Many indie games have found success through Kickstarter campaigns. Below the Stone found success on Kickstarter — but in a very different way. Their original campaign didn’t raise quite enough funds to release their game. Instead they built a community and created lasting relationships. One important relationship was one with a publisher, Apogee Entertainment — but you can hear more about that in this week’s podcast episode.

Below the Stone is a hand-drawn pixel art rogue-like where you play as a dwarf. The game features mining, combat and tons of resources to collect in massive procedurally-generated mines. The game won’t be out for some time, but it is returning to Kickstarter with a brand new campaign very soon.

Take a look at the original cinematic trailer for Below the Stone.

In the fifth episode of the myVGBC Podcast I got to have a chat with Mike Carroll, one of the creators behind Below the Stone. We were also joined by industry veteran Scott Miller, Founder of Apogee Entertainment and 3D Realms. Mike told me about some of his influences for the game, how the game and story were born and some other fun details during our talk.

This last video was made by Below the Stone creators Mike and Andrew, founders of Strollart Studios. It tells a bit more of the story of the first and second (upcoming) Kickstarter campaigns and the community they were able to build around the game.

Make sure to stay updated on the new Below the Stone Kickstarter campaign, starting soon.