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[Skygoblin]

Breaking news! The kickstarter goal has been reached!







We announced our first stretch goal today in a fancy video update.



At 80%, the kickstarter for TJD has scored some pretty awesome coverage so far, with the most recent ones being:

Kotaku - Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Eurogamer

Hey guys!
Theo here, one of three guys at Swedish indie studio SkyGoblin.

Remember The Journey Down? The afro-noir point & click adventure game hailed for so successfully ripping off Grim Fandango and Monkey Island? Well, the third and final chapter is in the making and coming along beautifully! We'll be launching a kickstarter in october to help wrap up funding for the last leg of development and I figured I'd be a complete dolt if I didn't make a thread about that here. So, from now on, expect project updates right here!

As you can probably tell, the setting has shifted somewhat. It's no longer film noir, but rather an eighties/nineties action move type mood. And we're LOVING working with it.  

If anyone's curious, here's a new interview I did at gamescom about our current state:

(youtube)

The TJD3 soundtrack is being produced by Jamie Salisburry, the insanely talented guy who took over after my good friend Simon passed. The soundtrack too, features a substantially different mood than the previous games, but don't worry, there will be saxophone. There will always be saxophone in TJD!

And here's a sneak peek at some of the new and old characters featured in TJD3:

 

Expect more shiny pics as we progress in working with our kickstarter campaign materal! And please don't be shy with your feedback.

Thanks for taking a peek!

[Islet Sound]

This looks great! I loved the first two chapters, really looking forward to this!

[Mr Underhill]

One of the best point 'n clicks of recent years - can't WAIT to get my hands on part 3!

[Skygoblin]

Here's a sneak peek from the kickstarter video we're working on.



Islet Sound: Thanks! If you liked the first two, I'm confident you'll like number Three! 

Mr Underhill: Thanks dude! You know I'm keeping an eye on Gibbous too, right? 

And here's a pic from yesterday's development. We had to move out of our office last week, and decided that we'll do some traditional skygoblin-roaming for a while and work from cafés and random institutions for a while to save some money. To our great joy, the place we worked from yesterday had a refrigerator so we could chill our beer. :D

[Skygoblin]

We've been spending the past few weeks working on the pitch video, and in doing so, I've been working on a new street scene from TJD3 that will feature briefly in the video. Here's a dirty work in progress shot from the Lightwave viewport. :D

[EmilMeiton]

Absolutely loved the two earlier installments so I'm following this thread!

Would love to see more "behind the scenes" from development 

[Skygoblin]

Thanks Telephant! I really appreciate it! I'll try to squeeze in more behind-the-scenes stuff!

So, I've put some more work into the downtown scene! It's not ready but certainly getting there. Just wait until you get to see this animated! (It will be in the kickstarter pitch video!) Click for larger version! (And do let me know if it's too dark, or something. difficult knowing, I've only seen it on my own monitor!) Thanks.



The kickstarter will launch on October 1st and we're currently trying to get people to spread the word via thunderclap. If you wanna donate a tweet or fb share there, I'd be incredibly grateful. It's really painless and there's no signup required. Seeing we have virtually no money for getting exposure we're really dependent on friends and fans to help us reach out with the campaign, thunderclap is great for that!

Huge thanks for checking this out!

t

[Skygoblin]

Here's a sketch of the TJD3 title screen. :D



Kickstarter launches in 8 days! Holy smokes!

[Skygoblin]

Holy smokes! 

[de11ed]

Oh YES! I cannot express my love for episode 1 enough! I have yet to play the second episode, partly because I wanted to wait for the third episode and partly out of poor time management.

Anyways, you guys rock and this is a true gem in indie gaming!

[Skygoblin]

de11ed: I appreciate it, man. Means a lot! :D

Breaking news! The kickstarter has launched!

[Fenrir]

Good luck guys!

[kverkagambo]

Hey guys, I really liked the first episodes!

[Skygoblin]

Thanks, guys! The campaign is moving along real nicely. :D

I didn't really know what to expect, but I certainly didn't think it would take off so fast. 

[Skygoblin]

Over halfway there in only a matter of days! 

[Skygoblin]

We've made our first kickstarter update, please check it out!

The game is going strong at 67% funded, with 25 days to go. I'm starting to feel pretty confindent that we might actually be able to pull this off! Hence the dance. 

Anything you can do to help spread the word is immensely appreciated. If you're already a backer (I love you!) please take a moment to visit the comments section and drop by and say hi.

Thanks!

[Greipur]

Hey Theo. As good as the Kickstarter is doing I think your silliness is well deserved.


I've a question regarding currency and backers on Kickstarter. Is it a hindrance that you have to display the funding numbers in SEK rather than dollar or some other currency that the world over recognises? Do you get questions or comments about that? RPS described it as a "threatingly large number". I myself worry about this next time we make a crowdfunding campaign (last time was Indiegogo) since we've to display it in SEK as well.

[Skygoblin]

Greipur: Hah, I think so too!

The SEK thing does seem to confuse some people. What's most confusing though is the fact that if you're in the US, you get an automatic USD conversion as well, which makes it kinda difficult for us, because we can't see that conversion and can't know exactly what we are showing our potential backers. Same goes for CAN, I believe.

[Greipur]

The SEK thing does seem to confuse some people.

I see, the same thing happened with the Swedish Numenera film project. Monte Cook and inXile pooled in their fanbases to the project but I saw some people reacting negatively due to the SEK thing alone, other than that the campaign was very international (and professional imo). It almost didn't achieve its goal. There are probably many reasons, but I believe that price is one of the first deciding factors for a backer, which is understandable.

I think it's a bit embarassing for an international site to not have a dynamic currency conversion akin to eBay. A higher number feels harder to achieve at a glance imo. I might bemoan the current state for us Swedes but we're pretty privileged after all. If Kickstarter aims to open up their platform to more countries the problem can only get worse due to higher inflation rates.

What's most confusing though is the fact that if you're in the US, you get an automatic USD conversion as well, which makes it kinda difficult for us, because we can't see that conversion and can't know exactly what we are showing our potential backers. Same goes for CAN, I believe.

If I recall correctly Kickstarter displays the currency in your local equivalent at checkout? But they only display your backer level and not the funding goal or reward tiers. That's what I remember as a backer at least (they display it in SEK for me).


Here's two links which you might find interesting (I did!).

http://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-116-the-magic-of-automatic-currency-conversion/
http://www.hemispheregames.com/2015/02/10/u-s-d-u-s-d-a-kickstarter-request/

[Cranktrain]

The character designs are so good, I'm very glad the kickstarter is on track to succeed. Well done!