"Kingdoms of the Dump is a game about a world of trash created by two real-life janitors." There are just... So many questions.
...
Aside from the philosophical and existential implications of its premise, let us quickly dive into what we currently know about the aspiring Kickstarter success story known as Kingdoms of the Dump. For starters, It's about a world entirely made up of trash and its inhabitants, most disturbingly I might add, somehow developed sentience, and even established a monarchal form of government. The main protagonist in this tale - a one Dustin Binsley (Heh, dust bin) - along with a handful of associates(?), must journey on a merry adventure to rescue the recently "trashpicked" King. Your band of unlikely heroes will face unspeakable terrors as you traverse the Lands of Fill fighting monsters, battling the Grimelin Army, and preventing an all-out war from destroying the realm.
The developers are categorizing the gameplay as being a mixture of traditional JRPG elements and platforming. This is to allow unrestricted movement at times where it has historically been artificially obstructed (like when a knee-high boulder is the only obstacle preventing you from proceeding down a path), as well as providing what they call "expressive movement", which is essentially the ability to explore vertically and use the environment in a more meaningful way. On the field, players will be able to swap seamlessly between each of the available characters, all of whom have their own unique abilities that I'm sure will have some strategic benefits at various points throughout the game.
Where this Trash really shines is in its SNES-inspired art style, which captures the look and feel of one of the console's many 16-bit classics, all while adding some modern flare to create more detailed environments and expressive animations. Because the developers went that direction, Kingdoms of Dump presents itself as a personalized love-letter to a time when games could have an outrageously absurd premise involving an equally bizarre cast of characters and still be embraced for its innovation.
Having already raised $12,000 of its $60,000 goal with 29 days to go, it's definitely looking like Kingdoms of Dump won't be a stinker. If you're interested in supporting the cause, you can find more info on their Kickstarter page.
