After agonising for months about what project to start for his next Kickstarter campaign, American McGee had a difficult decision to make. Does he continue to make adventures for his demented Alice in Wonderland series or take a different path and try something new? Well, the team at Spicy Horse chose option B and started work on a new creation titled OZombie.
OZombie is a twisted rendition of L Frank Baum’s Oz franchise and will be an action-adventure game set in a creepy alternative version of the world. A new look Dorothy, along with other favourites the Tin Woodsman and Lion, must fight through this evil land to overthrow the demented King Scarecrow and his legion of zombie followers. No disrespect to the old Disney classic but this new version sounds like something I’d actually want to sit through on Christmas day – and adding zombies to the mix means you’re onto a winner as far as I’m concerned.
One of the main reasons why I’ve backed this project is it’s whole look, which it grabbed me straight away. The shots that have been released on the Kickstarter page hooked me with their bright colours, interesting settings and even a glimpse at some of the creatures you’ll encounter. My favourite looking character has to be Dorothy as she looks so far removed from the version we all know; with her top hat, emerald glasses and black spurred boots she looks pretty dangerous if you ask me. If the finished release looks anything like these pictures then we’re all in for a visual treat.
Dorothy doesn’t look like the kind of girl you’d want to mess with.
American Mcgee noted on his already popular Kickstarter page: “The game’s themes and characters are inspired by Baum’s deeply imaginative Oz books (all 14 of them) then filtered through the story and art treatment you’ve seen applied to our other games like Alice: Madness Returns and Akaneiro: Demon Hunters.” It seems to me that Ozombie will look and feel like these other titles we know and love, while maintaining a unique edge to it.
Another part of the campaign that caught my eye were the stretch goals: there are three in total but they won’t unlock in the usual way. Instead of reaching set funding targets, they’ll be achieved by getting a determined number of backers. The first goal is to open a little mystery silver box and will be hit after 6,000 backers have jumped on board; I hope they reach this because I really want to know what the contents will bring to the title. The next will be reached at 11,000 backers and this will be an original soundtrack made by Grammy Award winning producer Chris Vrenna. The last goal is yet to be confirmed but if the other two are anything to go by, then I’m sure it will be something special.
OZombie’s project will end on Monday, 05 August 2013 and needs a whopping $950,000 to succeed. But something would have to go seriously wrong for Mcgee not to get the money; Spicy Horse has a proven track-record of making great games, and have achieved a strong start to the campaign already with over $115,000 pledged with thirty-five days still left on the clock. Head on over to Kickstarter to back this worthy project.
