The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep Update #42 – New Title and Backer Alpha

InXile’s VP of Development Chris Keenan shares some good news in the latest Kickstarter update for The Bard’s Tale IV. First and foremost, the upcoming dungeon crawler now boasts a subtitle that reads “Barrows Deep.” It’s intended to evoke images of perilous adventure and capture the essence of a dungeon crawler. And to give us a chance to see for ourselves what and how this new subtitle evokes and captures, the backer Alpha for the game will be released next week, followed by a demo presentation during this year’s GDC.

Some additional details:

Greetings Citizens of Caith,

Chris Keenan here, VP of Development at inXile, and we come to you with two pieces of very good news.

First off, next week will be the release of the backer Alpha, and backers’ first opportunity to go hands-on with the game!

This demo showcases many of our core features that we have highlighted in previous Kickstarter updates. This twenty minute Alpha Systems Test includes looks at combat, puzzles & traps, puzzle weapons, Songs of Exploration, and more (including one often asked about Easter egg).

We know many of you are excited to check out the game, and we hope those of you with Alpha reward access enjoy this first hands-on look at it. We’ll have more information next week on how to access the Alpha Test, as well as how to leave feedback for us. We’re excited to get the game into the hands of those Alpha backers!

For the rest of you, there are plenty of ways to get in on the action. Next week marks the start of this year’s Game Developers Conference, one of the game industry’s biggest and most important events. As part of the conference, from 03/21 – 03/23, we will be demoing The Bard’s Tale IV using the backer Alpha Test. There will also be plenty of press coverage of the game, so keep your eyes open (and we’ll be sure to link to some of the coverage in a future update, too).

The second big piece of news you might have caught at the beginning of this update. We are proud to announce the full title of our game and share it with you first – The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep! We tossed around a number of possible subtitles for a long time. The Destiny Knight and Thief of Fate described important story hooks for those games, but for the return of The Bard’s Tale after so many years, we wanted a name that captured the essence of a dungeon crawler.

From the catacombs beneath the Mad God’s temple to teleporting between realms, The Bard’s Tale series has always been about seeking out places that only adventurers would dare, descending into the depths, overcoming monsters and puzzles, and defeating the evil within… and to be heroes worthy of a tale sung by a bard. Exploring the dark corners of the world is the essence of a dungeon crawler, and in Barrows Deep, your adventure awaits!

We hope you like it, and please let us know what you think! We’ll return with David’s look at the Practitioner archetype soon, but for now enjoy the ride over the next couple of weeks as GDC and the backer Alpha Test take center stage! Thanks to all of you for helping us make The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep a reality.