The Floating World - Kickstarter Adventure Game by GWJ's Vector

GWJ's own Cory McQuhae, aka Vector, has launched a Kickstarter for a new adventure game called The Floating World. Available for Mac and PC, The Floating World will be released for Mac and PC in 2015. It features an art style based on classic Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printing and uses unique language-based puzzles to recreate the feeling of being a non-Japanese speaker in the Edo Period of Japanese history.

Early background and character art:

IMAGE(https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/818/569/d886f6c54147d413080eddfa175a1cfc_large.jpg)

IMAGE(https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/795/733/04bcd8fbb226f794855e337f09d23e7a_large.jpg)

And an early animation test:

The Floating World is seeking $5,000 with 29 days to go. Back it now!

Edit: If you're curious about Vector's previous work, you can get his other game Final Warrior Quest on Desura.

Link?

I will support Cory until the end of time!

I added a link to the OP, but here it is again: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1032352981/the-floating-world-0

Boop, backed!

Man, I don't know if I can back this because Cory isn't doing the art. He's my favorite artist.

garion333 wrote:

Man, I don't know if I can back this because Cory isn't doing the art. He's my favorite artist.

I may create a tier where their is a "Cory Art" setting.

Thanks for the support! I'm more than happy to answer any questions about anything.

Will back when I get home! Are you using AGS/GameMaker or a home grown engine?

shoptroll wrote:

Will back when I get home! Are you using AGS/GameMaker or a home grown engine?

We've been running tests to see if Unity2D will work for us. Early results have been positive.

Tagging this thread! Good luck, Cory!

From the Interesting Kickstarter thread:

shoptroll wrote:
Eleima wrote:
Vector wrote:

It's an adventure game based around the idea that the main character only speaks one language (English) while all of the NPCs speak a different language (Japanese). It's set in Edo period Japan and we're emulating the ukiyo-e art style.

SOLD!!! You're touching on several things I love, namely ukiyo-e art and the "lost in translation" feeling (hits close to home). Hope you reach your goal.

You need to ask our benevolent overlords to mention it on the conference call.
Edit: And you should probably mention it in this thread too. :D

Be sure to drop a line to kickstartventures. It's a blog specializing in coverage for Kickstarted Adventure games. Also hit Adventure Gamers too.

I've dropped a line to Kickstartventures. Looking at Adventure Gamers now.

Backed!

Yup, backed as well--looking forward to seeing the progress on this one

Woo!

Totally tagging the thread. Pledge is in, and I'm going for the tier with the soundtrack. Good luck!!!

Backed! Looks pretty good.

Looks really good.

You may want to see if you can redo the audio for the pitch video; I find that personally, amateur (as in, production value, not content) audio is one of the big things that can throw off my enthusiasm for a kickstarter.

Chumpy_McChump wrote:

Looks really good.

You may want to see if you can redo the audio for the pitch video; I find that personally, amateur (as in, production value, not content) audio is one of the big things that can throw off my enthusiasm for a kickstarter.

It bugs me to and is on my list. The actual game has professionally produced music and sound effects.

Oh, wow, this looks great!

But will I know Japanese when I'm done?

Rezzy wrote:

But will I know Japanese when I'm done?

I make no guarantees.

"Come along for the ride. Have some fun and you just might learn a thing or two."

tagging, this might be my first kickstarter pledge.

Another idea for getting the word out: talk to the guys who did the "Ukiyo-e heroes" prints on Kickstarter to see if they'd be willing to link their backers to the project.

shoptroll wrote:

Another idea for getting the word out: talk to the guys who did the "Ukiyo-e heroes" prints on Kickstarter to see if they'd be willing to link their backers to the project.

I was originally going to pitch The Floating World to Jed Henry but was given my team before I got a chance. He's also ran a kickstarter for a ukiyo-e fighting games called Edo Superstar. While working on this I completely forgot about him. Thanks for reminding me, I'm going to send him an email today.

Backed! I hope it does well for you, Vector!

This looks awesome Vector -will definitely back on payday this upcoming Friday. Would you be looking for project volunteers or beta testers? My second major in college was international studies with a focus on Japan. Granted I focused a lot on modern Japan but took a number of classes focusing on the Edo period.

jdzappa wrote:

This looks awesome Vector -will definitely back on payday this upcoming Friday. Would you be looking for project volunteers or beta testers? My second major in college was international studies with a focus on Japan. Granted I focused a lot on modern Japan but took a number of classes focusing on the Edo period.

I actually might come to you when we start production. I also studied a lot of Japanese history in University and it'll be nice to be able to bounce ideasoff of someone. I have the first draft for Act 1 written and Acts 2 & 3 specced out.

Backed and subscribed; love the art style and a language related theme and historical background are both great selling points for me. Good luck, Vector!

Everyone that contributed got this update but I figured I'd post it here as well. We've added another video and this one is an early look at how we'll be handling the in-game menu system.

It's very early and there will be a lot of changes but that's the basic look of what we want to accomplish. The key goal is to not obscure the centre of the player's screen and not take them out of the world.

I've also done a Greenlight Concept page. I'd like to push the game to Greenlight proper but we're still working on the prototype and Greenlight requires some form of a completed prototype in order to formally submit it to the community.

Yay, first update!!

Yay, momentum!