Kickstarted: David Crane's Jungle Adventure

Creating one of the greatest and most memorable games of all time must be tough. Sure it gets you great acclaim, money and success, but chances are you’ll forever be known as “that [insert your successful game here] guy”.

David Crane must have had that problem for awhile. He’s got a long list of successful titles on his resume like Grand Prix, Kaboom! and (one of my all-time personal favorites) A Boy and His Blob. And for some reason, he’s probably best known in gaming circles as “that Pitfall guy”.

It’s not hard to see why. It’s a great game, if not one of the greats. It brought side-scrolling adventure to a public who didn’t even have a term for such a thing. It turned a few pixels and a limited range of colors into an addictive action adventure.

It should be said, though, that after leaving Activision, he also worked on some not-so-greats… like the game version of the movie “Toys” and a digital remake of the “Home Improvement” TV show. He also worked on one of the greatest stinkers of our time, Night Trap for the Sega CD.

I’m sure he’s grateful that he hasn’t been saddled with the title “that Night Trap guy”.

In the end, it seems Crane doesn’t mind being “that Pitfall guy” after all, now that he’s returning to the genre with a new Jungle Adventure, his latest, which has a Kickstarter campaign.

What Are They Promising to Deliver?: They don’t have any actual gameplay footage yet, but considering that Crane is overseeing a group of young, hungry developers, you’re imagination can easily fill in the blanks. He explained in a recent Reddit live interview that he wanted to include their Kickstarter backers in the design process, rather than design a game from scratch and then start seeking donations. It’s an ambitious idea for a Kickstarter project and having Crane’s name attached shouldn’t make it too hard to convince people to open their wallets.

How Much Have They Raised?: They managed to raise an impressive $20,000 in a little over a week, but even that is a small chunk of change compared to their $900,000 goal.

What Would You Get For Donating?: The benefits for donating include the opportunity to discuss and vote on the development of the game on every dollar level. Some of the bigger donors will get an original Atari 2600 cartridge autographed by Crane, your name and/or likeness in the game and even a lunch with the entire team to discuss your thoughts on the new game.

Will They Make It?: They still have a long way to go moneywise, but time is on their side for the time being. Having Crane on board will certainly help them reach the final stretch of the fundraising project. Being “that Pitfall guy” certainly doesn’t hurt.

Is there a Kickstarter project that you'd like to see featured on a future installment of Kickstarted? Send me a link at daniel.gallagher@viacommix.com.