Kickstart This! Guide to Getting Your Game Funded (Part 3)

Launching a crowdfunding campaign without a video is like climbing Mount Everest in a mankini. Video helps tell your story to those who would prefer not to read lots of text, and if someone is hooked by the video, then you are halfway to getting them to back you.

Crowdfunding projects that do not feature a video not only appear unprepared, but also untrustworthy. Kickstarter and Indiegogo have not been without their share of crooks trying to shill people out of money. However, industry veterans have also used the platform with lofty goals, only to fail to deliver on what was promised. And because of their position, these fails were heavily publicised.

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Showtime’s Halo: The Television Series will begin filming in Early 2019

It’s been more than five years since Microsoft announced the existence of Halo: The Television Series. But after several starts and stops (and the dissolution of its original home, Xbox Entertainment Studios), the show is finally ready to begin production at Showtime.

According to a new post on the Xbox Wire, production will begin in Early 2019 with Kyle Killen (formerly of Awake) serving as showrunner. Rupert Wyatt, the director of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, is in line to direct multiple episodes of the series.

“Halo is our most ambitious series ever, and we expect audiences who have been anticipating it for years to be thoroughly rewarded,” said David Nevins, the President and CEO of Showtime. “In the history of television, there simply has never been enough great science fiction. Kyle Killen’s scripts are thrilling, expansive and provocative, Rupert Wyatt is a wonderful, world-building director, and their vision of Halo will enthrall fans of the game while also drawing the uninitiated into a world of complex characters that populate this unique universe.”

“This is a truly exciting moment for the Halo franchise,” stated Kiki Wolfkill, the Head of Halo Transmedia at 343 Industries. “Together with our creative and production partners at Showtime and Amblin Television, the Halo television series will represent new and exciting way for fans to enter and engage with the Halo universe. We can’t wait to share more on what’s ahead.”

The first season of Halo: The Television Series will include ten episodes, but an air date has yet to be announced.

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Wolfenstein II, Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, Inside, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Nostalgia, Nazis, and a few side-scrollers make this week’s Nintendo eShop update an interesting place to be…

Bethesda’s Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will make its way to the Switch this week, and players will get the chance to help BJ Blazkowicz kick a little Nazi ass on American soil this time around.

Also available to download this week for the Switch is Activision’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which brings the first three games from the franchise (Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped) together in a single package.

Playdead will also make its Switch debut this week as the developer will bring their award-winning pair of puzzle-platformers (Inside and Limbo) to Nintendo’s newest console.

And speaking of side-scrollers, 13AM Games’s wildly colorful runner, Runbow, will also arrive on the Switch this week.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including MotoGP 18, The Journey Down: Chapter Two, Waking Violet, and more) after the break.

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Overwatch’s 28th Hero is Hammond the Wrecking Ball… a genetically-enhanced hamster in an armor-plated hamster ball

Blizzard unveiled the 28th Hero coming to Overwatch earlier today and there are pretty much no adequate words to describe him. But I’m gonna try.

The game’s 28th Hero is Hammond, a genetically-enhanced hamster who goes by the nickname “Wrecking Ball.” With his vast intellect, Hammond has built an armor-plated hamster ball complete with four assault cannons, a grappling hook, proximity mines, and a temporary shield. Needless to say, the character is definitely classified as a Tank within the world of Overwatch.

Hammond is currently available in Overwatch’s Public Test Region, and he’ll roll out to all platforms at a later date. In the meantime, you can view his origin story in the trailer embedded above, and you can learn more about his abilities at the game’s official website:

Quad Cannons: Automatic assault weapons.

Roll: Transform into a ball and increase maximum movement speed.

Grappling Claw: Launch a grappling claw to rapidly swing around the area. Enables high speed collisions to damage and knockback enemies.

Minefield: Deploy a massive field of proximity mines.

Adaptive Shield: Create temporary personal shields. Amount increases with more enemies nearby.

Piledriver: Slam into the ground below to damage and launch enemies upward.

You can also hear Game Director Jeff Kaplan talk more about the little guy in the latest Developer Update video. It’s been embedded after the break.

