By John Walker on September 6th, 2012 at 8:22 am.
As we mentioned yesterday, Broken Sword developers Revolution reached their Kickstarter funding to make a fifth game in the series. And as expected, they later revealed their stretch goals. They’re what you’d expect – a bigger, more elaborate game, more locations, more scenes, more puzzles, going up to an ambitious $800,000 – double their original target. But then at $1m, the top tier, there’s a surprise. Greenlighting Beneath A Steel Sky 2.
Beneath A Steel Sky (BASS) came out in 1994, and is one of the most fondly remembered adventures of the era. With its iconic name, sounding like something Ridley Scott might have directed, it used the artwork of Watchman co-creator Dave Gibbons to create a dystopian science fiction future. And people loved it. And have loved it ever since, with the game’s re-release on many occasions, not least when creator Charles Cecil released it as freeware in 2003, as well as actively aiding the SCUMMVM team to get the game working for the emulator.
Rumours of a sequel have circulated a few times in the past, with indications something might be happening in 2004 and 2006, and a remastered version of the original appearing in 2009 of iOS. But it’s been quiet since then.
Now Revolution are saying that if they can more than double their Kickstarter pledges in the final two weeks of the campaign, that will be enough money to not only complete Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse, but also greenlight production of BASS 2.
“So where can we take you after fulfilling our ambition? For many years we have wanted to write a sequel to our 1994 classic adventure. If we reach this goal we will start work on this exciting, much-demanded project, and implement Easter eggs in Broken Sword: the Serpent’s Curse, offering a glimpse of this futuristic dystopia.”
Whether they can get to such a massive total remains to be seen.
06/09/2012 at 08:36 Eclipse says:
cool, but that goal is basically impossible to reach, BASS2 should have it’s own kickstarter
06/09/2012 at 09:05 Yachmenev says:
I think the point with these kickstarter game projects is that one succesful project should help them finance the next one based on the sales from the first one. Maybe they shouldn´t have included BASS2 in this one, but I don´t think it would have gotten it´s own kickstarter anyway.
06/09/2012 at 12:26 gory says:
I couldn’t agree more.
It feels having been abused, crying under the cold shower in the fetal positionthat 1 mil stretch goal. I don’t like it one bit.
Edit: I’d be more than willing to pledge on a BASS 2 kickstarter however!
06/09/2012 at 16:03 dontnormally says:
“Kickstarter is excellent publicity, even before considering all the free money.”
- nobody (but everybody)
06/09/2012 at 08:37 BobbyDylan says:
Do want!!!!
06/09/2012 at 09:28 rustybroomhandle says:
I originally played the unvoiced version, loved it. Then discovered the voiced one and was horrified. But yeah, want!
06/09/2012 at 08:38 The First Door says:
Well, that is the perfect way to push me off the fence and give them some money. Beneath a Steel Sky is still one of my favourite games. Sadly though, Kicktraq doesn’t predict it is going to make it.
06/09/2012 at 16:05 dontnormally says:
Why didn’t you tell me about kicktraq before?!?
06/09/2012 at 09:05 bill says:
It’s an awesome name. And it has awesome cover art.
Shame it’s such a weird poor game. the mix of random unfunny Point and Click comedy and dystopian future is very jarring. And the usual P&C problem of being in a life and death situation and being unable to just rush past someone but instead having to mess around with sandwiches and janitors doesn’t quite hold up to the promise of bladerunner.
06/09/2012 at 09:19 frightlever says:
Thank the Lord you’re here to put right everyone’s misconceptions about BASS. Poor misguided fools might have continued to think they enjoyed it otherwise.
I salute you!
What? That finger always sticks out like that when I salute.
06/09/2012 at 14:14 bill says:
That’s not a very gentlemanly way to respond to someone’s opinion that happens to differ from your own.
It’s also rather mistaken in thinking that i’m trying to put anyone’s opinion straight. Merely stating my own.
IF you wish to continue thinking that BASS is a great game that’s like like it’s name, cover or bladerunner then go ahead. You are free to continue thinking in this wrongheaded way.
06/09/2012 at 10:00 Zuolin says:
Sounds like you don’t like point and click adventures matey.
