Matt Conn, founder of GaymerX, and MidBoss Games are hoping to launch the first cyberpunk adventure game funded through Kickstarter.
The '90s themed, queer-friendly RPG tells the story of a young journalist trying to hack it in a neo-San Francisco while uncovering the mysterious disappearance of their best friend. "Read Only Memories" is a mix of adventure storytelling and puzzle solving. The game, while meant to entertain, also hopes to offer commentary on today's social issues.
One unique aspect of the game is the player's ability to choose their character's gender identity as well as pick a queer option.
"Read Only Memories has queer characters, but it isn't "a gay game," says Conn. "A lot of queer characters can be presented on an equal level with their straight counterparts. It's really important that we create more games that have queer characters in them, but the point is also not to shoehorn them in."
MidBoss Games drew much of its influence from the popular 1994 retro-adventure game, "Snatcher." One of the game's voice actors, Jeff Lupetin, even lent his support to ROM's Kickstarter campaign.
As of Monday, the campaign is still $10,000 shy of its $62,064 goal. The campaign is hoping to channel the support for the GaymerX convention into making this queer-friendly game become a reality. Last September, MidBoss Games successfully funded and launched the GaymerX convention. Some of ROM's rewards include tickets to next year's convention. (More on donating here.)
To find even more Kickstarter projects to fund, visit Out's round up of featured campaigns. Previously on Fund This: Travis Wall wants to create a dance movie and The Hunting Season looks for season 2.
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