An ACTION RPG for PC/Mac, XBox1, PS4, single/multi-player with co-op, set in a new sci-fi and fantasy world where you have to survive.
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1,316
backers
$132,648
pledged of $330,000 goal
Replay with sound
An ACTION RPG for PC/Mac, XBox1, PS4, single/multi-player with co-op, set in a new sci-fi and fantasy world where you have to survive.
About this project
We lost the first game, but we will restart!
We have gained XP, our Quick is bigger, and WE ARE STRONGER.
Of course we’re a bit disappointed, but our passion is not only intact, it has grown!
This human adventure on Kickstarter has been awesome for us. We are more connected than ever, and most of all, we are definitely connected to you! We began introducing the WINDWALKERS universe to the world and the HORDE grew up, is still growing, and will grow even more.
The adventure will continue, you can count on us.
Now we just need a few months to compile all we have learned and all your comments to then give you a clearer vision of our future plans.
WE WILL HIT REPLAY! AND WE WILL TRY UNTIL WE REACH OUR GOAL!
Stay tuned and continue participating in the adventure:
https://www.facebook.com/TheForgeAnimation
https://twitter.com/ForgeAnimation
https://www.youtube.com/c/forgeanimation
Thank you so much for all your messages, your support, your comments, and your love.
¿' We are cut from the cloth of the wind unfolding’ Alain Damasio
Read the Update #27 : THIS IS NOT THE END
With this Kickstarter, we want to fund the first part of our project: the video game.
In a world shaped by perpetual winds, an elite group battle nature's fury. You will become a WINDWALKER and a member of "The Horde" who are struggling to get to the Upper-Reaches and the legendary source of the winds.
You can get all explanations on the gameplay on the link below:
http://forge-animation.com/en/kickstarter-update-game/
Windwalkers is an epic, poetic, and fantastic story that will take your breath away. It is a wonderful adventure about movement and friendships; an ode to resistance, freedom, and willpower; as well as an internal voyage of self-discovery.
A BOOK ADAPTATION
The story of WINDWALKERS was written by the French author Alain Damasio. Published in 2004 under the name “LA HORDE DU CONTREVENT”(The Horde of the counterwind), the novel received an extraordinary welcome and quickly became a success in French bookstores. It sold over 120 000 copies, and it is now ranked among the top 20 modern Sci-Fi masterpieces.
A word from the author of the book, Alain Damasio, co-founder of the videogame company “DONTNOD” and scriptwriter for the AAA game “Remember Me”.
‘ “La horde du contrevent” is a masterpiece’ Le Monde
‘something huge, of a style and ambition that has been missing in the French Sci-Fi of recent years…’ Télérama
GET THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK IN ENGLISH: JUST FOR YOU! GO IN THE UPDATE SECTION: UPDATE #20
A WORLD SHAPED BY THE WIND
IMAGINE an Earth that is shaped by the wind. Imagine winds so fierce, they perpetually laminate the surface. IMAGINE the wind’s final destination: a town on the Lower-Slopes, set against an immense cliff. And within that town, IMAGINE an elite group, trained from childhood to climb windward their entire lives, ascending to what has proven so far to be unattainable: the Upper-Reaches. They are the Windwalkers.
A horde of twenty-three men and women prepare to walk windwards with the sole purpose of finding the mysterious source of the winds. There have been thirty-three attempts in eight hundred years, thirty three Hordes that have failed. This is the story of the thirty-fourth, and most probably the last…
A STORY ABOUT CONNECTIONS AND MOVEMENT
Windwalkers is not the story of a single man or woman; it is the story of a group, and what a group can do to overcome the hardships which threaten to tear them apart. It is an epic team story; a heroic fantasy without fairies or dragons, just a team of men and women. It is an action story meant to touch our deepest essence, and remind us that to live authentically means to be in movement and to be connected.
The Windwalkers project is a transmedia adaptation of the Sci-Fi French book “La Horde du Contrevent”, written by Alain Damasio (published by La Volte & Folio, published in Italy and being translated into english right now). We developed it into three different media: a film, a video game, and comic books. None of the individual parts can be considered a derivative product, and all three productions bring a different facet of the universe to life, that's what we called Transmedia.
See more designs on our Instagram page http://instagram.com/forgeanimation/
Will you and your friends become the first Horde to make it to the Upper-Reaches?
The way you breathe in the world and the way you breathe out the world will make all the difference.
Movement is Life. If you do not move your body, you are dead. And if you do not move your mind, you are already dead...
First and foremost, we worked with the author of the book, Alain Damasio, and built a team around him, of writers, directors, geographic experts, musicians specialized in the sound of the wind, etc… to develop the bible of the universe.
