Ryan Payton now has a Kickstarter: Republique (iOS stealth horror

Originally saw this over on 1UP. It seems that we now know what the first project from Ryan Payton's Camouflaj is... and that he wants $500,000 to make it! The Kickstarter page is well worth reading, but I've plucked some choice details below:

You receive a desperate phone call from Hope, a young woman trapped within a shadowy totalitarian state. Using a stolen phone, she calls and begs you to hack into the nation’s surveillance system, assume control, and help her escape from the clutches of the omnipresent Overseer.

...

We immediately went to work on developing a gameplay system that drives the symbiotic relationship between Hope and the player. Our internal design pillar is “Hope is Alive,” meaning Hope is not a marionette for the player to manipulate, but rather a smart, believable, and empathic hero.

Books like 1984 have served as key sources of inspiration not only for the narrative, but also the core gameplay. In République, players become Big Brother: Hope’s protector and growing threat to the Overseer’s grip over his secret nation as players gain control of any network-enabled devices, introducing really cool puzzle scenarios. With the tap of a finger, players can power down lights, wiretap calls, summon elevators and – like a good big brother or big sister – protect Hope by slamming doors on her pursuers.

Here are the specs Camouflaj and Logan are building to:

• 4-6 hour campaign
• "Stealth Survival" hybrid genre
• Metroidvania exploration & 3D map mode
• Branching, gripping, pull-no-punches story
• Full voiceovers
• Real-time cinematics

In the event that we surpass our initial funding goal, every penny will go into building an even bigger game with features that you will help us define.

Now granted, I'm sure a lot of you guys are already kind of broke from all the other Kickstarters you've funded (lord knows I am), but personally I think this sounds like one of the most interesting game projects that's been on the site so far. This kind of Big Brother dystopia is a setting so few games try (has there been a single one, let alone a good one, since Beyond Good and Evil?), and while I'm not huge on iOS gaming, I really love it when games put a layer of separation between you and the "player character" to make you just as crucial to the storytelling. If they can deliver on those story promises while making something that feels like it belongs on the platform, I have a feeling this could really be something special. (That is, if it ever gets funded.)

Thoughts?

Contributed to it yesterday. Really hope it gets funded.

Camo-flange is a really dumb name for a company. Like some dumb stripper spelling her name Cyndii.

I feel like the IOS part is going to hamstring his case.
 
Are kickstarters very front-loaded?  It seems like they would be front and back heavy.  If not, 10% is probably pretty good so far.

Why is it always a women that needs you help?

He was on weekend confirmed last week talking about this game, sounded cool, but $500k to make an iOS game, even if it is a pushing the platform forward type of game I can't see them ever reaching that amount of funding.

This will be the second Kickstarter I fund.

It sure sounds like an interesting project he's got going, and one he really hopes gets funded. Having listened to the lastest Weekend Confirmed podcast, he comes off as very humble with ideas that really lend themselves well to the very platform he will be bringing the game to. I'm curious to see how it shakes out, when more information becomes available. For folks interested about the interview he did, if you already haven't listened to it, head on over to Shacknews.com for their latest podcast where he was on after the announcement, talking about the game.

Seems too ambitious for iOS, but I'd be glad for them to prove me wrong. Don't think I'll be contributing to this one either.

No android version means I do not care.

The trailer on the page had real tension and really made it seem like an interesting world, however I wouldn't pay £7 to pre-order an IOS game and if that's how much it costs on release I won't buy it then either.

If they can name a target at which they can make an Android version, I'd be willing to help reach that goal. But I'm not pledging money now for a game I know I'm not going to be able to play.

I'm in.

I almost bought the 50 dollar version for the book, but he needs to add a bit more. Maybe give a free second copy I can give to a friend, or something.

I saw this the other day but was turned off by the fact thats a "hadcore ios game". But after i watched the trailer and most importantly after a read this interview

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/04/10/r-233-publique-the-ryan-payton-interview.aspx

Im in too. Already pledged 10$

Just hope they get what they need on kickstarter, they seem to have something very special on their hands.

eh, I just can't get behind iOS games. I know its the "hot thing" for developers right now but I hate iOS games and I've been on iOS for years now. Had he said there was a handheld port or something then I'd be interested.

@Sammo21: Yeah I know what you talking about, I had the same reaction when i heard this, but just watch the trailer and you'll see that they have a great concept of gameplay an narrative that fits apples devices very well.

Basically is like a adventure/stealth/horror game where you dont control the main prottagonist but have to help her, not only that but the game acknowledge you the player as real, and you're helping the protagonist trough your phone.

