Jazz Jackrabbit Revival appears on Kickstarter

[ShadowGPW]

A rather unknown indie group Turbo Tech Games lead by Róbert Taddeo has started a Jazz Jackrabbit kickstarter.

For high pledgers (125 dollars and above) you gain access to the alpha and beta. But also being able to give direct response to the game development.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/913575118/jazz-jackrabbit-revival?ref=watched_project_launched

In my humble opinion, it look uninspired and rather ugly. As people commented before, it looks shady. I'm not blown away.

UPDATE - 05/10/2014 @ 11:55
and the project is.. gone.
project-test (Canceled) is the subject of an intellectual property dispute and is currently unavailable.

UPDATE - 05/09/2014 @ 10:31
- Turbo Tech Games hasn't responded yet to my questions.
- The first international outlet is talking about it, they wonder how this is possible without IP rights. http://cliqist.com/2014/09/04/jazz-jackrabbit-revival-hits-kickstarter-who-needs-ip-rights/

UPDATE - 03/10/2014 @ 9:33
More Dutch media are posting about it
http://www.insidegamer.nl/nieuws/113268/schimmige-jazz-jackrabbit-remake-op-kickstarter - insideGamer
http://invdr.net/001/maakt-jazz-jackrabbit-een-comeback/ - invdr

UPDATE - 03/10/2014 @ 0:36
Nick Stadler artist from JJ & JJ2 replied on twitter:
@NoogyTweet @Ins0mnia Hey, I could use the work. Tell Róbert Taddeo to call me if he reaches his goal and @epicgames doesn't cease & desist.
https://twitter.com/Nickadoo/status/507295075794444288

UPDATE - 03/09/2014 @ 21:38
A tweet reply from former Jazz Jackrabbit 2 artist Noogy:
"While I'm all for more Jazz, I have my reservations here. Particularly with redrawn concepts originally by @Nickadoo and myself."
https://twitter.com/NoogyTweet/status/507250504125014017

UPDATE - 03/09/2014 @ 15:52
It looks like the game will be free 2 play upon release.

Are you going to sell it after the end of project?
''No. The game is non profit, it will be released as free for everyone''

Source: Kickstarter FAQ (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/913575118/jazz-jackrabbit-revival?ref=watched_project_launched)

UPDATE - 03/09/2014 @ 14:39
- The Dutch media is picking it up.
http://www.gamer.nl/nieuws/497938/jazz-jackrabbit-remake-aangekondigd-via-schimmige-kickstarter

UPDATE - 03/09/2014 @ 13:45
- It seems that the Twitter gaming community is sceptical about JJR project. https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=jazz%20jackrabbit&src=typd

UPDATE - 03/09/2014 @ 13:30
- The Kickstarter promo is full of typos en errors. Jazz Jackrabbit is several times misspelled: JACK JAZZ RABBIT, JAZZ JACKRABIIT, Jazz JACK RABBIT.... rly? Also scretch goal (stretch goal) or amo (ammo) being misspelled is also rather amusing.
- No mention of Epic Games.
- Nobody of the original team involved.
- Cliffy B seems to like it @ https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/status/506949704442458112
- Funny, Peter Molydeux was one of the first to mention it on Twitter https://twitter.com/PeterMolydeux/status/506948787600756736 *Note, that is not Peter Molyneux
- I've send out a message to Epic Games and Turbo Tech Games (the guys behind the project) for more information.

When we know more, we will post it.

[Stijn]

I'm not too fond of the graphics either (or of the 2D artist's understanding of anatomy). And I see no mention of Epic on the page, so I kind of expect this to get cease-and-desisted soon...

[cooba]

BE ONE OF THE FIRST ...................................... Hi-Res Digital and printed Map of worlds. You'll also receive Alpha Test Access where you can experience Jack Jazzrabiit Revival before it is released to the public.Pls.

[DoubleGJ]

real sad how you can post just about anything on kickstarter

as much as I'd love to see a new Jazz Jackrabbit game, this is just amateur and should remain a fan-game done entirely for free, out of passion. perhaps then the authors would think twice before asking for support on something as bad looking as this

[ShadowGPW]

Agree, I do honestly believe in the warm hearth of the dev's. However, this isn't good enough for our favorite rabbit.

[DrJones]

Peter Molydeux is not Peter Molyneux, but they did point it out to Cliffy.

That being said, these guys don't own the IP, so until Epic says it's OK, I would not invest a cent in it.

