Scorn is a game that’s come up on Kickstarter, in spite of developer Ebb Software’s wishes, to ensure that it gets made. Is it really worth it? Read on to find out.
The game is a nightmarish first person horror adventure set in a dank, dreary, organic, alien world. There may have been a lot of Alien games, but Scorn beats them all in terms of capturing the original film’s Giger-inspired atmosphere.
The game puts the spotlight on exploration and interaction, and although they namedrop the likes of Dark Souls, Metroid Prime, etc, the game seems to pick up more from Myst, and maybe even Gone Home.
While everything about Gone Home seems homey and familiar, however, you will constantly contend with the feeling of being thrown into this open ended world. This isn’t quite an open world; although you can forge your own patch across each region, you have contend with the elaborate mazelike structure of the area. Each area has a distinctive theme, along with puzzles and characters.
There will be gunlike projection weapons, but you will be spending more time picking up items, fiddling with different controls, etc. Ebb is aiming for a full body immersive experience, punctuated by the lack of a real HUD.
As it is now, the game is planned for PC with Oculus Rift support, and PS4, among others, possible target stretch goals down the line.
Now, here’s where it gets really interesting. Ebb Software explained in their own site that they have gone to Kickstarter as a last resort. They do have some investor funding, but they will not be able to build the game as they would want to without additional funds. Development has been very difficult thus far, and they ran into trouble finding a publisher, with even Sony passing them over.
Ebb does not want backers to think of themselves as investors, so subsequently, they have placed limitations on funding options in spite of the need for money. Pledge tiers cap at 200 euros, and most rewards are digital. They also are actively not bringing backers into development, so that they can create the game as envisioned.
For a project this unique, perhaps Ebb’s approach is for the best, because a project this unique deserves to see light of day as originally conceived, at least so we can assess it properly. However, as of now, they have only raised 2,388 euroes of the 200,000 euros goal.
Would you like to see this game made reality? Fund Scorn Episode One here.
