At this point in time, what with all the Minecrafts and Terrarias loose in the world, the words "dynamic" and "sandbox" don't carry the same raw excitement they once did. It's neat putting blocks in places and building cute houses to live in, but how about some meat on those bones, right? Son of Nor, an action adventure game currently in development (and on Kickstarter) by stillalive studios, is shaping up to be a lot of meat.

It seems like only yesterday that we brought word of Guns of Icarus Online's latest Kickstarter campaign, this time to expand the game beyond its current Skirmish/PVP mode into the realm of PvE and co-op. As of yesterday, Muse Games has hit their Kickstarter goal, which is good news for all of us. Meeting that goal means that the New York based developer can begin in earnest to develop and release the "Adventure Mode."

American McGee has been part of the videogame industry since the 1990s when he worked at id Software on such titles as DOOM II, QUAKE, and QUAKE 2. After a few other stints and a few games later like Alice and Grimm, his studio Spicy Horse is looking to make a splash on the Action RPG market with a game called Akaneiro: Demon Hunters. But there's a catch - to include co-op American needs Kickstarter, we find out why.

This week in Indie-Ana Co-Op we hold a little Q and A with Steffen, the CEO of BetaDwarf, an independent development studio from Denmark. Their first release, FORCED, is looking to be a bit ambitious of an undertaking, but they are determined to see it completed and provide a new twist to a familiar cooperative experience.

We've only briefly talked about Star Citizen, which is Chris Roberts (Wing Commander, Privateer) return to PC gaming after a 10 year hiatus.  The game started up crowd funding a little over a month ago on both its own site and more recently on Kickstarter.  Funding actually wraps up tomorrow and while the initial goal was around 2 Million - the game is has crested the 5 million dollar mark with over 73,000 backers.

We've been following Orc Attack since its announcement at the beginning of the year. A lighthearted and fantasy themed beat-em-up, it looks like good fun (especially with the addition of "Magic Mode"). The game is already in a playable state, but it looks like UK-based developer Casual Brothers are running low on funds. As such, they've turned to Kickstarter to seek the remaining funds needed to complete their multiplatform game.

No, that image is not the TCS Tiger Claw you see above, though the ship's creator is very familiar with the famous ship from Wing Commander.  That is a screenshot from Star Citizen, an incredibly ambitious new project from Chris Roberts.  Roberts is famous for his days at Origin systems creating the Wing Commander series and then moving on to launch Freelancer and Starlancer.  All of these games are from a genre that is all but extinct lately, the space simulator.  

As the words hit this page there are 24 hours left to back the Kickstarter for Mercenary Kings. Tribute Games, the studio that brought us the unique Wizorb are winding down their funding for their 4 player local action shooter. If you're a fan of Contra, Gunstar Heroes, or Metal Slug you best be backing up this project because it is looking like an amazing action shooter. 

The gaming community focused Penny Arcade Expo (or PAX) kicks off this Friday, and a few of our staff and our favorite developers will be there. One developer in particular, Misfits Attic, is making the most of the event by not only attending, but also offering up their cooperative, puzzle-solving gem, A Virus Named TOM, for a special price. For the length of PAX, August 31 to September 3, you can purchase their title for 25% on their website (includes a code for Steam). If you happen to be attending PAX (lucky you), then you can swing by their setup within the Indie Megabooth and get the game for a whopping 50% off!

The success of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game since its release has been phenomenal. It would sounds like a no brainer to make a sequel to this game, right? Well, the game to follow it up isn’t quite a Scott Pilgrim sequel, but close to it. Mercenary Kings, another 2D action title from the guys that brought you Scott Pilgrim, want to bring the amazing, old school, pixelated graphics right back into the limelight, but only through your help can they make it happen.

Kickstarter is pretty darn spiffy, as it lets us consumers find projects we'd like to see made into a reality. One such example is Project Lodus by Leviathan Interactive. Designed as a cyberpunk-themed, action RPG, the designers are quite emphatic about it being envisioned as a great co-op experience - something we always love to hear around here. 

Yesterday we reported on the Bad Dudes 2 Kickstarter project. Since no one ever produced a true Bad Dudes sequel, a small group of fans at Pipeline Games have taken it onto themselves to make it happen. Gamers who missed the 1988 arcade game or its home port might wonder why we need another Bad Dudes, while fans will want to know what's in store if the Kickstarter meets its goal. We've got your covered! Read on for our interview with Joe Modzeleski of Pinstripe Games.

Remember Bad Dudes, the arcade beat-em-up/platformer that once went toe-to-toe with Double Dragon? The folks at newly-formed Pinstripe Games do, and they've even got plans for a sequel. The best way for small developers to resurrect a classic franchise these days seems to be Kickstarter, and naturally that's exactly where Pinstripe has turned to finance the sequel.

We're a bit late with this feature, but that doesn't make it any less pertinent. Last week we spoke with Dylan Barker, designer and semi-community manager for Cadenza Interactive, about what's going on with their latest game and their Kickstarter campaign (which is now closed). Dylan offers some interesting insight into their design process this time around and what Kickstarter means to them, and what happens if it fails (which it sadly did). So give it a listen!

There are a lot of Kickstarter campaigns out there for a variety of projects ranging from boardgames to videogames to underwater rovers. One such project that we noticed, and of which we brought word last month when it started up, was for Cadenza Interactive's next game: Retrovirus. Offering a six-degrees of freedom style of gameplay (think Descent) along with a fully cooperative campaign, Retrovirus is a bit of an ambitious title for the relatively new studio, but it's a project they are very passionate about and are eager to share with the videogaming community. In fact, they now have a playable alpha version available for download so you can get an idea of what the game's about. Check out some gameplay footage after the break.