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Armikrog - The Neverhood developers making a new game
I can understand that. I myself decided at one point I had kickstarted enough adventure games to make my point and I was going to swear off. Of course The Neverhood is too much of a sentimental favorite for me to ignore, but it still reflects that even adventure game fans might be a little tired of kickstarting the genre, and may be content to just sit back and let some of these games come out now.
Or maybe not. Maybe $900,000 is just a lot of goddamn money. It’s more than Broken Sword, Leisure Suit Larry, Tex Murphy, Jane Jensen, or SpaceVenture could muster. Maybe they aren’t doing anything wrong and Neverhood just doesn’t have a $900,000 fanbase.
Maybe it’s not that big a difference, but personally I decided against kickstarting Armikrog because I despise the man behind it, and I’m hardly the only one. Maybe it only amounts to a 50k difference or something - who knows? - but I’m pretty sure it’s made a difference, especially when you count in how a higher total gets people who already pledged to bump up their contribution to reach the finish line if it’s not that far off.
Kickstarter fatigue could also be a cause, though I think a lot of people will donate no matter what if it’s something they’re really interested in. The more casual kickstarters might be burnt out at this point, though. Like Fragocuda I can imagine the 900k goal being a bit steep too, given that The Neverhood isn’t /that/ big a property.
I think it works the exact opposite way, if you ask for too much money, people will become suspicious and doubt if the project will reach its goal, and many will not back a project if they believe the goal is unrealistically high.
In behavioral economics there’s an effect called anchoring, which is that simply by naming a number you can affect what people think something is worth and what they’re willing to pay. If you name an astronomically high number and then ask people what any given item is worth they will say it’s worth more. So by having a huge funding goal number just displayed on the page it will cause people to donate more. It’s going to be a lot easier for a game with a $900,000 goal to get $50 donations out of people than a game that has a $10,000 goal, even if the people donating have equal interest in both games. I guess it’s a bit like the numerical equivalent of having large shopping baskets, the extra space in the basket makes what you’ve selected seem less, and naming a very high number makes other numbers seem less by comparison.
This is why I get frustrated with eBay because I would like to list auctions with an astronomically high buy-it-now price to increase the bid amounts, but after the first bid the buy it now option disappears. Studies have shown that if ebay allowed people to keep high buy it now prices on auctions it would increase the final bid amount.
I honestly don’t think Armikrog is being his by some giant political agenda. The concept may not be appealing to enough people.
Maybe they aren’t doing anything wrong and Neverhood just doesn’t have a $900,000 fanbase.
I agree. They are asking for a lot of money and they aren’t Double Fine.
DF is the exception, not the rule.
Bill Tiller’s A Vampyre Story is struggling HARD, and all I ever hear from people is “Bill Tiller, Bill Tiller, Monkey Island 3, Bill Tiller!!!” so I’m surprised that one isn’t doing better, either.
Bt
First let me say I backed Year One after reading the extensive interview here on AGs and I’d be happy for Bill Tiller if everything worked out after all.
But I have to say I’m not surprised at all by Year One’s poor performance. At first AVS took ages to be released and then it wasn’t even finished, a fact they weren’t exactly forward about, so many players found themselves left hanging in midair. (Now it’s a well known fact but it wasn’t when AVS was first released.)
Starting yet another story without finishing AVS feels off, no matter what good reasons led to this decision.
Then there was talk of several prequel episodes, I think even when the Kickstarter went online. But before that the campaign was postponed again and again.
Now it’s supposed to be one episode and that sounds feasible to me, but many people are afraid of another unfinished game and despite the great Kickstarter-video Bill seams kind of unprepared to me.
And lastly AVS is a good game, but kind of unmemorable. I remember enjoying it and the art is truly great, but I can’t recall much actually happening.
Maybe fatigue is to blame, too, but I wouldn’t say those two games are proof for that.
@AdorableMogwai:
Quite frankly I think the effect might be there, but is negligible in this case.
People will look very carefully who is offering what and decide if it makes sense to them and what they want to give. It’s risky to aim high because many people might decide that it’s too high. Also, if people really want to give, they’ll happily surpass the funding goal.
Maybe it’s not that big a difference, but personally I decided against kickstarting Armikrog because I despise the man behind it, and I’m hardly the only one. Maybe it only amounts to a 50k difference or something - who knows? - but I’m pretty sure it’s made a difference, especially when you count in how a higher total gets people who already pledged to bump up their contribution to reach the finish line if it’s not that far off.
