WaterMelon launches Magical Game Factory

[Zebbe]

Hey :)

WaterMelon, the team behind the Mega Drive/Genesis homebrew RPG Pier Solar and the Great Architects (www.piersolar.com :)), has now launched Magical Game Factory (www.magicalgamefactory.com), an ambitious effort to gather the creative retro enthusiasts and take the retro game market further!

When you join the site, you can buy "Gems" to help fund projects and put your own input into the development. Gems purchased will in the long run act like pre-orders, so you will get your money back as games when the project(s) are completed. For more information, head over to the site and join on the fun!

Our current projects are called Project Y, a cyberpunk brawler with RPG elements for Genesis/Mega Drive (you can see some artwork for it below), and Project N, a game for SNES you as I'm writing this can still decide the genre for.

http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/files/public/boards/8/projecty_cd_01_240.png

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2012/257/7/1/711498439a9818f52d5f731eab964f63.png

http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/files/public/products/2/screen0.png

http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/files/public/boards/8/projecty_cd_03_242.png

http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/files/public/products/2/homeslide0_en.jpg



All the best,

/Zebbe of WaterMelon

[MachineGex]

I am truely amazed with what you guys accomplished with Pier Solar. I never imagined you guys would make such a fun and professional game! Good luck with all your future projects, you have my support!

[Zebbe]

Thanks man :). We'll do it even better next time!

[Suikoman444]

So you put money into the project and when it gets close to ready you get a pre-order. Is there a limit to the amount you need to put in to get that pre-order and then will you have to pay more when the game comes out?

I also really enjoyed Pier Solar and might now have to get that soundtrack I see on your site. Very enticing.

[Shulamana]

Would definitely be interested in a SNES project if it ever happened, the Genesis/Mega Drive hasn't won me over quite yet.

[Zebbe]

Suikoman444: The minimum to contribute is $50, which is enough for a pre-order :).

Shulamana: Try Phantasy Star IV, Gunstar Heroes, Pulseman and Landstalker :).

[theMot]

If you did something besides MD/Genesis I would be interested. Ever thought of doing a SNES or NEO GEO game?

[Cryomancer]

Looking forward to the Dating/Racing game that seems to be winning.

[substantial_snake]

^^^ It seemed like a few people on the forums were getting upset about that. :D

Beat em' Up and Platformer are currently the top leading genera at 30 and 20 percent respectively with Strategy leading the secondary genera at 20 percent but with several others that could easily pass it with a few more investors. It exciting to see what people will ultimately chose.

I think you guys at WM have done a great job with Pier Solar and have a pretty interesting idea setup here that fun to watch unfold. I like how investment determines weight of opinion on the project and it seems to be a fair system rather then just using a random sampling of people to decide where to go with. Regardless of where it goes from here I've already invested in the project and can't wait to see what comes of it.

I do have a question though, what is the MEG counter for? Is it just something random or is it really going to determine the size of the game your shooting for?

[Zebbe]

theMot: I think not, most of the team prefers Sega. I personally don't even have a SNES or Neo Geo ^^.

substantial_snake: It's not random, it will determine the size of the game. I think it can even be bigger if WM are nice, who knows? ;)

[theMot]

No Neo Geo or SNES? Deprived!!!! :P

[Tron 2.0]

No Neo Geo
There is ngdev team at least.
http://www.ngdevteam.com

[Zebbe]

Yeah. But people don't seem to develop for SNES very much. I wonder why.

[Colorado Rockies]

If we donate 50 bucks do we get our names printed in the manual?

[Zebbe]

Something like it yeah, or at least in the game credits, but it's not a donation this time - it's an investment where the money you spend is converted to a game when the project is completed.

[Zebbe]

Some news!

Project Y (http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/en/factory/projecty_2/)is the upcoming role playing brawler by WaterMelon, produced with input by investors at the Magical Game Factory (http://www.magicalgamefactory.com):
The character designer of this project wanted me to present some of his work, so I put them in the first post.

This week we also launched Project N, an SNES game. You can invest and vote for game genre and style here:

http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/en/factory/projectn_3/

:)

[Zebbe]

Project N is now voted to be an action-adventure.

Here are a few new artworks for Project Y:


http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/269/d/b/wm_project_y_by_xgoldenboyx-d5fynsa.png

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/269/6/a/wm_project_y_by_xgoldenboyx-d5fyo9h.png

[Haoie]

I'm not the first person to read the title and think of a catapult firing a watermelon am I?

[Words iManifest]

Just invested $50 in Project N, pretty excited about how this will turn out ! Thanks for the heads up.

[Zebbe]

Hey guys! Just wanted to drop an update on Project Y for Sega MD/Gen:

Every month we will be posting a new concept art teaser. Until the very last months, were we will then show you a lot more ; )

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/045/c/a/tug_by_xgoldenboyx-d5ux7dk.png

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/045/5/0/rondo_by_xgoldenboyx-d5ux5f8.png

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/045/e/b/chavez_by_xgoldenboyx-d5uxj7m.png


Take care!

[Zebbe]

Here is an interview with Luis, conceptual artist and character designer of Project Y:

http://www.magicalgamefactory.com/en...rdirectlink=14

:)

[vrikkgwj]

I've got my gems in. Just make that game, darn it! Pier Solar was a pretty good game. Some of the town designs were mind-boggling with the choices made, but overall still a fantastic game that I'm happy I have a first print run of.

[Zebbe]

Oh yeah, the towns of Pier Solar were meant to be chaotic, crazy and unstructured, pretty much like what WaterMelon was at the time ;).

[Genesaturn]

Totally awesome! Can't wait to get my hands on this! Keep bringing the retro love and you will keep getting my money :D