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Emulating the staggering success of World of Warcraft is video gaming’s very own holy grail. Many have tried, and many have failed. Toppling Blizzard’s beast has even become something an industry-wide obsession over recent years, as competitors line up around the metaphorical block to throw away millions upon millions of investment dollars.
Wisely opting for an ‘If you can’t beat them: join them’-type mantra, fledgling development studio Upheaval Arts, is hard at work on a WOW clone inspired by Blizzard’s equally popular Starcraft series. Previously known as World of Starcraft, StarCraft: Universe entered the next stage of its years-long development cycle this Sunday, with the news that project lead Ryan Winzen had begun a brand-new Kickstarter campaign for the game. Check out the drive’s promo video at the top of the page.
Endorsed by Blizzard, (following the aforementioned change in name), the month-long funding drive will attempt to raise a minimum of $80,000, to expand upon and improve the game’s already impressive feature set. Utilizing Blizzard’s extensive modding suite, the StarCraft II conversion is hoping to entice investors with a multi-tiered rewards program, featuring everything from in-game pets to limited creative input.
If Winzen & Upheaval manage to hit their initial 5-figure sum, players can look forward to an open multiplayer beta, as well as two narrative adventure packs to bookend the experience. $20,000 in additional funding will result in a playable Zerg faction, complimenting the games Terran/Protoss focus, whilst a $135,000 investment will add female character models & PVP vehicle combat. Additional incentives range from new narrative chapters to extensive localization efforts.
Since the crowdfunding effort kicked off just two days ago, StarCraft: Universe has attracted almost 400 total backers, generating a combined $15,000 in donations — or around $40 per backer. At this exceptional rate of investment, Universe should be funded in around 5 days time, whilst the game’s tongue-in-cheek upper tier goal of $1 million would take an additional 130 days.
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In further testament to the quality of the mod, Winzen himself has begun attracting a number of potential recruiters, with League of legends studio Riot & Blizzard themselves amongst the interested parties. Winzen admits that the game’s lengthy development cycle has been akin to that of a large retail game and it’s astounding to see just what these talented amateurs have achieved. Rather than hurt traditional game sales, projects like these only serve to increase interest in their base property, resulting in a win-win for everyone involved.
Will you be backing StarCraft: Universe? Should more publishers be supporting these types of modding projects? What other video game universes could do with the MMORPG treatment? Let us know in the comments below.
StarCraft: Universe is scheduled to enter multiplayer BETA testing in late 2013/ early 2014 via the Battle.net service. Single-player Alpha testing has already begun, and can be accessed by anyone owning the free StarCraft II: Starter Edition. Additional elements, including the mod’s fully-fledged single-player experience are slated to appear as part of the project’s ongoing updates. The title is currently advertised as being free-to-play, with backers set to receive special in-game perks for their support.
You can follow Sam on Twitter @GamingGoo.
Source: Upheaval Arts [via Eurogamer]
