published author with three books in print, developer of 10 games in total since 1999, and is currently a member of the Interactive 3D Steering Board Committee for Butler Community College.  Midnight Ryder Technologies, the company behind Crucible, has been in software and game development since 1999.

This is important - when backing a Kickstarter, one of the questions is always "Can they ship this product?"  There are games and projects that have been backed that fail to ship at all - but, with an experienced team, you know your money is going to result in a product that ships.

BTW, this project is part of the awesome "Kicking It Forward" initiative - be sure to check it out!