A Dragon Named Coal is the latest entry into the Square Enix Collective program. Featuring dragons, whether they be the fierce and noble or cute and cuddly, a disney-esque presentation style combined with gorgeous pixel art. The aforementioned art is merely a front to a much darker and more serious tale, drawing inspiration from the likes of Game of Thrones or Berserk to create intricate plots with consequences to your actions.
A Dragon Named Coal is also heavily inspired by such classic heavy hitters as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, to deliver a sidescrolling action RPG with a variety of skills and variety in playstyle. So if you want to see more potentially interesting and creative game ideas spring up and succeed rather than fall away into obscurity… or worse, have them never be developed at all, then you might want to have a look at A Dragon Named Coal.
Sadly, the game isn’t presently finished (though a demo is available), but with your assistance it could come out looking more like the game you want it to be.
Notable publisher and developer Square Enix have been maintaining their Collective program for some time now, which seeks to bring promising games in development into the community limelight. Rather than pick existing games that are already running (or have previously run) crowdfunding programs, they instead aim to have people provide feedback on the game so the developers can hone their ideas further. Viewers then vote for whether or not they’d back the game, and those with considerable notice may receive Square Enix assistance in their funding ventures, which can certainly help bridge the gap from concept to creation.
While there are many other games that have passed through the Collective with some success, such as The Turing Test, A Dragon Named Coal is the most recent and one that has caught my eye with its promises. There are a lot of interesting ideas drawn from sources that I’m quite fond of, and the dichotomy between the charming lead character and the potentially grim narrative are concepts I’d love to see explored.
Given that the initial Kickstarter rush appears to have died down and we’re now into a more steady stream of crowdfunding ventures, it’s quite easy for these projects to pass us by. This is likely further tempered by less than stellar results from big campaigns — Mighty No. 9 comes to mind — so having the Collective present games for feedback and general approval before seeking out funding seems like a smart decision and one I wholly endorse.
If any of this strikes your fancy, be sure to check out the links provided and show your support. With a little love from fans, we may get to play through the adventures of the adorable black dragon Coal sooner rather than later.
While you’re there, be sure to give further attention to some of the other projects there. Square Enix is doing good work by helping out smaller developers, so it’d be a shame to waste the opportunity!
