Sunday, December 23, 2012

KICKSTARTER PROJECT: BOX-O-ZOMBIES: THE GAME



Rebuild your own city after the zombie apocalypse and defend it from the roaming hordes of undead. Unlock new content with zombie toys!
    Welcome to Zivilization.  Welcome to your world after the rise of the zombie and the fall of man.  Box-O-Zombies The Game brings the highly detailed figures of the Box-O-Zombies toys to life in an equally detailed world of your creation. 
    At its core Box-O-Zombies (BoZ) is the marriage of two of our favorite genres of games: Civilization Building and Tower Defense.
    We've also included the best part of being a grown up who never actually grew up: Collectible Figures.
    BoZ follows the story of a man and his dog on their journey to discover who they are, what happened to the world around them, and how to fix it.  Did we mention the dog talks?
    Waking up in a dense forest with no knowledge of who you are or how you got there you'll guide our weary survivor through the forest and the remains of society.  Along the way you'll meet other survivors with skills and information that you lack.  Together you'll rebuild a slice of civilization of your choosing.
    We don't want to give everything away but what we can tell you is that there is a box, there are zombies, and they are somehow connected to our memory challenged traveler.
    Memory addled traveler aside, you probably want to know what you'll actually be doing in the game.  We've taken many of the mechanics we love from both our source genres and added a few new mechanics of our own.
    Build Your Zivilization
    Ask someone who loves zombies what they would do if they were in control after a zombie outbreak and you will probably get more of an answer than you bargained for.  Well now you have the tools to prove whether or not you can build a functioning community after the world as we know it ends.
    • Manage your time wisely while making sure to collect the resources you need.
    • Plan for the future, you never know when the next zombie horde will come knocking.
    • Upgrade your structures, don’t lose the future because you’re stuck in the past.
    • Choose the right people: when resources are scarce, not everyone is worth saving.
    Defend Your Zivilization
    What good is building a town in the middle of a zombie wasteland if you don't get to defend it?  We know that half the fun of zombie survival talk is coming up with battle plans to defend your little slice of humanity.  We looked at a lot of world building games and we came to the conclusion that for the most part they're missing one thing: Risk.  Building a town where you never have to worry about your hard work being undone is fine and dandy, but where is the challenge in that?
    • Gain control of newly discovered areas by cleaning out the zombie swarms.
    • Defend against zombie herds moving through the desolate wasteland.
    • You never know when the next zombie attack might happen.  Maybe while your building your town, maybe while you're waiting in line at the movies.  Either way you've got to plan quick and execute properly if you want your town to see another day.
    Collectibles with a Purpose
    Collectibles are great and video games are great.  Why not bring them together?  Using some really cool NFC technology, we're bringing toys and video games together to make all those little trinkets that clutter your cubicle come to life in a way that might just justify their proximity to your work space.
    • Unlock exclusive in game content (Buildings, zombies, bonus resources, in game currency, and more!).
    • Real world zombie survival drop points help you plan for the real Zombie Apocalypse.
    Social Gaming with Purpose
    What fun is collecting figures without being able to show them off?  What good is posting an achievement to Facebook or tweeting out a new high score when all you're doing is advertising someone else's game for free?  We wanted to address both those issues with the online aspects of our game.
    • View your friend's city, swap notes, share stories, brag about who’s city is better all while earning rewards!
    • Even zombies and survivors need a break. Show your collectibles to your friends and with the world in the Z-Lounge where no one fights but everyone is stuck listening to bad lounge music.
    • Earn rewards both in and out of the game just for sharing your progress with the world.
    So what makes us qualified to bring you this experience?  Years of planning for the undead battle before us, and a few years of tech experience to boot.
    Kent Mages and Tim Lyons (Lead Designers) met as young college students while studying game design at Columbia College in Chicago.  While Kent went on to work in mobile payments and Tim went on to work in improv and film, both remained passionate about games and patiently waited for the right time to make their dream game.
    While working on their joint entrepreneurial endeavors Tim and Kent would take breaks from building their business and filming their game centric web show, by dreaming of a game of their own.  Little did they know that in a few months time, the game ideas they were toying with would find the core they were missing, BoZ.
    Shawn Recinto (Executive Producer) spent the early part of his career trying to tell the world that mobile gaming was coming.  But much like the first person to yell zombie, he was too smart too soon and no one seemed to want to listen.  While he remained a gamer, his career path kept him in computers but took him away from gaming.
    Shawn's inspiration for BoZ came from his kids and his desire to see them have a more realistic depiction of zombies for their play time antics.  But he still wanted to make games and due to the the aligning of the moon and the sun, or maybe just the fact that he helped Tim and Kent move supplies at a trade show, they all came together to bring their collective love of games and zombies to life.
    They quickly got to work recruiting the best team they could to glue their game ideas and zombie figures together.  They brought on Eight Bit Studios as their partners for their senior level talent, years of mobile application development, and love of gaming.
    Maybe it was fate, maybe it was the fact that Kent's father designed the damn thing, but they also partnered with an NFC technology company looking to give a fun new purpose to their invention.  By combining NFC chipped zombies and NFC readers, they finally had a way to bring Shawn's creation to digital life.
    Since you're helping us bring more to the game, we thought it would be great if you got something back too.  Take a look at the numerous ways you can support our game and the ways we want to thank you for that support.
    JUST GET ME IN THE GAME ALREADY! Pledge $1 or more:
    For just a buck we'll include you in the credits AND we'll use your name as one of the random names generated for survivors! (With your permission of course).  Every pledge will include this.
    JUST A FLESH WOUND. Pledge $5 or more:
    Get your hands on a slick background for your iOS device and an MP3 of the main theme music from the game!  
