Clown adventure Dropsy Kickstarted, lands publishing deal with Devolver Digital

Open-world adventure game Dropsy is nearing the end of a successful Kickstarter campaign, buoyed by its fanbase and reputation as the game made by the internet . For Dropsy the clown, there's even more good news on the horizon: Devolver Digital has agreed to join Jay Tholen, Dropsy's creator, in a publishing partnership .

Dropsy the clown is… let's put this gently: he's incredibly creepy. It's not his fault, though, and he seems like a stand-up clown. He's gentle and has a tendency to hug, and he can speak to animals. After a horrific fire, Dropsy's reputation is tarnished and his family circus is in shambles. He works to redeem a broken-down world that actively shies away from his big, ugly mug.

If you can tamp down your coulrophobia long enough, Dropsy actually has a lot of innovation on offer. Despite its adventure game framework, there's no text; characters communicate by pictogram. It is also making the bold choice to break away from the traditional adventure game framework to be set instead in an open-world setting with puzzles that exist in specific locations. Combine this open-world design with Dropsy's non-violent, overly friendly personality, and this isn't quite like any adventure game we've seen before.

Developer Tholen writes that Devolver will handle the boring bits of the game production process, such as marketing the game, providing quality assurance testing, and localization. The localization process on this one should be a breeze. The publisher has also committed to "additional funds beyond Kickstarter to make sure that all stretch goals are met and that any additional features or content the team envisions for the game are possible."

Dropsy still has a couple of days left on Kickstarter if you'd like to chip in. One way or another, that big, creepy clown will be tracking you down to hug you in October 2014.