Then, we worked with talents from all around the world to develop the world artistically:
DESIGN:
GEORGE HULL (Jupiter, Cloud Atlas, Matrix reloaded, Iron Man 2…)
More info in the Update section (Update #13)
OSCAR CHICHONI (the Hobbit, Pacific Rim…)
« ..I didn´t expect such an astonishing universe as WindWalkers. An environment never seen before, endless design possibilities matched with a unique dynamic. An outstanding project. »
More info in the Update section (Update #16)
YOSHITAKA AMANO (Final Fantasy, Vampire Hunter D…)
'You should be already waiting for that project'
UPDATE #10
To celebrate our greenlit here is a short message of M. Yoshitaka AMANO about his contribution to the WINDWALKERS universe. More information in the Update section. We have also prepared to you a BRAND NEW REWARDS check out the Rewards section!! Hurry -up it's very limited!!
WAYNE D. BARLOWE (Avatar, Hellboy, Harry Potter…)
‘A huge project!’
FREDERIC PERRIN (Beauty and the Beast…)
More info in the Update section (Update #9)
AND MORE...
- Koji Morimoto (Animatrix, Akira…),
- Eric Henninot (XIII…)
- Takuhito Kusanagi (Blue Submarine, Detective conan…),
MUSIC :
- Starwalker (Jean-Benoit Dunkel ex-member of the group AIR, Bardi Johansson)
https://www.facebook.com/Starwalkermusic
https://www.youtube.com/user/StarwalkerBand
- Guillaume Roussel (Pirates of the Caribbean…)
http://www.guillaumeroussel.com/
WRITING:
- Magalie Helle,
- Iris Yamashita (Letters from Iwo Jima)…
AN EPIC SCI-FI ANIMATED ADVENTURE FILM
The film will allow viewers to experience the original story and follow the characters and the adventures of the 34th Horde.
The story is about an epic journey against all odds, but it is also a story of the individuals within the group and what keeps them united and alive despite the mortal dangers along their path.
The goal of the film is to give audiences an unforgettable visual and narrative experience. We will enter the life of Sol the Scribe, Oroshi the Aeromaster, Golgoth the Pathfinder, Gambol the Minstrel, and follow them along their journey…or at least part of it…
We deliberately chose not to adapt the entire book for the movie. The movie will concentrate on a part of the journey and will introduce the audience to the main characters.
Why
animation?
For us, animation is an art, born from
the art of painting, which today’s children have the opportunity to enjoy, and
which we would also like to offer to adults.
What have we done so far?
We have been developing the script with a team of writers, including the author of the book, and this year we will have a new version of the script written by the famous script writer Iris Yamashita (Oscar nominee for her work on “Letters from Iwo Jima” by Clint Eastwood).
‘This universe intrigued me from the start with its highly imaginative world and complex characters. It is not only a sci-fi of epic proportions, but a deeply personal journey full of layers, themes and metaphors…’
Iris Yamashita
A SERIES OF COMICS
A "comic book" is something that allows you to delve into the story visually at your own pace.
3 different formats are in development:
- The US comics series (soft-cover) with a focus on the individual characters from the novel. Codes will be placed inside the comics giving access to bonus material in the video-game. Information found within the comics will also provide playing tips and hints for the game.
- The European format (hard-cover) will be a direct adaptation of the film into a graphic novel.
- The Japanese format (Manga) will describe the characters of the movie in their youth, the way they were trained and how there relationships to one another developed.
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We chose to give you the chance to really become involved in the creation of the project because we want you to JOIN us, and be part of our horde!
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That is why we prepared 4 categories of rewards:
PARTICIPATE / PLAY / CELEBRATE / GET EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
For more detailed information click here :
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Click on the image below to make it bigger
- Your pledge will make the game better !
GOAL 330 000 $ ca
Thank you so much, game production launched!!
LEVEL 1 400 000 $ ca
We will add extra abilities in the ability tree. Help us to make the character customization as deep as possible!!
LEVEL 2 500 000 $ ca
We will add extra weapons and armor for you to use.
We like diversity! Don’t you? Help us to have a lot of it!!
LEVEL 3 700 000 $ ca
We will add extra combos in the co-op system and weapon crafting.
You will now be able to craft your weapons with resources found around the world.
+TRANSMEDIA BONUS
Thanks to you, all backers from PACK#4 onwards will receive a digital copy of the the first episode of the comics.
LEVEL 4 800 000$ ca
We will add extra enemies and potion crafting.
Get resources from monsters and plants to create special potions that you and your friends can use.
LEVEL 5 1 000 000 $ ca
We will extend the world. Help us to make the best and largest game we can.
+TRANSMEDIA BONUS
Thanks to you, all backers from PACK#4 onwards will receive a digital copy of the the 2nd to the 5th episode of the comics.
WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR?
So far we managed to raise 2 million € to develop the global universe. Of course 330 000$ cad are not the total budget of the videogame, we do have investors (private and public) to support us in this adventure but what we do need know, it to show them that you exist!
With the support of the FAJV-CNC (www.cnc.fr) - Centre National du Cinéma et de L’image Animée & Ministère du redressement productif, we built a team of 15 persons dedicated to the game and spent a year developing a complete mock up using Cryengine® from CRYTEK to explore various possibilities and test the gameplay.
