Kickstarter and adventures
 

Mirroring the "Fatigue" thread, (sorry, Kuru! :D) i wanted to answer the question - Why should I support adventure game Kickstarter campaigns?


I'm not going to talk about the cons of kickstarter system - it's there. After all, we're paying for an unfinished product which may or may not be made with money we may or may not have... Something's wrong here - and i'm no economics expert to be fully aware of it (i'll just keep shut on all of this next time i'm doing the exam). But speaking of game campaigns, and when you think of it - it's not really much different to an "upgraded" pre-order - pledgings MAY or may not be more worth than the actual game and awards, but they're on the voluntary basis.

I see kicksarter as a natural thingie in "evolution" of internet, world coming "together", rise of indie games... And the all-known thought of aspiring millionaires: "If I had a dollar from every men in the world..." seems to be more reachable than ever. We had "donations" to small developers before, now it's Kickststarter (and already other similar sites to it), and who knows what will be next?

So, how the legendary adventure game designers fit in?

If we're to make the list of genre's best designers - there're many, but some names will be heard often. And when couple of those, decide to get back via Kickstarter - some of them being back in business after 10+ years, or making their first adventure game after 10+ years... - unless it's being too much of a coincidence, nothing is assuring us that we wouldn't be waiting for another 5-10 years for their return, without the Kickstarter involvement.

Now that we're here, and they're here, there's really no other option for a "fan", but to support designer he/she wished for being back. It's not really a "dream come true" situation - Al Lowe is remaking older title rather than doing new Larry, Jane isn't back with a GK4 bang... but it's "good as it gets" for a striving community.

And the most important thing - I DIDN'T support all of these campaigns. I'm not trying to condemn or persuade anyone who didn't support ANY of it. I have supported some for my personal, selfish reasons, and they beat "flaws" of the Kickstarter.

I love Kickstarter so much I don't have words.

I'm not exactly sure if I understand the purpose of this thread, but if I do it's to convince people to contribute to Kickstarter.

I think a major factor for me, among the many other factors such as how much money I currently have, is whether these games already have enough support. If I see the former Legend team or Coktel Vision wanting to do another game and they are struggling to get to their target, I would be several times more likely to contribute to that than one that is rocketing upwards. DFA was over-target before I found out about it, and I believe Jane Jensen will reach her target comfortably.

That said, I don't think it's very accurate to look at this phenomenon as a kind of selfless support of your favorite developer. It's possibly some fans think of themselves in this way, but we have to remember they get something out of it too. But I also wouldn't speculate on whether they would contribute if they didn't get anything.

Yeah, I really don't get some of these complaints either. They must not be coming from the people who have been waiting for some of these games since the 90s......

This is a GOOD thing people. :crazy:

The idea of Kickstarting adventure games is brilliant -- it finally allows the fans to show support for their favourite developers in a meaningful way; developers whose games wouldn't otherwise see the light of day. And if you don't want to pledge for one reason or another, no one is forcing you.

It's not all sunshine and roses, though. There have already been a couple of not-so-great game campaigns, like Class of Heroes 2 Deluxe, where they're asking for $500,000 to translate an existing PSP game, and a pledge of $60 to get the game. Yeah, that's not going to work.

Then there's Leisure Suit Larry -- the Duke Nukem of adventure games -- but hey, if people want it they should be able to get it. My only complaint is the lack of transparency with the project. Reading their Kickstarter page, you never would know that this remake was already announced and was presumably going ahead before the whole Kickstarter craze began. Which makes it look like Kickstarter was just a way for the creators to save their own money and shift all the risk on to the fans. I'm not saying that's what has happened, but for me there wasn't enough transparency there.

I think the one flaw with Jane Jensen's campaign is that she doesn't have access to the one game that people really know her for. That didn't seem to matter for Double Fine because Schafer and Gilbert teaming up was enough, but Jane Jensen's slightly more niche, and her Kickstarter isn't a simple one game venture. Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea, but would it have just been simpler to ask for money for a "spiritual successor to Gabriel Knight"?