[ShadowGPW]

DrJones, you are totally correct!

Added an extra footnote to that.

[DoubleGJ]

o sweet lawd, drjones himself came back from the dark void to denounce this bullshit. I shall cherish this moment for all eternity

[DrJones]

o sweet lord, drjones himself came back from the dark void to denounce this bullshit. I shall cherish this moment for all eternity

I still love the games and fondly remember the community. Haze and I reminisce about stuff plenty of times. We were also responsible for helping LGR to his copy of JJ2 and TSF. His review gave a lot of people a good boost of green-furred nostalgia.

[ShadowGPW]

Yes yes I've heard your name during his review of JJ2. Hah!

[DoubleGJ]

I didn't know that it was you with the LGR thing, that's cool. I still fondly remember what you guys did, to this day Haze's musical exertions remain one of my own inspirations so it's great that you're still in touch :)

[Treylina]

The character design is too horrible to remotely consider it. Why change what's completely fine about Jazz and Spaz? Especially...that model. Not to mention the poses were eyeballed (poorly even), which proves the artistic inexperience.

Please don't let this become real. This isn't the way to revive the franchise (there's nothing really revolutionary gameplay wise anyway). Seems more like a nostalgia reap.

[DennisKainz]

I hope they fix ... I mean ... subdivide the surface of the whole sprite layer.
Right now, the grass and stones look too square, linear, like plastic.

[ShadowGPW]

The character design is too horrible to remotely consider it. Why change what's completely fine about Jazz and Spaz? Especially...that model. Not to mention the poses were eyeballed (poorly even), which proves the artistic inexperience.

Please don't let this become real. This isn't the way to revive the franchise (there's nothing really revolutionary gameplay wise anyway). Seems more like a nostalgia reap.

'there's nothing really revolutionary gameplay wise anyway' - does that really matter? Must it HAVE OMG OMG OMG REVOLUTION GAMPLAZ?

No, it has to have GOOD gameplay. I don't care if it's taken from JJ1 or JJ2 really.

[Seren]

Pledge $20 or more
FULL DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ............................................ Digital downloadable copy of Jazz Jackrabbit Revival DRM-free for PC, MAC OSX, Linux, PS4 or XBOX ONE. This low price only available for those who help fund. You'll also receive the digital enhanced game manual.
FAQ
Are you going to sell it after the end of project?
No. The game is non profit, it will be released as free for everyone
:confused:

[Treylina]

'there's nothing really revolutionary gameplay wise anyway' - does that really matter? Must it HAVE OMG OMG OMG REVOLUTION GAMPLAZ?

No, it has to have GOOD gameplay. I don't care if it's taken from JJ1 or JJ2 really.

Nah, what I mean that it should be more than just a direct JJ2 clone with 3D graphics. If I want JJ2 gameplay, I play JJ2, which is pretty versatile what you can do with it gameplay wise.

JJ2's gameplay could do with a lot of improvement; Better balance, new playable characters and better challenge....but I don't see that happening with these guys lack of experience.

I don't see mediocre/bad graphics anything to marvel over. If the graphics are ugly and it plays the same, I'm not going to touch it.
There's a difference between work that is simply unfinished, and work that looks bad.

I see 3D graphics in 2D sidescrolling games as something different, rather than an improvement.

[KRSplatinum]

The kickstarter page proves this will be the first ever jack jazzrabbit game to be fully finished, the community will purchase the unreal engine for Turbo Tech Games to make Revival of Epic Megagames series for $30,000. Soon all rabbit players will be in 3D single player maps of semi.

[Treylina]

The kickstarter page proves this will be the first ever jack jazzrabbit game to be fully finished, the community will purchase the unreal engine for Turbo Tech Games to make Revival of Epic Megagames series for $30,000. Soon all rabbit players will be in 3D single player maps of semi.

Theres four reasons why this might not happen:

1. It's pretty shady. They can't decide whether they'd sell it or not, the large amount of typoes, and potentially asking for more money than needed.

2. They don't have the rights.

3. No prior experience shown by the developer. Lack of experience causes projects often to die.

4. The poor quality gives a poor impression, turning people off.

If this is sarcasm, congrats for making the worlds driest joke.

[Love & Thunder]

I'm pretty sure it is sarcasm. KRSplat, heavy sarcasm doesn't come across well without exaggeration in typing. As somone who communicates almost exclusively through sarcasm when in conversation among friends, I understand what you're trying to do; just try to make it more obvious next time.

