So the other day I was on Twitter and suddenly I noticed Tim Schafer say they had something exciting to announce soon...

Now if you don't know me, I freakin' ADORE Tim Schafer and I LOVE Double Fine, so things like this get me REALLY hyped up!

Needless to say a few hours pass and I see this...

Yep, you heard right! Double Fine launched their second Kickstarter project and it is called MASSIVE CHALICE!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fines-massive-chalice

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Now there's something I really liked about this project that had me sold even before they explained what the game was about... and that's Brad Muir!

Brad Muir is one of Double Fine's extremely talented programmers and designers whom I also adore quite a bit. Certainly he isn't as memorable as Tim Schafer, and some people might be bummed that Tim isn't even on the development team for MASSIVE CHALICE, but trust me... Brad's a great project lead!

Need proof? Well Brad Muir lead 2 pretty successful Amnesia Fortnight projects already. The first one which was called Custodians of the Clockwork (I may have got that name wrong) which was a tactical tower defense game with a steampunk theme... don't recognize it... well it turned into a game called Trenched which turned into a game called Iron Brigade!

He also lead another Amnesia Fortnight project called Brazen! Its basically Monster Hunter meets Ray Harryhausen. Unfortunately it seems Double Fine have been having difficulties getting it through to a publisher... shame. The prototype was made playable in last year's Amensia Fortnight, and was offered again during their Humble Bundle.

He also pitched a concept called Kaiju Piledriver last year... it just barely missed its mark to get made into a prototype... but damn... just its name makes me want to play it!

So basically Brad Muir is a cool guy who really deserves a chance to make MASSIVE CHALICE! He's also just a cool dude in general when I saw him on Amnesia Fortnight livestreams or in the Double Fine Action Forums.

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But hey, what about MASSIVE CHALICE? Well it seems to be this bizarre tactical RPG hybrid. There isn't much to go on with specific mechanics, but it seems to be a game geared towards people who love tactics games like X-COM, Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, and a feudal fantasy theme similar to that tv show that everyone wants me to watch Game of Thrones.

The game so far seems to be centralized around commanding generations of heroes in long running bloodlines. A lot of the game will be spent just raising these Houses to create massive families of epic heroes. And also slaying demons... there's that too.

This seems like a solid game concept and we've only scratched the surface. The MASSIVE CHALICE forums are alive with people coming up with interesting ideas and the developers noting down what people seem to want and what good ideas they're consumers have for their game. Its another example of Double Fine's openness with their consumer base that I love. Already in the few days the Kickstarter has been up and people have been coming up with neat ideas about how skills and traits can be passed down through Family Genetics or Family Training. Even more controversial topics have been raised like Same Sex marriages possibly being in the game which seemed like an unlikely concept due to the initial concept's focus on genetics, but then with some consumer and developer input, people have brought up ways it might be able to be done.

Or in a lot lesser words... this game is going to be hype!

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Also... One Month... $100... One Bloodline...

Last time, I missed the Kickstarter for Double Fine Adventure...

This time, I'm going all in...

HOUSE YOCCA OR BUST!

I'm making it my own goal to personally raise and back $100 to get the House Yocca Bloodline into MASSIVE CHALICE! I want my name to be immortalized among the powerful dynasties of MASSIVE CHALICE! The Shafers, The Muirs, and the other Houses of the kingdom will band together to fight the demons, and I want House Yocca to be there...

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But why Kickstarter... again?

Now I've seen quite a lot of people get up in arms about Double Fine quickly returning to Kickstarter, claiming that the company's greed has caused them to abuse crowd funding... I disagree entirely.

People see Kickstarter as this Indie Game generator. Certainly it was cool when Double Fine did it once, but people seem to think that having Double Fine dip in it again is asking for too much. Really? You mean the very people who made Kickstarter what it is today shouldn't be allowed to go back? That sounds kinda silly. Also Double Fine might just spark some more interest into Kickstarter again making more possible backers come back to the site. After Double Fine's initial Kickstarter I kept going back to check out other ones and made my donations. Who's to say others won't do the same?

Also Kickstarter isn't made just for nobody Indie Games... actually it really wasn't specifically made for games in the first place, but what it is for video games is an alternative publishing method. Double Fine have stated that they have had trouble finding good publisher deals for their games. And they have people to put to work so why not crowdfund to publish another project.

But Double Fine Adventure made SOO much money, why do they need more from us?

Well that money was raised for Double Fine Adventure and Double Fine Adventure ONLY! Those millions go only into that project. If they went anywhere else, they'd be stealing from their backers.

But Double Fine Adventure isn't finished. I need to see results from Double Fine Adventure before I invest in a new project.

Actually... that's fine. I personally think what they've done and shown for us is more than enough for me to want to invest again without seeing a finished product yet, but its fine to have that mindset, its your money. But this thought that Double Fine should be required to finish a Kickstarter Project before starting a new one is ridiculous. That is not how games publishing works. A developer can get multiple games published simultaneously from one publisher as long as the developer has a team to work on the second project. Kickstarter is essentially a publisher so they can go back to the crowd as frequent as they damn well feel like it.

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So will MASSIVE CHALICE get backed? Will MASSIVE CHALICE be the new tactical RPG that has been prophecized to win the hearts of tactical RPG fans everwhere? Will House Yocca become the strongest dynasty of the land and smite all foes that stand before them?

Only time will tell!