Author Neal Stephenson is taking a brief break from penning novels in order to help fund a sword-based video game known as Clang.
Stephenson this week set up a Kickstarter fund that is calling for $500,000 for the development of a PC-based, sword-fighting game. With 28 days left to go, the effort has already raised almost $167,000 from more than 3,200 backers.
Why swords? "My career as an author of science and historical fiction has turned me into a swordsmanship geek," Stephenson wrote on Kickstarter. "As such, I'm dissatisfied with how swordfighting is portrayed in existing video games."
He pointed to many of the most popular first-person shooter games, where players obsess over the weapons and stats. When it comes to swords, however, there is a "glaringly absent suite of customization options," Stephenson said in an explainer video (below).
To goal with Clang, he said, is to provide gamers with a "historically credible" way to became a knight or a samurai from the safety of their PC.
"At first, [Clang will] be a PC arena game based on one-on-one multiplayer dueling," Stephenson said. "Dueling, however, is only the tip of the sword blade."
Stephenson's Subutai Corporation has been working with Amazon's new science-fiction publishing house, 47 North, to produce many an adventure tale that will be the backbone of Clang. "Once we get Clang off the ground we intend to weave game and story content together in a way that'll enhance both the playing and the reading experience," he said.
The author acknowledged that Clang might draw comparisons to SoulCaliber, but Stephenson promised more in-depth and precise movements, as well as expandability. Initially, Clang will rely on off-the-shelf controllers, but more customized accessories could emerge down the line.
Ultimately, Stephenson and Subutai will take a four-pronged approach to the development of Clang: study the books; talk to the experts; pay attention; and show respect, he said.
At this point, his team is not studying martial arts in order to make a video game. "We've been doing this for awhile; the idea of making a game came along pretty late," he said. "If this campaign fails and the game never happens, we'll keep training anyway."
With the Kickstarter funds, however, Subutai will have enough money to hire people who can make Clang a reality. Stephenson said because he is "nerd famous," he can help bring in bring in some of that money, but he's not giving up his day job.
"Subutai Corporation is my attempt to figure out what the future of my craft looks like in a world where fiction gets distributed on electronic devices 10 minutes after it's written; where video games, movies, and graphic novels are produced from shared, digital assets using a common tool chain; and where geek culture is fascinated by huge, long-running franchises describing the arcs of imaginary worlds spanning thousands of years, where creators can route around the old, broken-down funding models and get their budgets directly via crowd-sourcing - which is your queue, by the way," Stephenson concluded.
What type of incentives is Subutai providing to investors? Those who pledge $25 or more will get a game download and a thank you credit. The more you pledge, the more you get, all the way to $10,000, which will land you a seel longsword based on a design by noted sword-smith and Foreworld contributor, Angus Trim, as well as a studio tour and lunch with the team.
For more on Kickstarter, check out PCMag's interview with co-founder Yancey Strickler.
For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.
