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| Thread: Would you fund a "HOMM" game at Kickstarter ? |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 · NEXT» |
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B0rsuk
Promising
Famous Hero
DooM prophet
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posted April 18, 2012 10:31 AM |
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Edited by B0rsuk at 10:34, 18 Apr 2012.
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Would you fund a
Black player's heroes have abandoned him and he has been banished from this land.
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Ubisoft owns the rights to HOMM. Squirrels report Ubisoft can't be trusted to publish a well-made Heroes game and not screw up. But a spiritual successor can be developed. It could be called "Return of Heroes", for example.
Brian Fargo, credited with Wasteland, Bard's Tale, Stonekeep, Fallout, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, Descent, and Icewind Dale tried to find a publisher for his post-apocalyptic RPG - Wasteland 2. He couldn't find anyone willing to publish it. He turned to fans, and eventually he and his company collected $3,040,000 in 31 days. They had asked for $900,000.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2
Tim Schafer, creator of Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Monkey Island, Psychonauts, Day of the Tentacle wanted to develop another point&click adventure. He turned to crowdfunding, too. He asked for $400,000, got $3,336,371 at Kickstarter.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure?ref=live
Heroes of Might and Magic doesn't have such big name developers like BF and TS. Jon Van Caneghem could be considered one... anyway, Heroes of Might and Magic is still one of most recognized old school games. It may not have been a smash success financially, but if there's a game that has cult following - it's Heroes of Might and Magic
There is potential for a Kickstarter project. There are hordes of fans, and most of us would probably be willing to pledge $15-30 for development. Remember, if it's funded via Kickstarter there would be no publisher in the way to spoil things. No one to tell the developer what fans want. No one to sign NDA with, communication would likely be open. With no NDA, no publisher, I would fund "HOMM" even if Black Hole developed it (I haven't purchased H6 and don't plan to). I don't like H6 in general, but some of the changes looked promising at first - like mass spells having smaller effect than focused single targed spells. Most of it was not a bad system, but it needed time and effort to patch, balance and polish.
A difficult question remains: who should develop new "Heroes of Might and Magic" game ? How to find 1) competent enough team that 2) wants to develop it ? And 3) is known well enough ? Reputation is hugely important for Kickstarter projects, it translates into more money pledged by fans.
If Black Hole is indeed bankrupting, people leaving it could form the core. They could contact other people who worked on HOMM before. I don't know who would be the best person to contact. Do you have any ideas ?
Finally, Kickstarter can be nice but it won't collect many millions of dollars. Squirrels report BH burned more than 1,000,000 EUR (1.31 mln USD) of their own reserves on H6 development. THis is doable via Kickstarter, but we don't know how much they received from Ubi. It's not the whole picture. This means sacrifices would be needed.
Assuming a new "HOMM" game is made, what parts of it you don't care about ? As for me...
- I don't care about cinematics
- I don't care about voice acting
These are very expensive, and don't contribute much to what I consider fundamentally a turn-based strategy game. I'm totally fine with storyline told by text in pop-up windows. I prefer a book-like storyline to movie-like storyline.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo RSA Animate - Smile or die
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Avirosb
Promising
Legendary Hero
No longer on vacation
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posted April 18, 2012 10:40 AM |
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Edited by Avirosb at 10:40, 18 Apr 2012.
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I don't care about cinematics and voice acting either, but I DO like the opening cinematics in H2-4,
as well as the voice acting/looping animation in-between missions (H2-4).
Text is fine during the game itself tho.
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Cepheus
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Far-flung Keeper
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posted April 18, 2012 12:09 PM |
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I think it would probably require Jon van Caneghem's involvement to be really successful. I could see the millions pouring in then, but not if it's led by a bunch of unknowns with no guarantee of triumph.
David Mullich's blessing would be a plus.
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"Those who forget their history are inevitably doomed to repeat it." —Proverb, Might and Magic VIII
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War-overlord
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Presidente of Isla del Tropico
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posted April 18, 2012 12:27 PM |
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I might, but it wholly depends on who the developer is, what their exact plans are and what their credentials are.
Also I have my doubts about how much of a spiritual succesor it will be if another company holds the rights to the actual thing. I'd hate to see such a thing take an exit to Lawsuit City.
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Vote El Presidente! Or Else!
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Quantomas
Responsible
Famous Hero
AI Wizard
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posted April 18, 2012 01:07 PM |
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That's exactly what we are planning. But it's too early to announce something yet.
Credentials are critically important, I completely agree. For this we are working on a fully developed prototype that a) demonstrates the direction of the game and b) shows our capabilities.
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Do you love strategy games? Join us on Discord: discord.gg/JKU6tey
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Dave_Jame
Promising
Legendary Hero
I'm Faceless, not Brainless.
