Kickstarter of the Day: Star Wars Game Dev’s “Starlight Inception”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E0F6PwdxWI

This one’s got its hooks in me, guys.

I’m a total sucker for space-combat games. One of my favorite games of all time is Rogue Leader for the GameCube, and anything that puts you in the cockpit of a starfighter instantly gets my attention. I DON’T KNOW WHY BUT THAT’S JUST THE WAY IT IS.

So while I’ve done a pretty good job of resisting the urge to blow my money on all the Kickstarter projects that have cropped up since Double Fine pulled off over $3 million in funding for their game (that started with the far-more modest goal of $400,000), this new one from Escape Hatch Entertainment might be too cool for me to ignore.

The project is for a PC and PlayStation Vita game called Starlight Inception, and its mastermind is Garry Gaber, a LucasArts veteran who’s worked on Jedi Knight, Rebel Assault II, and was the writer and director for Force Commander, Galactic Battlegrounds, and Clone Campaigns. He formed Escape Hatch in 2003 and set up shop in Austin, Texas.

This new game looks to put players in the cockpits of ships, tasking them not only with fighting things out in space with action-oriented combat, but also the OCD-inducing details of managing a ship’s resources, systems, and weapons—basically, catnip for RPG and strategy nerds.

The project’s looking for $150,000, and now that Kickstarter’s game-funding power has been on full display, I think it’s definitely possible. And given the fact that Markus “Notch” Persson announced a forthcoming space-sandbox game that sounds like Firefly and Minecraft had a baby, and the fact that the fan-made Wing Commander Saga managed to grab 50,000 downloads in its first 24 hours…well, it seems like folks are into the whole space game thing.

Here’s the game’s summary from the Kickstarter page:

“Starlight Inception is a space combat experience with modern elements of strategy and tactics.

You assume the role of a young space fighter pilot assigned to the star carrier U.S.F. Independence, deploying to hotspots throughout the Solar System during World War IV.

Starlight Inception is a realistic and relevant 1st person / 3rd person free-roaming space combat experience. It has a unique blend of action with an involving storyline. Features include ship based combat both in space and on planets and moons, interplanetary exploration, and multiplayer dogfighting.”

Uggghhhh…I want that.

As of this writing, the project’s managed to capture almost $6,000 in funding, with a full 33 days to go. And because a $15 pledge basically pre-sells you the game for Steam or the Vita, as well as giving you Beta access…well, that sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. I may even go above that and pledge $30 so I can get the game soundtrack and all the DLC.

Goddamn. I’m not made of money. But I really, really want this thing to get made. Damn you, Kickstarter!

If you want to pledge, check out the page right here.