After that, we decided to change the gameplay, to improve it and make a better game and that is why we are launching a Kickstarter campaign today.
We remember a time when creativity wasn’t just a risk!!!
On the contrary, creative works was an opportunity, a blessing!
Like you, we like things that surprise us, that take us to new horizons and unknown adventures.
Some great artists have joined the project from the very beginning : Yoshitaka AMANO, George HULL, Wayne D. BARLOWE, Frédéric PERRIN...telling us that they love our universe, but how could we explain that to the big boss of the market lost in front of our Transmedia global project based on a "French" sci-fi novel completely unknown outside of France ?
We think that an ambitious project like Windwalkers can attract a large and demanding public.
Every epoch has its revolutions, but in our time they tell us that it is over…?? Kickstarter is the proof that it is not!
We need you to help convince people that this is true and possible.
JOIN US!
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Click on us to visit our website...
NEVER GIVE-UP!
Thank you for your big support to make our Kickstarter project video :
Thank you to Lubna, Alex, Bruno, Benjamin and to all the Forge Game's team. Thank you Stéphane Kervella, Julian Sanchez, Raphaël Bellon and Imaggo for the Kickstarter's campaign video.
Risks and challenges
We are currently in the Alpha stage of game development and it is always possible that some minor changes might still be made to the game as described here. We are working on a relatively original type of gameplay which means there is some risk of adjustments being made to the gameplay as we work out what is most fun to play and what is less so.
Another consideration is that although we strongly believe our game will be ready for market within 18 months, there is always the possibility that we run into unforseen development problems and the development time extends out by several months.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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No because the goals of the film and the game are not the same. The film will show off the universe, in the game you will feel like you are in it.
The universe and the ambiance is the same, but the camera angles and special effects will not be.
Film naturally tells a story, wheras the game will be immersive with almost no cut-scenes. -
Well no, asides from one character, I’ll let you guess who (for those who have read the book), the time-line of the game is such that the characters from the book do not exist yet. The game takes place well before the film which means that there are significant differences in terms of design, equipment, etc.
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They’re for both. The graphics we are showing you are part of the global concept art and research that we have done over the past two years to define and create prototypes for the whole universe (for the film, the game, and the comics) in order to explore all avenues and create original graphics. We have described our art direction in a “codex” , a kind of bible for the universe, while working with leading edge international artists, which also adds a multicultural element because the universe is fundamentally both original and universal!
From this initial work , there arose a basic conviction:
-The portrayal of the Windwalkers world should be more graphic then realistic, but on the other hand, the ambiance, camera angles, and conception should be ultra-realistic.
So in the end, with what we are showing you, there are things that will be used for the game, others for the film or the comics, and some that will be used by all three.
And of course there will be a lot more very soon. -
So when I say hardcore RPG it’s a bit like if I took “Dark Soul”, a super immersive game, and then put it in the world of “The Journey” to make it into an adventure game, and then I took the fun parts of “Left for Dead” to turn it into a good multiplayer action game.
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We’re making games for the digital generation, so for anyone who’s played games on this, this, or this …(NES or Famicon consoles), where there were REAL challenges. The game won’t be difficult because its unplayable or it tries to fool you, it’s the perpetual movement in an unknown universe where you’ll lose all your bearings that will up the difficulty and force you to adapt all the time.
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You’re gonna walk a lot, that’s for sure, but you don’t know what your going to meet along the journey! The wind, wild animals, horde assassins, Chrones…
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Well if I say RPG and I give you a “boo”, knives, crossbows, its so you can use them!
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We would like to develop crafting a system but it will depend on our total budget by the end of Kickstarter. For the moment we are planning on having dropped loot. Regarding the characters; there is no physical customization for the moment and the accent is customizing your character through the equipment you choose to use.
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We have a lot of ideas regarding the psychology/AI for the horde members, and their psychology will be mainly influenced by the actions of the player, it won’t be possible for the player to manage their AI directly though. We don’t believe that the Horde members will have very strong personalities so there are no plans for arguments between hordies, but the reputation of the player within the pack will give him certain advantages. The more the Horde likes the player, the faster they will react.
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Well the fundamental question that’s asked in the novel by Alain Damasio is “what does it mean to be a living being?”. And part of the answer is “being in continual movement, and also linked to others”.
That’s why we are developping game mechanics that require cooperative play. The skill trees for each character interact with other character’s skills and improve upon each other.
Its like when you play the guitar alone in your room, which is cool, but then when you play in a group, in harmony with others then its really amazing! Its that same idea for this game. The coop mode will be online, we don’t have a split mode for the moment. -
For now, the plan is for PC and Mac versions of the game. For the moment, we are not sure if we will have a Linux version.
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While the details are still being worked out, we @forgeAnimation aren't that wild about DRM.
However, in order to create a smooth workflow for the online multiplayer experience, we would like to be available on Steam.
We still need to hammer out the details of how it will work for multiplayer, updates, and synchronization with the server, and if we will have the game available DRM-free from our website.
Rewards
Funding period
- (30 days)