• Log In | Sign Up

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Top Games
  • Search
  • New Releases
  • Daily Deals
  • Forums

Adventure Gamers - Forums

Welcome to Adventure Gamers. Please Sign In or Join Now to post.

You are here: HomeForum Home → Gaming → Adventure → Thread

Post Marker Legend:

  • New Topic New posts
  • Old Topic No new posts

Currently online

KeybordzLady Kestrel

Support us, by purchasing through these affiliate links

   

Small unofficial Kickstarter survey

Poll: How do you decide how much to pledge / Which projects to back ?
Total Votes: 47
I see it as a pre-order of the game
6
I want the different rewards (above pre-order)
7
I want to make sure the game is made, so i can play it.
18
I want to support the project or the people behind it, even if i personally have no intention of playing the game.
4
Other (please clarify)
6
All of the above
5
This is the stupidest poll i have ever seen / It is none of your business
1
Avatar

Total Posts: 3933

Joined 2011-03-14

PM

Let me start by stating that i have absolutely no association with Kickstarter what so ever apart from being a backer, nor am i planning on creating a Kickstarter campaign myself. I am merely curious.

I am also not asking you to reveal how much money you pledge, or which projects you back.

What i am asking you to reveal, is why you back the projects that you do, and how you decide how high or low your pledge should be, what the whole thought process you go through is.

Are your motives for backing a project purely selfish, or are there also altruistic reasons for why you do it?

Do you see it as a form of pre-ordering a game, and do the actual rewards mean anything to you? 

Do you only back projects from well established names, or sequels to existing favorite games, where you know what you will get, or are you also prepared to back someone completely unknown?

How much does a professionally and well planned campaign, with in game video footage and artwork etc, mean to you? Are you prepared to support a project based solely on loose ideas?

How do you decide how much you will pledge, is the rewards at the different tiers of great importance e.g. “I really want at boxed version”, or is it only a minor thing or of no importance at all?

Please fill out the poll and post anything you find relevant on the subject.
(Even if it is just to tell me that it is none of my business)

     

You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ

Avatar

Total Posts: 3933

Joined 2011-03-14

PM

I might as well start by answering my own questions.

I see my motives as being purely selfish, not because i care about the actual rewards, but because i want to make sure the game is made, so i can play it when it is finished Smile

I only support projects where i believe the finished game would be something i would buy, even if i hadn’t supported it. In fact this is my only rule when it comes to Kickstarter. I don’t back projects just because it sounds intriguing or the people behind it is sympathetic. If or when i want to give money to charity i believe there are far more worthy causes.

I often pledge an amount that would allow me a certain reward tier, but select a lesser reward simply because i don’t care about the rewards.

When i determine the amount i pledge, i usually start by asking myself, what would be a fair price if i was to buy the game, and what would be the absolute maximum amount i would pay for it, and then i select something in the middle depending on how enthusiastic i am about the project.

I don’t mind taking a chance on someone completely unknown, or on projects that are still only on the idea state. But they need to convince me the finished project is something i would buy, and that is obviously easier if it is a well established name, or they have a very professionally looking campaign. 

     

You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ

Avatar

Total Posts: 177

Joined 2006-03-28

PM

I will back a game pretty much based on whether or not I think I will want to play it. I haven’t backed very many: Tex Murphy, Double Fine, Dreamfall, Jane Jensen…I think that’s it. But when I pledge, it’s above the average amount. I will back a project that’s from a series or developer that I know 100% that I have enjoyed in the past and have fully confidence that I will enjoy their finished product.

The “flashiness” of the kickstarter campaign does not make a difference to me. The only thing that I would like to see is a description of their vision for the game, i.e. that it will be a pretty traditional adventure game. If I know they are heading down that road, and I trust their past history, I have no problem investing more than the game is worth to make sure it gets made and to make sure it gets made right.

So I guess I’m selfish. I don’t set out to help struggling developers. I want a finished product that I’m going to enjoy when all is said and done but I am willing to pay well beyond what the game is really worth to make that happen. I guess the monetary value of the game is worth more to me than the retail value.

As for rewards, I generally am indifferent. In fact, I was a little embarrassed to receive a Double Fine poster as a reward. I’m almost 40 years old. I’m not going to be hanging any posters in my room. Then again, I’m a 40 year old nerd who plays A LOT of video games so I guess I should. Tongue And I don’t need to see my name in a video game credits along with thousands of others either.

