Fans have already collected $ 1.3M on Wasteland 2

Brian Fargo (founder of Interplay) has for several years already wanted to create a sequel to Wasteland (1988). At one time, the game became the progenitor of the post-apocalyptic RPG genre, first of all - the cult Fallout 1 and 2. However, finding a publisher to continue was not easy.

A few days ago, Brian, on behalf of his company InXile, launched a fundraising project to create Wasteland 2 using the KickStarter service.

“Perhaps this is the last chance to create a sequel to Wasteland. We tried to convince publishers more than once, but they refused. They did not find anything interesting in the sturdy game of the old school. ”
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The required amount of $ 900,000 was collected in a record 42 hours.

Wasteland 2 on KickStarter

For those who do not know, KickStarter.com is a site where any person can publish his project for fundraising, having described in detail what he wants to do by attaching drawings, information, renders or photos of prototypes. Those who are interested in the project can donate a certain amount, the size of which determines what bonus it can receive if the project is completed.

Brian for a long time unsuccessfully tried to find a publisher for Wasteland 2. Someone suggests strongly reworking the game, someone is interested in exceptionally large profits, someone is simply not interested.
Then it was decided that Wasteland 2 will be 100% financed with funds donated by fans. A game page appeared on KickStarter, with a target amount of $ 900,000. Brian also noted that if he manages to collect even more, then the money will go to expanding the game world, a more thoughtful global story, characters, and porting to OS X and Linux.

At Wasteland 2, 23,939 people donated $ 1,280'431 at the moment. Thus, this project ranks third in the amount of funds raised at KickStarter. For the remaining 30 days, the amount may well double. Anyone who donates more than $ 15 can get a digital copy of their future game for free. The remaining awards include a user manual, a soundtrack, a character’s figure, an icon, references in the credits of the game, the ability to place a unique artifact with a personal background in the game, or a statue in its honor. For $ 10'000, you can get an invitation to a private party of Brian Fargo, Alan Paulish and the rest of the development team (in the USA).

One of the largest contributors was Min-Liang Tan , director of Razer , a company that manufactures equipment for gamers. Another well-known rich sponsor was Notch , the creator of Minecraft , who proved that without publishing control games can collect millions of dollars. The project was also supported by Ray Muzika (director of BioWare ), Chris Avellown (game designer, worked on Fallout 2), Rob Pardo (executive deputy director of game design, Blizzard Entertainment ).

Development

For Wasteland 2, the old team was re-assembled. It includes: Alan Paulish and Mike Stakpoul - leading designers of the first part, screenwriter Jason Anderson, who had a hand in Fallout, Mark Morgan - composer Fallout 1/2, artist Andrew Wallin and others.

“We will be true to the spirit of the original and begin to build on it. No first-person shooters, just a top view that allows you to evaluate the tactical situation. And we are not going to turn the team into a crazy bloody game. The game will be turn-based, tactical, with a deep and extensive scenario. We intend to keep a hard dark and satirical style of narration. We are going to make you make ethically ambiguous decisions. You will see the consequences of your actions. We want both Wasteland fans and Fallout 1/2 to feel at ease, ”the developers promise.

After the $ 900,000,000 triumphant gathering, Brian on the official blog thanked all the fans for such incredible support and announced that the game would be released in October 2013. In subsequent interviews, he spoke about the details of the new game and about the nearest plans.

Wasteland 2 on KickStarter
Wasteland 2 Official Forum