Humans love to build things. If they didn’t, LEGO wouldn’t be as popular as they are, and Minecraft wouldn’t be owned by everyone on the planet. Additionally, StarForge probably wouldn’t have met its goal on Indiegogo.
Humans love to build things. If they didn’t, LEGO wouldn’t be as popular as they are, and Minecraft wouldn’t be owned by everyone on the planet. Additionally, StarForge probably wouldn’t have met its goal on Indiegogo.
StarForge wears its inspirations on its sleeve. In fact, the developers straight up list the games – including Minecraft, Halo, Borderlands and more – that influenced it on the Indiegogo page. A little odd to see titles like that on the same list, huh? StarForge justifies it, courtesy of its sprawling scope and various gameplay mechanics. You’ll be constructing a world a la Minecraft, and fighting to stay alive a la Halo.
Should you demand a reason for all this madness, you’ll be happy to know StarForge offers one. You see, earth’s star is on its last legs, and the planet has begun moving people and resources alike to a new location. You’re one of the transferees, and what you do on this planet is entirely up to you. Care to raise hell with the assistance of procedurally-generated weapons? Go right ahead. In more of a building mood? Gather resources and hop to it.
StarForge is going to be a sprawling game, with no boundaries or invisible walls for players to bump into. As the Indiegogo page puts it, “Dig an endless tunnel, fly out to the far reaches of space, and come back again.” Just be careful, as the game will feature a permanent death system, making every excursion a potentially dangerous one. On the plus side, you’ll frequently encounter chests filled with resources to loot, making your stay on a foreign planet a slightly easier one.
The game will also feature combat-oriented modes, such as “Fort Wars.” Here, two teams battle in an attempt to destroy the “vat” that belongs to the other team. Personally, I really hope the vats are filled to the brim with space-honey. In any case, there’s also a co-op mode known as “Fort Defense,” where you and another player protect a vat from hordes of aliens.
And still, I’ve not fully captured what StarForge is all about. There’s also going to be an economy at work, and players will have to be thoughtful of which resources they decide to carry — You can only hold so much, after all. But it’s possible to put excess resources on pallets, and have them shipped to a warehouse of yours. Be warned, though, that it’s all too possible that other players will attempt to steal your possessions.
The game is well underway, as the video above shows. But with the Indiegogo campaign, the developers have hopes to add single and multiplayer modes, enabling introvert and extrovert alike to get what they want out of the game. Additionally, the team is hoping to polish up the game and cover expenses like hosting fees.
All that said, the game has already hit its goal of $75,000. But more funding is always a good thing, and the developers have cooked up a list of stretch goals for additional amounts. There’s also a pretty great list of potential rewards, including the game itself – and all builds that precede the final release – for $15. Not a bad deal for INFINITE OUTER SPACE.
Project Name: StarForge
Platforms: PC, Mac
Funds Needed: $75,000
Funding Acquired (as of this writing): $82,175
Days Left: 16
Indiegogo Picks is a series on Gamezebo that profiles Indiegogo 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!
