Unlock your door with your phone, rebirth couch competitive gaming, and bring back the 80's boombox with a modern touch. All this and more This Week In Kickstarter!

Sesame. Your key, reinvented.

candyhouse.co

A simple device that replaces your key with your phone, in just seconds! No tools required.

The Sesame locks and unlocks your door using the Sesame app on your phone. More interesting, you can unlock your door with your own custom knock either on the door, or on your phone. You can also share access with others. You decide which guests have access to the Sesame, and you receive a notification whenever your door opens or closes.

The Sesame intalls in mere seconds. Simply tape it to your door with an included 3M Command tape. Sesame fits any lock without removing or adjusting anything, and no tools are required. Sesame has a 500 day battery life on its supplied lithium batteries and sends a notification when you're running low on juice. It even has military grade encryption to avoid hacking.

The Sesame looks like an interesting product that I want, but really can't justify owning. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it. I own a $100 lightsaber, but I can't justify buying that either. It really just isn't that big enough of a hassle to take my keys out of my pocket and unlock my door. One advantage I could see for this is for people who can't remember if they locked the door and start getting worried. For them, a single tap in the app will make sure their door is locked.

The Sesame has found the key to unlocking Kickstarter success, and then some, having funded itself 6x over its original $100,000 goal. Donations close April 26, 2015.

Armed and Gelatinous

armedandgelatinous.com

A space shooter designed to bring back the couch based competitive scene'

Armed and Gelatinous is a couch based competitive shooter made by a small indie studio called Three Flip Studios. Featuring a variety of weapons, the game works much like many twin stick space shooters (ala Geometry Wars, Pulstar, etc.) where players fly around a space arena attempting to kill one another and upgrade their arsenal.

Players control one of four blobs and pick up weapon crates jettisoned from earth. Unlike many games in this genre, a whimsical visual addition is that instead of merely upgrading your vessel, the weapon literally sicks out the side of your blob. With each weapon absorbed, your blob grows, becoming a massive powerhouse, but also a massive target! All it takes is a well timed dash attack (after navigating the bullet storm produced by the big blob) to even the score.

Armed and Gelatinous looks genuinely fun. Most games these days try to be either cool, scary, or deep. But Armed and Gelatinous looks like the genuine glee filled romp I would play for hours and hours into the night with friends years ago. Also worth note is that Armed and Gelatinous is aimed to come to Playstation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, and the Steambox. Having won start-up winner at the 2013 48 hour game making challenge is nothing to scoff at, and I look forward to seeing how this game may progress.

Armed and Gelatinous has currently only absorbed $1,840 of its intended $25,000 goal. The Kickstarter remains open till April 4, 2015.

AUDIOCASE | Portable Sound System

audiocase.dk

Described as "the only sound system you are ever going to need".

The Audiocase is designed for being the ultimate portable sound system. Where great/loud music is a button press away.

We love the boombox from the 80s and the idea of music being a social thing. Sadly the trend is to use headphones or small Bluetooth speakers with inadequate output.

The Audiocase is a heavy duty, modern designed version of the 80's boombox, with wireless connectivity and a 24 hour battery life. The Audiocase is also designed to take a beating (demonstrated in their video by knocking it off a shelf) and is "virtually indestructible." The briefcase design is ideal for portability. It also comes in 5 colors.

The Audiocase has a battery life that's better than the phone you're connecting it to and looks like the perfect buy for your upcoming beach trip, summer party, or just chilling in your house. Having options in both bluetooth and minijack, and its simple interface, make it attractive to both the casual crowd and the serious audiofiles who don't want to bring their vinyl players with them to parties (if you're that guy please don't do this.)

The Audiocase has already turned its funding up to 11, raising kr204,770 of its kr150,000 goal. Donations remain open till March 29, 2015.

 RED FLAGS, the new party game from the creator of SUPERFIGHT

superfightgame.com

A card game where you try to make the best of a bad date!

Red Flags is a card game where you select two attributes of a potential date, but a randomized negative trait is added as well. Your job is to try to make the dater of that round choose your date, either by playing off their "red flag" or by arguing against the other players date offers.

