Roger Hicks and Hillmon Ancrum were just two people working on yet another Roguelike action title, except that their particular Roguelike was perhaps unlike any that people had ever seen before. Their game told the tale of two teens whom began a van trip across the land in search of rock star fame, yet somehow instead managed to attract the attention of an intergalactic alien invasion. Now — with his friend abducted — the remaining teenager must take the fight to the marauding aliens in order to recover his friend, with his only tools being his music and a high-tech alien battle suit!
The catch is that the very music that his band plays will somehow create the actual structure of each and every alien spaceship he invades, controlling both the power-ups available and the monsters present. As he travels from venue to venue his band will gain additional performers, each of whom specializes in a variety of different instruments (all of which affect the nature of alien labyrinths in unique ways). Through the acquisition of new note types — new instruments — and through a growing understanding of how to bend the alien warships to his own will, it will be up to the young lad to forge his own destiny!
However — despite Band Saga receiving constant praise — the harsh realities of development soon set in, and the duo were eventually faced with the truth that they’d either have to work in cubicles — rather than on their game — or give up things like eating. It was for this reason that the duo approached Kickstarter with a request for $31,000 in development funds, so that they could push forward towards finishing the project that they had already poured so much of own their personal time — patience — and money into. However — although the Kickstarter initially garnered much positive press — things started seeming as if the required funding minimum was in danger of not being met, that is until a helpful shout out from Keiji Inafune — Mega Man’s creator — pushed them over the top!
Now — with Band Saga fully funded — Roger Hicks and Hillmon Ancrum are getting back to work on their baby, which they plan to launch early next year on Windows, Mac, Linux and iOS based platforms everywhere. For those whom ever hoped for an isometric alien blasting romp — filled with randomly generated Roguelike levels, all of which were generated via music that you can modify in real time — then this is the game to watch for! We here at iFanzine fully intend to take a look for ourselves to see just how Band Saga — and all of its alien blasting action — fares when the game is finished, but until then there’s still a limited time chance to become a late backer by pledging $10 (or more) via Paypal!