Hopetown crowdfunding goal comes true early on Kickstarter

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published: 5 days ago

Upcoming narrative RPG a "spiritual successor" to Disco Elysium by part of the same development team 

People have been clamouring for a sequel to ZA/UM's highly acclaimed narrative RPG Disco Elysium ever since its arrival in 2019. Hopetown may not be exactly that, but it's surely the next best thing as part of the original design team has splintered off into a new indie studio called Longdue to create a "spiritual successor" they're currently raising funds for on Kickstarter. 

The game is set decades after a worldwide disaster wiped out all electronics and global communication. With mankind forced to scrounge for alternate resources, a mining boom began. Hundreds of mining settlements sprang up, each of them "a mix of small-town charm and big-time mining operations, teeming with life above and below the surface." In one such town in Northern England, with "mineral (and spiritual) reserves" almost depleted, the discovery of quicksilver launched another major explosion of industry and wealth. What the townsfolk soon discovered, however, is that "what burns bright eventually burns out of control." Tensions mount, and the whole town is engulfed in chaos, "threatening to explode into something bigger." When a particularly violent incident results in people dying and others disappearing, mining operations are finally ceased, forcing management into action.

This is where you come in, the "insufferable" adult child of one of the world's richest men who has grown into a "rogue journalist – a chaotic, self-destructive provocateur who sees humanity as inherently selfish and cruel." Having "drifted through life knowing only luxury and power, shielded by privilege and surrounded by sycophants," finally your "stiletto wit and sandpaper charm" has caught up with you, as you've been exiled to this outpost after "yet another scandal." Five days after the inciting incident, it's your task to "figure out what happened, cover it up, and spin a better story." 

Hopetown shares much in common with Disco Elysium, from its isometric perspective and painterly presentation to several of the same writers, designers, and even voice talent such as the incomparable Lenval Brown working behind the scenes. And like its predecessor, this game too aims to be a "narrative-first journey with psychological complexity, resonant storytelling, and seismic conversations." Here you won't wield guns or swords but "words will be your weapons, and you'll make your own truth." Choosing between one of four journalistic RPG classes (Gonzo, Investigative, Gossip and Conspiracy), you will learn to follow hunches, open up new avenues of dialogue and investigation, and ultimately write stories as you see fit. What you choose to tell (or not tell) will have a profound impact not only on the town but your own psyche as well, which you'll need to contend with as actual voices inside your head. 

What makes Hopetown particularly distinct, even from its modern contemporaries, is that the changes you effect with your choices tangibly "take shape in the physical world around you, real in every sense of the word" thanks to a gameplay mechanic called "psychogeography." You're effectively speaking change into existence to mirror your "truths," from something as simple as altering the location of a postbox to far more complex rewrites of reality, allowing you the freedom to make "surprising new connections between characters, break longstanding friendships, and see what happens." It's a game where "everything transforms everything else," and "every story you tell changes the world – and the fragile systems that hold it together." 

It's a hugely ambitious premise, which helps explain why we won't be seeing the completed game until 2028. To help finance the project in the meantime, the developers have launched a Kickstarter campaign that has already blown past its initial target of £25,000. There are still plenty of stretch goals left to reach and add to Hopetown's production, however, with plenty of time left to secure a copy of the game and support its development before the campaign ends on April 16th.