wraggster
April 17th, 2012, 12:24
The Central Valley of California is known better for its produce than its games but one independent game studio hopes to change that. SemiFormal Studios has bootstrapped itself through the three-year-long development process of its first game, Ensemble Online. Now, entering into Beta, the Ensemble team has turned to crowd-source funding site, Kickstarter.
“We’re one of the only game development houses in the Valley and certainly the only one working on a project of this magnitude” said Jesse Martinez, Lead Designer for Ensemble Online. “We’ve made it very far, but between legal fees, technology costs, and advertising, making the leap to Beta can be daunting.”
Ensemble is a Realtime Strategy Game much like the classics of the ‘90s, e.g., Age of Empires, but on a breathtakingly vast map and in a persistent world. Players take control of heroes exploring an uncharted desert, battling nature (and other player settlers), uncovering and gathering various resources, and discovering new territory in which to build towns and outposts.
The Kickstarter campaign can be viewed at:http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/semiformal/ensemble-online
“We’re one of the only game development houses in the Valley and certainly the only one working on a project of this magnitude” said Jesse Martinez, Lead Designer for Ensemble Online. “We’ve made it very far, but between legal fees, technology costs, and advertising, making the leap to Beta can be daunting.”
Ensemble is a Realtime Strategy Game much like the classics of the ‘90s, e.g., Age of Empires, but on a breathtakingly vast map and in a persistent world. Players take control of heroes exploring an uncharted desert, battling nature (and other player settlers), uncovering and gathering various resources, and discovering new territory in which to build towns and outposts.
The Kickstarter campaign can be viewed at:http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/semiformal/ensemble-online