Kickstarter crowd-funding campaigns can be used for all stages of a project, from trying to get one off the ground to helping a team realise their goals after years of development. Canadian indie developer Martov Co. and its virtual reality (VR) project Chiaro and the Elixir of Life is very much the latter, having worked on the title for over two years and in the final stages of production.
Chiaro and the Elixir of Life is a VR adventure for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift inspired by the aesthetics of Studio Ghibli and the gameplay of Zelda. Describing the gameplay on its Kickstarter page, Martov Co. explains: “Throughout the course of the several-hour-long adventure, players build machines and bring them to life, solve deeply engaging puzzles, form an unbreakable bond with a steam-powered penguin, and work their way through an epic, character-driven story that will decide the fate of human and machine life in Neverain.”
In the magical realm of Neverain players take on the role of a young engineer called Chiaro, determined to unearth the long-lost secrets of the Alchemists, the mysterious and powerful creators of the fabled Alive Machines. Helped by a steam-powered penguin sidekick named Boka player need to decipher the puzzles left behind by the Alchemists to unlock the enigma at the heart of Neverain — the Fountain of Elixir.
The team has exhibited Chiaro and the Elixir of Life at game festivals worldwide, including MIGS, Canadian Gaming Expo, Fantastic Arcade and DreamHack Montreal. In December 2017, they also received the NVIDIA Edge Program Award from NVIDIA and Unreal Engine. Currently they estimate that the project has around three more months of work (fixing bugs, polishing assets, play testing), with an expected launch window being July 2018.
The studio hopes to raise $10,000 CAD by 3rd July, having already achieved $3,390 at time of writing. Funding tiers start from $8 but to grab a copy of the videogame you’ll need to pledge $26 or more. The modest tiers end at $150, gaining backers beta access, a t-shirt, digital art book, and plenty more. There is a $5,000 tier for those with deep pockets, gaining access to the launch party, dinner with the team and executive producer status.
As the campaign continues VRFocus will keep you updated on the latest Chiaro and the Elixir of Life news.