Hi everyone, I hope my little vacation didn't leave too many of you Kraving another Kickstarter Kompilation. Normally, I get these out on a monthly basis but I was far away from my PC and living my best life on August 1. Now that it's September and the weather has improved oh-so-slightly, I am ready to resume my record-keeping.

As always, we have no insider information or financial interest in any of these projects, and no one at Retronauts has been compensated for including anything on this page. Also, in light of the ongoing pandemic, we recommend only backing crowdfunding campaigns if you feel comfortable with your own security and stability.

Hand-Drawn Game Guides
Platform: the printed page
Campaign ends: September 5
Estimated delivery time: February 2022
Minimum pledge to receive a guide: $25 US, plus shipping

Under the maxim "Old Games, New Guides," artist Philip Summers has created a series of unauthorized strategy guides/art books for classic video games from the 1980s. He's completed three so far: Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, and Contra & Ninja Gaiden. All his work is available in digital form but he's using Kickstarter to produce hard-cover editions, $25 for one book or $65 for a complete set (plus $5 shipping in the US, more overseas).

Attorney of the Arcane
Platform: PC, Mac, Android, iOS
Campaign ends: September 15
Estimated delivery time: "Q4 2022"
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $20 US (digital only)
Demo available

2021 is the 20th anniversary of the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, a series that maintains a healthy fan base to this day. Attorney of the Arcane is a game very much built in the spirit of that series, putting players in control of a young defense lawyer named Tyrion Cuthbert. The gimmick here is that Tyrion and all his clients live in a fantasy world where magic spells are real.
The first of five planned chapters is already available on Steam and Android for free as a demo of the full game.

Carpathian Night
Platform: Windows, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Campaign ends: September 16
Estimated delivery time: March 2022
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $12 US (digital only)
Demo available

Considering how often we see indie Metroidvanias in these monthly round-ups, it's far less common to encounter an indie version of a "Classicvania," which is exactly how Tezcatek's Cesar Hernandez describes the gameplay style of Carpathian Night. Dracula as a character is over 100 years old so absolutely anyone is allowed to make a game about hunting that most-famous of vampires, even one where the heroes wield a whip or a spear.

Roniu's Tale
Platform: NES
Campaign ends: September 16
Estimated delivery time: December 2022
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $15 US (digital only)
Demo available

Roniu's Tale is a new game for the NES that is doubly-retro as the developers state it was first conceptualized as a mobile game back in 2011. That's 10 years ago! Once they decided to switch platforms, the puzzle-based gameplay remained the same, but now it works with a d-pad and two buttons.
Note that a $15 pledge only qualifies for a ROM file; backers looking for an actual cartridge for their NES must pledge at least $40 (shipping included).

Infinity
Platform: Game Boy Color (a Steam port stretch goal has been met)
Campaign ends: September 17
Estimated delivery time: September 2022
Minimum pledge to receive the game: CA$ 12 (about $10 US, digital only)
Preview ROM available

Infinity isn't a modern retro game, it was developed at the end of the 20th century for the Game Boy Color and intended for release. However, with the release of the Game Boy Advance in 2001, the project struggled to find a publisher and was officially cancelled in 2002. A version of the game went public online five years ago, but now a team of original staff members seek to finish the game and even wish to produce physical copies.
A CA$ 12 pledge is enough to download the full game once it's completed, but anyone looking to add a GBC cartridge to their collection must pledge at least CA$ 90 (plus shipping).

Coding History: 3D from Mode7 to DOOM
Platform: it's a video series
Campaign ends: September 23
Estimated delivery time: December 2022
Minimum pledge to see the videos: nothing!

I'm no computer programmer and I don't really understand how video games are made, but given my age I am fascinated by the advancement of graphics. When this hobby got its claws into me, games were abstract collections of rectangles, but today everything is made of twelve billion polygons. In between those extremes, developers had to work all sorts of magic to create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional screen.
This proposed video series, from an indie developer with decades of experience (one previously featured on Kickstarter Kompilation), will outline the history of 3D graphics and will be made available for free, hence the no-cost listing above. Backers willing to pledge at least $50 US will get early access to the videos and can download them as well.

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