Armikrog Kickstarter nearing the end

Armikrog kickstarter.

36 or so hours to go.

$795,402 of 900,000 (950,000 for WII U version to be possible- not as big a deal to me but cool none the less)

I really wanted to do a blog about The Neverhood (I actually still intend to, just my free time is sparse so it wont be finished any time around tomorrow) but the idea of a spiritual successor to it is such a great thing. I wanted to do this to raise awareness of Armikrog and the kickstarter and whatever, but I haven't had time.

I guess I've just always had a fondness for claymation- it's one of the craziest looking and coolest looking art forms in my opinion (lessened when a lot of CGI is used with it, but it's still a great art form). I think The Wind and the Willows may have been the first thing I actually ever saw with claymation- then a ton of the Aardman stuff. In games, it was never a widely used thing, though. After The Neverhood I had hoped (at the time) that more claymation stuff would show up- but other then skull monkeys (which- other than cut scenes- really doesn't have the claymation as on display as The Neverhood just by nature of it being a platformer).

So, I guess the fact that it's claymation really grabs me like nothing else. It's pretty much unused territory. I guess my niche markets love always plays me the fool, but I also wish FMV would be done again too. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to program something like that and it's going to be amazing.

So, anyway. I guess this somehow became a short retrospective post about claymation games, how unused the concept basically is, and also a way to spread a little more awareness about Armikrog.

Feel free to share your thoughts on it or whatever as well- just keep it nice. I know Tennapel's political views are unpopular and are not the point of this thread. Thanks.

also this guy has said some nasty stuff about gay people for the record. so you know

(if you're telling people to support the kickstarter, then you need all the information: not just the good parts)

@animasta: that has no bearing on the kickstarter and you are an asshole for bringing that to the table uncalled for when specifically asked not to.

People have the right to disagree with his theological, philosophical, and political beliefs(I do 100%). That has no bearing on the games he makes, has made, or more than likely will ever make.

No more derailing this thread now. Thanks

Huh.

I'm reading up on this.

As a longtime Tennapel fan, (Beyond even Earthworm Jim and The Neverhood, I'm a fan of his Sockbaby stuff, the Push Nevada tv show and his Five Iron Frenzy Covers and his comic books) I find myself looking for the punchline on all this "bigot" stuff. Having seen his content and read his books or even listened to his music... I have a hard time believing that same guy is writing these blog postings and whatnot. It reads like a joke.

If I had money right now, I'd be all over this.

I had only the demo of The Neverhood when it came out, but no other gaming experience has come close to similar to that charming half-hour.

Nobody here is saying Doug TenNepal is a bigot and a homophobe. Let's put personal politics aside and just keep an open mind.

Thanks for the warning. Here's a nice article about it.

I usually try to separate the art from the artist, but there's no way I'm supporting this dickwad.

@mlarrabee: Ya. I loved the soundtrack to the Neverhood. I recorded it on a cassette tape a long time ago. I think I got rid of that recently when I moved. On the plus side I still have the game, so there's that.

Also, if a few stray comments make Doug Tennapel unsupportable as an artist, you better stop reading anything by Marvel or any Star Wars stuff because Walt Disney was about as sexist, racist and homophobic as you can imagine. Great guy. Full of hate.

@jazgalaxy: My problem with this conversation is it is basically wrapping every single person who works at Pencil test studios in with Doug Tennapel's personal beliefs. They use his name because he created the characters we love and it is recognizable. He isn't the only person involved with this.

I feel this whole thing is incredibly closed minded, and I get it. He has old fashioned views (and yes that is what it is- I was raised the same way from what I've read of things he's said. The difference is I have tried to have an open mind- which goes both ways in the conversation- but he has a view that is considerably closed minded based I would wager on his upbringing and life).

I disagree that funding a game he is working on will affect anything, and think it's shitty bringing up a project he is working on immediately gets derailed. But this is the internet so I give up on trying to make a civil thread that doesn't have to do with one persons personal views that have nothing to do with the game.

It is what it is.

I fucking loved Skullmonkeys. Hope the Wii U version will happen even if the stretch goal isn't met.

I really hope that they get that last bit o' funding. I never would have thought a spiritual sequel to The Neverhood would ever get made, and I still mourn the scrapping of the Neverhood movie.