I get the feeling that if she had just picked one game herself, and said "here I need 300K to make Moebius" (or GM2), then a lot more people would have contributed.

The idea of putting 3 options out to vote (and the Anglophile game is scaring a lot of folks from backing it), and then saying, well you aren't paying for the game, but for 1 year of subscription (which, unless the backing skyrockets, will be that same game only) just confused a lot of people.

Its good that the vote has been brought forward. I'm hoping a lot more people back the project after it's done.

The kids ebook is not helping either. They were working on it anyway and thought why not add it to the kickstarter as a free goodie, but thats scaring folks too, who are now wondering whether more kids/casuals are down the line. They might have got more backing had they just left it out altogether.

Completely agreed with you... the inclusion of that childrens game at the kickstarter page is disastrous :pan:

They try to explain it in FAQ at the bottom of the page but I am not convinced and that is one of the main reasons I will not support that campaign.

Yes, many people can be confused I guess. Well - I understand what is it about and I have supported it because I studied it carefully and it seems to me as a good deal. But I think that successful Kickstarter campaign that asks for big amounts of money needs also address casual gamers and I'm afraid they will not study the conditions as hardcore fans.

So it is quite possible that one (or both) of these project will fail eventually. I hope that Tex will not make similar mistakes.

Well, yes and no - not the Kickstarter, but the point is that we "should" support our favorite and designers we've wished for coming back all these years, neverheless if the thingamajig that "brought" them back is called Kickstarter, or something else.

Because, if you were telling yourself - I want Jane Jensen/Al Lowe... back - now they're "back", and you can support, or not support them, and maybe you won't have another chance to show your "support".

I'm not delighted that big "comebacks" are through the Kickstarter, but that's how it is. And as i said, i also support individuals who are totally against it.

But yeah, this thread could be better serving as track of all adventure game campaigns and general discussion on it. :D

I agree that there should be no complaints about the Kickstarter campaigns. There's only three for adventure games running at the same time. While none of them are as successful as Tim Schafer was, they're still a LOT more successful than ANY of them would've been before that Tim Schafer anomaly.

The amount Double Fine got was something unique that won't be repeated soon ever. But the amount of exposure it's given to Kickstarter has allowed for other projects to get a more than decent amount of funding.

As long as the developers set realistic goals when compared to how big of a name they are (or potential their project holds), we'll be seeing more good campaigns in the future. That is a VERY good thing!

^ This.
Kickstarter has its flaws, and it may not necessarily be the preferred way to see our beloved adventure game genre reach another "golden age", but darn it... it's exciting to see some of these names make a return to the genre we love best!
Kickstarter isn't perfect, but if that's our best bet at the moment, then we should be taking it!

I agree with this.
While the "CSG" is a great concept, it'd be more successful if Jensen had kept it simpler.
But then again, she probably couldn't choose between any of the three projects herself...
Chances are we'll be seeing all three games within two years anyway. And that thought makes me happy.

This I don't agree with. First time I read the Kickstarter page this felt like nothing more than an added reward for the backers. Something extra, not something you'd be funding. I thought that was pretty clear.

It's probably a smart move that Tex Murphy has decided to announce its Kickstarter way ahead of schedule. Those that are actively following the genre, the die-hard fans that contribute within a Kickstarter's first 48 hours, have some time to prepare and will be present even sooner than they'd otherwise be. And the extra month of time the Tex Murphy guys have to launch the Kickstarter gives them extra time to make an effective campaign. They can see the flaws in Jane Jensen and Al Lowe's Kickstarters. They can see the parts of those Kickstarters that actually work well.
Kickstarter is still a young medium, and the people behind Tex Murphy get a lot of preparation by waiting. They have a chance to avoid the "beginner's mistakes" both Jensen and Lowe made in their campaigns. Tex Murphy should be a well thought out campaign with a clear goal. My guess is that it's going to be VERY successful.