Kickstarter fatigue

To not derail other threads I made a separate one.

Sorry, as fun as it sounds but I think people are starting to overstretch the ks thing. Right now there isn't even a game made to judge about how viable the crowdfunding model is o_O

Personally I backed the following games:

Elite: Dangerous 30$ (ingame footage and video convinced me)
Hero-U 20$
Ars Magica 50$ (failed)
Quest for Infamy 10$
Dead State 15$
Shadowrun Returns 30$ (damn, I thought 65$...)
Wasteland 115$

Total: 270$

Originally I only wanted to pledge for W2 and wait and see. It got a bit more and amounted to 270$. And I was very, very conservative with my pledges... So far I don't want to spent more at the moment. It feels too much like a goldrush right now with everybody jumping more or less blindly in to get some money. I don't think that's a way to go for a lonf working funding method and shouldn't be the way someone should approach this. And from what I read here on the forums I get similar vibes of other posters.

What do you guys think? Is it already happening? And why is it happening in your opinion?

 

It's mostly about rpgs I think because there were a lot of ks going on. When you check the news here I would say 90% of all "new rpg coming in" news are crowdfunded.

 

I don't have any problems funding more projects personally (although I probably won't repeat the 190 bucks I sunk into racial treason), but the latest kickstarters seem too much like Mee Too projects, where old devs are trying for absurd amounts with minimal info and horrible presentation, banking only on their name recognition factor (and vastly overestimating that in a lot of cases). I still have about the same amount of money I can blow monthly on stupid shit, but I can't support any crazy plan written on the edge of a paper napkin just for novelty's sake. That time truly is gone.

 

I backed following games:

Sum:
0$

 

I can already feel the shitstorm when the first kickstarter funded game appears on tpb

 

Why would there be?

 

FTL successfully released and sailed the seven seas, no shit storms in sight.

 

Haven't backed up anything yet as I don't have the means to.

270 bucks is not such a big sum, though - I mean, it's been half a year since wasteland 2 kickstarter already, so it's, like, what? 45 bucks per month? Most western gamers spend more on games, I think (or at least as much). Of course, what sucks is that you hadn't got anything for your money (yet), but once those projects start firing off, there won't be much difference between buying publisher-funded games & kickstarting indie-ones.

 

At the moment:

Malevolence: Sword Of Ahkranox 30$
Arakion 15$
Shadowgate 10$ (they should make it)
Sui Generis 10£ (this is hard to happen, hope they'll do another campaign in case).

And 10$ for Adom on Indiegogo

I'm tempted from Sir You Are being Hunted...
Disappointed by Thorvalla start...

 

I've backed quite a few projects, but now I'm only waiting for 2 kickstarters to give all my money to: Barkley, Shut Up and Jam Gaiden 2 and Knights of the Chalice 2. Not really interested in anything else (unless DW Bradley kickstarts a Wizardry-like). I guess you could call this kickstarter fatigue.

 

www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/rpg-codex-interview-barkley-shut-up-and-jam-gaiden-2-soon-on-kickstarter.78132/

 

The problem with having a flood of good kickstarters is that you have to pledge within 30 days, before the KS campaign is over. When suddenly 10 good games come out, you can buy 5 now and the other 5 a year later. When 10 good kickstarters are announced, you have to pick and cannot support those you don't have the money for (or don't want to spend the money on cause spending 1000 euros in a single month on games is kinda shit).

 

:brofist: Third World represent.

 

As I understand this, the devs are treating kickstarter pitches exactly like they would treat publisher pitches and this is fucking ridiculous. There are two huge differences:

1)
When publisher greenlight a pitch, it is not funded yet. Progress is reviewed on regular basis and it can be canned at any time. It sure, is evaluated again after preoproduction phase.
But most of the jokers on kickstarter expect to get project fully secured based on some vague premise thrown together in few days.
Also, when publisher greenlight a project all the devs gain is employment. Here we are talking about receiving lets say 1M$ gift essentially. It is not comparable at all.

