The Wild Wild Pixel takes aim at crowdfunding on Kickstarter

Written by Jack Allin — June 30, 2014 at 15:15

You know you're in for a retro-styled adventure with a game called The Wild Wild Pixel, but indie developer Fabraz hopes to incorporate plenty of modern sensibilities in their upcoming point-and-click debut, currently seeking financing through Kickstarter.

The Wild Wild Pixel stars a young man named Jacques, who's spent his entire life trapped in "The Valley", surrounded by "massive cliff walls that imprison the empty deserts within."  Unlike the other residents, Jacques desperately wants to escape, and has tried many times in the past, but "every attempt was met with mysteriously catastrophic failure." It is now the eve of his latest attempted escape, but "little does he know that he’s about to embark on a journey that will reveal what lies beyond those towering walls. If The Valley lets him."

The early screenshots and trailer show off the game's full voice acting and distinctive pixel art animation, but you can experience more first-hand by playing through the (still unfinished) playable alpha demo. The demo is set in the first of 4-5 planned chapters, each promising up to 5 hours of gameplay. To complement the retro stylings, the developers plan to include features like a "skit system, companion characters, side quests, [and] mini-games" as they try to eliminate "all the bad aspects associated with the genre like illogical item combinations and needlessly cluttered UI, without sacrificing gameplay complexity." They also want to make even the little player decisions matter: "You see a stray dog? Find him an owner. A girl’s being bullied? Save her from her bullies. You did both? The girl ends up playing with the dog outside of town, happy and content."

In order to fulfill such ambitious goals, the developers have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $45,000 by July 27th. Successfully meeting their goal would let Fabraz work on the game full-time towards a February 2015 release target for PC and Mac. A minimum early bird pledge of $10 will result in a downloadable copy of the game.

To learn more about The Wild Wild Pixel and support its fundraising campaign, visit the official website and Kickstarter page for full details. You can also vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.