PixlBit

Just stopped by the Atari Age website--the place to be if you're into old-school, homebrew goodness!--and discovered a quick feature on Retro, a new gaming magazine looking for funding on Kickstarter.

For those who don't know, Kickstarter.com is THE place indie developers go when trying to fund an artistic endeavor that extends outside their financial reach. Basically, Kickstarter provides the indie studio a platform with which to describe and advertise its project to like-minded, potentially interested individuals. The visitor can then decide whether to "donate" his/her money to the company's cause, often receiving rewards in the form of digital downloads and collectible swag if the donation is generous enough.

Long story short, a new magazine centered on retro gaming--hence the title, Retro--is being pitched on Kickstarter right now as I write this. It has a mere eight days left (as of 10/26) to reach its $50,000 minumum goal; the total currently sits just shy of $38,000. And as in typical Kickstarter fashion, if the minimum is not reached by deadline, the money goes back to the donors, thus dooming the magazine in the process.

And that would be a shame, for the men and women behind the initiative are trusted industry veterans who truly understand the medium. A few, such as Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey, will be instantly recognizable to fans of 1UP, but the list is still stacked with many other respected figures, from Leonard Herman and Keith Robinson to Chris Kohler and Ed Semrad (original founder of EGM).

So, if anyone has a few bucks to spare, this is probably as worthy a cause as anything. Here's a look at one of the promo pages: