Animalia: The Mole, Kickstarter and Design Experience Opportunity Thread

The Mole is a light-hearted, 2D adventure across the planet
of Animalia, and unlike most of the games in the recent flood of "retro
platformers", The Mole aims to play like
a classic platformer instead of simply looking like one via pixelate graphics.
In fact, The Mole is set to be the first in a five part series, titled
Animalia, in which each game will feature a new protagonist or two, as well as,
explore a slightly different take on platforming controls.

The Mole will include movement above, on, and below ground,
with an emphasis on the transitions between the different movement areas. When
grounded, The Mole will play like your average 2D platformer, but things get
interesting when the player takes to the air via the grappling hook or dives
underground via the earth-drill, both essential components of the character's
all-purpose, multi-tool.

Why would a mole have such a sleek and quite handy gadget,
you might ask? Well, interestingly enough, the mole just so happens to be a
top-notch private eye, and one that's become the undisputed favorite hire for a
specific group of large and slightly shady corporations. For this reason, in
addition to striving to encapsulate the overall feel of a classic platformer,
The Mole will also incorporate many aspects of the modern stealth genre,
creating a unique blend that I hope will satisfy all sorts of fans from Mario
to Metal Gear Solid!

Please leave me comments on what you think of the game premise, the
Kickstarter, or anything else. I truly want to work closely with my fans
on this project as well as any in the future. I look forward to hearing from
all of you!

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The Kickstarter campaign for Animalia: The Mole is set to
begin on April 1^st, 2014 and run for 30 days, concluding on May 1^st,
2014.

In addition, at this time, I am planning on offering the
opportunity to work directly with me on designing a DLC level as a Kickstarter
incentive. Most likely a $250 donation will grant the opportunity to design one
arena level, and for $500 you can design a full-fledged DLC level. In both
cases, the donor will be responsible for creating the design document for the
level, and I will then develop the level technically.

The designer will of course have his or her name listed in
the credits as solely responsible for the design of the level, and can serve as
work done on a shipped title to be reference on applications and resumes. If
you think you might be interested, you can contact me at evanbarmes@gmail.com with any questions.

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Evan Barmes
evanbarmes@gmail.com
Evanbarmes.wordpress.com

So for $500, I can design something which you will then sell? I'm not sure you've thought that through very well, as it doesn't sound like a good deal to me?

First, for anyone unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it is not an auction site, and nothing is for sale. Everything is an incentive for those who generously donate to benefit a cause.

Second, as stated, I will be developing within the Unity3D engine whatever the donor may come up with, which could take me up to two weeks for a full DLC level. Working 5 days a week this amounts to $50 a day which really is not enough for me to support my family, but I'm banking on the development taking a little less than 10 business days per submitted level.

Third, this option is focused on two main groups: 1) those seeking employment in the game industry but are lacking experience, and 2) those who have always wanted to do a little game design but don't have the technical background to build a game from scratch. For the first group, many game design positions won't even look over an application from someone who has not worked on a published title!

Lastly, thanks for the feedback ambershee. I guess I should clarify a little better;)

is there any work on the concept art or pics so far? the concept sounds quite good actually