As promised last month, the Kickstarter for the first-person “immersive simulation” Consortium: The Tower—formerly The Tower Prophecy—is now underway. The campaign is seeking $450,000 Canadian, which I'm guessing works out to around 600 bucks US (or possibly more, I haven't actually looked it up), and hints at a handful of stretch goals should it achieve funding beyond that mark.
The original Consortium is first and foremost a shooter, but rather like Deus Ex, there's a lot more to it than simply emptying guns into dudes. You actually play as yourself, sitting behind your keyboard, in control of a futuristic peacekeeper named Bishop Six through the technology of the iDGi-1 satellite that's capable of projecting consciousness through interdimensional rifts. There are characters to talk to and mysteries to solve, all in service of an overarching story that, to a large extent, you can dig into or ignore as you see fit. It suffered for a lack of polish, but it's a powerfully ambitious and creative game.
Consortium: The Tower promises to expand on that experience with “a much larger environment, story and scope,” created by the original development team and "a select group of new people." This time around, Bishop Six must deal with a hostage situation in the Churchill Tower in London, through violence, stealth, and/or diplomacy. But naturally, there's more going on than is first apparent.
“Discover the source of an unnatural earthquake originating from below the Tower,” the Kickstarter pitch teases. “Find out what's really behind the Tower's malfunctioning builder nanites. Befriend or manipulate the London Police to your advantage, or have them turn against you. Attempt to uncover the truth about the Consortium King (a sentient A.I., and the source of our connection to their world), his creator, the terrorists, your crew, and the Tower itself. Even gain the attention of a mysterious benefactor whose 'alternative' ideas and perspectives will begin to make you question your definitions of 'friend' and 'foe'.”
The $450,000 CDN Kickstarter goal actually works out to about $309,000 US, by the way, a huge leap over the $50,000 goal of the original Consortium Kickstarter. The campaign is live now and runs until February 19. Find out more at thetowergame.com.
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