Where-in I pick through Kickstarter for the projects that most catch my fancy.
Bubblegum Crisis Ultimate Edition Blu-Ray Set
WHAT IT IS: A definitive Blu-Ray release of the classic cyberpunk anime.WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Come on, it's Bubblegum Crisis. On Blu-Ray. Do you really need a reason? Okay, okay...Bubblegum Crisis was one of the first unedited, subtitled anime releases in North America, making for a watershed moment and a title a lot of tried and true anime fans are nostalgic for. It's also being released by the original licensee, and your backing dollar supports a smaller company putting out high-quality releases.
WHAT YOU SHOULD GET: $50 Basic. The physical Blu-Ray disc, postcards, commemorative coin, and involvement in the design process of the Blu-Ray itself.
RELEVANT LINKS: @animeigo | www.animeigo.com | Facebook Page
Hana Doki Kira
WHAT IT IS: A shoujo-inspired comic/illustration anthology lovingly designed and printed.WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: There's a lot to like here, great artwork, the promise of great shoujo tales...but I'll be honest. What sold me is the brilliant use of the seafoam spot color. (Even the project page is adorned in nothing but head-to-toe.) Two-tone printing seems to be a lost art form as full-color has become ubiquitous, but you can do some really special things with it and use shades that simply aren't reproducible in CMYK.
WHAT YOU SHOULD GET: $25 Doki Doki Deluxe Pre-Order. The book, the PDF, and a set of postcards. Higher pledges feature sketches, commissions, tote bags, and other premiums that might strike your fancy.
RELEVANT LINKS: Tumblr | Facebook
Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works
WHAT IT IS: An incredible retrospective of an incredible console. SEEEE-GAAA!WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: First off. The cover. Just look at it. That's a glorious cover, is it not? But this project is more than a pretty face. Exclusive interviews with a veritable who's-who of Sega's 16-bit history, myriad production images of both the console and classic games, 300 pages of cover-to-cover nostalgia awesome, and did I mention how amazing that cover looks?
WHAT YOU SHOULD GET: £30 (roughly $48) The Book. A physical copy of the book and your name immortalized in its pages. No blue hedgehog included unless you go for the $400 hyper-limited edition.
RELEVANT LINKS: @romalerts | www.readonlymemory.vg
Board Games That Tell Stories
WHAT IT IS: A collection of 35 fan-favorite articles from the game blog of the same name.WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: It's not often you can get material written about game design (or tabletop games in general) packaged in a nice hardcover. When it's written by the designer of many great board games, like Neuroshima Hex, it's even better. Admittedly, the text suffers a bit from English being Trzewiczek's second language, but there's still loads of insight and fun humor here. And the cover looks nice.
WHAT YOU SHOULD GET: $26 Hardcover. Nets you a signed hardcover version of the book. But if you poke around the add-ons you can get one of Trzewiczek's great games.
RELEVANT LINKS: http://www.BoardGamesThatTellStories.com/