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‘Cult County’ Dev Discussing Their Options Following Failed Kickstarter
The crowdfunding campaign for the survival horror game Cult County ended today drastically short of its $580,000 goal. As promising as the game looks, I can’t say I’m too surprised.
Even the horror genre’s biggest crowdfunding success stories have fallen well short of Cult County’s goal, including Dead State ($332k) and Among the Sleep ($248k). I don’t think I’ve seen a horror game raise even $350k,- and that includes Shadow of the Eternals — if you don’t count their dual campaign strategy – which had significant attention (not to mention controversy) surrounding it.
I do hope Renegade Kid continues work on the game, because it has definite potential. If a recent tweet from Jools Watsham, studio co-founder and Cult County lead, is any indication, it sounds like they’re considering reworking the campaign for another go.
People tell us we need to reduce the # of platforms and budget for Cult County. Only way to reduce budget is to only make episode 1.
— Jools Watsham (@JoolsWatsham) May 2, 2014
I’d suggest returning to Kickstarter with a playable build of the game and distributing that to YouTubers and the press. It worked for Stasis, Grave, and DreadOut, among others. A trailer or guided walkthrough will never be as effective in selling potential donors on your game as their being able to play it themselves or watch someone they respect or are familiar with play it.
Just my two cents.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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