Just recently, I wrote up two very large and very different feature articles for a couple publications. One was for Gamasutra about how indie game developers are best using Kickstarter to fund their projects. The other was a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Tony Hawk: Ride and Shred by Chicago-based studio Robomodo for 1UP Presents (and soon, 1UP.com). Never did I imagine that those two topics would brilliantly dovetail for another piece.

When conducting interviews for the Hawk piece, I reached out to Robomodo president Josh Tsui about speaking for the article, but he ultimately declined. However, after my Gamasutra piece went live, he sent me a quick note saying, “Great article. Ironically, we’re about to do something similar.” My curiosity was piqued. So I followed up on it, and he shared the news that’s now public knowledge: Robomodo is trying to use Kickstarter to fund the rest of its development on Bodoink, a Kinect game for Xbox Live Arcade that mixes elements of pinball and pachinko. I’m also based in Chicago, so I asked if I could see about lining up some coverage — which I quickly did with 1UP — and shortly thereafter ended up visiting the studio to talk with him at length and try the game.

The lengthy piece has everything you need to know about the game and project for now, and of course, the actual Kickstarter campaign is live, so you can back it if you see fit. I was really happy to do this piece because I love doing in-person coverage (and rarely get to do so without lengthy flights before and after) and the topic was so perfectly made for me, considering those recent features. Ultimately, I’d expected this would be a bigger deal in the community (as the first console game being funded like this), but the campaign seems off to a slow start and the news didn’t catch quite as much buzz as I’d hoped. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how the next few weeks go for Robomodo and the campaign.