Pioneering

Virtual Boonesborough Screenshots

VideogamesPosted by Chidem Thu, October 15, 2009 13:50:11
And here are a few screenshots from Virtual Boonesborough:

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CELEBRATE DANIEL BOONE’S 275TH BIRTHDAY BY EXPLORING THE WORLD HE HELPED DISCOVER IN A FREE PIONEERING GAME

VideogamesPosted by Chidem Wed, October 14, 2009 21:59:10
Pioneer RPG and Life-Sim to celebrate the 275th birthday of famous American explorer, settler and pioneer, Daniel Boone

Independent PC game developer, The History Forge is inviting gamers across the world to celebrate the 275th birthday of one of America’s most famous and important pioneers, Daniel Boone. Last month The History Forge launched its debut PC game, a first person RPG that thrust players into the role of a struggling pioneer charged with prospering in America’s early west. From marriage to property ownership, to Indian wars, Pioneering: Explore the Early American West offers gamers a unique chance to step into the American frontier as they’ve never seen it before. To celebrate Daniel Boone’s upcoming birthday (October 22nd) The History Forge has announced that it will release a free adventure game set around Boonesborough, the frontier fort which Daniel founded in 1775, exclusively through its website http://www.thehistoryforge.com.

Pioneering: Virtual Boonesborough will thrust players into a faithfully restored reconstruction of Boonesborough as it appeared in the early years of the Revolutionary War. One of the first settlements founded in what would later become the state of Kentucky, Boonesborough witnessed a number of important events on the Revolutionary Frontier, from the kidnapping of Daniel Boone’s daughter to the attack and siege of the settlement by the Shawnee and the British. Pioneering: Virtual Boonesborough uncovers these events and more as players explore the fort and its immediate environment, looking for clues and historic factoids. The more players explore in the fort and its surrounding areas, the more about Daniel Boone and his fellow settlers they will discover.

Virtual Boonesborough will, however, only be available for a limited period of time. The title will be included with all orders of Pioneering: Explore the Early American West throughout October (existing customers will be sent their free copy) and will be available as a free standalone download on October 22nd, Daniel’s birthday. Pioneering: Explore the Early American West, together with a complimentary copy of Pioneering: Virtual Boonesborough, are available now through The History Forge’s official website for $8.95 through the month of October. Visit The History Forge at http://www.thehistoryforge.com

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Blog Update

VideogamesPosted by Chidem Wed, October 14, 2009 19:00:53
As you may have noticed, our blog has been pretty quiet recently but all of that is about to change. We've just finished moving the old posts from our old blog and are now readying a whole new series of updates, so watch this space!

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New Website and Forum Online

VideogamesPosted by Chidem Wed, October 14, 2009 18:56:07
If you head on over to our main site you will notice our website has had a bit of a face lift this week. Head over to check out the new screenshots section to see how the game is coming along or log into our forum and get chatting with us! More updates soon!

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Development Update

VideogamesPosted by Chidem Wed, October 14, 2009 18:55:32

A quick update today on the progress of Pioneering Episode One. First, we've been getting a good amount of coverage on the internet following the launch of our press release earlier in the week so we are in good spirits, ready to take the game to the next level. The first episode of Pioneering has been in closed beta testing for a few weeks now and we are currently in the process of taking our beta feedback to give the first episode that last coat of polish. Most of the changes that will be applied to the game in the coming few weeks will mostly be behind the scenes tweaks which can actually be pretty frustrating work - although the game will be all the better for it it feels as if you are spinning your wheels not really accomplishing much. But we do have a new new features, etc, to implement so hopefully we will see the game develop somewhat before it goes gold (is ready for shipping).

OK, I'm off to streamline the framerate - hope you have a more exciting day!

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Pioneering: Episode One - First Details

VideogamesPosted by Chidem Wed, October 14, 2009 18:54:58

DISCOVER THE OLD WEST ON PC THIS SEPTEMBER WITH NEW EPSIDOIC GAMING EXPERIENCE, PIONEERING

New Game Set to Bring the World of the American Frontier to Life on PC

For Immediate Release

Today HuntersofKentucky.com is pleased to announce the upcoming release of a new episodic adventure set on the old American West, Pioneering. To be released in September exclusively on PC, Pioneering: Episode One is a first person RPG/Adventure game set on the early American frontier during the period of the American Revolution. Utilizing open world campaigns and multiple routes to completion, Pioneering immerses players in the world of the wildest of wests, bringing to life one of the most dynamic and complex periods in American history:

“In the mid-1770s, as war broke out between Great Britain and thirteen of its American colonies, settlers of European descent began to surge beyond the Appalachian Mountains, the previous limit of Anglo-American settlement in North America. Settling upon lands which the King of Britain had previously reserved for the Indians in 1763, the settlers helped to spark an Indian War on the frontier which came to dominate life in that region. Enraged by this invasion of their lands, many of the Indian tribes residing in the Ohio Valley allied themselves with the British in order to repel the region of the settlers who moved into the region. Tribes such as the Shawnee, Miami, Wyandot, Cherokee, and Delaware fought a long, protracted campaign against this wave of settlers, fighting as much for their own independence as anything else. For their part, the settlers were also fighting for their freedom – freedom from renting lands and dependence upon others, and in many cases, freedom from the British Crown.”