Players use two decks: white and red. The white deck holds all the positive qualities of the potential date, such as being a NASCAR driver, or a famous chef or rapper. The red deck is the catch. Each red card holds a potential turn off, like a chipmunk voice, or calling you by your ex's name every time. There is also an expansion deck of "R-rated" red flags.

I found the idea both original and intriguing. I think everyone has had the conversation at one point about the "would you be willing to date a ___ if they were ____? And having a reportedly 300-400 cards to choose from should keep things from getting stale. What I like most is that it's not just laying cards out and it is decided then and there ala Cards Against Humanity, but instead you have the chance to argue your case, adding skill to your draw.

Red Flags is nearly funded, drawing over $8,300 of its $10,000 goal at the time of writing. Donations remain open till April 26, 2015.

Podo- The First Stick and Shoot Camera

podolabs.com

Podo is a wireless, re-stickable camera that can be attached to most flat surfaces.

Podo is an 8megapixel camera and can also take 720p video at 30 fps. It connects over bluetooth and is designed to be the selfie device of choice. The objective of Podo is to help you take selfies farther than arms length away, without using a selfie stick.

Podo has three modes: photo, video, and auto. The first two are pretty self-explanatory, and auto sets up the Podo so it takes a photo over set intervals, such as every 10 minutes. It has 4GB of memory, an accelerometer, a micro-USB port for charging, and an 8 LED flash.

Honestly, just getting rid of selfie sticks is reason enough for me to put this in This Week In Kickstarter, because man if those aren't the most cringe inducing objects I've ever seen. Its 8 megapixels aren't exactly thrilling me, but I suppose photo clarity is somewhat unimportant for Twitter and Facebook photos. Some of the shots on its Kickstarter page are actually pretty cool, particularly the one taken from the ceiling. And the ability to take .gifs is also pretty enticing.

Looks like Podo will be sticking around, earning over $255,000, while its original goal was only $50,000. Donations will remain open till April 21, 2015.

DAC: Dungeon Architect Cards

faruniverse.com

A simple, universal deck of cards for building dungeons for any fantasy role-playing games.

Dungeon Architect Cards features 54 cards for constructing the fantasy world of your preferred RPG and is designed for role play enthusiasts, game masters, map makers and imaginative players looking to physically explain the environment. For GM's who are planning out an adventure, the Dungeon Architect Cards can serve as a handy tool in keeping everyone on the same page.

 

The Kickstarter page give the following reasons for why YOU need these cards:

1. They aid GMs and players in creating dungeons either on the fly or in pre-game prep.

2. They give GMs the confidence that they always have a new dungeon ready for their players, even if they haven't prepared before the gaming session.

3. For kids, the Dungeon Architect Cards can build spatial awareness as they learn to draw maps and work with shapes while creating their own dungeon layouts.

4. The descriptors provided on the cards are great to get young GMs thinking about how they would describe rooms and use adjectives to create setting and atmosphere.

5. Dungeon Architect Cards can be used as a creative tool to build not only dungeons but stories around the dungeons.

6. Dungeon Architect Cards are printed front and back to allow for a deck that is of manageable size. This makes the deck easy to carry and ready in a moment's notice.

7. Perfect for building just about any sized dungeon from a few rooms to a mega dungeon.

8. They come in a fancy numbered tuck box that is available only through this Kickstarter!

Just behind choosing and creating a character, in my opinion the number one time consuming part of tabletop RPGs is explaining the environment. Colorfully telling the environment can be a lot of fun, but having seven or eight different interpretations of what you said can lead to problems down the road, and these cards looks like a simple answer to that problem.

The Dungeon Architect Cards have built up over $10,000 of its $1,000 goal. Donation close March 27, 2015.

Disclaimer: The author (Bryan Heraghty) does not back any Kickstarter projects he writes about, nor are any of these inclusions sponsoring TechRaptor. These projects are included solely because the author thinks they are interesting.

What are your thoughts on some of the Kickstarters we saw this week? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below! If you have a game or technology Kickstarter you think deserves attention, you can either comment below, email TechRaptor, or tweet @techraptr or @greyhoodedbryan your suggestion!