Quantcast
Connect with us

News

‘Caffeine’ Returns With Third Crowdfunding Attempt

Published

on

If there’s one thing I can say about Australian indie developer Dylan Browne, the one-man team behind the sci-fi horror game Caffeine, is that he does not give up easily. Back in May, Browne launched an Indiegogo campaign, which only managed to raise about $3,200 of its hopeful $80,000 goal. A few months later, Browne returned with another crowdfunding campaign — this time on Kickstarter — that saw essentially the same results after raising $4,000 of its $70,000 goal.

This is where most folks would’ve seriously considered giving up, but not Browne. Content to see his horror game come to fruition, Browne has gone and launched a third crowdfunding effort where his first failed. And now, I do believe it has a significantly better chance at being successful.

The biggest change is the revised funding goal, which has been lowered substantially to a more modest $5,000. I played its demo back in April and really enjoyed the look of it. There wasn’t much in the way of plot or scares, but that’s the nature of ‘proof of concept’ demos.

If funded, Caffeine is now planned to come to PC, Mac, Linux and PlayStation 4. PS4 support was a stretch goal in the earlier campaigns, so including it among the main platforms was a smart idea.

The vibrant, futuristic art style is great, but I’m a fan of the premise, too. Caffeine follows a young boy — played by you — who finds himself alone on a caffeine mining vessel in outer space. Because this is a horror game, he’s totally not alone, though your guess is as good as mine as to what it is that’s stalking the poor kid. Of the numerous trailers that have steadily trickled out over the last three months, the only glimpse we’ve been given was of a shadowy humanoid figure, and I’m pretty sure that was just a placeholder.

If all of the above tickles your fancy, you can support the game here.

YTSub

Gamer, writer, terrible dancer, longtime toast enthusiast. Legend has it Adam was born with a controller in one hand and the Kraken's left eye in the other. Legends are often wrong.

1 Comment

News

Legendary Grimdark ‘Warhammer 40,000’ Artist John Blanche Has Passed Away at 78

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading