Cosmic Star Heroine E3 2016 trailer is live! (New Sci-Fi/Spy RPG from Zeboyd Games)

RainbowDespair

EDIT: You can check out the E3 2016 trailer here.

Note: We got special permission to start a thread for our kickstarter since we're long-time forum members & worked on Penny Arcade On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 & 4. And since Tube is awesome.

We just started a kickstarter for our upcoming RPG, Cosmic Star Heroine!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1596638143/cosmic-star-heroine-sci-fi-spy-rpg-for-pc-mac-ps4



Key facts:
Inspired by Chrono Trigger (visual style, no separate battle screen, multi-character combo abilities), Phantasy Star (futuristic setting & character design), and Suikoden (build your own spy base, political intrigue)
Our first non-parody game
Turn-based combat
Sega CD-inspired cutscenes
PC, Mac, PS4, and Vita



Getting close to $10k and it's only been up a little over an hour so we're really pleased with how it's going.

EvilMonkey

Saw the shout out in the Steam thread. Good luck good sirs. Everyone needs more Suikoden in their lives. Oh yeah and take my money, etc etc.

Artereis

This looks damn slick, guys. I've already backed it.

mere_immortal

Holy crap that screen, so much detail and atmosphere.

PA bros seem like an excellent cause for my first kickstarter backing.

slash000

Thanks guys, so excited about doing this game. So refreshing doing crazy scifi stuff! Although I did love making the locations and enemies for the crazy underhell locations in RS4 (especially the final dungeon). But man! Lasers and displays and gadgets and space junk, so many new things to do! Fun.

Orestus

Looks great, already backed

Sterica

It stuns me how expensive game development gets, and $100,000 is chump change.

Good luck, you two. Hopefully we can see this running at PAX East.

tastydonuts

Looks cool, but no xbox release?

Naphtali

Chipped in my $20. Really looking forward to this game.

slash000

tastydonuts wrote: »

Looks cool, but no xbox release?

We had to develop and commit to plans for this game, its engine, its scope, and its platforms well in advance. Back then, Microsoft was still telling everyone we needed to have a publisher, and was mum on whether there'd be anything like XBLIG. After we set our current plans in stone and began working on our game, MS finally started opening up and changing things. It was way late in the game when ID@xbox was announced, and even now there's not a ton of detailed info on that system. We'd like to know more, so we can see what we might be able to do in that regard down the line, but since info is slim we can only definitely commit to Steam (Windows, Mac), PS4, and Vita, since those companies have been very enthusiastic about reaching out to and working with us in depth. So we'll see :P

BrocksMullet

Haven't played any Zeboyd games yet, but as someone who really loved SMRPG, Chrono Trigger, Paper Mario, etc, I really like the look of this.

BrocksMullet

Also, battles on the map 4eva.

tastydonuts

slash000 wrote: »

tastydonuts wrote: »

Looks cool, but no xbox release?

We had to develop and commit to plans for this game, its engine, its scope, and its platforms well in advance. Back then, Microsoft was still telling everyone we needed to have a publisher, and was mum on whether there'd be anything like XBLIG. After we set our current plans in stone and began working on our game, MS finally started opening up and changing things. It was way late in the game when ID@xbox was announced, and even now there's not a ton of detailed info on that system. We'd like to know more, so we can see what we might be able to do in that regard down the line, but since info is slim we can only definitely commit to Steam (Windows, Mac), PS4, and Vita, since those companies have been very enthusiastic about reaching out to and working with us in depth. So we'll see :P

Ah, okies.

urahonky

I hope you have stretch goals in mind.

slash000

urahonky wrote: »

I hope you have stretch goals in mind.

Heheh, what we're really wanting to do is make the game we're pitching, and make it well. If we are able to reach the funding goal and pass it (fingers crossed! ) We'd prefer to keep making the game we are promising and release it on time and spend additional funding on polish; and then after release use funding for potential free-DLC ideas. Basically don't want to let the project's scope get bloated and bog things down.