Pioneering is an RPG set during the American Revolution, in the chaotic world of the early frontier. Players control a settler who has recently arrived on the frontier who must attempt to prosper by achieving a number of life goals - these can be gained by purchasing property, marrying, or completing certain missions. There are three ways to win this game - gain enough life goals, horde a large enough amount of cash, or gain a high enough conscience level. Cash is earned mainly by in the wilderness, whilst life goals are earned through marriage and property ownership. Conscience is affected by conflict, adding an extra dimension to the game that sees players actively engaging with the historical world in which they are partaking.

Episode One of Pioneering is set for release this September exclusively on PC as a digital download with subsequent episodes due throughout 2009 and 2010. Each episode contains a single open world campaign with a number of missions and routes to completion. Over the course of the next few months three episodes are planned for release with more planned in the coming year. A retail release of Pioneering that collects several episodes together to form a complete gaming experience is also being planned for 2010.

Pioneering is an exciting, new historical adventure game with one eye firmly focused upon presenting a gaming experience that does not exaggerate or parody the period on which it is based. TV and film have not been used as inspiration. Rather, historical documents and actual history is the basis of this unique gaming experience. For more information on Pioneering please visit http://www.huntersofkentucky.com

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GUN (Xbox 360) Review

VideogamesPosted by Chidem Wed, October 14, 2009 18:54:09

Gun was an interesting game that I played back when I originally got my Xbox 360. I remember there was some controversy in the game surrounding the depiction of Indians within it, particularly the encouragement of scalping. Truth be told, I was actually put off for a while from purchasing as it seemed implied that the game was somehow exploitative or, at any rate, gratuitously violent. It is not that I am against violence in videogames; indeed, in the correct context that violence can be both artistically defended and necessary to accurately portray a particular narrative. But I do think that games often use violence as a demographic selling factor that tends to promote an attitude of more guns, more explosions, and more imaginative deaths. This is all fine in a completely fictional setting where, say, future humans are fighting against an oppressive alien race but when such bigger, louder, faster attitudes are applied to games that depict actual historical peoples or struggles the waters become somewhat murkier. Games can simulate many aspects of war, but, I believe, they have so far failed to capture the true dark side of conflict whereby actions taken in war can seriously affect how a person later operates and sees the world. This should not be taken as an undue criticism of the videogame’s current emotional capacity, but rather as an observation with some hope that future developments may allow war games to more capture what war is really about. But I digress. The point I am making here is that depicting historical processes that still impact many people today with a big guns, big deaths philosophy is problematic at best, not least because few games, especially those in the history niche, have managed to, in any way, take the player on a significant emotional journey. It ends up being about killing and conquering for no other reason other than the designer’s whim.

This was the mindset I found myself in prior to purchasing Gun, disinterested by a use of gratuitous violence with very little hope for any serious emotional involvement in a means of compensation. Overtime, however, this disinterest faded and, finding myself ready to purchase the game, I did so. And where I expected massive amounts of over the top killing and maiming I was instead given a rather average amount of this fare, presented in much the same way this kind of thing has been for the last five years. As I played through the game, exploring the large, open world map, I found my thoughts again drawn to the controversy surrounding this game, considering how the false impression generated by these reports had stopped me from playing a perfectly enjoyable title. Indeed, it occurred to me that not only had I seen very little of the controversial stuff, I couldn’t even remember any of it. Consequently I decided to pay closer attention, looking out for events and scenarios I may have missed but as I played it became more and more obvious that the types of actions most decried were either the very rarest, or simply events that the player would have to actively seek out or carry out off his own back.

Overall the game is a good, is somewhat clichéd and hackneyed, enjoyable adventure set in an open world, inspired by the American west. What it is not, like all videogames (even those who claim otherwise), is an accurate depiction of the past. It takes its inspiration from past events, but uses them, as all good adaptations do, as a basis for game play, not as the complete source.

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Announcing Pioneering

VideogamesPosted by Chidem Wed, October 14, 2009 18:53:34

We are happy today to announce our first forthcoming commercial game, Pioneering, which will launch exclusively on PC later this year. Pioneering, a first person RPG, is set on the early American frontier during the chaotic period of the Revolutionary War and tasks players with exploring and prospering in this world. With the ability to earn money through hunting, purchase properties, and even marry it is up to the player to determine their route through each of the three open world campaigns. Taking lives will lower conscience making marriage more difficult, whilst purchasing properties and businesses will open up a world of renewable income for the player.

We have no precise release date for Pioneering as yet but are hoping to get it out by the end of the summer, most likely through several digital stores and are currently looking into producing a limited edition retail box with some extra features included. More news on this title very soon...

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