The only reward that I really wanted out of all of the ones that I have seen so far (within my reasonable budget) was the Wonkers USB key. I just really wanted it for some odd reason.  Smile

Since the rewards don’t matter, I really judge how much I’m going to give in terms of how much the upcoming game means to me. The more passionate I am about a game, the more I’m willing to donate.

That’s my 2 cents!

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 40

Joined 2009-04-25

PM

I would say all of the above except that I don’t contribute to Kickstarter projects that I’m not actually interested in playing. I see Kickstarter as a way to offer my support as a fan, not as charity offerings for random developers. Wink

With that being said, all of the other reasons you listed apply to me. I think one of the benefits of Kickstarter is actually that it’s so win-win, and you can support developers while still getting some nice things for yourself too. Smile

     

Total Posts: 17

Joined 2013-03-08

PM

For me it is primarily the first and the third option, and to a lesser extent the second one, really. I do not support games I am not personally interested in playing, but when I’m really interested in a project I will sometimes give more than what is needeed to buy me the rewards that I am actually interested in which is often just the game itself.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 8720

Joined 2012-01-02

PM

I choose other ; for bringing back a great names into the adventure scene as strong as they were before at the classic/golden age/era and that all what matters to help me decide if i am to pledge and how much upon my love for them and their prior projects
and these are some points that makes me feel obliged to pledge when i hear one of those names launching a campaign and how i see kickstarters are good for:

1- Kickstarter is a venue for bringing back the best designers/developers we still crawl back for their games even if they are like 20 years old.

2- Kickstarter is the only way left to recover the core of adventure gaming (as Tim said at one video) that now designer/writers/developers can make their ideas and concepts without having hard times with the interference of producers .. even Jane Jansen complained about that (also at one video) while working on the Gray Gatter project.

3- starting to believe (as it was before at the golden age) that games from certain Developers like Sierra ,Lucas Cyan ...etc, are totally/always guaranteed ,almost(if not exactly) the same with movies when we hear the names like D.Fincher,R.Scott,M.Scorsese as its now happening (for instance) with names such Scott,Mark,Tim,Al ...etc ..

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 8471

Joined 2011-10-21

PM

Let’s start with a bold statement: I don’t back Kickstarter projects. Wink

I would back projects by developers whose work I truly believed in, and whose games I’d definitely play, but all of those really interesting projects (Dreamfall Chapters for instance) are doing / have done really well, and surpassed their original goal.
That means that they no longer required my pledge.

I picked “Other” in the poll, because my “How to decide” boils down to: “I’ll buy it when it’s released, that way they can use my money for future projects instead.”
Besides, if nobody is left to actually buy the game once it’s finished, well, then that defeated the purpose of the Kickstarter, didn’t it? Crazy

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

Avatar

Total Posts: 8998

Joined 2004-01-05

PM

I usually donate to both well-known developers with sequels I want and new developers with interesting projects that I want see done. Although the average pledge is higher in the first case bacause I have more confidence that my money won’t be wasted…
The actually amount I pledge usually depends on the rewards.

CoyoteAG - 08 March 2013 01:55 PM

As for rewards, I generally am indifferent. In fact, I was a little embarrassed to receive a Double Fine poster as a reward. I’m almost 40 years old. I’m not going to be hanging any posters in my room. Then again, I’m a 40 year old nerd who plays A LOT of video games so I guess I should. Tongue And I don’t need to see my name in a video game credits along with thousands of others either.

 

I actually don’t know where the poster is but I love wearing the Adventure Backer t-shirt. Nobody has any idea what that is but It’s such a nice shirt Smile

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 3933

Joined 2011-03-14

PM

TimovieMan - 08 March 2013 06:38 PM

Besides, if nobody is left to actually buy the game once it’s finished, well, then that defeated the purpose of the Kickstarter, didn’t it? Crazy

I always wondered about that, if everybody backs the project, then who is left to buy the game?

     

You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ

Avatar

Total Posts: 8998

Joined 2004-01-05

PM

Iznogood - 08 March 2013 09:05 PM
TimovieMan - 08 March 2013 06:38 PM

Besides, if nobody is left to actually buy the game once it’s finished, well, then that defeated the purpose of the Kickstarter, didn’t it? Crazy

I always wondered about that, if everybody backs the project, then who is left to buy the game?

