The Defense Grid 2 crowdfunding campaign has concluded just above (well, $21,000 above) its minimum goal of $250,000. That minimum was the target for funding of Defense Grid: Containment, an eight level expansion for the original game which is due out this December. That's now underway, but to fund the full sequel, with a new engine and 20-mission story, developer Hidden Path had hoped to reach $1,000,000.

Defense Grid fans and backers shouldn't pack up their turrets, though: according to Hidden Path, backers will still receive Defense Grid 2 when it's done. From the Kickstarter page:

"We'll need to do extra work on our end to earn or raise the remaining funds in order to complete DG2, but when we do, you'll still be a part of the team. Crossing $250,000 gets you DG:Containment this December, and DG2 when it is complete."

Without the seven Kickstarter digits Hidden Path was looking for, it isn't clear exactly how Defense Grid 2 will be funded. The FAQ suggests that the developer may even take on other projects to raise the necessary funds, but that in the end, "you will still get a code for DG2 when it is released." So it's not cancelled, which is good news for us and all the people below. Especially Chris Taylor. He's hurting.

Graham, Tom Francis, Rich and Chris discuss Steam sales, the state of Kickstarter, Valve's Greenlight project, Dota 2 and more - including your questions from Twitter. Also featuring Graham's Steam press account hubris, Rich's need to be brilliant at everything, Tom's on again, off again relationship with Defence Grid and how Dota 2 made Chris realise that he's a bad person. On the subject of Dota, Tom Francis would like it known that he disagrees with the imaginary Tom Francis whose opinions Rich quoted in the last podcast.

"I said something along the lines of: it seems like if you get behind early on, you can never catch up because the enemies are too high level to kill, but it still takes you 45 minutes to lose. Which, if true, is bad design. There are lots of other reasons Dota 2 isn't my kind of thing, but the others are just a difference in taste."

Apologies to anyone offended by the views of imaginary Tom Francis. Blame Rich. He's brilliant at taking the blame.

We're aware of a few interference issues with the sound. Sorry about that, everyone - Graham was waving his phone around. We've managed to cut his yells of "woo, look at me, I've got a phone" out of the mix but unfortunately the interference itself is harder to isolate. We've all learned a very important lesson about phones.

Download the MP3, subscribe, or find our older podcasts here.

Show notes:

High Tea - the historical trading game that Tom mentions.
Gravity Bone, the predecessor to Thirty Flights of Loving, is available on the Blendo Games website.
Tom's write-up of the Steam Greenlight announcement.
Our Tribes: Ascend showmatch. No, we are never going to stop linking to this.

 

Add Defense Grid: the Awakening developers Hidden Path to the pile of game creators diving into the scrum for a piece of the Kickstarter pie. They're looking to raise a full million as a stretch goal, but have milestones at every quarter-mil that will allow them to deliver at least part of the DG2 experience. They've also partnered with AMD to give away up to 565 Radeon HD graphics cards to contributors above the $225 line, which is certainly a unique incentive for PC gamers.

At the $250 level, there are 265 HD 6770s available, which are going for about $125 on newegg at the moment. Bump up to the $325 tier, and you could own one of 300 HD 6870s, which are about $180 on their own. Other reward tiers include Razer Naga Hex gaming mice, and the usual t-shirts and unique physical editions we've come to expect.

This particular fundraiser is tiered. If it can raise $250,000, Hidden Path will release a new, 8 level expansion for Defense Grid: The Awakening. At $500,000, they build a new engine, remaster all of the old levels in it, and add multiplayer support. $750,000 will get us a level editor, release on more platforms (Mac, Linux, etc.), and some more multiplayer features. $1 million is the final goal, allowing the development of a full sequel with a new campaign, new aliens, and new towers.

There are still 34 days left to back this one, but some of the tiers have limited quantity "early bird" bonuses, that get you more stuff for less money. So if you want the best value, you may want to back sooner rather than later.