Gurgle is a vorish
trading card game that focuses on the struggle between predator and
prey. As a dastardly meddler, you play around with the fate of a
chosen few, satiating the hunger of your predators while protecting
your prey from others like you. Life is just a game, so you may as
well instigate a little conflict... Who cares if a few people get a
little slobber on them, so long as you have fun!
In
this game, you’ll be fitting your monsters and morsels with the
means to take out your opponents’. Score 10 points before anyone
else and you win. You score points when one of your predators devours
someone, and you can use cards like actions and events to help them
do so. But
be careful--when a predator becomes full, it naturally has to gurgle
its food away. Like a quick hibernation, this leaves it vulnerable to
the antics of your foes. If you let your predators go too crazy, they
might find themselves out of the action before you know it!
Don’t be afraid to play dirty. In fact, it’s encouraged!
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My pen name for this project is Shadecerule, who is also my flavorful fursona. I've kept my real identity a secret due to the mature nature of this game (you know, because of employers, crazy people from the Internet, and all that jazz), but here is a little bit about me. I'm a game designer who recently graduated from the Art Institute of Vancouver near the top of my class. During my time there, I underwent rigorous training in game design, programming, and playtesting. Other than Gurgle, I am working on a few nifty little Android games, but I hope to make more vore games in the future!
Gurgle began as a simple idea that I spurred up for fun. Once I realized my idea had potential, I decided to take the game to the next level and get serious. I've been working on it for the past three years and it's become a labor of love. Now, I want to release something that everyone in the vore fandom can enjoy. This game has taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage and I'm finally at the last stretch. That's why I've started this campaign: to bring it to you guys!
Where is Gurgle With Playtesting?
Gurgle has gone through loads of playtesting to get it to where it is now, but it still needs more. I'm presently putting together a digital platform to make for some quick and easy playtesting. I'll be using a program called LackeyCCG which allows me to create my own plugin with only a small amount of programming. If anyone would like to join me in some playtests once this gets up and running, feel free to shoot me an email! (Importantly, I must point out that this will not be a prototype for the digital version of the game! LackeyCCG will only be for playtesting. The digital version of Gurgle will be created more professionally with Unity 5.)
Where is Gurgle With the Digital Version?
At present, the digital version is still undergoing its technical design phase. I've been writing an entire document to flesh out the technical needs and functions the game requires; for instance, menu flowcharts and animation timings. It's approximately 80% complete but I need to do a little more playtesting before I can finalize the document.
What Does Gurgle Need, and Why Fund It?
Gurgle is primarily a game that panders to those who are into vore. This is a big project and a very expensive endeavore (ahem), and so I need a lot of help from you: the community. I’ve designed about 300 cards for the first set and I have a few smaller sets planned out for the future. While this campaign is just to help me get the first set off the ground, 300 cards is still an expensive venture in terms of art. My goal is to commission many great artists from the community, but this will only be possible with your support. (If you'd like to see the artists I am interested in, here is a lovely little list for you to look at. Feel free to make suggestions for artists you'd like to see in the game!)
I’m asking for $15,000 so that I can afford to pay these lovely people for all that art. I project that $13,000 will go toward paying artists, and the rest will go toward backer perks, the Indiegogo fee and taxes, and a portion of the first batch of cards. The rest of the money I need to complete this project will come out of my own pocket.
For those of you interested, here's a tasty pie chart that shows approximately where your support will go.
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How Will Artists Be Paid?
Properly compensating artists is very important to me. I've heard so many stories about people not getting paid or getting taken advantage of, and I don't want this project to be one of those stories.
Artists will be paid upfront before they even begin working. I intend on paying people their standard commission price for the assigned work, as well as a 15-20% licensing fee. I'm also offering the option to redeem perks that equal your commission price, and a combination of perks and payment. I'm always open to discussion!
One more note in response to a few popular questions: art will be licensed to me for use in my game, but the artist will still retain partial ownership of their created work. The owners of any characters involved in the art will also retain all ownership rights to their characters.
How Will Gurgle Be Distributed?
Gurgle will initially be released as a physical card game and then as a digital game. This is because once the game has been fully made, it is quite easy to release it as a physical product. The digital version of the game requires coding, more art assets, engine and server expenses, and a lot more time. I would also like to hire a team of talented folks to help me out so that it can be made as professionally as possible! That is why the digital version has been scheduled for release at a later date.
I will be publishing and distributing this game myself. I plan on ordering my cards and supplies through The Game Crafters, though I am also considering DriveThruCards. Other suggestions are also welcome! A few factors still need to be ironed out before concrete decisions can be made. At the present moment, the approximate expense of my first batch of cards (including materials like dice and rulebooks, as well as the physical backer perks) amounts to approximately $950.
Perky Perks
Naturally, every good campaign has some snacks for its backers!
All perks stack, meaning that when you make a contribution, you will receive that perk and all the earlier perks. Also note that some perks have a limited availability. When they are no longer available, they will be removed from the list and can no longer be claimed. Make sure to get them before they're gone!
For those of you who select cameo and character slot perks, be warned: This game cannot accept characters that breach any copyright. If a character is under copyright, I must have permission from the owner of the intellectual property.
Additionally, those who are interested in cameo slots can look at this list to see what is available!
Stretch(y) Goals
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A campaign needs to have some goals to stretch out those guts, right? Well, here they are!
$16,000 - All backers who contributed at least $25 will have a ticket entered in a raffle. Backers will have 1 additional ticket entered for every $10 contributed beyond $25, for a maximum of 10 tickets. First prize will have their perk tier upgraded to the $450 perk. If the winner has already reached the $450 perk tier, then they get all of those perks over again! Second prize will be awarded with a cameo slot in one of the cards. Third prize will receive one of each starter deck and three booster packs. The winners will be selected when the campaign ends and the prizes will ship with the rest of the perks.
$20,000 - When Gurgle enters its digital phase of production, a team of talented individuals will be hired to work on it. Production time is estimated to be 8-12 months and will begin 3-5 months after the end of this campaign. This game will be available on Windows, Linux, and Mac, and it will support 2-4 player matches over the Internet. It will be made in Unity 5 and it will be free to download and play! (While the digital version will be made with or without this goal, this goal will allow it to be made more quickly and more professionally.)