Be gone, heretic!
06/09/2012 at 14:16 bill says:
I’m not a major fan it’s true. But I think something like Monkey Island works much better than something like BASS. Weird comedy and puzzle solutions work much better in a patently comedy and absurd situation with crazy characters. They don’t work so well in a grey dystopian future IMHO.
But maybe I was just disappointed that the game bore so little in common with the awesome name and box cover. I wanted to play this game for SOOOOO long.
(the little robot was cool though).
06/09/2012 at 14:48 Seraph says:
I love point-and-clicks, and I’m not a huge fan of BASS either. The humor doesn’t really work for me and the environments are so bland. If you’re looking for a good sci-fi point-and-click in the vein of Blade Runner, I definitely recommend Blade Runner (go figure). The Dig and Gemini Rue are also very good sci-fi point-and-clicks.
06/09/2012 at 16:51 Skabooga says:
Beneath a Steel Sky isn’t really a comedy point-and-click adventure, I’d venture. I remember it more for its oppressive atmosphere and crapsack world than its jokes. Again, it’s been a long time since I last played it, but I felt that the jokes weren’t so much for the sake of humor as to underline the terrible world they lived in.
06/09/2012 at 17:13 Lorc says:
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one.
06/09/2012 at 20:16 zapatapon says:
Now that you mention it, I remember feeling back in the day that the constant (and not super funny) jokes were working opposite to the general atmosphere. My rosy-tinted (or in that case maybe actually dark red-tinted) glasses probably made me forget that point, thanks for reminding me.
06/09/2012 at 09:27 rustybroomhandle says:
I have never seen anything so green!d
06/09/2012 at 09:57 Zuolin says:
I literally just finished BASS for the first time only a week ago.
Adventure-gasm!
06/09/2012 at 10:12 N'Al says:
I own the iOS version of the original, but a bug prevents me from completing it, unfortunately. :-(
06/09/2012 at 10:32 RichieJohn says:
I love me some BASS and Broken Sword 1&2 are two of my favorite games ever so I’m happy about all of this.
I would always rather see them work on something fresh and new though.
Same with Tell Tale I don’t like that they are always restricted to licensed games. I get the reason they do it but it annoys me.
06/09/2012 at 10:33 phuzz says:
I still remember the several hours it took to install BASS from something like 14 floppy disks , onto the harddrive in my Amiga.
Worth it.
(I also used to have the little comic that explained the backstory, I ought to go looking for that)
06/09/2012 at 10:54 AlonePlusEasyTarget says:
If you can’t find it, there’s always GOG:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/beneath_a_steel_sky
06/09/2012 at 11:26 lowprices says:
BASS 2 on top of Broken Sword 5? Is it possible to contribute to a kickstarter more than once? Because – definitely will if it gets BASS 2 started.
06/09/2012 at 11:46 matty_gibbon says:
If you’ve already pledged for BS5, you can log into Kickstarter and increase your pledge :-)
06/09/2012 at 11:59 matty_gibbon says:
If it gets to $2 million, they’ll also give you a Screibman Port and send BASS2 directly to your brain.
(N.B. possible spelling and/or memory fail on the details)
06/09/2012 at 13:14 Grey Ganado says:
It’s Schreibman Port but you are forgiven because you’re not German.
06/09/2012 at 13:24 int says:
Give me an analysis, Joey!
06/09/2012 at 13:42 chrismcr says:
This is so EXCITING it’s caused me to randomly CAPITALISE words!
06/09/2012 at 13:55 PodX140 says:
I was actually expecting some sort of bass fishing game, one that goes back to the older days when A) I played them and B) They were fun.
:(
06/09/2012 at 14:46 Hodge says:
Not sure how I feel about this to be honest. One of the reasons the original is so well regarded is that it was never turned into a franchise and run into the ground like, say, Monkey Island was.
But Cecil’s track record is solid, and if they can get Dave Gibbons back on board… hmmm.
06/09/2012 at 16:41 theloz says:
Is this one going to be a horrible pre-rendered 3D characters on hand-drawn backgrounds job as well?