Posted in: Games, Movies | Tagged: bedlam, games, kickstarter

From Out Of The Ashes Comes Bedlam… And A Barf Monster

Title: Bedlam. Key Talent: John Mueller – Art Director, Jeff Johnson – Programmer & Designer, Sam Gage – Creative Director, Animations and VFX. End of Kickstarter: Sat, Oct 25 2014. Published: Coming 2015

John Mueller writes,

Bedlam is a post-apocalyptic "roguelike" role-playing video game inspired by some of our favorite games, such as FTL (Faster Than Light), Fallout and XCOM. Created for the PC and Mac, BEDLAM is being developed using The Banner Saga (http://stoicstudio.com) game engine.

In Bedlam, you are cast as the mysterious Mechanic, the last known member of a once-thriving guild of brilliant inventors, intrepid travelers and operators of the rolling fortresses called Dozers. As the Mechanic, you are in charge of commanding your crew in battles, managing your resources, improving your Dozer, interacting with various characters, and protecting your passengers while navigating through the post-apocalyptic wasteland known as Bedlam.

Skyshine Games rose from the ashes of two large companies that unfortunately collapsed under the pressures of the industry. So it was a bittersweet start for the three of us as we came together to discuss our next steps. But as we started talking about this idea, and as the pieces of this monumental task started coming together in magical ways, that bittersweet feeling turned into something truly special. And so we became 'Indie'.

We have 'lived' in the video game industry making several successful games, including action-adventure video game Darksiders (under the creative direction of comic book legend Joe Madureira). We've also loved comic books ever since we were kids, and during our conversations about this project, we knew first and foremost that a similar comic art style would make this a standout game.

Influenced by prominent artists like Moebius and Geof Darrow, and with further inspiration drawn from 80s sci-fi movies, we crafted this stylishly exaggerated and dangerously fun concept. This idea really began taking shape using a pen-and-paper design with our own little real-life game pieces and battle board, and we knew we were on to something. The landscapes, characters, and the Dozer (a "desert death-bus") combined to create this fantastic new world that we started calling home in a strange but beautiful way. More and more ideas surged like an uncontrollable flood, and Bedlamwas born!

Sam stumbled on the idea of the Barf Monster in a dream fueled by too many comics (and hot-sauce smothered breakfast tacos): "I wanted to approach the idea of a mutated creature in this insane land we call Bedlam, but from a completely different perspective. Our mutant guys have unlimited potential — the restraints are off and these awesome beings have been let loose to run unhindered in our imaginations. We could have easily gone the grim-dark approach to our world, but that just wasn't for us. We want to have boundless fun in our new playground, which means crazy lizard-crab creatures with radioactive vomit! Malevolently evolved pig-mutants hellbent on revenge for their role in our food chain! We just want to have a good time with it, and hope y'all do as well!"

We are only just beginning our creative adventure, and now we need help from others who believe in Bedlam to bring this journey to its conclusion. It is our hope that something great can rise from the post-apocalyptic ashes of the last two companies where we worked. This is why we decided to do a Kickstarter! Getting the funding for development lets us remain independent and in total control of our creative vision.

If Bedlam appeals to you, help support us by visiting here.

If you help us reach 50% (that's $65,000) of our $130,000 goal by the end of this weekend, we will create an exclusive Bleeding Cool Bedlam wallpaper to make you salivate (well, maybe some of you)!

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