blackspace kickstarter screenshot, game compatible with oculus rift

Blackspace is an excellent looking hybrid-RTS game which the developers say will support the Oculus Rift. Pixel Foundry, the indie studio behind the game, launched a Kickstarter campaign for Blackspace back in September. With 5 days left the campaign is unfortunately still 65% shy of its $350,000 funding goal. The game looks to have excellent potential from what the team has shown off so far, and it is a steal at just $20 for a copy through the Kickstarter!

Blackspace Kickstarter Video

As you can see, the team has already created proof of concept for many of the major game systems. The Kickstarter is to raise money to move into the production phase where the team can create detailed assets and flesh out the gameplay, story, and more. Here’s what I said about Blackspace when I covered it back in September:

I’ve got to say, this game looks pretty awesome. I call it a ‘hybrid-RTS’ because unlike typical RTS games, you don’t simply rule and command from an omnipresent position in the sky. Instead you control one unit, the Lander, from which you perform all functions. Maybe I’m just a sucker for space games, but I think they’ve nailed the game’s atmosphere. The stark shadows cast against the pale asteroid surface really does a great job of emulating photos I’ve seen of the moon and other barren celestial bodies. I’m definitely excited to give this game a whirl on the Oculus Rift.

The team also has a detailed video explaining the gameplay, goals for the game, and what the production phase will entail:

I would absolutely love to see this game make it to the market. I think it looks unique and fun, and the $20 asking price seems more than fair. If you agree, let’s head over to the Blackspace Kickstarter together and back the project! Don’t forget: if the Kickstarter goal fails to be met, you don’t get charged; there is no risk involved!

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Gigi Perducchi

    I dont like this “pay first try later” mentality. No, make the game. Release a demo. If it is any good, maybe I pay for it.

    • Ben Lang

      There is definitely validity to your point. The unfortunate reality is that often an indie studio has an excellent idea for a game but can’t get the funds because they don’t have a publisher like the big guys. That’s when options like Kickstarter comes in. They try to show you how the game will work (and I think Pixel Foundry did a good job), but I agree that a demo would be great too. Unfortunately committing to a demo for a game that may or may not end up getting released is not a financially viable option in many situations.

    • An actual demo often comes after the game is done, which of course is not possible before getting funding. And releasing a prototype is probably not a good idea due to not enough optimization or testing having been performed, it’s a prototype.

      Myself I think crowd-funding is interesting, and I am curious to see how these game projects will fare. I imagine at least some of them might bomb, meaning run out of money before completion or releasing a low quality product due to time constraint or something.

      Still, so far I have per project pledged about 1/3 of what a game costs at retail here in Sweden. If the game is bad? Not a big loss for me compared to buying a full price game. If one in three of the games I have backed turn out good, that would still be value for money ;)

      As for Blackspace, I jumped on this project almost immediately, as a fan of Battlezone 2 it sure connected with me! If the Kickstarter fails I sure hope they find funds elsewhere!

  • dead

    I personally love crowd funding for indie projects like this. It gives many projects the chance to see the light of day which it other wise could not or giving the funds to make the project (game in this case) much more polished if they were making it one way or another.