I cant quite explain everything but if you were turned off because this is IOS, just whatch the trailer on the kickstarter page and read this interview;

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/04/10/r-233-publique-the-ryan-payton-interview.aspx

I love Ryan Payton, but 500k for iOS game? Good god.

Jesus. Listening to Ryan speak, you can tell how much he's been influenced by/learned from Kojima. But I hope for the best!

Ryan Payton's a boss. I wish him all the best. Hope this gets funded.

I like the idea, but if it's iOS, I have no means of playing it and never will, ergo, no money from me. Good luck to them though.

The Kickstarter seems to be off to a slow start. 500,000k for an IOS game is a shit ton.

I love Ryan Payton but I have never enjoyed playing a game on iOS, so I can't fund this.

I pledged $50 because I love the creative vision behind this despite the fact that I do not own an iPhone.

But fuck I don't know if it's going to get funded because they've shut out a significant portion of the market. I'd be interested to see what the breakdown of phone types amongst core gamers. Part of me wants to believe that as a group we're a little more Droid heavy than the general population.

TouchArcade's Hodapp referred to this project by calling out Kickstarter as shitfarter.

Looks interesting but I don't have any sort of device to play this on so it's not for me unfortunately.

@MethodMan008said:

I love Ryan Payton, but 500k for iOS game? Good god.

better be good.

edit* just read the full kickstarter page, he looks to be going all out, voice overs and all.

more ambitious than most games we see out there for iOS.

I'd like to see them succeed but 27 days to raise over 400,000? I don't think its going to happen.

IOS. Looks like a game we have alot of already.

Only really interested in Kickstarter for interesting pc games. Mostly ones killed off by this horrible, horrible age of gaming we are currently in.

I have questions about this project.

Who is Ryan Payton? I read his page here -- games journalist-turned-producer on Metal Gear and briefly Halo 4, after which, according to his wiki page, he sent out a fake press release overstating his position at 343i. That's the sum total of my knowledge of Ryan Payton going into this.

What does AAA on iOS even mean? Is it just a matter of budget/production values? It's a weird term at the best of times but it's baffling to me as applied to an iOS game. Is Angry Birds AAA?

What does the success or failure of this project mean about anything other than this project?

I appreciate the ambition but I don't really 'get it'.

@Tidel said:

I have questions about this project.

Who is Ryan Payton? I read his page here -- games journalist-turned-producer on Metal Gear and briefly Halo 4, after which, according to his wiki page, he sent out a fake press release overstating his position at 343i. That's the sum total of my knowledge of Ryan Payton going into this.

What does AAA on iOS even mean? Is it just a matter of budget/production values? It's a weird term at the best of times but it's baffling to me as applied to an iOS game. Is Angry Birds AAA?

What does the success or failure of this project mean about anything other than this project?

I appreciate the ambition but I don't really 'get it'.

The wording on the Giant Bomb Wiki of him is perhaps a bit too strong - I might edit that. He was definitely put on as Creative Director of Halo 4, of which the project apparently had a few - but had been working mostly on the narrative design for the last "15 months". So the title of narrative designer vs creative director are rather dubious - but I wouldn't put it out to be "falsified press releases".

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-9786-343-s-Frank-O-Connor-Weighs-In-on-Ryan-Payton-s-Departure-From-Halo-4.html

As for who he is, he really hasn't built up any chops to be honest. He's a real cool guy and that's why people are excited for this project, but everyone is forgetting that he was hired by Kojima for MGS4 to have him input a "western influence". It certainly showed in the game when compared to the previous titles in the series, but whether you think that was REALLY a big thing is debatable. Personally, I think that role could have been filled by a lot of other people.

I'm excited for him, like I said, he's a cool guy - but you're right - AAA iOS is just weird. I think he means AAA in the sense of bringing a Mass Effect/Gears of War cinematic experience to iOS which everyone has known for a while, does NOT work on mobile platforms. So I don't know what he's thinking... The project won't get fully funded, will be attempted to build with less funds, and down the track, be cancelled is my guess.

Not doing a PC version right out of the gate is a big mistake.

I don't have an iOS device and probably never will so no pledge from me even though i'm interested in the game.

I have an iPad and I won't fund a project alienating Android entirely.

Also, 500k for an iOS game seems excessive. I'd rather play the game on a platform with real controls.

Half a mil? For an IOS game? How do you ask for that with a straight face?

@Dad_Is_A_Zombie said:

Half a mil? For an IOS game? How do you ask for that with a straight face?

Kickstarter.