    A VERY ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS. Pledge $10 or more:
    YOU GET "JUST A FLESH WOUND" + What better way to spread the Christmas spirit than with your very own Zombie Santa. Enjoy a digital copy of the game and a fully interactive Zombie Santa, complete with in game content and Christmas goodies! Whether you've been naughty or nice, this is the perfect way to keep a piece of Christmas undead all year long.
    DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED? Pledge $25 or more:  YOU GET "FLESH WOUND", "A VERY ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS" + A digital copy of the game as well your very own zombie thumb drive. Too bad this guy lost his thumb because it contains the full game soundtrack, concept art, and more.  
    WHAT'S IN THE BOX? Pledge $50 or more:  YOU GET "JUST A FLESH WOUND", "A VERY ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS", "DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED?" + Get your very own copy of the Box-O-Zombies game complete with NFC reader, NFC enabled figures, and a download code for the full version of the game.  
    AMONG THE LIVING. Pledge $100 or more:  YOU GET "JUST A FLESH WOUND", "A VERY ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS", "DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED?", "WHAT'S IN THE BOX?" + A highly detailed map of the world of Box-O-Zombies in all its 8-bit glory. We'll even set you up with a sweet T-shirt to wear around town.  
    SURVIVOR.  Pledge $1,000 or more: 
    YOU GET "JUST A FLESH WOUND", "A VERY ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS", "DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED?", "WHAT'S IN THE BOX?", "AMONG THE LIVING" + Want to be a part of the project? We'll write you into the game complete with character bio and in game sprite designed around you!  
    ONE OF THEM.  Pledge $5,000 or more:
    YOU GET "JUST A FLESH WOUND", "A VERY ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS", "DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED?", "WHAT'S IN THE BOX?", "AMONG THE LIVING" + Ok, so maybe just being in the game isn't enough for you either. Maybe you're looking for something a little more substantial. Put yourself in the game and turn yourself into a toy! We'll create specific in game content around you and your zombie likeness. Show off your very own collectible based on your zombified remains. You wont be alone either, you'll get a kickstarter pack of characters including everyone else who got turned into one of them.  
    ONE OF US.  Pledge $10,000 or more:
    YOU GET "JUST A FLESH WOUND", "A VERY ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS", "DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED?", "WHAT'S IN THE BOX?", "AMONG THE LIVING" + Dead or alive, the choice is yours. We'll make your toy and in game content a part of the solution or a part of the problem. And what better way to see it all come together than at the Box-O-Zombies premier! We'll fly you and a guest out to Chicago to join us all weekend at C2E2 (April 26-28, 2013) where we'll be debuting our game and enjoying all things zombie. If you really want to get to know the dev team, join us at our celebration Friday the 26th. Some restrictions apply (must be in the continental united states, must be 18 or older. Includes air fair and accommodations for 4 days and 3 nights).
    While we'll be posting frequent updates here and at our website during and after our kickstart, we wanted to show you some of the early concept art of the game as well as some of the early prototype in-game assets.
    Zombie Santa Concepts:
    In Game Zombie Santa
    In Game Zombie Santa
    Zombie Santa Figure
    Zombie Santa Figure
    Zombie Santa Concept
    Zombie Santa Concept
    Concept Art:
    Art Assets:
    Lookout Tower, Research Lab, Hunting Tent
    Lookout Tower, Research Lab, Hunting Tent
    Farming
    Farming
    Medical Tent Stages
    Medical Tent Stages
    Character Sprites
    Character Sprites
    Current Zombie Figures:
    Lunch Lady Zombie Figure
    Lunch Lady Zombie Figure
    Principal Zombie Figure
    Principal Zombie Figure
    School Girl Zombie Figure
    School Girl Zombie Figure
    First Draft Concept Art for Zombie Santa Character/Figure
    First Draft Concept Art for Zombie Santa Character/Figure
    Audio:
    Zombie Santa Atmosphere
    Campsite Atmosphere
    City Atmosphere
    Got questions?  We've got answers.  Well we think we've got answers to the questions you might still have.
    How much will BoZ The Game cost?
    For those of you who won't be getting a copy with your pledge, the target retail cost will be somewhere between 29.99 and 39.99 USD.
    What comes with the retail game?
    The retail package for BoZ will include 6 collectible figures, your own customizable NFC reader, a download code for the iOS game, and batteries to power the NFC reader.
    iOS game?  Why not android?
    While there are numerous reasons, the big ones for us are mainly tied to marketing and technology hurdles.
    Ok fine, what about in the future?
    We'd love to release our game for the android, PC, and Mac platforms in the future.  Depending on how funded we become, we'll likely include that as a stretch goal.
    Do I have to buy the retail package to play the game?
    One of the things we wanted to avoid from the beginning was a dependance on the real world toys to enjoy the game and vice versa.  While we can't promise you'll be able to unlock all the content of the game without the toys, we can promise that you will have a complete game experience without the toys.  You'll also have the option to buy much of the unlockable content via in app purchases.
    How much will the game cost by itself?
    We don't want to promise what the game will cost but we can promise it will not go over 6.99 USD.  But that also means it may be free.
    Why does getting a figure require such a large pledge?
    Aside from the cost of writing material and having artists come up with a 3D model and in game art, there is large cost to build the mold required to mass produce a figure.  Each mold has to stand up to the wear and tear of the manufacturing process.
    What is NFC?
    NFC stands for near field communication, more info can be found at wikipedia.
    What happens if I lose a zombie figure?
    All the content you've unlocked via your figures will remain unlocked.  The in game effects of keeping the toy on the NFC reader will require that a replacement figure be obtained.  Since we actually tie a collectible number from every toy to your account, we hope to be able to replace your collectibles at a reduced price. (Subject to availability)
    You're telling me these suckers are numbered?
    That's right! Every BoZ figure has its own unique serial number.  This makes every figure unique and some of the rarer ones even more collectible.
    My question wasn't answered here, can I contact you?
    Absolutely.  We welcome input.  We think we have great ideas but we're not just making this game for us.  We take all gameplay, design, and suggestions for figures seriously and welcome you to get a hold of us here or at the boxozombies.com website.

