Next Car Game Drops the Hammer On Kickstarter

[Andy Chalk]

Next Car Game Drops the Hammer On Kickstarter

[kickstarter=1470493497/next-car-game-a-motorsport-with-attitude]​

Next Car Game, the next car game from FlatOut studio Bugbear Entertainment, is now on Kickstarter.

Bugbear's Next Car Game already has its own home-grown crowdfunding campaign [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127397-Bugbears-Next-Car-Game-Launches-Preorder-Campaign] underway, but that's not going to keep it from the green fields of Kickstarter. The studio launched the NCG Kickstarter yesterday, seeking $350,000 to support the development of the game.

Next Car Game - a working title, in case there was any doubt - will be a "AAA quality demolition derby themed racing game with special attention paid to soft-body damage modeling, sophisticated driving dynamics and in-depth vehicle upgrading, featuring both demolition derbies and more traditional track races," according to the Kickstarter. "If you're familiar with the original FlatOut experience, you already know what we're aiming at."

Bugbear said it's already sunk more than a million bucks into the game, and this would be the time at which it would normally seek a publisher "to take us the rest of the way." But as we so often hear from Kickstarters these days, the game Bugbear is out to make is "not the game that a publisher wants." Next Car Game is going to be made and released with or without a successful Kickstarter, the studio said, "but if the campaign is a success, we will get more people onboard and have a chance to create an even better game." As for why it's undertaking a Kickstarter now, with its own funding campaign already on the go, being a Finnish studio apparently caused some complications and it was only after its own preorder effort had begun that it figured out how to get around them.

The Next Car Game Kickstarter is off to a bit of a slow start, breaking just $9000 on its first day, although there's no need to panic just yet - the campaign runs until December 1. Don't gamble with money you can't afford to lose and all that, but if you can afford it and you like crashy-smashy racing games, you might want to give it a look.

Source: Kickstarter [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1470493497/next-car-game-a-motorsport-with-attitude]


Permalink

 

[Loop Stricken]

I'd likely care more about this game if they were to actually release it under the title of "Next Car Game".

 

[Callate]

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, and all that, but... Really? You spent a million dollars on development, and nothing in all that work stood out enough to suggest a title?

Eh. Whatever. Car racing games aren't really my kettle of fish, anyway; I wish them well, I appreciate they've got a noteworthy pedigree, and hopefully they'll find their funding. It's just going to have to come from someone other than me.

 

[Sol_HSA]

This is rather interesting, in that Bugbear is a Finnish company, and Kickstarter is illegal in Finland..

It's seen as a form of asking for donations, and you need a special permit (only given to charity) to ask for donations in Finland. Yes yes, sounds insane, it's an old law that tries to fight scams..

 

[Elijah Newton]

it's important to make sure that the cars you drive are kinda crappy so that you don't feel bad about crashing into stuff.

That was my problem with FlatOut 2, you eventually upgraded to NICE cars, and crashing always felt like a bad thing.

I totally agree - there's a tendancy in many games to shift the tone to reflect some kind of success, but honestly these guys have hit the nail on the head. Seeing a car that starts out looking rough really makes me want to go Mad Max with it. I'd be incredibly disappointed if the 'goal' was to eventually race cars that looked like shiny, carbon fiber hockey pucks, when what I'm after is a mass of steel that can take hits. Bonus points if they include a mini-game where you 'fix' the car by beating it with a sledgehammer.

I wish them all the success in the world with the kickstarter. Man, if there was a stretch goal or a sequel that let you tack on guns a la Car Wars (Death Race, if you need a movie reference instead of an rpg). I'd be in seventh heaven. IMHO nobody's really nailed that ludicriously simple genre in this generation. Twisted Metal was great when it first came out, but the sequels aren't going in the direction I have in mind. I'd really like to see something with Forza's attention to driving and physics and [insert reputable shooter]'s attention to ballistics and gunplay.