Students Kickstart award-winning mobile platformer Axle

A small group of students from Chapman University are well on their way to launching a new mobile platformer called Axle.

Axle gets its name from the yellow cartoon gear players control. Liz Fiacco, the game's designer, said the goal was to create a game that was "very cute, but a little bit darker" in terms of its setting and story. Players explore and fix World War I and II-era machinery while dodging obstacles and collecting power-ups.

According to the Orange County Register, Axle originally began as a school project. After winning top honors in the regional Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Intercollegiate Computer Game Showcase, the team approached a local business incubator. Working under the umbrella of the newly created Fallstreak Studio LLC, the 8-member team is looking to raise $15,000. If funded, the game will launch for Android, with stretch goals for the iPhone, iPad and Kindle Fire at $22,000.

The Kickstarter will come to an end on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 9 p.m. ET.