The biggest game kickstarters have 60-80 thousand backers, I think there are still a lot of potential buyers for the games. Also a lot games have android, iOS, console versions that have new potential customers when they are out. But I think the answer will only come when a lot games are finally released.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 2582

Joined 2005-08-12

PM

This thread asks an interesting question, and it made me question my own motivations.

It’s definitely not about the game. I mean, I’m obviously not going to back a game I really have no interest in playing, but the amount of the pledge is very much unrelated to how excited I am about it (I try to avoid getting excited about stuff in advance anyway; expectations tend to ruin everything).

It’s also not about the rewards. While some stuff is really interesting (access to development info, art book, etc.), many of the (physical) rewards offered don’t interest me. I really have no use for posters, and tacky T-shirts, and polyresin figures and whatnot.

Ultimately, I think it boils down to two things. First, wanting to give people a chance,  especially if I feel they really deserve it after what they’ve been through in the past. And second, and most importantly, to say Thank you. I would love to live in a world where you could play games (and read books, and watch movies, etc.) for free, and at the end pay what you want based on what you feel the experience was worth to you. I know it’s not possible, because people are not honest enough for that to work, but Kickstarter has been a way to come a bit closer to that. When I gave several hundred dollars to Jane Jensen, or the Coles or the Tex Murphy guys, it’s not because I was insanely excited about their new game: it’s because it finally gave me the chance to pay them for what their previous creations have been worth to me.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 8471

Joined 2011-10-21

PM

wilco - 08 March 2013 09:22 PM

The biggest game kickstarters have 60-80 thousand backers, I think there are still a lot of potential buyers for the games. Also a lot games have android, iOS, console versions that have new potential customers when they are out. But I think the answer will only come when a lot games are finally released.

It’s too bad there’s so little data to be found on global sales for digital downloads. How many copies did Botanicula sell? Resonance? The Testament of Sherlock Holmes?
If there are 80K backers, then it’ll make a BIG difference if average sales are 100K, 200K, 500K or over 1 mil…

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

Total Posts: 8

Joined 2006-11-03

PM

C’mon fiends let’s do it. We need 630.000 $ on Kickstarter (Dreamfall Chapters) and only 23 h. Gasp

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 177

Joined 2006-03-28

PM

wilco - 08 March 2013 08:47 PM
CoyoteAG - 08 March 2013 01:55 PM

As for rewards, I generally am indifferent. In fact, I was a little embarrassed to receive a Double Fine poster as a reward. I’m almost 40 years old. I’m not going to be hanging any posters in my room. Then again, I’m a 40 year old nerd who plays A LOT of video games so I guess I should. Tongue And I don’t need to see my name in a video game credits along with thousands of others either.

 

I actually don’t know where the poster is but I love wearing the Adventure Backer t-shirt. Nobody has any idea what that is but It’s such a nice shirt Smile

I like the shirt too. I wear it to the gym!

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 1813

Joined 2005-10-23

PM

TimovieMan - 08 March 2013 06:38 PM

Let’s start with a bold statement: I don’t back Kickstarter projects. Wink

Me neither. Kickstarter fatigue started fairly quickly with me. I backed one kickstarter project and then suddenly there came this whole tsunami of kickstarters (thanks to Geert Wilders for the nice metaphor) and then I thought I’d rather buy the games when they are finished.

     

Total Posts: 76

Joined 2008-01-31

PM

Usually I pledge for the games which I think I’ll play. In few cases I have backed a project just because the project itself is interesting (for example, I backed Project Eternity even though I haven’t played that kind of RPGs before). I rarely back projects from unknown developers, unless the game looks really good and promising (for example Devil’s Cove).

In most cases I pledge the minimum to get digital version of the game. If the project and rewards are interesting, I can pledge slightly more, but 50 dollars is my limit. The only exception was Jane’s project, because Jane and her games have always a special place in my heart, and the rewards in that project were too interesting to miss. I don’t want any physical stuff to fill up my apartment, so I only pledge to get digital rewards.

I like the fact that developer can create a game without publisher, so it’s nice to support the funding, but for me Kickstarter is also about being part of the project and getting insider look to the development process.

     

You are here: HomeForum Home → Gaming → Adventure → Thread

Welcome to the Adventure Gamers forums!

Back to the top