Austin-based White Whale Games has announced their first game for iOS, God of Blades. While the game is in an early state at this point, the developers have launched a Kickstarter page to help fund continued development of the game. The page has already met its goal, though donations are still accepted, with rewards such as original artwork for those who donate funds. The game itself will be a 2.5D action-platformer, featuring weapon-based combat.
The studio claims to be drawing inspiration from 70's fantasy themes that inspired the sword-and-sorcery (not Sworcery) stories and artwork that also had an influence on the burgeoning rock and metal of that era (which still has an influence on bands like The Sword to this day). The concept artwork shows off this influence rather clearly, as if they were plucked straight out of the 1970's, either by way of time travel or wizard's spell to bring them to the present. Lost artwork and books are also part of the story, as fictional fantasy novels will play a part in the game's world-building and internal fiction. There are also some ambiguous details on the use of geolocation to tie users in to the experience, although this should become more clear as the game enters further into development.
White Whale Games is comprised of 3 primary employees, working with outside programmers and musicians to help work on the game. Of particular note is the studio's Creative Director, Jason Rosenstock. He most recently worked on Star Wars: The Old Republic for BioWare, and some of his work designing planets in that game will be seen when the game releases.
God of Blades is still a long way out, as work continues on the gameplay and artwork to make it look as close to their vision as possible. We'll have more on this title as it nears its completion, as White Whale offers up a general release date of pre-Summer 2012. Want to check out a very, very early taste of what the game has to offer?
Try this "First stage preview build" of an "interactive environment" in the Unity Web Player.
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