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posted April 18, 2012 02:50 PM |
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If I would be presented an outline of the project.. Yes.. Why not.. but I would think twice or maybe I woudl not think about it at all whith the current situation
Edit
Synematics. We do not have them now so I do ot miss them only the intro and outro could be needed
Voice Woudl depend on the way the story is made.
If it would by jurnal style like 2-4 No we can past
If it would be a 5-6 style.. it is needed
But I would personally sacriface both for a good story writer
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I'm just a Mirror of your self.
We see, we look, we gather, we store, we teach.
We are many, and you can be one of us.
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yasmiel
Supreme Hero
Former Chessmaster
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posted April 18, 2012 03:38 PM |
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As many have already said, it would have to be led by someone recognizable, be it a person or a team. And I don't see anyone doing it at the moment. (I think it would be degrading for JVC to have thoughts about developing just a spiritual successor afted doing the real thing in the first place - which is unfortunately owned by Ubi now). Other than him, I don't see anyone I would put my faith in at the moment.
Unfortunately for Heroes, fans often have very varying thoughts of what is right and what is wrong, so i think anything that would be spearheaded by fans alone would not be as openly supported by other fans.
Hopefully reality is much better than my view 
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VOKIALBG
Honorable
Legendary Hero
First in line
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posted April 18, 2012 03:56 PM |
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The need to hire JVC and give him all the powers he need 
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Zenofex
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Kreegan-atheist
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posted April 18, 2012 04:38 PM |
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I'd gladly support such an initiative but the name of someone well-acquainted with the series has to be present in the devs list. From what I know JVC can't be bothered with Heroes any more, no idea about the rest.
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Mitzah
Promising
Supreme Hero
of the Horadrim
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posted April 18, 2012 05:42 PM |
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Last time I heard, JVC was involved with a new Command & Conquer game.
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| The HoMM Channel |
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alcibiades
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
of Gold Dragons
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posted April 18, 2012 05:50 PM |
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I'm not sure I understand this correctly ... previously, UbiSoft have pulblished crap Heroes games and asked me to pay for the games. Now you ask me if I would give money if they asked me to actually pay them up front for developing a game I don't even know will be good? 
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What will happen now?
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Shares
Supreme Hero
I am. Thusly I am.
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posted April 18, 2012 05:53 PM |
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Ubisoft is the publisher. They don't make games, they hire developers to make them. If a kickstarter is used the fans pay the developers to make the game. Ubisoft would have very little to no involvement in the process.
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ChaosWielder
Tavern Dweller
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posted April 18, 2012 05:53 PM |
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If it was some, if not most, of the original folks...then yes, most certainly yes.
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Kronos1000
Promising
Supreme Hero
Fryslân Boppe
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posted April 18, 2012 07:17 PM |
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If we could get Jon van Caneghem to do it, then I'd probably be interested. Although we may need a green light from Ubisoft or they might stop the entire project. While I don't see much chance of this really happening, I would love it if it did. It may be the only way to get a good Heroes game again, while I liked Heroes 5 I think Heroes 6 is a disaster. And I think it would only go down hill if Ubisoft remains in charge. Just read Derpson's posts in the other thread, if that's really how Ubisoft treats the franchise then we're doomed...
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Hwær cwom mearg? Hwær cwom mago?
Hwær cwom maþþumgyfa? - 'The Wanderer'
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted April 18, 2012 07:21 PM |
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I'm hoping BioWare picks up Might&Magic :/
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Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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Avirosb
Promising
Legendary Hero
No longer on vacation
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posted April 18, 2012 07:54 PM |
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The last thing I want this franchise to turn into is a dating sim with  consequences. Ugh...
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B0rsuk
Promising
Famous Hero
DooM prophet
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posted April 18, 2012 09:31 PM |
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Except for Alcibiades, everyone seems to like the idea. Alcibiades - yes, we're talking about funding a game we may never get. It's bad if you look at it like a transaction, but otherwise the next best thing.
Double Fine and Wasteland 2 still have to prove themselves, but so far everything is looking good. That's point&click and classic RPG. At the same time, Legend of Grimrock, priced at $15, covered development costs in the first day of sales. That's old-school dungeon crawler. Amnesia: The Dark Descent and previous titles show that survival horrors are surprisingly profitable for a "dead genre". Big publishers end up looking like fools. People are buying well-made old-school games.
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It seems when funding a Kickstarter project, developers with proven track record are like those x2 and x3 squares in Scrabble. They significantly increase amount of money raised.
We have one way to "create" a Kickstarter for "HOMM" game. We need to contact the right people and keep asking them about a new game. It doesn't have to be called "Heroes of Might and Magic" and take place in Ashan/Erathia/whatever as long as it plays like one. Brian Fargo decided to create Wasteland 2 because people kept asking him about a Wasteland sequel.
