Project: Monolith–A Kickstarter Puzzle Game Similiar to Myst or Portal

I haven’t played a ton of puzzle games in my life. Still, there is one that sticks out for me: Myst. Perhaps because it’s from my childhood, and one of my earliest. Back then, I liked it so much I even bought the books to go along (yes, there were books). When I came across Project: Monolith on Kickstarter I think that’s the first thing that caught my eye–the gleam of mystery and adventure that lurked in the environment of this colorless story.

Shades of Gray

Created by a team that includes Cyrus Conner, the Environment Lead, and Chris O’Donnel, the Design Lead, Project: Monolith starts the player off waking up not knowing where they are. The world is a huge unknown place built of only black, white, and shades of gray–but in a beautiful, though slightly eerie, way. It’s obvious the lack of color won’t hinder this game, or your character. Instead, it adds a sense of feeling that color would only shatter. Just as music can bring out emotions as a scene progresses, the shades and tones of Project: Monolith add to the enigma that is this strange world.

“We really want to put the character against the environment…” – Chris

Storyline and Game Play

As you explore your new world, you learn bits and pieces along the way. Things about yourself. Things about the place you now inhabit. Just like a puzzle should, the pieces fit together in order for you to learn where you need to go next to get home. This unfolding is nothing new; in fact, it’s the very same concept Myst followed, which is why the small team has claimed its influence. 

The style of the game has an odd combination of technology and island fauna. Among other things, it houses “…ancient jungles, towering rock formations and technologically advanced structures.” The environment also is affected by your presence here. It is “interactive and reactive” to you and the choices you make. 

Indie Developers

The small team has been working on the game for 2 years now, and are based in Pittsburgh, PA. They looked to Kickstarter at this point in the development so they could bring on additional team members, and complete the project much quicker than if done by themselves alone. 

“It’d be nice to have games that like wrapped up, kinda like a movie. So that you could sit down, like take a single night, experience the entire thing.”
– Cyrus

They also don’t plan for the game to take weeks of intense mental and physical endurance in order to reach the end (hey, we’ve all been there). As I watch their video on Kickstarter I find myself actually happy to hear this. It just feels like this shouldn’t take weeks. Project: Monolith appears like it will be unfolding the pages of a story, and I don’t think I would want to wait that long to know how it ends.

Finis

If this strange place seems like a world you want to know more, you might want to hop over to their Kickstarter page. It still has a while to go yet–almost its whole 30 day campaign. They already have 18 backers, however, in the one day it’s been live. By themselves, the project would take years and years. If this Kickstarter is successful, the team hopes to complete it in 6-8 months after its end.