2)
Publisher is just interested in investing money in some kind of game project, that during production will be bent over according to market research and focus tests anyway.
Individual backer is not going to have any influence on the project during production. So he need to know in advance, what kind of game it is going to be exactly.
Backers don't care if there are other people who are going to be excited by finished product. All they care is whether it is something they personally care to happen.

Backers pitch expectations are much more specific than publishers, but potential reward is also higher. So why it is so fucking strange to expect from devs to put much more effort into kickstarter pitch then into publisher pitch ? Why Guido Henkel, Neal Hallford, and Thu-Lieu Pham can't, do a preproduction for 2-3 months. Then show us a ~ 50 pages design doc detailing planned gameplay, interface and setting, some ingame graphic mockups, list of people that they are in contact to contract if kickstarter will be succesful, with links to their portfolios, etc. No, better ask people to shell out 1M$ for no effort at all. RoA and BaK fans are shelling out, for the rest it does not cut it anymore. It worked for Fargo and Shafer due to much stronger names and people wanting to show support to crowd funding model in general at that time.

Iron Tower developed substantial demo before asked for any money. Underrail will have substantial slice of the game to go along with alphafunding model. War Horse has 30 devs, they purchased Cry Engine 3 license and are working for more than a year to prepare a “vertical slice” of the game content before they even start pitching it to publishers. I repeat, pitching to publishers, not pitching for free money. If they won't secure a deal, all that effort will go to waste. Kickstarters like Star Citizen is what I really expected from crowd funding. Do the first 10% of the work to show what exactly it is going to be and then ask for remaining 90% from people who like what was accomplished so far. If someone is unwilling to put any substantial effort before they have the nerve to ask for 1M$ grant, than I am unwilling to help giving them a free ride on this $$$, while developing a game I may not be interested in at all in the end.

As for e-pen contest:

Wasteland 2 - 50$
Project Eternity - 95$
Nexus 2, Sui Generis and Thorvalla, but these don't count, since I pledged fully aware I won't be charged

Also, I plan to pay 50$ for AoD this month and 50$ for Underrail when alpha get released.

 

Aren't you from gypsyland Romania?

 

Isn't that third world?

 

I don't know if you can call it fatigue, but we are already seeing our fan favorites developing games we want to see. We have Grimoire and Underworld Gold for those of us that liked Wizardry and Might and Magic games. Hero-U for those of use that liked the Quest for Glory series. Shadowrun is making a comeback, as is Wasteland. Etc etc and etc. What is left that the fans are demanding a return which isn't being tackled already by a Kickstarter or mod project?

Hell, Jeff Vogel is now getting ahead of the next generation by trying to create small, indie Bioware-lite games.

 

They let anyone into the EU nowadays.

And since we are doing it:
Double Fine Adventure: $15
Wasteland 2: $30 (+$20 through Codex)
Banner Saga: $10
Shadowrun Returns: $15 (should've skipped Banner Saga and used the money here, oh well)
Legends of Eisenwald: $15
Project Fedora: $30 (I don't even remember doing that)
Dead State: $15 (+$10 through Codex, I believe)
Project Eternity: $140 (+$50 to Project Auschwitz)
Hero U: $20
Thorvalla: $15 (but I think I will keep the money in the end at the rate the KS is going)
EDIT: and $30 for the Thursday fund

 

You pledged for all those so called RPGs and you didnt pledge for Obsidian ?

You must be one of those ignorant fuckers, i hope you rot !

 

Whatever Cleve's possible and Charles-cgr's proven talent may be, I'd find it incomparably more exciting if DW Bradley or Ian and Linda Currie came up with a Wizardry(-like) kickstarter pitch, or Jon Van Caneghem with a Might and Magic-like kickstarter.

Also, I'm not a big fan of Ultima, but a proper new Ultima game wouldn't be unwelcome either.

Also also there are many splendid old CRPGs that don't have the kind of following that Wizardry, Ultima and M&M have, but that I'd pledge all my money to if there was a Kickstarter in sight.