[dropcap size=big]S[/dropcap]upernatural horror stories always capture my imagination. And I know that I’m not the only one as there are plenty games that have been funded on Kickstarter that deal with the paranormal and unknown, feeding off of our fears and deepest phobias. Perception is one that is truly unique in this genre and one that looks to be worth watching. Pardon the bad joke.

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Here’s what we know about Perception. It is a first-person supernatural horror story where you play as a blind woman named Cassie as she travels to an abandoned old mansion in Gloucester, MA. This haunted and foreboding place has haunted her dreams for so long that she has to confront her fears. And there’s already a good deal of lore to be had surrounding this place. The Deep End Games even put together a video dealing with the legends surrounding Echo Bluff.

In Perception, the entire game is played from Cassie’s point of view, so to speak. It’s a first person game, but in order to be able to view your surroundings you have to rely on sound to map out the mansion. You can use your cane and the ambient noises to guide you, but beware. A lingering Presence is following you and it’s attracted to sound. So, use it sparingly.

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Of course, this is pretty much stuff we already knew thanks to our previous coverage. But, what has been happening since the project launched? Not a whole lot, actually. While there have been a decent number of updates, a good deal of them have dealt with reward tiers and stretch goals. The fifth update, though, showcased Bill and Amanda Gardner, the main people behind Perception. They talked about the company and a bit about the game itself.

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Other updates introduced other talent behind Perception. Starting in update six, we get to meet the voice behind Cassie, Angela Morris. There’s an interview, both in text and video form, where she talks about herself and her approach to tackling the heroine of the story. Update twelve also introduced another new member to the team in Joshua Fialkov. Apparently he’s well known in the comic industry and he’ll be writing a special level if the $215k stretch goal is met. Which might or might not happen in the final hours.

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The biggest news, though, would have to be in the announcement of support for low vision players in update seven. “This includes options for large subtitles, high contrast, reticle selection, and text to speech.” They’d love to have support for blind people, but it’s beyond the scope of the Kickstarter. But, that’s not the only big news in that update. If the campaign manages to get $250k in funding by the end they’ll donate up to $25,000 in sales to World Access for the Blind. However, with less than two days left this would definitely be a stretch. Still, it’ll be great to see it happen.

Speaking of which, as of the time of this writing Perception just managed to reach funding. Which is a good thing, obviously. And hopefully it’ll knock out at least a couple stretch goals before the clock reaches zero.

About the Author

Serena Nelson

Serena has been a gamer since an early age and was brought up with the classic adventure games by Sierra On-Line, LucasArts, and Infocom. She's been an active member on Kickstarter since early 2012 and has backed a large number of crowdfunded games, mostly adventures. You can also find her writing for Kickstart Ventures and evn.moe.

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