Anyway, this project won't get off the ground. If these guys are just being amateur and they aren't scammers, then they should not be on Kickstarter, they should get on a forum like the one we're talking on right now, and show off what they've got so they can get constructive criticism and make this the best it can be. If they are scammers, double dumbass on them; they don't even have a slight claim to the rights to use the IP. XD

[ShadowGPW]

It finally happend; The day that people take splat seriously....

Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria

[Obi1mcd]

The idea of a Jazz remake is great and all, but there's basically no way these guys aren't just trying to cash in on the nostalgia. Hopefully Epic takes them down soon.
The best thing that can happen from this is to give Epic the idea that people might like this sort of game, but that doesn't seem likely.

[Mercurio]

Does anyone even know who the guy is? I'd assume that any such long time big fan would (have) be(en) known in this relatively small community.

Also the "No. The game is non profit, it will be released as free for everyone" doesn't exactly match the pledge rewards.

[ShadowGPW]

I don't know him.

[djazz]

The kickstarter has been taken down:
project-test (Canceled) is the subject of an intellectual property dispute and is currently unavailable.

[Stijn]

Looks like Epic took it down:


Sender
[Private]
Epic Games, Inc.
620 Crossroads Blvd.
Cary, North Carolina 27518
United States

Sent via online form

Recipient
Kickstarter, Inc.
58 Kent Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222
USA

Re: Jazz Jackrabbit Revival

Description of copyrighted material: Jazz Jackrabbit is a series of video games developed by Epic Games (then known as Epic MegaGames) for PC and other platforms in the mid-1990s.

Description of infringing material: This project purports to revive the Jazz Jackrabbit series (including the copyrighted content as well as series trademarks), but does so without Epic's consent.


(link) (https://www.kickstarter.com/dmca/jazz-jackrabbit-revival-submitted-by-epic-games-inc)

[cooba]

succes

[Toni_]

This try of making a game will fail just like every other try failed :P

I will quote me from another thread. Funny, haha.

[Hare]

"And there was much rejoicing."

I would love to see an attempt at creating a (good) Jazz Jackrabbit clone that doesn't infringe on Epic's IP. Kind of like the Sonic fandom did with Freedom Planet...

Sonic fandom... Original IP. heh :P

[Violet CLM]

Hare: <a href="http://www.jazz2online.com/skitch/">well,</a>

[Hare]

@Violet - Yeah. Skitch was a good concept. For a moment there, I was thinking you were going to link me to Toxic Bunny :P.

[ShadowGPW]

...aaaand bye bye!

[Metsys]

I would love to see an attempt at creating a (good) Jazz Jackrabbit clone that doesn't infringe on Epic's IP. Kind of like the Sonic fandom did with Freedom Planet.

I joined pretty much to say exactly that. I bought Freedom Planet recently and despite the bumpy difficulty curve it plays and emotionally feels like a Sonic game. They nailed everything: the character design, the use of color, the music, everything. It's feels like it came right out of the Sonic universe, and the talent to execute on that was all within the Sonic community.

I'm sure the Sonic community begged Sega to remake the original Sonic games after they repeatedly screwed the franchise and failed to deliver on what the fans would have enjoyed playing. The Jazz Jackrabbit community is in a similar same boat, except instead of getting crap they are getting bupkis.

I'm confident that people with the means (i.e. talent and time) would have already considered it an option to make a fan work inspired by the Jazz universe but devoid of the copyrighted source material so it can be sold. It's a viable option to get more of what people liked about the Jazz Jackrabbit games without having to wait or beg for Epic to do it.

I'm glad that we now have Freedom Planet to point to as a success story for that very thing.

[Hare]

:P http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMTr7QFsFZM

@Metsys - All true, but Sega does seem to be changing things around. Sonic Generations was absolutely amazing (& the classic remix to City Escape is one of my favorite remixes of all time). I hear that Sonic Colors was good too. I just wish Epic would jump on the retro revival bandwagon. At least, they should release the old games on Steam & GoG.

As far as fangames go, yeah. Creating a clone with original IPs is the best way to go. No legal troubles, and we own the rights to everything we create.

[DoubleGJ]

:P http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMTr7QFsFZM
WHY WASN'T I AWARE OF THIS

THEY'VE ALREADY SOLD OUT

SHIT

[PSWaterbunny]

I'm kinda surprised they attempted this. If you're gonna ask for money for anything related to a game you don't own, you're asking for trouble.

