“The Gamers” Launches “Attack of the Pwns” Crowdfunding Campaign

The story of “The Gamers” began as a simple film about friends playing a tabletop RPG, blending in-game and out-of-game footage and narration to tell the tale of heroes battling against The Shadow (“The Shadow!?” “The Shadow…”).

In the years that followed, Dead Gentlemen Productions and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment continued the story in two directions. One followed a new group of gamers in “Dorkness Rising” and “Hands of Fate,” which will conclude in “Gamers 4: Dorkness Falls.” The other picked up with the characters from the original “Gamers” movie (more specifically, their in-game characters, who were transported to our world) in “The Shadow Menace.”

While “Dorkness Falls” continues towards production under Cabin Nine Films, Zombie Orpheus and Dead Gentlemen are moving forward with their next “Gamers” movie: “Attack of the Pwns,” and you can back it on Backerkit now.

The Gamers: Attack of the Pwns

“Attack of the Pwns” continues to follow the characters Rogar, Newmoon, Nimble, and Ambrose Magellan, who are trapped in our modern world. “The Shadow Menace” had them begin a new battle against The Shadow’s machinations on our world, under the control of new players who are unaware that everything they do has real consequences, and “Attack of the Pwns” continues that story.

According to the Backerkit campaign’s description:

“In their ongoing quest to track down The Shadow’s operatives on Earth, our heroes learn about a politician whose private militia may hide a supernatural secret. Using the unpublished Fartherall Modern supplement, they take on fantasy adventures in our modern world, culminating in an explosive turn-based car chase.”

“Attack of the Pwns” is also the second part of a planned trilogy, with the story set to conclude in “Revenge of the Myth.”

About the Backerkit Campaign

While many crowdfunding campaigns don’t begin filming until after a successful completion, ZOE and Dead Gentlemen surprised fans by revealing that the entire movie has already been shot. However, the crowdfunding is still needed to help with editing, music, special effects, and production.

Backer rewards start at $1 for updates and access to add-ons and the pledge manager, while higher tiers include digital bundles, physical media, and a PDF of comics following the story of Nodwick. At the highest tier, backers can receive Executive Producer credit and design a card for ZOE’s Ultimate Dungeon Showdown card game.

However, the current political climate in the US has presented some challenges for physical rewards. ZOE has addressed these concerns, promising not to raise prices while providing backers the option to opt out of physical rewards and providing manufacturing and shipping options for backers outside of the USA. Some physical products, including dice and miniatures, will only be available as a stretch goal at higher levels.

Most notably (and admirably), ZOE included a section in their Backerkit page titled “Is ‘The Gamers’ Too Woke?” Their response:

“When we released The Gamers: The Shadow Menace, some viewers complained that it was “too woke.” They didn’t like that we included gay, non-binary, and POC characters.

In an era when politicians want to erase marginalized people and their stories from society, we won’t be pressured into erasing them from our movies. The world is a big, wonderful place and we’re going to continue to represent that diversity on screen…

…and we’re going to continue telling stories where standing up to evil is a moral imperative, no matter the cost.”

If you’re interested in seeing how the story of “The Gamers” continues, you can learn more and back the campaign on Backerkit here. You can also watch all of “The Gamers” movies on the Zombie Orpheus Entertainment website.