Read Only Memories is a new cyberpunk adventure game available for funding on Kickstarter. Its goal is $62,064 to cover its development and testing phase of the game, which will be matched by Ouya’s Free the Games Fund if met. The creators state that the game will be available for Mac, PC, iOS, Android, and Ouya.
You might be wondering what Read Only Memories (ROM) is. In short, the game is set in a futuristic dystopia not unlike that found in Snatcher, to which the game pays homage. The Kickstarter page even shows an endorsement from Jeff Lupetin, who was the English voice actor for the main character, Gillian Seed. In the audio clip, Seed tells us that he’s moved form Neo-Kobe (a city in Snatcher) to Neo-San Francisco (the city in ROM) in the “hopes of a calmer life for me and my ROM Metal Gear MK-II.” The creators say that the game will focus on current social issues, with a particular focus on queer characters.
Players will become a young journalist trying to make it in Neo-San Francisco. One day, a package arrives in the mail from a close friend, who has since had to leave the country. This package contains a beta version of the latest ROM, which is a device that has replaced personal communication devices.
The creators state that one of the custom tools being made for the game is a Twine to Unity converter, which will allow for typescript changes to be made without messing with the code. This technology will allow writers with no prior programming knowledge to plug text directly into a developing game without the aid of engineers, which should allow for leaner teams and faster development. The ROM team plans to eventually publish this tool in the Unity Store.
“The immense support that this title has received from fans of adventure games is overwhelming,” states Matt Conn, producer of Read Only Memories. “I was really excited by how open-minded the community was in embracing a game featuring queer content. This also goes to validate our belief that diverse and complex characters lead to a more compelling story.”
The team behind MidBoss Games founded the GaymerX convention, a safe space for queer gamers, which was successfully funded through Kickstarter in September 2012. A limited number of GaymerX2 tickets are available as Read Only Memories Kickstarter rewards. Other rewards include unlock codes for the game, game memorabilia including stickers and beanies, an option for the backer to appear as a character in the game, and the ability to have direct input on how certain dialogue trees within the game will operate.
If this interests you at all, consider backing the game here. The campaign has until Thursday Dec 12 at 11:10pm CST to gain the remaining $6,000 or so it needs to be successfully funded.
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