You might not know it, but your neighborhood is a haven for hidden monsters and creatures of all kind. Few people understand this fact better than Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. Garfield wants to introduce you to a world where monsters wander the city streets, which is why he has a Kickstarter in place for a location-based iOS game called Map Monsters.
You might not know it, but your neighborhood is a haven for hidden monsters and creatures of all kind. Few people understand this fact better than Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. Garfield wants to introduce you to a world where monsters wander the city streets, which is why he has a Kickstarter in place for a location-based iOS game called Map Monsters.
Map Monsters is a free-to-play adventure game that is focused around a hidden dimension on top of our own. The alternate dimension is full of object-hoarding monsters (wondering where your left sock took off to? Now you have a clue). When the monsters grow bolder and start slipping into our world to lift entire landmarks, a “monsternauts” team (which includes you) is assembled and dispatched to the monsters’ dimension. It’s up to you to tame the beasts.
Map Monsters is a location-based game, but the terms of your progression are not typical of similar titles in its genre. Gameplay is not limited to your neighborhood, for instance: you can travel through a virtual world that’s filled with cool new things to discover.
You’re also able to build, and during your quest, you can assemble gold mines for quick cash, farms, mileposts, and roads. There’s a social element to the game, too: when you capture monsters, you can trade them with your pals. You might even need to enlist the help of your friends to capture a particularly evasive beastie.
If you’re interested in becoming a monsternaut, don’t worry; you won’t have to work for free. Garfield’s Kickstarter is packed with cool rewards for pledgers (most rewards are cumulative). For $5, you’ll get $5 worth of in-game credit to spend however you want in the world of Map Monsters. For $25, you’ll receive a download of the game’s soundtrack, and a poster. For $100, you’ll get a Map Monsters skin for your iPhone, and your name in the game’s credits.
Hey, big spender! For $500, you’ll have your likeness placed in the game at a location of your choosing. For $2500, you’ll have a game night with Richard Garfield himself. For $4000 (ideal for corporate sponsors), a caricature of your business will be placed at 50 locations that correspond to your store’s physical locations, and will remain there for one year.
Ready to do a little trans-dimensional traveling? Visit the Kickstarter page for Map Monsters.
Project Name: Map Monsters
Platforms: iOS, possibly Android
Funds Needed: $40,000
Funding Acquired (as of this writing): $16,056
Days Left: 6
Kickstarter Picks is a series on Gamezebo that profiles Kickstarter projects in the world of video games. We’re doing this in the hopes of calling attention to interesting projects in need of funding, so please, if a game looks like something you’d want to play, don’t hesitate to lend it your support!
