The Lioness Roars

We've discussed adventure game and mysterious existential-'em-up Lioness before but after twenty three days of funding I'm happy to report it has now well over doubled the $7,000 target, with a view to carry on into the crazy wilderness of $20,000 and above. Developer Zak "mooosh" Ayles, working mostly by his lonesome, describes himself as "interested in exploring the potential of games as a storytelling medium" and with a quick glance at the trailer's speedy descent into madness, embedded post-cut, he's assuredly in uncharted territory.

Lioness' great strength, and a must have for oh so many successful Kickstarters, is in visual and sound design. With such a focus on story, expanding on elements of the game beyond the bare minimum will do more harm than good for would-be players and investors. However, a single screenshot or the hauntingly beautiful music Zak's collaborator Phillip "PostPre" Lanzbom has gifted to the project can take someone from utterly unaware of its existence (say, me five minutes ago) to intrigued and begging for more (me now). While punching through their target is great, Zak sensibly explains that there will be no game-expanding stretch goals, preferring to improve the quality of his creation rather than diluting such with added scope.