“Gamers 4” Kickstarter Launches

In 2002, Dead Gentlemen Productions released a short film called “The Gamers.” It followed a group of adventurers on their quest to fight The Shadow (“The Shadow!” “The Shadow…”) as well as the gamers playing them, blending player and GM narration with the characters on-screen as they forgot and remembered their own character features and game mechanics.

In the twenty years that followed, Dead Gentlemen Productions and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (ZOE) continued to build on that story with more “Gamers” films and videos.

Now they’re crowdfunding the fourth movie.

Gamers 4: Dorkness Falls

Matt Vancil, creator of “The Gamers” series, has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to fund “Gamers 4: Dorkness Falls.” This movie will serve as the conclusion to the story that began in “Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising” and continued in “Gamers 3: Hands of Fate,” which ended with the players drawn into Fartherall, the setting of their game.

According to the film’s description: “For the last dozen years, the gamers have been living incognito in an entirely forgettable village, content to live below the radar… until the Shadow returns and disrupts their lives by forcing them to undertake one final campaign—as actual adventurers. Yes, the players who thought this was only ever just a game must go on a life-and-death quest, with no powers or class abilities, against a killer GM who wants them dead. How will they survive? By using their one advantage—player knowledge—to meta-game their way through the deadliest adventure ever devised. Will they succeed? Will they ever get home? Or will dorkness finally fall?”

The “Gamers 4: Dorkness Falls” Kickstarter promises a return of the cast from the second and third “Gamers” films, including Nathan Rice, Brian S. Lewis, Carol Roscoe, Scott C. Brown, Christian Doyle, Jennifer Page, and Matt Shimrus. It also states that Scott Kurtz (creator of PvP and Table Titans) will be appearing as a special guest.

The Kickstarter page also highlights the film crew, including many returning members from previous “Gamers” films and “JourneyQuest.”

“Gamers 4” will be produced by Vancil’s own Cabin 9 Films, as Zombie Orpheus Entertainment declined to produce it due to their current schedule and obligations, which includes “JourneyQuest” season 4 and “Demon Hunters.”

However, ZOE will continue another part of “The Gamers” story with “The Gamers: The Series,” which follows the characters from the original “The Gamers” short film after they were pulled into the real world. (A Kickstarter for “The Gamers: The Series” will launch in due time, as Cabin 9 and ZOE are coordinating to make sure they’re supporting one another and not stepping on any toes.)

Kickstarter Progress & Rewards

As of this posting, the Kickstarter campaign has just passed $200,000 of its $500,000 goal, with 24 days to go. Kickstarter backers can pledge as little as $1, then receive a download of the movie at $25, with additional goodies and downloads added at higher pledge tiers.

At the highest tiers, which start in the thousands of dollars, backers can receive Associate Producer credit on the film, get an on-set visit during production, or get to say “The Shadow!” on-screen.

Backers can also receive a “making-of” book called The Dorkonomicon, which will feature lore, behind-the-scenes photos, pre-production sketches, and other interesting insights. T-shirts and a GM Screen are also available as add-on purchases.

Stretch goals have not yet been announced.

Fans of “The Gamers” interested in checking out the Kickstarter campaign can find it here. The campaign will run until June 29, 2024.

Haven’t seen the previous “Gamers” films yet? You can watch them all, including “Gamers: The Series,” on the Zombie Orpheus Entertainment website.