Distance is a “survival racing game” featuring gravity-defying arcade racing action through a mysterious, neon-infused city, endorsed by none other than former Gears of War mastermind Cliff Bleszinski.
Distance is a “survival racing game” featuring gravity-defying arcade racing action through a mysterious, neon-infused city, endorsed by none other than former Gears of War mastermind Cliff Bleszinski.
It’s still in a pre-alpha state but Distance, a “next-generation arcade racer,” already looks pretty hot. Blasting through the neon-bordered streets and highways of a “chaotic and twisted city,” the game will allow digital drivers to perform death-defying stunts, drive upside-down and along the sides of buildings, and even fly as they explore the game world.
Billed as a spiritual successor to Nitronic Rush, an award-winning Digipen student project released in 2011 (which you can download here, by the way), Distance has attracted the attention of none other than Cliff Bleszinksi, formerly the design director at Gears of War studio Epic Games. “I think it’s going to be a fantastic game,” Bleszinski said. “They’re very talented guys and they deserve your support.”
Interested gamers can express that support through the Distance Kickstarter, which is attempting to raise $125,000 in financing to complete the game. The Kickstarter page reveals that it will support both solo and multiplayer action, come with a full-featured level editor and other modding tools, feature hidden paths and secrets that will reveal details about the mysterious city’s past and boast vastly improved visuals, Xbox 360 controller support and more.
Even at this early stage, the gameplay videos are very impressive, with a futuristic, Tron-like visual style and pulsating electro/ambient soundtrack. There’s a long way to go before Distance will be ready for prime time, though – even if the Kickstarter is successful, the developers estimate that it won’t come out until the second half of 2013. You can find out more about the game at survivethedistance.com, and if you like what you see and have a few bucks lying around with nothing to do, you throw money at it on Kickstarter.
Project Name: Distance
Platforms: PC, Mac
Funds Needed: $125.000
Funding Acquired (as of this writing): $51,740
Days Left: 15
Kickstarter Picks is a series of features on Gamezebo that will profile 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!
