Survival Rafting: The Flame In The Flood
Made by some BioShock Infinite folks
Many survival games are about building and fortifying, recreating civilisation starting with one single shack or hole in the ground, slowly building up until you've got all mod cons and a lovely new fitted kitchen. The Flame in the Flood is about taking what you can and getting the heck out, riding down a mighty river on your raft. Created by a bunch of former BioShock Infinite developers from Irrational Games, it's a procedural survival game where you'll need to scavenge on land but must escape down the river before the rains come. And it's on Kickstarter, looking for $150,000 (£93k).
The river rolls through a procedurally-generated microcosm of American waters, banked by places to stop and scavenge for supplies. Animals, water, the weather, and your own stupid body are all willing to kill you. You can craft all sorts of useful things to help, naturally, and have a dog friend too. Splendid. And it's so pretty. Look at this:
Developers The Molasses Flood include BioShock Infinite's art director, lead level designer, senior technical animator, and senior AI engineer.
This is the second Kickstarter this week from Irrational alumni. When 2K closed Irrational Games (or blah blah, whatever), I was quite keen to see what former members might get up to if they went indie and could follow their own visions. For one group, the answer's The Black Glove, a surreal tale of art, creation, and altering both with time travel. Looks quite pre-revolution BioShock-y, dunnit? The Flame in the Flood is more about the side where society is gone, but you still have lots of water.