The lead writer for Deux Ex, a senior designer for Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2, and the designer of Magic the Gathering: Tactics have joined forces as Digital Knights to Kickstart a hand drawn, non-linear, cyberpunk, spy thriller with card game mechanics called Sienna Storm. No, this isn’t a “walked into a bar” joke.
The trailer is heavy on plot and mood, but light on gameplay, or so it would seem. The project description reveals that the animated 2D scenes are not concept art, but actually what the gameplay will look like. Each comic-style sequence is a hand-drawn, animated episode with branching, non-linear dialogue choices that have lasting and unpredictable repercussions throughout the game’s dynamic world.
When words fail you, more fluid challenges such as combat and computer hacking are faced through short, strategic card games that utilize a customizable deck of resources that you have acquired throughout the game. So a hand-drawn, non-linear adventure game by way of Netrunner? Color us intrigued.
The action is set in a dystopian near future where pervasive surveillance is the norm. You play as a former stealth operative, framed for a terrorist attack you didn’t commit, reluctantly pulled out of retirement to clear your name and uncover the conspiracy that laid you low.
A pledge of $25 or greater will net you a digital copy of the game when it comes out for PC in June 2015. At time of this writing the developer has raised $3,915 of its $179,000 goal with 28 days to go before the September 18 deadline, so check out the project if it sounds up your alley.
