Project Resurgence Funded, First Stretch Goal Reached

Since the last time we checked, the crowdfunding campaign for Project Resurgence got funded on Kickstarter and even hit the first of its stretch goals, which will unlock a series of accessibility features for the title. This is good news for both the developers and anyone who thought the project looked promising, obviously, but I have to admit that I'm very puzzled by the developers' decision to have basic difficulty settings and custom keybindings as part of a stretch goal:

Since we've blown past the base goal, that means it's stretch goal time! Now any of you frequent backers will know that stretch goals often lead to scope creep, which is the death knell of many a Kickstarter game. We are well aware of this issue (we've been burned before too), and that's why we're only considering stretch goals that easily complement and extend the foundation we've already been planning on with our base goal. That means nothing crazy, that would jeopardize us being able to deliver the game in the timeframe we promised. For instance many of you asked about multiplayer and console/mobile release, and sorry to say we believe those are just too far beyond the scope of what we can deliver with this first episode. But, that's not to say we couldn't make it happen with a later episode, and we're structuring the code to allow for the possible integration of those things in the future.

As you may have noticed, we already posted our first stretch goal of Accessibility Features at the very top of the campaign page. We felt these features were particularly important, because we want to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to fully enjoy our game. We've determined the costs of this package of features just like any of our other features: break it down into specific tasks, estimate the work time across all disciplines, add a safety buffer, and multiply by hourly wage. We want you you be confident in that this is our best guess of the cost to accomplish these features, not just some arbitrary number out of a hat.

...

Lv1: Accessibility includes the following features:
  • Multiple Difficulty Settings - Change between easy, normal, and hard difficulty setting at any time. The base goal included a standard challenge level, with a forgiving but steadily increasing difficulty. This feature grants more control, for those who just want to enjoy the story or who crave even more of a challenge.
  • Custom Key-Bindings - Completely remap all the keyboard and mouse inputs to your preference. This feature is also especially important for players whose physical limitations prevent them from using the standard inputs.
  • Color-Blind Mode - Ensure all UI and color-coding are still easily usable for all types of color-blindness. If we can't accommodate that in the standard UI, we'll add a toggleable color-blind mode.
  • VO Barks - Companions and NPCs have a variety of quick voice-over lines for combat/exploration. This feature adds another element of audio feedback, to help you understand the current game situation.
  • Comprehensive SFX - Ensure all interactions have audio feedback. This feature is especially important for people with limited vision.
  • Adjustable UI, Text, and Font - Adjust the size and location of most user interface elements, as well as the size, color contrast, and font of all text. This feature is especially important for people with limited vision.
  • God Mode - Make your party invincible so you never get a gameover. This feature removes virtually all challenge, so anyone can complete the game. To be fair, it also locks any achievement progression.


With 14 hours to go for the project's crowdfunding campaign, I wouldn't be surprised to see the title hit at least another stretch goal milestone.