I'm not even sure I would call his ideas "old fashioned". I mean he's a conservative. I'm not a conservative, personally, but it's not like every single conservative has completely unsupportable views. I mean, personally, I think that people who try to frame the abortion debate as "women should have the right to do what they want with their bodies" is absolutely insane. maybe there's a pro-abortion argument to be made. I can think of like 3 or 4 different ones. But "women should have the right to do what they want with their bodies" when that body is harboring another life is just bizarre to me.

@jazgalaxy: I say it's old fashioned because it's becoming no longer socially acceptable. Probably too early still to say old fashioned but we're getting there I feel.

I was raised non denominational christian. It was very common to hear about how evil homosexuality was. It's an incredibly scary concept, especially when you're raised to believe it's work of the intangible "devil" and you're being told this as a child. If your whole life you surround yourself with people who believe this, it just becomes a fact of your life (its not actual fact but it's ingrained in you- it's a belief).

So I just mean to say it's his personal view of the world based on his life experience and whatever has shaped his beliefs. The concept, to him, is just gross.

It's not a view that I share, and not something I have ever seen permeate his work or the games I have played he was involved with. The reason for this is personal beliefs and the things you work on are separate- one could argue the two can intersect when you work in a creative medium but I have not seen that to be the case with Doug Tennapel. I don't see a similarity to a food chain that actively participates in the funding of anti gay movements, and I don't think funding the game several people are also working on as the same as saying his beliefs are ok with me. They are his beliefs that I disagree with and nothing more.

I fought for his right to believe what he wants, and what anyone else wants to believe opposing his beliefs. I see two sides to any open minded conversation.

I'm interested in funding this, I've never played Neverhood though, only Earthworm Jim.

I'm guessing the only way to play The Neverhood is to.... Well... Do that of which shall not be spoken?

There were some talks back in 2011 about a port to mobile devices, but no others news about that since then I think, so not holding my breath...so besides waiting, (possibly for nothing) another choice would be to check out Amazon/eBay/etc. for used copies. Probably won't get it below 50 dollars. Then there's that...third choice.

I only played the demo ever meself and loved everything about it. Saw the full game once in a store, but the price was something even more crazier than those ebay prices, so I had to pass the chance. Too bad Skullmonkeys never made it to PC. Looked like fun, from what I've seen in Youtube, even if it was apparently hella hard (and a) platformer (though why'd you make a platformer sequel to a point-and-click adventure game anyway?).

It has total bearing on my willingness to support his endeavors and put a single cent into his pockets.

Since this thread is specifically about the Kickstarter (see title) and the very first thing in the OP is a direct link to their fundraising page, you're the asshole for trying to obfuscate facts that people other than you might care about. Of course it comes as little surprise when the person who goes out of their way to say "keep it nice" is also the first person to start slinging insults.

I'm impressed by their ability to super-charge their funding so late in the game - they were at 60 % two days ago; now they're at 90%. I was pessimistic about their chances, which would have been sad, but now we might actually see it come to life.

One thing though; I hope 900K is what they need, not 1/2, as is usually the KS case (and recommendation). Nintendo was "interested" but I don't know if they'd be willing to fund it themselves without getting something in return, namely the IP.

He never said any "nasty stuff". He said he doesn't agree with gay marriage, he never used any offensive words. He is allowed to not agree with gay marriage. So stop that.

yup, one post in and the thread derailed into homophobe/bigot/jesusfreak/disneywasanazi dissertations.

@animasta said:

Not this again. I enjoy/buy games for what they are, not for what the creator says about anyone.

Played Neverhood as a kid and was really enraptured by it. Hope this goes through cause there's nothing else like it in the games market.

And can we not have every thread devolve into pointless racism/homophobic/religious circle-jerks?

In supporting the development of this game, are you in anyway supporting his personal beliefs on homosexuality?

The things I like are the things I like, and I won't let the fuckwadness of the fuckwad who created it take that away from me.

I think if Hitler was supporting a kick-starter for a sequel to the Neverhood I might still fund it. That game is a classic, and why should we let it suffer because we don't agree with one dude? One dude isn't working on this project is he? So, in essence you're making other people suffer for one person's opinions. If I had money, I would have been all over this. It's video games folks, let's try to have a little fun.

He has said some pretty nasty shit (scroll down to the comments for his AIDS joke). Not to mention some of his awfulblogs.

I understand if people want to fund this project. The game looks super cool. However, it shouldn't be hard to figure out why other people have problems supporting a project penned as "From [a homophobic/sexist asshole] and the creators of The Neverhood".