Ultimately just want to make this the biggest, best and most polished game we've ever done, seriously. Just need the time and budget.

urahonky

That's good to hear! I know you're working with a small team so stretch goals aren't exactly going to make development any easier on you. So I'm glad you guys aren't going to worry about it.

And you don't need to worry about it being funded. I can bet there will be a ton of people lined up to throw money at you.

tastydonuts

Yeah, I think that's a good idea.

You guys also got a plug from Kotaku to help you along too.

Dr. Chaos

I have a lot of love for Breath of Death and and Cthulhu Saves The World. The battle system in those games are very interesting.

Glad to see you working on an original IP again.

slash000

urahonky wrote: »

That's good to hear! I know you're working with a small team so stretch goals aren't exactly going to make development any easier on you. So I'm glad you guys aren't going to worry about it.

And you don't need to worry about it being funded. I can bet there will be a ton of people lined up to throw money at you.

Yeah the small team is just the two of us, plus working with Hyperduck (Chris and Dan) to do the music/audio. So yeah, expanding scope could potentially make things get out of hand. So we're gonna try and avoid that :P

tastydonuts wrote: »

Yeah, I think that's a good idea.

You guys also got a plug from Kotaku to help you along too.

I saw that! Very exciting! Responses have been pretty good too

Dr. Chaos wrote: »

I have a lot of love for Breath of Death and and Cthulhu Saves The World. The battle system in those games are very interesting.

Glad to see you working on an original IP again.

Thanks and yeah we're excited to work on some quirky new characters of our own too

MetalMagus

Super excited about this game, I got hyped when I saw the first announcements over at NeoGAF! Why the hell no one's tried to emulate the Phantasy Star aesthetic before now is just mind-blowing to me. This really does look great! And Crono Trigger and Suikoden influences are even better.

There was some talk of possible mini-games, maybe as stretch goals. Could we see some strategic space combat? Like a cross between Phantasy Star's vehicle sections and Suikoden's large scale battles?

Edit: Ah, just read the part about not over-promising with stretch goals. That's a noble (and honestly, unfortunately, novel) goal. Holding out for post-release DLC then!

LoveIsUnity

Yeah, I'm really, really looking forward to this. As you both know, I loved Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death (especially BoD), and I'm a huge Phantasy Star nerd, so this is a dream project for me.

I have to say, though, I'm a little disappointed there isn't an option in the $125-$150 range to get both the posters and the T-Shirt.

Edit: Yeah, so, don't mind me. I'm just an idiot... Glad that it's an option!

C2B

Looks awesome! Due to financial concerns atm I might not make it, though....

Will you guys have a paypal option for backing after Kickstarter?

slash000

MetalMagus wrote: »

Super excited about this game, I got hyped when I saw the first announcements over at NeoGAF! Why the hell no one's tried to emulate the Phantasy Star aesthetic before now is just mind-blowing to me. This really does look great! And Crono Trigger and Suikoden influences are even better.

There was some talk of possible mini-games, maybe as stretch goals. Could we see some strategic space combat? Like a cross between Phantasy Star's vehicle sections and Suikoden's large scale battles?

Yeah the Phanstar look is something based more on the general aeshetic and cutscenes rather than the maps/sprites. Obviously I'm getting ideas from Chrono trigger for that, although I do not expect to necessarily do it as well as CT, which is a classic and beautiful game. But I am learning and shooting for my best!

The phantasy star stuff will come through more in cutscenes though for sure.

We may or may not have those kind of bigger battles, that's something we're considering but it's not set in stone. The main thing is making sure the primary combat and gameplay systems are solid.

C2B wrote: »

Looks awesome! Due to financial concerns atm I might not make it, though....

Will you guys have a paypal option for backing after Kickstarter?

We miiiiight add a paypal option at some point, we're just a bit wary of Paypal after hearing about the Yatagarasu (sp?) incident where they got a lot of funding and then Paypal wouldn't release the funds... yeah it was insane.

urahonky

Spread the word then C2B. If you can't back it then make sure you show it to your friends who would be interested.