So... which former HOMM developers do you respect the most ? Which people would make you want to pledge money for a project ? If we find some consensus, we could spread the idea and perhaps Heroes fans all over the world will pick it up. Here are some people I care about:
Jon van Caneghem - the original designer. Unfortunately, I also heard he doesn't care about another HOMM game. He seems happy with whatever he's doing.
Paul Romero, Rob King, Steve Baca - they (especially Romero) gave use these memorable soundtracks. I have a soft spot for good music and even one of them in a project would make me happy.
David Mullich - I don't remember what he did exactly, but he was deeply involved with these games.
Gus Smedstad - lead programmer and a designer of Heroes IV. He liked Heroes II a lot. Say what you will, but I consider Heroes IV a mine of intriguing ideas, with flawed execution of course. Heroes IV simply needed more time.
John Bolton - lead programmer of Heroes 3, and numerous other games
Phil Steinmeyer - lead programmer for Heroes 1 and Heroes 2, and a designer for both games.
Julia Ulano - Art Director fro Heroes 1 and Heroes 2. I think her art style was quite distinct and I just liked it, period.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo RSA Animate - Smile or die
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ywhtptgtfo
Hired Hero
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posted April 18, 2012 09:39 PM |
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Quote:
Except for Alcibiades, everyone seems to like the idea. Alcibiades - yes, we're talking about funding a game we may never get. It's bad if you look at it like a transaction, but otherwise the next best thing.
Double Fine and Wasteland 2 still have to prove themselves, but so far everything is looking good. That's point&click and classic RPG. At the same time, Legend of Grimrock, priced at $15, covered development costs in the first day of sales. That's old-school dungeon crawler. Amnesia: The Dark Descent and previous titles show that survival horrors are surprisingly profitable for a "dead genre". Big publishers end up looking like fools. People are buying well-made old-school games.
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It seems when funding a Kickstarter project, developers with proven track record are like those x2 and x3 squares in Scrabble. They significantly increase amount of money raised.
We have one way to "create" a Kickstarter for "HOMM" game. We need to contact the right people and keep asking them about a new game. It doesn't have to be called "Heroes of Might and Magic" and take place in Ashan/Erathia/whatever as long as it plays like one. Brian Fargo decided to create Wasteland 2 because people kept asking him about a Wasteland sequel.
So... which former HOMM developers do you respect the most ? Which people would make you want to pledge money for a project ? If we find some consensus, we could spread the idea and perhaps Heroes fans all over the world will pick it up. Here are some people I care about:
Jon van Caneghem - the original designer. Unfortunately, I also heard he doesn't care about another HOMM game. He seems happy with whatever he's doing.
Paul Romero, Rob King, Steve Baca - they (especially Romero) gave use these memorable soundtracks. I have a soft spot for good music and even one of them in a project would make me happy.
David Mullich - I don't remember what he did exactly, but he was deeply involved with these games.
Gus Smedstad - lead programmer and a designer of Heroes IV. He liked Heroes II a lot. Say what you will, but I consider Heroes IV a mine of intriguing ideas, with flawed execution of course. Heroes IV simply needed more time.
John Bolton - lead programmer of Heroes 3, and numerous other games
Phil Steinmeyer - lead programmer for Heroes 1 and Heroes 2, and a designer for both games.
Julia Ulano - Art Director fro Heroes 1 and Heroes 2. I think her art style was quite distinct and I just liked it, period.
You forgot:
- Christian Vanover
- Jennifer Bullard (Maranthea)
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The_Polyglot
Promising
Supreme Hero
Nuttier than squirrel poo
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posted April 18, 2012 11:44 PM |
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If JVC, Romero, King and some of the programmers from III/IV/both are involved, and I get my first bank account(*** I need one soon anyway, I'm so *** old...), then I can guarantee about 50 euros(Depending on exchange rate at the start of the project), a bit more if I get a T-shirt and a copy of soundtrack. I don't care even if it flops; It is about the sum I paid for MM: Disaster anyway, and I got a sweet soundtrack for my money.
It would be nice if the spirit of the originals (I-IV) was preserved somehow though; same font, very similar combat screen/system, TOWN SCREENS(!) (Full screen 2.5D, resolution doesn't matter), etc...
One can dream, right?
P.S.: Offline DRM please, I hate the Conflux... [/whine]
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Quique30
Adventuring Hero
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posted April 19, 2012 03:13 PM |
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I would definitely contribute with my $$ to such a project if names like those listed here were in it. But for that to happen... I don't want Ubi anywhere near it.
Some weeks ago I read what Dr. Ray Muzkya (Bioware Co-Founder) said related to the ME3 endings and how they consider their games to be an art form; how their teams "consist of passionate people who work hard for the love of creating experiences that excite and delight our fans". That's the kind of enterprise values I look for and support.
If capable people with that mindset can be found to create a spiritual successor, certainly count me in.
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