[Metsys]

Yeah, I'm not sure what their reasoning was. Maybe they thought Epic abandoned the franchise and they wouldn't notice/care? Maybe they are sending a message of, "Hey Epic, we really want more Jazz and we'll do it without you," knowing perfectly well it would be taken down? Those are primarily my more flattering theories of course.

Either way, if they want to continue with what they have already built (I'm assuming they are lurking this thread) keep the tech, the levels, but create new characters, story, but make it feel like it's in the same universe. If the game ends up being good, then the same things that made fans out of the JJ games would make fans out of your game too.

I should also point out that most people's first projects, whether it's art, stories, video games, music, etc., are always going to be derivative. That's just how we learn. This project just happened to have been a little more extreme in that regard.

[Nickadoo]

Since the project was cancelled, you all have my permission to send your money directly to me instead if you like.

[cooba]

Hello Nick!!!!!

[Nickadoo]

Hey guys,

I'm posting this here for now seeing as I'm a new member and don't have privileges to post a new thread just yet. (I'll start a new thread when I'm fully activated).

I'm Nick Stadler, one of the members of O.G. Jazz team. I'm in the process of moving and I've been doing a lot of long overdue spring cleaning. I happened to come across a stack of old artwork, specifically nearly all of the original black & white ink drawings I did for Jazz 2 promotional material, as well as the full color ink/color pencil drawing of both Jazz & Spaz that appeared on the Jazz 2 box and cover screen.

I'm considering auctioning them off as a set on eBay once I'm finally settled into my new place. First, though, I thought I'd see if any of you diehard fans would actually even contemplate bidding on it.

Included:

Full color original rendering of Jazz & Spaz (box cover/title screen image)

Black & white line drawing of Jazz & Spaz (same as above)

Approximately 9 or 10 pages of line drawings of Jazz, Spaz, Eva, Devan and several in-game enemies that were used throughout the manual (black & white line drawings that were scanned and later colored in DPaint)

Original black and white line drawings of the comic book (Time Warp) which appeared in the manual. (All of the talk bubble inside copy was added later in DPaint).

Several pages of early concept pencil sketch art with scribbled notes.

I'll take photos of everything later (everything is packed away at the moment). If I decide to do this, the auction will take place sometime in early October.

-Nickadoo

[Metsys]

Oooo...that's, hmm. I don't think I'd be able to actually outbid any of the diehard fans, but count me in as interested.

[Metsys]

(Waits patiently for Robert Allen to be summoned into re-existence and join the forums.)

[Treylina]

I think the majority of fans are poor (from my experience), and most those who have an extra amount of money moved on to something else. But I could be completely wrong.

Btw Metsys, you can edit your post with the edit button on the bottom corner.

[Metsys]

Well good, that means I might be able to get something at the auction. :)

[Stijn]

Colour me interested. And hi Nick, nice of you to drop by :)

[DoubleGJ]

First, though, I thought I'd see if any of you diehard fans would actually even contemplate bidding on it.
I'm in. Not only because I'd love to personally own at least one of your Jazz pictures, but also because I want to help out in your settling down in a new place. :)

[PT32]

Consider me a bidder, good sir.

[Slaz]

Hi Nick! I'll be a bidder too. Don't expect me to put on astronomical sums of money though!

Wouldn't it be a good idea to sell some stuff individually instead of just one big package? That way more fans will have a chance to own something, and you can create better insight in the actual value of the items.

[DanYjel]

Count me in!

[AvalancheMaster]

Count me in as well. God, I'm not a frequent poster, but honestly, I love JJ2.

Also, I'll take the opportunity to tell you that JJ1 and JJ2 were a huge thing back in the days in Bulgaria. I don't know if you know anything of the recent history of Bulgaria (the collapse of '97 and stuff), but most copies were pirated. Those of us who managed to get their hands on an original copy, boy, were we famous. :D

So, yeah, buying Jazz Jackrabbit actually changed my life. Later we spend aeons playing JJ2 with friends (the only other game we played at the time was Tzar). Now everybody's moved with his life, and I'm just sitting here, hoping to get my hands on some JJ2 sketches.

But those games were such huge, huge parts of my childhood, you might as well offer a moon stone to a baby boomer.

[ShadowGPW]

Closed the topic because the project has been cancelled

For the art talk by Nick, go here. (http://www.jazz2online.com/jcf/showthread.php?t=19747)