Kid Presentable

Did you guys know that this game has a robot with a mustache? I didn't know that until this morning, but it feels like something everybody should really take stock of.



See?

I was sold as soon as I heard the announcement pitch, but what you showed of the game looks just as cool as I could have hoped. Funds have been transferred, good luck guys!

C2B

C2B wrote: »

Looks awesome! Due to financial concerns atm I might not make it, though....

Will you guys have a paypal option for backing after Kickstarter?

We miiiiight add a paypal option at some point, we're just a bit wary of Paypal after hearing about the Yatagarasu (sp?) incident where they got a lot of funding and then Paypal wouldn't release the funds... yeah it was insane.

True. Eh, who needs food anyway?

slash000

Kid Presentable wrote: »

Did you guys know that this game has a robot with a mustache? I didn't know that until this morning, but it feels like something everybody should really take stock of.



See?

I was sold as soon as I heard the announcement pitch, but what you showed of the game looks just as cool as I could have hoped. Funds have been transferred, good luck guys!

Yeah Clarke is the robot with the mustache. He's kind of a smooth talker. Little bit creepy too!

Elbasunu

Stretch Goal: "We will film ourselves hunting down and wedgie-ing everyone on the internet who ever said we just use RPG maker."

Looks great, guys.

RainbowDespair

We're up to $25k! 25% funded in under 5 hours.

Darmak

Rooting for you guys so fucking hard, I've loved all of your games so far and I'll definitely buy multiple copies of this too.

P10

Good luck! Backing this project is a no-brainer.
Looking forward to having this song in my library.

SemiHollowCarrot

What if the kickstarter gets overfunded? We don't know about you, but we hate it when kickstarters get a lot more money than they expected, drastically increase the scope of the game, and end up pushing the release date back months or even years. What's worse, some of these kickstarters drastically underestimate how much all those new features are going to end up costing with the result that they end up running out of money before they manage to fulfill all of their promises.

We don't want this to happen to us!

Sold.

I have a terribly bad taste in my mouth from this very very thing happening. Thank you for recognizing this problem.

Dr. Chaos

Is there an option to limit how much money you're willing to accept for your Kickstarter project?

Always wondered about that.

TehSpectre

Why no WiiU development?

I've heard Nintendo has been wooing indies like nobodies business.

RainbowDespair

Dr. Chaos wrote: »

Is there an option to limit how much money you're willing to accept for your Kickstarter project?

Always wondered about that.

Not as far as I'm aware.

Darmak

Z'xorv (far right) gives me a Zeriam vibe

rockrnger

Is zombie rootbeer tapper RPG never going to happen or did I just completly make that up in my head?

RainbowDespair

rockrnger wrote: »

Is zombie rootbeer tapper RPG never going to happen or did I just completly make that up in my head?

I've got a zombie RPG design document that I've been tinkering with for years, but nothing rootbeer related.

rockrnger

RainbowDespair wrote: »

rockrnger wrote: »

Is zombie rootbeer tapper RPG never going to happen or did I just completly make that up in my head?

I've got a zombie RPG design document that I've been tinkering with for years, but nothing rootbeer related.

Was it lane based sort of like the old arcade game rootbeer tapper?

Also, any plans to move forward with that one, supposing I'm not crazy?

RainbowDespair

rockrnger wrote: »

RainbowDespair wrote: »

rockrnger wrote: »

Is zombie rootbeer tapper RPG never going to happen or did I just completly make that up in my head?

I've got a zombie RPG design document that I've been tinkering with for years, but nothing rootbeer related.

Was it lane based sort of like the old arcade game rootbeer tapper?

Also, any plans to move forward with that one, supposing I'm not crazy?

I definitely want to do the Zombie RPG at some point since I think we have a lot of fun ideas for it, but we're going to be busy with Cosmic Star Heroine for the next year. Maybe we'll make it our next project after that.

And no, it wasn't lane based.

Dehumanized

Throwing money at this is the easiest choice I'll make all week.