Adventure Gamers - Forums

@Kasper F. Nielsen

Sure, if that’s the case.
But what about the teams that don’t have a solid product on their hands, but lack the perspective and experience to recognize it?
They’d need at least a small test-crowd to get some feedback, as unbiased as possible.
(So no friends or family.)
A demo or free release of a smaller game provides you with some initial feedback and perspective, maybe with some fans that are willing to give a few bucks for more. 

Of course a failed funding campaign is nothing you can’t recover from, but it might hurt the general reception of your game and the scrutiny will always be a bit harsher if you are asking for money.

Shnubble - 09 June 2013 01:11 PM

@Kasper F. Nielsen

Sure, if that’s the case.
But what about the teams that don’t have a solid product on their hands, but lack the perspective and experience to recognize it?
They’d need at least a small test-crowd to get some feedback, as unbiased as possible.
(So no friends or family.)
A demo or free release of a smaller game provides you with some initial feedback and perspective, maybe with some fans that are willing to give a few bucks for more. 

Of course a failed funding campaign is nothing you can’t recover from, but it might hurt the general reception of your game and the scrutiny will always be a bit harsher if you are asking for money.

The way I would go about it is setting up a closed beta to figure out what works and what doesn’t work and then make various adjustment before taking the project to Kickstarter. From my perspective it’s crucial to have a great demo to showcase.

In my opinion a free release is not the way to go if we’re looking at this from a financial perspective. You’re inadvertently saying your product isn’t good enough that people should pay for it, so why should they a year later when you’re updating it for a commercial release? And here I’m not talking a free game and then a payed sequel, but an update of an already existing product.

Anyway, I’d still like a good reason as to why first-time developers shouldn’t take their project to Kickstarter if they’ve got everything in order.

Kasper F. Nielsen - 09 June 2013 01:55 PM

Anyway, I’d still like a good reason as to why first-time developers shouldn’t take their project to Kickstarter if they’ve got everything in order.

Like said, if that’s the case then I see no compelling reason to not try your luck.
I just think it’s highly unlikely a first-time developer has “everything in order” and you are putting a lot of unnecessary stress on your shoulders, will have a lot stricter deadlines and you’ll have to manage the campaign and produce and ship the physical rewards if there are any.
And all that on top of having zero experience with your new “job”
From one minute to the next you’ll have to be not only a good developer but also know how to advertise yourself and your product.
And if your campaign succeeds the real test has just begun.

Personally I’d never take my current game to Kickstarter, but if the whole crowdfunding idea floats your boat then I wouldn’t necessarily advice against it if you have everything in order. It’s something that’s hard to do, but I wouldn’t say it’s impossible to manage your project properly just because you’re a first-timer.

Another point perhaps, to win backers over:

Tell us what you’ll do with the money.
Why is it needed exactly and how will your project and we as players profit from it.

Some might not care about it that much, especially if they like your project and you have already won them over, but if not, filling us in on the details might show that you have things planned out and aren’t simply asking for a vague amount of money that would be nice to have and people might just about be willing to give.

Personally, if I like your project and think you can finish it, I won’t mind giving you a bit of “pocket money” on top of what I’d pay for the game, even if I’m quite sure that it won’t change the project in the slightest. I don’t mean to be derogatory by the way, it’s just that the kind of money many smaller projects (can) ask for, is way to little to seriously consider full time development.
So if you can tell me you’ll need money to purchase this soft- or hardware or pay that programmer or special voiceactor, I’m much more inclined to open my wallet if I haven’t made up my mind yet.

Honestly, a big chunk of the money ends up going to fulfilling the physical rewards.  Producing posters and big box copies and such is more costly than you’d expect.  In IQ’s case, the money also allowed us to bring on a few more artists (in a part time capacity, of course) than we otherwise would have.  But yeah, any little bit helps, really.

I’d guess the risky part is to get enough backers for a physical reward to make money with it and not loose it.
So unless you have already a solid fan-base or have other good reasons to believe you’ll meet a certain quota, you might want to think twice about which physical rewards you offer. (And research the conditions beforehand of course.)

Shnubble - 16 June 2013 04:59 PM

I’d guess the risky part is to get enough backers for a physical reward to make money with it and not loose it.
So unless you have already a solid fan-base or have other good reasons to believe you’ll meet a certain quota, you might want to think twice about which physical rewards you offer. (And research the conditions beforehand of course.)

Yes, definitely.  Which is why it’s such an uphill battle for first-timers to try and do a Kickstarter.

Lambonius - 16 June 2013 04:35 PM

Honestly, a big chunk of the money ends up going to fulfilling the physical rewards.  Producing posters and big box copies and such is more costly than you’d expect.  In IQ’s case, the money also allowed us to bring on a few more artists (in a part time capacity, of course) than we otherwise would have.  But yeah, any little bit helps, really.

It’s quite strange that in this “digital era”, Kickstarter rewards still need to be physical. People will always ask for them, but I wonder if it’s really necessary to offer them. Surely digital only goodies would fit much better to the purpose of Kickstarter. I think physical rewards are usually too cheap in Kickstarter, especially when a small project with digital distribution has to produce physical goodies just for Kickstarter backers.