For our next project I wanted to temporarily side step an FPS as I had been surrounded by them for the last twenty years. The other major design I had been toying with was an "SNES-inspired" experience where we really cater to the spirituality of that generation. I mean this in regards to accessibility, over-the-top gameplay, power ups, 4-player local multiplayer, tons of destruction and gore and so much more.

The idea is to take all of those mechanics that I and so many others grew up on and then marry them to a top-tier next generation engine in the form of Unreal Engine 4 and make it look absolutely gorgeous. 

One of the most demanded aspects of the Orion game series is that people want story and lore. The ironic thing is that the Orion lore was the very first thing that I had ever designed or created. In fact I spent the entire first decade on crafting the lore of Orion. 

We are looking to raise at least $200,000 in order to be able to confirm and stick to our planned deadlines to reach the 2016 Official Release.  We've already fully funded the Kickstarter Build, Early Access and a bit more and everything we make in addition will be used to further grow the game.

That is how Guardians of Orion was born. It is our "Next Gen SNES Game".

Guardians of Orion allows us to explore this a bit more and it occupies the time space of our first arrival into the new Solar System, which is a pivotal place to explain the how, why, where, what and when of everything. This takes place one decade before 'ORION: Prelude'.

I still wanted to feature maximum detail while approaching an isometric, top down shooter. In addition it needed to feature fun, addicting, fast-paced and real time combat. Not only that but I wanted to step up other components of the gameplay to really make use of that rendering space. This is where we've amped up Destruction, Gibs, Gore, Weather and many more systems that come together to create a truly amazing experience.

While the default game is a top-down, twin-stick shooter we DO have tiers on the crowdfunding campaign that will let players opt in to support two 3rd person game modes for the 2016 official release: Rampage (playable Dinosaurs/Beasts) and Warzone (3rd Person Shooter).  The highest stretch goal allows for the cooperative campaign where the lore would make it into an Orion game for the first time ever.

In addition to amping up the visual fidelity I also wanted to evolve the Orion gameplay formula as much as possible and to really make use of this new view point. This is where we've added the new standard ability called 'Blinking'.

Every character in the game is capable of this and it changes everything. It can be utilized in conjunction with your Guardian Ability (Jetpack, Cloak, Overcharge) as well as your other skill sets such as dodge evades, grenades, melee attacks and more.

Due to Guardians of Orion taking place ten years before Prelude, you'll be able to experience better weapons and technology before resources and supplies started dwindling forcing the guardians to resort to older technology and gear, some even used in the Civil War. 

You'll also notice prettier and more inhabited vistas. You'll notice a larger presence of ion crystal formations as well, as they were mostly only present in underground levels such as 'Geode' in ORION: Prelude.

There is a dynamic array of wild life on Orion during this time. You'll notice many familiar and new species of dinosaurs, but you'll also encounter some of the more exotic creatures that are specific to the new solar system. We hope to add many new dinosaurs and creatures over time.

In addition to more familiar enemies, we are adding brand new types. In the immediate this will extend to the Drone Army. During post-release support this will extend into Insects.

We are going for a Fixing/Mixing post-release method. We will release an update every single month, with one month focused on optimization, fixes and tweaks with the following month focused on content and growth, including new weapons, guardians, dinosaurs, maps, modes and more.

Early Access (Q4 2015)

• 1 Game Modes (Coop)
• 3 Guardians
• 3 Maps
• 10+ Enemy Types
• 10+ Weapons & Gear
• Destruction
• Gibs & Gore
• Steam Achievements
• Full Gamepad Support
• Windows /Linux

Official Release (2016)

• 3 Game Modes (Coop, PvP, Local)
• 5 Guardians
• 10 Maps
• 15+ Enemy Types
• 15 Weapons & Gear
• Fatalities
• Destruction
• Gibs & Gore
• SDK & Workshop
• Steam Achievements
• Full Gamepad Support
• Windows/Linux