After a 24 year wait, we could be getting a sequel to Wastelend. The post-apocalyptic RPG that inspired Fallout is being resurrected by its creators, but they need a little bit of help. Yesterday, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to try and raise $900,000 to fund the project.
"This is probably the last chance for a Wasteland sequel," say the team on the Kickstarter site. "We have tried to pitch this game multiple times to game publishers, but they've balked. They don't think there's any interest in a solid, old school type of game. This is our shot at proving them wrong. And more importantly this could help bring back an entire genre of RPGs."
After just a day, nearly 10,000 backers have contributed more than half a million dollars to the project. There are 34 days to go until the Kickstarter page closes. In other words, it looks like we're getting Wasteland 2. Wooo!
In typical Kickstarter fashion, backers get different rewards depending on the amount contributed. If you pledge more than $15 then you'll get a digital copy of the game when it's released. For more than $30 you'll get a digital art book and the soundtrack thrown in. If you find a spare $10k down the back of your couch you can donate that for a ticket to a private party with Brian Fargo and co. An in-game shrine will be erected in your honour as well. Four people have already donated more than $10k.
Contributors will get a chance to contribute ideas as well as dollars. "You'll have a voice in how the game goes together. We will have forums up for design discussion and soliciting your ideas for what will make Wasteland 2 rock."
The team are set on making a faithful sequel. "We're going back to the original and building from there," they say. "No first person shooter, we're going top down so you get a tactical feel for the situation. And we're not ditching the party play to turn it into some hack-and-slash bloodfest. It's turn based, tactical, with a storyline that will be deeper and broader."
"We're determined to keep the gritty, grim and satirical writing. We're going to pitch those moral dilemmas at you. You're going to be faced with the consequences of your actions."
If the game gets the funding it needs (and it surely will), the devs will take six months to sketch out the structure of Wasteland 2, with help from fan feedback, before launching into a 12 months of development. Backers will get early access to ongoing builds through a private closed beta on Steam.
