A Johannesburg-based developer, Christoff Bischoff has taken to Kickstarter to ask gamers for $100,000 so that he can complete his isometric sci-fi horror game, STASIS. What’s more, it’s looking mighty, mighty fine, to the point where my South African gamer heart swelled with pride when I watched the Kickstarter pitch video.
A description of the game on its Kickstarter page reads:
Stasis is a 2D isometric, point-and-click adventure game for PC Windows, set in the distant future on a desolate spacecraft. John Maracheck must interact and solve puzzles to save his family, while uncovering horrific experimentation, illicit research and an ever deepening mystery.
Sounds good, right? The Kickstarter goal amount totals over a million bucks at today’s dismal R/$ exchange rate (dismal for us, great for Mr. Bischoff), and it will go towards adding a layer of polish to the game that Bischoff says will include professional copy-editing, voice actors and even a commissioned musical score.
As a supporter of many international game Kickstarters, this one was an instant-back for me – I love games, but I love local initiatives like this even more. I am hoping with all my heart that Mr. Bischoff exceeds his modest goal. And it’s not just because Bischoff is a South African: STASIS looks like its exactly the kind of game I want to play.
If you’d like to take part, you can do so for a minimum pledge of $1 (R10), but of course the more you give, the more you’ll get as a backer in the way of rewards. The minimum pledge that will secure you an actual copy of the game when it ships is $19 (R190) , and if you pledge more than that, you stand to score the game’s soundtrack, old-school-style PDF hint books and even a making-of documentary depending on how much you want to spend.
The expected release date is August, 2014. I hope you will join me in funding the game, and in so doing help a local dev reach his dreams.
