It was only a matter of time, really, what with all the other legends of gaming past jumping aboard the Kickstarter train as publishers become more and more risk-averse.
Yes, following in the footsteps of Tim Schafer, Chris Avellone and Obsidian, Jane Jensen and numerous others, Lori Ann and Corey Cole, creators of the original Quest for Glory, have told Mashable that they will be launching a Kickstarter page for their upcoming project Hero U next month, and they’d very much like fans to jump on board with it.
“We had been getting letters from fans saying, ‘if you want to do a new game, say the word and I’ll open up my checkbook and write you a $1,000 check right now,” said Corey. “And what’s happened is a lot of the people who were kids and teenagers when the Quest for Glory series came out are now in their 30s and making a living, and they’re saying, ‘you know, we love your games, and it’s a shame you’re not fitting into the industry in a way that allows you to make them. We’d like to support it.”
The new game is not a new Quest for Glory game, sadly, but the Coles note that Hero U does include “threads” from the Quest for Glory universe. Unlike its spiritual predecessors, however, Hero U will incorporate named protagonists, each with their own backstory and exposition — something of a change from the nameless, mute hero of the Quest for Glory series. The game, which is set in the titular “school for heroes,” will reportedly unfold over five parts, beginning with Shawn O’Conner the rogue and moving through other characters present during the same timeline. Lori refers to it as the “Downton Abbey of gaming.”
In another change from its precursors, Hero U will eschew the point-and-click adventure stylings of Quest for Glory in favor of a more traditional top-down 2D tiled map of the titular school and the catacombs beneath it. The Coles note that despite this change in style, the game is still very tightly scripted, so “grinding” should be minimal — unless, like Quest for Glory, the player actually wants to spend a few hours climbing trees and throwing rocks at things.
The new Kickstarter is set to launch on October 19 and will be seeking $400,000 as a bare minimum, though the Coles note that they will be able to more comfortably achieve their basic goals with $450,000. An official site is already up and running, too, and the Coles are already attempting to start building the community for their game — like many of the other recent Kickstarter projects, the team is very keen to let the community play an active role in shaping how the final product comes out.
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