    RISKS AND CHALLENGES

    What if we don't have all the content we want by April and our C2E2 debut?

    C2E2 is a big deal for all of us involved in BoZ. Not only because we love comics and conventions, but as die hard Chicagoans we want to bring a little home grown gaming flair to this growing celebration of geekery. While we shall endeavor to the very last days leading up to the convention to pump out finished content, there is always the chance we wont complete everything we want before the end of April is upon us. But all that really means to you the gamer is that some of the later stage content we've designed may be dolled out in free installments. We've got a lot of content in our tanks so even if only a quarter of what we want makes it into the game it will keep you busy till the next act is released.
    What if you don't have all the custom characters done by July?
    A lot of this depends on how generous you zombie lovers are. If we get 100 people pledging enough to become their very own figure complete with content we'll likely have a problem. Many would say that would be a good problem to have, too much business. But as gamers and collectors of collectibles we know you want your goods and you want them ASAP. What we can promise is that once we have the final numbers in place we'll update everyone with when they can expect their figures and content. The first batch will be released in July and we'll furiously work to get the rest out in a very timely manor. We're hoping weeks at best, months at worst but all figures will be taken care of on a first come first served basis.
    What if you run into manufacturing constraints on available NFC tags and readers?
    This is a possibility as we're not a big company and while our technology partners may be bigger than us, nothing can stop a global shortage of parts when some of the bigger companies want to buy up the lions share of available chips. All we can do is rely on the years of experience that members of our team have had in the tech manufacturing business. We're confident that any constraints would only be temporary and we'll compensate with some fun DLC to tide you over.
    What if zombies begin to take over the Earth?
    We've actually put a lot of thought into this. While we'd love to keep working on the game and making an amazing experience for all of you, we think our years of planning would be better put to use by saving the world. So while we can't promise to save everyone, or anyone for that matter, we'll try to save our backers first.

    For more info, or to make a pledge, click here!


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