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Ride into battle on a futuristic train aboard hoverbikes in the latest Blazing Chrome trailer

The Arcade Crew and JoyMasher are back with another gameplay trailer for Blazing Chrome, their Contra-inspired side-scrolling shooter. This time, Mavra the Human and Doyle the Robot are taking a pair of hoverbikes out for a spin in a battle atop a moving train:

The gorgeous, eye-popping new footage presents the second level of the game, where heroes Mavra and Doyle take on a variety of unique and oppressive enemies like the hovering and damage-dealing Thunderbird and the dangerous bike-Reapers as the heroic duo whiz to glory in their war against militant AI supercomputers. Combining explosive action with a variety of powerful and distinctive weaponry, Blazing Chrome harkens to the golden age of action platformers but harnesses modern-day controls and deep gameplay mechanics.

Anyone who grew up in the 90s will certainly feel the pull of nostalgia towards JoyMasher’s homage to one of the classics of the genre. But as of right now, we don’t know when we’ll get to play it. Blazing Chrome is currently in the works for the PC (and other unnamed platforms), and hopefully the developer will announce a launch date soon.

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Anthem nabs five nominations in Game Critics Awards’s Best of E3 2018 roundup

Every year, the Game Critics Awards, a consortium of more than 50 major publications that cover the video game industry, gets together to choose the best games at the E3 Expo. The nominees for “Best of E3 2018” were announced this morning, and BioWare’s Anthem lead the way with five nominations (including “Best of Show”).

From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is also in the running for “Best of Show,” and it’s standing close behind Anthem with four total nominations. After that, a mob of games collided in third place with three nominations apiece (including Battlefield V, Dreams, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Resident Evil 2, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). All but Battlefield V and Dreams are also up for “Best of Show.”

The PS4 was the most-honored platform with 58 nominations, followed by the PC (with 55), the Xbox One (with 51), and the Switch (with 10).

Several games that clicked with fans at home during the pre-E3 press conferences (including Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II, and many others) weren’t eligible for nomination because they weren’t available to play by the judging panel.

But most of those games will likely get another shot next year (especially since I expect to be old and gray before Death Stranding is released), and you can find all of this year’s nominees after the break. The winners will be announced this coming Monday, July 2.

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Joel Embiid is your NBA Live 19 cover athlete

The Philadelphia 76ers were a bit of a laughingstock before Joel Embiid’s arrival in 2014. But things finally started to turn around this year as the team made the playoffs (and advanced to the second round after a win over the Miami Heat) and Embiid received his first All-Star Game selection.

And now, Embiid has been selected by EA Sports as the cover athlete for NBA Live 19.

“It’s great, it’s amazing. I’m thankful for this opportunity, especially as a basketball player,” Embiid said. “You work so hard because you have goals in life, you want to be in the Hall of Fame, but also, being on the cover of a video game is something I’ve always dreamed of and I’m happy to be in this position.”

NBA Live 19 is in development at EA Tiburon, and it’ll be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on September 7. A free demo of the game will be available to download on August 24.

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Nintendo adds Labo Motorbike support to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

If you’ve ever thought it would be fun to sit in front of a cardboard motorcycle and play some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, don’t worry, Nintendo’s got you covered.

A new update for the kart racing game will add a new controller option for the “Toy-Con Motorbike” from the Nintendo Labo: Variety Kit. After players construct the Motorbike using the included cardboard pieces, and slot in their Switch console and Joy-Con controllers, they’ll be able to vroom vroom their way through Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in an entirely new way.

After downloading the update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, simply select the “Nintendo Labo” icon on the game’s title screen to access a menu where you can select Toy-Con as the control type. When racing, turning the handlebars changes direction, twisting the right handlebar accelerates, and the various Joy-Con buttons are used for items, brakes and drifting. Up to four players can play at the same time with Toy-Con Motorbike with their own Toy-Con and Joy-Con controllers.

Be sure to check out the teaser trailer embedded above to get an idea of what it’ll look like.

The consolemaker also promised that additional games will receive support for Nintendo Labo creations in the future. So that’s something to look forward to.

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