Welcome back to Pickstarter. This week Gail Simone unleashes insanity on some superheroes, Dick Miller gets the spotlight he’s always deserved, and a viking takes us back to our favorite retro games.
Pick #1 –Â Leaving Megalopolis
Say what you will about the New 52, but the lack of Secret Six at DC Comics has many of us seeking anti-depression medication. Now, Gail Simone may not be bringing us more of the Six, but she is debuting a new comic through Kickstarter called Leaving Megalopolis. What do you do when your city’s protectors go insane and lead a murderous rampage? That’s the simple question that will drive the story and character of the new book, as Simone gets to play universe-builder and destroyer all at the same time. Gail is reteaming with Secret Six artist Jim Calafiore to bring this project to the fans, and we’re as excited as Catman with a ball of string.
Pick #2 – Volgarr the Viking
No matter what graphical and gameplay advances take place in the gaming community, we can never get enough of 2-D sidescrollers. Platform adventuring is the back bone of video games and whenever we see a new IP taking advantage of classic play mechanics we hold so dear we stop and take notice. The guys behind Volgarr are taking inspiration from some of our favorite 2-D platformers like Castlevania and Super Ghouls and Ghosts and making a beautiful looking hack and slash adventure game.
Pick #3 – That Guy Dick Miller
If you look up the definition of character actor you won’t find a picture of Dick Miller, but his name should be listed with some of the greats. With over 175 roles to his credit, Dick Miller is easily one of the most recognizable faces in modern cinema. From his days with Roger Corman’s stable of actors to his frequent collaborations with Joe Dante, the chances of Dick Miller being in one of your favorite films are extremely good. It started as a 30 minute documentary for a DVD bonus feature, but Elijah Drenner found that he had more than enough to work with to create a full length feature on our favorite “That Guy.” It just goes to show, you really don’t mess with Murray Futterman.
Volgarr the Viking seems fun enough, but there’s a reason arcade games like that aren’t around any more.
A) People don’t want to play a game only to start all the way back at the beginning if they die.
B) If you have a checkpoint system, it reduces the challenge of the game.
B-2) Or, the checkpoint system makes each segment more difficult and people just get frustrated.
While I love Ghosts ‘n Goblins, if today was the first day I ever played it, I wouldn’t play it over and over until I beat it. My tastes for what I want from a game have changed.
That being said, $10 for an entry point seems about right for that game. Not for me, but would probably be worth the money.
Thanks for spotlighting “That Guy” this week, Brian. I’ve been rooting for this one for a couple of weeks now, and I’m glad to see that it has finally hit its fundraising goal. Just a couple more days and it gets funded! If any character actor deserves this sort of attention, it is Dick Miller. Three cheers for Murray Futterman!