A new Kickstarter campaign has been set up by the small French developer Lexis Numerique for a unique little sidescroller called Taxi Journey, which it aims to release on Wii U and PC.
Pitched as an original adventure game with puzzle elements, Taxi Journey sees you embark on a four wheeled adventure in a universe that combines charm, darkness, humour and mystery.
On the face of it, the game takes inspiration from titles like Limbo or Machinarium but it features quite a lot of new elements that are pretty original.
For example, Taxi Journey centres around two characters, Gino and Zoey, and both of them have their own special abilities that you'll need to use to solve puzzles and progress. Gino drives the small pedal taxi and can bash through crates and use his umbrella to protect the duo from falling objects. He also has a magical fishing rod that catches reflections, leading to some interesting puzzle gameplay.
Meanwhile, Zoey can capture energy and sounds, meaning anything that needs electrifying can be charged up and puzzles requiring audio can be solved.
Lexis Numerique has a pretty good pedigree and has worked with Ubisoft, Disney and Namco Bandai on a range of titles, including the In Memoriam series on PC - known as Missing; Since January and Evidence in the US. It also worked on the educational series Learning with the PooYoos on WiiWare and a platformer called Tales of Elastic Boy.
The Kickstarter goal is set at $130,000 and it will come to Wii U and PC if funded. Stretch goals are already implemented and should they be reached there's a chance Taxi Journey will come to Mac, Linux, iPad, Android, PlayStation Vita, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade - though the goals for the latter three are quite high, $220,000, $270,000 and $320,000 respectively.
Check out the Kickstarter video below from Lexis Numerique and let us know what you think to Taxi Journey in the comment section.
Thanks to Ryan Millar for the tip!
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 25
Wow no 3DS version. o_o
@X-Factor What does it matter? Some games just need more power than the 3ds is capable.
Hope it his their mark looks like the next Indie sensation.
im surprised this has the same goal as the pc version! This game will probably reach its goal
I'm getting tired of all these Kickstarters. I mean sure, more games are always welcome, but every kid and his dog is making one.
Looks interesting
Contributed. This looks like it would be great on the Wii U. I actually love seeing more KS campaigns that include Wii U or 3DS versions.
I might actually have to fund this one...
Another INCREDIBLE game on Kickstarter! I LOVE all the quality games being developed. I just wish they where being spaced out a little more. I aready am going to have a big Kickstarter bill next month
@ScorpionMG The Wii U version is from the go because they got a free Unity license with the dev kit. The other platforms are individual stretch goals.
I'd love to see this happen, it looks like my kind of game.
Slightly off-topic, and I'll hit the forums for this too, but I've been dreaming of making video games myself, since I first played on my older brothers Game Boy a lifetime ago.
I have the idea's, the art skills on paper, the scenario's, characters, stories, mechanics, puzzles, action... all ready in my head and/or on paper allready. I've been thinking one entire concept through lately, but I lack the knowledge of how -and the skills- to turn it all from ideas into an actual game.
Anyone has any idea what I could do to advance with these concepts?
Wow, very nice style. This would be lovely on the Wii U. I´m thinking of pleding 20bucks
From kids shovelware (Learing With The PooYoos) to an artistic, emotional adventure. Good move. Count me in if it gets a Wii U version.
@Shambo
Here's my advice:
Start playing with Unity (at Unity3d.com) on a computer and follow the lessons on the official site. You will have to see how far you can get without a big background in programming and you may never learn programming very well, BUT there is a decent community around it and if you can show yourself worthy in the art and design department you will be able to apply it to some lightly interactive stuff to possibly get a programmer on board with you.
Why Unity? Its long development is hitting a very nice sweet spot. You can develop in one centralized project and then adapt to almost any platform you want. You can start completely free except for all the time you'll necessarily invest. There is a very large community around it now. The official learning tutorials and projects are fantastic and more are slowly rolling out as we speak.
It's just a good place to start. I wish it was as amazingly supported and solid when I started using it back in 2004. The free tools that are out there (Gimp for 2D, Blender for 3D, and Unity) have completely broken down the usual barriers for those who have no money to invest at first. If you have time and persistence you can find all the help online you need and make it happen. Exciting time for gaming.
Which brings me to
@sackferret
It must be really exhausting for you to read headlines. It's too bad video gaming is flourishing in a way that cuts out middle men and is able to serve smaller groups of game tastes so we can all get something we love from developers. Yes, that's sarcasm.
@aaronsullivan So, Unity + Gimp can be used for free, non-commercial personal use, and is enough to get you started in 2d, with decent community support and tutorials?
awesome.... another kickstarter program...."sigh" I am getting tired of these.
@Shambo
Almost exactly right.
You can do 2D and many have very successfully, but in a few weeks when version 4.3 is released it will be a giant leap in support for 2D.
Also, you can use those for programs free for commercial use, as well. You don't have to pay for professional Unity unless there is a feature you really want or you make over $100,000 on a game using the engine (there are no royalties or anything).
@ikki5
You must be so tired from moving your eyeballs across article titles with the words kickstarter or crowd funding in it. I'm kind of surprised you were able to click the link, scroll to the bottom of the article, and post a comment. Surely, you'll get that energy back if they would just silence all the people trying to make games for you to play!
In all seriousness, can someone explain to me what the trouble is, really? It can't be what you are saying. There must be something else bothering you and @sackferret
@Macarony64 What a ignorant comment.The 3ds is very much capable of running this game, which is actually a rather simple 2d sidescroller. Maybe the tough competition from the big N on the 3ds is the reason.
@NiBar Nice try troll. Commenting on things you don't know makes you sound uneducated I was just staying an opinion about the reasons because it is the same reason duck tales is not on 3ds also the only 2d thing in the game is the perspective.
Edit: oops wrong game I though it was just forget the 2d perspective part and leave it has is
@sackferret So true lol. Alot of developers are looking to kickstarter these days but Im fine with it as long as the games are good. Its also helping Nintendo to get more Indies so ... Yippee!
@aaronsullivan @LDXD Oops, I gave an opinion. Sorry about that, it won't happen again.
looks cool I'd fund it but not gonna have a Wii U anytime soon
Backed. Looks good... hope it happens!
I can see why some might be tired of seeing Kickstarters because it is all over the place on gaming sites but it's the best possible way for talented people to make games and take risks. Without it we'd pretty much just have your playing-it-safe AAA titles and very little new in terms of ideas, franchises and game play. Most of the big publishers are streamlining everything because of their financial situations so they can't afford to back a lot of small developers.
So while we're all entitled to our own opinions, this program actually allows people to see their dreams come to life in an industry that otherwise would probably never give them a chance. And that seems like a strange thing to be negative about.
Nice graphics! Looks interesting!
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