Ground Branch: A Kickstarter Project
John Sonedecker, the Founder of BlackFoot Studios, LLC and former original member of Red Storm Entertainment, the team that brought the world titles like Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon, is hoping to revive the tactical military shooter genre and he needs your help. (Yeah, you.) Blackfoot Studios is asking for $425,000 to complete their game, Ground Branch.
Ground Branch is being marketed as an online multiplayer shooter that is cut from the same cloth as the original Ghost Recon. Above all, it would seem, Blackfoot Studios wants to bring realism back to the online military shooter. There will be no regenerating health, no dual wielding, and non-linear game design.
Blackfoot Studios uses the word ‘NORG’, Natural Order of Realistic Gameplay, to describe their gameplay design. One example would be that if you are are using a rifle indoors, it is likely to be less effective as you may hit the barrel against a doorway. So, the solution would be to bring a smaller weapon, a SMG for instance, and use rifles when you know there will be longer range engagements. Also included will be full body customization of your players loadout with all weapons and accessories are available at the start of the game, with no reliance on an experience system. You will be able to switch the camo and vest types or body armor (some will have more pouches for grenades/ammo or offer more protection, but will be heavier and slow your character) among other things. The level of customization that Blackfoot is putting into this game is, in a word, staggering.
Blackfoot Studios has also stated that they will allow for full mod support, adding that they believe modding is the lifeblood of PC gaming. Blackfoot says that they are committed to assisting the modding community to the best of their abilities and will go out of their way to provide various asset libraries for use by the modding community as well as showcasing the best mods on their website. This is refreshing, I’m sure, for many PC gamers as the there has been a recent trend of games lacking mod support, namely DICE’s Battlefield 3.
Ground Branch is also boasting the fact that they use real Special Forces Operator’s in many aspects of the game. In fact, they use them as not only advisors, but as active members of the team. The animations that you will see in the introduction video were also captured using an actual Special Forces Operator, lending to the realistic look and feel of the game.
Ground Branch is taking an ambitious approach to making a FPS and it could either payoff and be a huge success or be an utter failure. But, we will never know the outcome unless we help fund this project. Personally, I want to see this game released. It sounds like a great idea and if it were ever to be completed successfully there is no better man to head this up than John Sonedecker, in my opinion. Not only is it a great premise for a video game, but it also has some really good rewards setup for those that do pledge. For on;y $15 you will get a digital copy of the game and will receive one for you and a friend for only a $30 pledge, with the private Beta invitation being tucked away in the $50 pledge.
Ground Branch has a release planned for Windows PC and MAC in August of 2013. If this is something that you would like to see in the near future then head over to their Kickstarter page and fork over some quids.
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