[Campaign Review] Earthlock: Festival of Magic

Earthlock: Festival of Magic by Snowcastle Games is a turn based RPG game with a traditional battle system, but has unique added mechanics as well.

Basic Information

Players: 1
Ages: 12+
Time: Varies
Estimated Delivery: March 2015
Location: Oslo, Norway

Game overview

Forum: Earthlock

Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a turn based RPG game featuring a robust story line, no-nonsense turn based combat, and the unique mechanics of crafting and harvesting. The game will be available for PC/Mac/Linux*, the Wii U, Xbox One, and PS4. Console support will probably arrive roughly 3 months after desktop support. The crafting and harvesting feature, which makes

The game is pretty unique in comparison to most tactical RPGs and this mechanic is not all that dissimilar to the mechanic seen on Toby’s Island. It often turns out that when something is needed in the world, it very quickly is created nearly simultaneously by multiple people, so we could be seeing a small revolution in these games.

Story

“Long ago, a cataclysmic event struck the magical world of Umbra. Suddenly and mysteriously the planet stopped spinning. Volcanoes awoke and oceans moved. Kingdoms and civilizations were buried or drowned. Soon, the scourging sun took hold of one side of the world, while dark winter seized the other. Today the glory and might of the old world is buried and the only habitable region can be found in between.”

“The evidence of Umbra’s past lies scattered about as ruins, treasures and artifacts. In the new world, rebuilt but far from as advanced as the old one, archaeologists and scavengers supply the rich and powerful with ancient technology and magical artifacts exhumed from ice, sea and sand. It is a world divided by those who dabble in magic and those who tinker with technology.”

Gameplay

“You start off as Amon, an audacious scavenger from a small desert town, who gets embroiled in a treacherous conflict between the mighty Suvian Empire and those who want to bring Suvia down. Your quest for peace will take you to the corners of the world to unlock the secrets of Umbra’s mysterious, catastrophic past. Along the way you’ll explore oceans, vast deserts and snow-buried lands, rebuild your island base, gather seeds to sow and harvest ammo, get more allies to join your quest, crack puzzles and overcome fierce monsters.”

Battle System

“The battle system goes back to the roots of the genre with its no-nonsense turn based combat, but there are several refreshing twists to the formula. One is the pairing system. Instead of separate characters, your party is made up of pairs where each pair is composed of a warrior and a protector.”

Crafting & Harvesting

“One of the unique aspects of Earthlock™ is Plumpet Island, which functions as your very own home village. Here you can perform key activities like harvesting consumables and managing your character progression. Players will be able to check in on their harvest using portals found scattered across the world of Umbra. While your village starts off pretty minimalistic you will get new shops and items throughout the game which adds new mechanics like potion brewing, barnacle care and weapon upgrades.”

Kickstarter Specifics

Goal: $150,000
Pledge Levels: 17 levels ranging from $1 to $8,000
End Date: Fri, Apr 11 2014 7:02 PM EST

Chances of success

$150,000 is certainly not unreasonable for a large scale software project and Earthlock received a lot of support in its first two days. There are tiers for custom backer designed content, so Snowcastle Games did well with that.

It might have been nice to add a tier to design a main character, but it’s definitely not a necessity to ensure the project succeeds. In addition, beta access is given for every level for which the game is made available. This means lots of beta testing before the final release. There’s also a tier for alpha access if you want to get access to the game as early as possible.