I’m in a mood for writing about things, so let’s just go ahead and fill my blog with words!
Starting with my unasked for opinion on the Arkh Project~
I’ve seen a lot of debate on the Arkh Project lately, and I’m still trying to figure out what I think.
On the one hand, I love it. The concept sounds amazing, I’m already in love with the characters, and what story we have sounds like a lot of fun…! I really want to be able to play this game someday, and there’s just so many reasons why…! The representation of genderqueer characters… the fact that POC are the main focus… the idea of exploring worlds based on various non-European cultures…! I just really love it all!
On the other hand, there’s a lot of chatter about how viable the project is. There are questions about the ability of the team to program, talk about how they’re going through the process of development, questions about how they’re handling fundraising and money… and honestly, the points they make seem like valid ones to bring up. I can understand their feelings that people shouldn’t risk their money on something that might not come to anything.
(There’s also a lot of talk about the person in charge of the project, and… honestly, I just… I don’t think I have anything to say about that. I’ve never heard of them before this, so I can only form an opinion from screencaps of posts and a skim of their blog. I feel uncomfortable making a judgement based on conflicting second hand accounts, so I’m just going to say that at the very worst, I would hope the project would not completely die if one person was to be removed from it.)
Personally, I’m really optimistic! I honestly believe Arkh can become a great game! The people making it seem passionate, and every new detail they reveal really makes me think that they have a strong impression of their world and characters. I don’t believe something with this much care and love behind it will come to nothing at all.
On the other hand, I really don’t know if the scope they have is totally achievable,. A top tier, big-budget release seems like it’s reaaaally reaching. It’s a huge goal, and they’ve never made a game before, and it’s just extremely ambitious.
So what I’m sort of hoping is that in the end, the Arkh Project creates something.
I’m not asking for the big budget game they want to make (although I would love it if that’s what they give us). I just want something with this world, these characters, this love and passion. If they have to scale down to something more reasonably-sized, I will still love Arkh. Hell, I would be happy if all we ever got was a bunch of beautiful pictures and a novelization of the story they wanted to tell!
…man, I guess in the end, I want to say “let’s give it the benefit of the doubt”. Let’s try to make this a reality. Let’s believe as long as we can, let’s urge them to make this happen, let’s support the idea that this could happen!
Yes, there is the chance that this will collapse. That we will never get anything but some pretty art of gorgeous characters and a dream. That people will have donated money that they will never get back. But that is a risk you have to choose to make anytime you donate money to a private cause, and I think that the people choosing to support Arkh know that. When I have a bit of spending money, I’d really like to help out, too. And I’m okay with the possibility that I will never see a game come of it.
And I just think that if we’re all aware there’s a chance of failure… that it’s okay to hope it succeeds. To believe that no matter what the outcome is, some good will come of it.