Starr Mazer from Imagos Films on Vimeo.
From a project on a standstill to Tumblr meme to Kickstarter, Starr Mazer is an indie that has taken strange twists and turns, and its story hasn’t even truly begun yet.
If you’re a regular tumblr user, you may have known about Starr Mazer for some time. Last April 2014, this Tumblr post went viral, as animator Catsuka found the Vimeo for the game and took screenshots with the caption ‘Starr Mazer fake video-game trailer animated by Jeremie Perin; Made for Motivational Growth american live-action feature film. ’
As this KillScreenDaily feature explains, the trailer was never fake. The game has been five years in the making from Imagos’ Don Thacker, who himself is a 20 year veteran of the industry. Of course, the film Motivational Growth is also real, with that animated trailer from Perin inserted in it. The story goes that Thacker hadn’t formally worked on the game, but always had it in the back of his head. Motivational Growth was made to help him raise funds for the game, and as a proof of concept of sorts, he inserted it in the film.
The confusion stems from a mixup between Thacker and Perin. While Thacker was busy promoting his film, Perin could not get permission to add it to his portfolio. He eventually did so without waiting for a formal nod, and so Thacker was not able to formally introduce the game as he would have wanted. To be clear, the two are on amicable terms and Perin is helping with the game.
This brings us to now, and the Kickstarter for $ 160,000. Thacker’s design document is a seamless intertwining of point and click adventure and vertical shmup. In between twitch space battles, you’ll be bargaining for upgrades and repairs at the bar, and pushing the story forward with your actions in either segment.
The game won’t veer too deep difficulty or esoteric wise in either genre, but it adds another layer of complexity. Shooting levels and events alike have a procedurally generated feature in it, ensuring heavy replayability as you find out alternate outcomes.
The trailer alone inspired many a creative, but the actual project pitch is a true game changer. Subsequently, the game assembles an impressive group of devs, artists, and musicians You can help fund Starr Mazer and learn more about it here.