This i know alot of people who either took back their pledge or stopped others thanks to
propaganda.
Any publicity is good publicity. There were some people who were offended enough to not pledge money, but there were also people who found out about the Armikrog kickstarter as a direct result of that publicity, and some of these people probably thought it was a cool game and donated. There were also people who pledged even more because they perceived Doug TenNapel as being unfairly attacked.
What is certain is that Armikrog kickstarter is already somewhat of a success, even if it fails now (which I don’t think it’s going to be allowed to do) it’s still on track to raise more money than Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded, which when you consider how well known the LSL franchise is compared to the Neverhood shows that there’s a huge amount of interest in this project. And rightfully so, as everyone loves claymation, and Armikrog, when and if it’s produced, will be only the third animated adventure game ever to use this style. Armikrog looks to be something truly unique and wonderful which will help revitalize not only adventure games but claymation as well. I don’t agree with Doug TenNapel’s views about gay marriage but I think we’d all be better off having this game made. Furthermore I suspect Doug TenNapel might be gay himself, when he speaks in the kickstarter video I seem to detect a very slight lisp. It’s also said that people who are homophobic and against gay marriage are having that reaction because they’re repressing their own gayness. Can we really get angry at Doug TenNapel for speaking ill of his own kind? Fat people are allowed to make fun of fat people, black people are allowed to use the n word, etc, why shouldn’t a gay man be allowed to speak out against gay marriage?
Armikrog, when and if it’s produced, will be only the third animated adventure game ever to use this style.
Off the top of my head I can think of more than that:
Clay Agent
Clay Dreams
Dominique Pamplemouss
Tanita: Plasticine Dream
The Dream Machine Chapters 1-3
The Neverhood
Free D.C.! (partially)
Wasn’t Wallace & Gromit clay?
Wasn’t Wallace & Gromit clay?
The original show, yes. But it was was converted to 3D for the game, much like Pat & Mat.
Armikrog, when and if it’s produced, will be only the third animated adventure game ever to use this style.
Off the top of my head I can think of more than that:
Clay Agent
Clay Dreams
Tanita: Plasticine Dream
The Dream Machine Chapters 1-3
The Neverhood
Free D.C.! (partially)
I believe the first three games here were never released in English, and I don’t consider Free DC to be claymation whatsoever.
I did forget about The Dream Machine though.
So I stand corrected. I should have said “Armikrog when and if it’s produced, will be only the fourth english language animated adventure game ever to use this style”. The previous three being Neverhood, The Dream Machine, and Dominque Pamplemouse.
Wasn’t Wallace & Gromit clay?
By all means it should have been, but was converted into yet another piece of generic CG mediocrity. (Which is probably why no one remembers it)
Tanita: Plasticine Dream is available in English.
Wasn’t Wallace & Gromit clay?
By all means it should have been, but was converted into yet another piece of generic CG mediocrity. (Which is probably why no one remembers it)
Oh well, I’d rather remember a game for being good than being pretty. I remember The Neverhood but not for its substance, just the art style and quirkiness. But I can understand why appearance counts for so much for so many people.
Tanita: Plasticine Dream is available in English.
All I can find of that game is in Spanish and the English version seems very rare. I can’t find it on Amazon nor can I even find an English review of it. All I find when I google is the same English description of the game that has been copied and pasted but no reviews. Is this a children’s game or something? Why is it so rare in English?
Oh well, I’d rather remember a game for being good than being pretty. I remember The Neverhood but not for its substance, just the art style and quirkiness. But I can understand why appearance counts for so much for so many people.
Well you’re in a passive aggressive mood aren’t you?
The Neverhood is considered a classic, this very site reviewed it 4 1/2 out of out of 5 stars. saying not only did it have a amazing graphic style but a charming storyline, and plenty of puzzling as well. If all you remember it as is just a quirky novelty then I feel quite sad for you. 
In my experience games that have lavishly done art usually are good all-around games. If a developer is willing to make the effort and rise above the generic CG style mediocrity that defined the 98-08 decade, then that’s usually a sign they’re making effort in other areas of the game as well. I’m sure someone who is in an argumentative mood will disagree, so let me reiterate that’s just been my experience with adventure games.
Tanita: Plasticine Dream is available in English.
All I can find of that game is in Spanish and the English version seems very rare. I can’t find it on Amazon nor can I even find an English review of it. All I find when I google is the same English description of the game that has been copied and pasted but no reviews. Is this a children’s game or something? Why is it so rare in English?
The game can be purchased HERE.
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