The Areal Kickstarter is officially funded, and currently has collected pledges for over $62K of the $50K goal for the first-person shooter. Meanwhile, a Kickstarter update from West Games has an unusual story, even in the context of Areal, which is saying something, considering all the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-related controversy embroiling the upcoming shooter. They describe receiving an email of support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying they initially were as skeptical about this as any of us would be, before outlining how they've managed to convince themselves that this may be legitimate. Since things are so quiet in Russia right now, Vlad apparently wants to do a little gaming, as part of the translation of the letter reads: "If you give me the chance to play the alpha version of the game, when it is ready, then I invite you in advance to the Kremlin, to meet personally, be ready to play a little bit and talk about the interests of young people, the gamers of our country." Thanks Rhialto.