Spiderweb Software's first-ever Kickstarter is already a big success

Spiderweb Software boss and old-school RPG maker of the first order Jeff Vogel has never previously crowdfunded a game, but he said in a 2016 interview that he was going to give it a try—in two or three years. Not quite two years down the road, he's kept his word with a Kickstarter for Queen's Wish: The Conqueror, and just one day after the campaign began it's already blown well past its goal.

Queen's Wish: The Conqueror is the first of what is planned to be a trilogy of games set in an entirely new world. It follows the adventures of the youngest child of Queen Sharyn, who is suddenly thrust into a position of power and peril after being shipped off to the war-torn land of Sacramentum to rebuild a colony that's collapsed for reasons unknown. This being a Spiderweb game, you can handle the task as you see fit: Make peace with the nations of Sacramentum, or crush them mercilessly and expand Haven across the graves of their cities and children. Or you can opt for a Plan B and take a powder from the whole mess, and let your mom find someone else to do her dirty work.

The Kickstarter pitch says Queen's Wish will be "old-school 80's-style gaming, with a low budget but tons of clever design and charm," and in case there's any doubt, the screens make it clear that this is not the next Divinity or Dragon Age. But that's precisely the sort of game that Spiderweb makes, and while Vogel said in an AMA awhile back that he's always been one bad game away from having to get a job selling shoes, he's actually found solid long-term success with these niche RPGs.

The Queen's Wish: The Conqueror Kickstarter is no exception: It launched yesterday with a goal of $30,000, and has already surpassed $43,000. Two stretch goals are currently lined up: an iPhone port at $50,000, and an "alien underworld nation" in Sacramentum at $75,000. The campaign runs until June 29.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.