Two guys who helped to found the EVO Championship Series, where highly skilled players compete at games like Super Street Fighter IV and Mortal Kombat, have left their day jobs as software developers behind to make a game of their own. Perhaps surprisingly, the game for which they've opened up a Kickstarter campaign is not a fighting game, but a colourful Minecraft-esque sandbox strategy game called Stonehearth.
The primary focus of the game is on survival and town building. You'll collect resources, build up a place for your little settlers to live, and protect them from harm. That harm can come from a variety of antagonistic creatures, even – if your town becomes large enough to merit its attention – a giant boss monster called a Titan. Luckily, your townsfolk can engage in combat, dealing damage that is counted with little numbers that pop up above the characters' heads, RPG-style. Another RPG element can be found in the jobs your settlers have, which they can level up, e.g. from farmer to brewer, or shepherd to rancher.
While the game looks a little more focused than Minecraft, it has a similar focus on crafting, both in the game and in terms of modding. Stonehearth will apparently ship with the tools to allow players to customise practically everything in the game, including the “modules” of scripted gameplay events that are placed around each procedurally generated map.
Stonehearth is a game that wants to throw together a lot into one package, but the video does give a sense of coherence. The campaign has only just launched, and with 28 days to go has already reached $79,128 of its $120,000 goal. Don't let that put you off making a pledge if you're interested, however; stretch goals will bring cooperative multiplayer and PvP to the game too.
