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This Week on Kickstarter: Tex Murphy, Micromon, From Bedrooms to Billions

This week's nostalgia trip comes courtesy of Tex Murphy and From Bedrooms to Billions, while Micromon brings "gotta catch 'em all" monster hunting to the iPhone.

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This Week on Kickstarter is a weekly look at some of the most exciting, brilliant, and downright crazy projects seeking crowd funding. This week, we delve into the seedy noir world of Tex Murphy, go monster hunting with Micromon, and learn about the history of British game development with the film From Bedrooms to Billions.

Tex Murphy: Project Fedora

We'd love to say we discovered the wonders of Tex Murphy on our own, but we were too busy developing click-induced RSI from Diablo and eating something called a "Puk" to notice. So the kudos go to you, the GameSpot audience, that pointed us in the direction of Tex Murphy: Project Fedora, a brand-new PC/Mac instalment in the detective adventure game series.

Project Fedora marks the sixth outing for the down-on-his-luck detective Tex Murphy, who's played by original series creator Chris Jones. It follows on from '90s classics such as Under a Killing Moon, The Pandora Directive, and Overseer. And, like its predecessors, it's set in a hyper-stylised postapocalyptic San Francisco.

What's promised for the new game is a fully interactive 3D world where you search for clues, solve puzzles, investigate crimes, and question witnesses and suspects. There will also be a full-on narrative complete with the same weird humour and noir and sci-fi influences courtesy of longtime writer Aaron Conners.

A pledge of $15 gets you a copy of the game, $30 a digital download of the soundtrack and documentary, and $100 a boxed collectors edition complete with a physical copy of the soundtrack and downloads of the original Tex Murphy and games. The real fun starts at $500 where your photo will be in the game featuring commentary from Tex himself.

Micromon

There are some people in the world that don't like Pokemon--emotionless, zombie-like creatures that are dead inside and should be avoided at all costs. If, however, you love nothing more than catching monsters and kicking Team Rocket's ass, then you're a wonderful, wonderful person. Also, you should feast your eyes upon MOGA's Kickstarter for Micromon.

Micromon is a take on the classic Pokemon formula for iOS devices. There are towns to visit, a vast world to explore, and more than 100 monsters to catch, including "rare" and "epic" types, all of which evolve. A deep story is promised, and there are also online leagues, tournaments, and a social network to get stuck into.

Where Micromon differs from Pokemon is in its visuals, with current screenshots showcasing a rich, cartoon-like style that walks all over the somewhat dated 16-bit-era visuals of Nintendo's baby. It will be a cold day in hell before we see an official Pokemon game make its way to an iOS device, so Micromon is shaping up to be an ideal substitute.

There are some neat rewards for pledging too. Because Micromon will be a free-to-play game, a $5 pledge doesn't get you a copy of the game but instead rewards you with $10 worth of in-game currency. Further reward levels include T-shirts, hoodies, signed artwork, and your own character in the game. For $5000 bucks you can even design your own Micromon and receive a 7-inch statuette too.

From Bedrooms to Billions

OK, so our last pick this week isn't strictly a game, nor is it on Kickstarter. But hey, it's our feature, so we'll let it slide. Over on IndieGoGo, filmmakers Nicola and Anthony Caulfield (The Story of the Young Ones, Doctor Who - Stripped for Action, Immodesty Blaize – Burlesque Undressed) are seeking $35,000 to finish producing Bedrooms to Billions, a 90-minute documentary film that's set to tell the story of the British Video Games Industry between 1979 and 1996.

Cue shots of Alan Sugar looking grumpy around Amstrad's offices, Clive Sinclair sporting a spectrum, some stock footage, and video game soundbites from Iain Lee. Because, for some reason, no documentary is worth its salt without commentary from a jobless presenter.

Still, it's certainly a story worth telling. While Japan (and to a lesser extent, the US) often gets credited for much of the growth in the video games industry, the UK has a rich heritage of programers and entrepreneurs who shaped games development in ways that are still seen to this day. And with two hugely experienced documentary makers at the helm, From Bedrooms to Billions has a lot of promise.

So too do the rewards, with a $25 donation netting you a digital copy of the film. For $50 you get the film and a high-resolution download of the film's poster, which is designed by Oliver Frey. Hard copies of the film start at $100, while further tiers get your name in the credits, T-shirts, signed posters, and tickets to the premiere. For $8,000 you can feel like a big shot and get your name listed as "Executive Producer" in the credits, as well as schmooze it up at the after-show party.

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