Kickstarter fatigue

I'm completly burned out, but would still plegde some nice money if anyone kickstarted a nice fantasy tactics game for PC... with actual depth, more towards FFT/Tactics Ogre than Banner Saga.

 

Everyone does fantasy, I want a science fiction game. (and not a space opera one, thank you very much)

 

Totally agree with you, although I'm quite certain that the chances of that happening are slim to none, unless we start developing our own transhuman/posthuman hard-scifi setting RPG.

On second thought, that's exactly what I'm thinking on doing sometimes in the future. But that's more of a long term plan than something I want to start doing right now.

 

GURPS Transhuman Space?

Good luck with that

 

On tactical games? There's the new X-COM and Xenonauts on sci-fi already, but no fantasy ones around...

 

That's one option. Another is http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/804836187/nova-praxis-a-transhuman-sci-fi-fate-role-playing . I'm waiting for the release ATM. Yet another is Eclipse Phase http://www.eclipsephase.com/ .

 

The problem is not the genre but the setting. Also, although combatfags can consider XCOM and Xenonauts RPGs, they're not what most people would call RPGs. They are more easily characterized as small squad tactics games with a overarching grand strategy component.

 

Cashflow 2012
-Games and software 350 €
-Donations and Kickstarter 1105 €

 

I don't know - the numbers people are posting seem to show that they are still putting the numbers towards games. My numbers seem to follow the same general trend - I've got a bump for the initial project that introduced me to KS (WL2), but I'm still donating to projects and my maximum donations when I'm here seem to be pretty consistent. I don't know of any projects that I am planning to donate to at the moment, but I'm not burned out if I do see one that interests me.

Note: Donations sorted by when I allocate the money (pledge date), not by finish date. I'd have to dig through my information to get per-project numbers.

In any case, I think the fact that there are projects still pulling in decent numbers indicates either that we have a big enough stream of people coming in + people recovering from KS fatigue to offset the people dropping out. It does seem that the field (for games, at least) is getting more crowded, which would mean that given a certain pool of money, that money would likely be more spread out in general.

I guess what I'm getting at is that people have been talking about KS fatigue for a while - do the numbers actually support this or do they indicate some other sort of trend and the perception of increased KS fatgiue is just a matter of the people who are encountering (or fearing / expecting) it talking more and thus being more heard more?

 

Sorry, I have missed the word "tactics" in your post. Fucking migraine.

 

In that case you should attempt convincing Ian Currie to run a Kickstarter. He's long wanted to make a fantasy Jagged Alliance game, since JA2 came out actually.

 

@Temaperad
I think it plays a significant role that there were a lot of kickstarters in this and the last month going on which stand in the way of each other.


I don't think I ever spent more than 300$ in a year for games.

 

People are over spending I assume.

As for me, I got KSF on my first pledge, when WS2 announced they were using a game engine, instead of an RPG engine. I think that was a dumb move and I wouldn't have given them much of anything, if they had said so up front.

I have no regrets funding Dead State though. They haven't put a foot wrong.

 

I'm not fatigued at all, I think its great there is potential for some classic RPG games to be made again.

I would say I am more worried than anything, mostly because I dont know if this funding method will work in the long run. As others have mentioned it looks a bit like a money grab right now with many people throwing very little info up and asking for ALOT of money. This being said it costs ALOT to make an RPG so its a difficult position. Wanting a working demo or screen shots is not reaslitic as they takes significant development time. I do think game mechanics, story and at least some mock up art showing what the game will look like should be there. I want a sense of the "vision" the developer has for the game. Brian Fargo had a vision document that I thought was a good idea.

Time will tell how it turns out. With the publisher model they fund the game and then pay weekly\monthly salaries to the dev's but also get regular status updates. With kickstarter they get all monies upfront and then have to manage it..I can see many potential pitfalls in this method. I dont know if there is any middle ground withouth a publisher however. I think trying to do period\quarterly? kickstart updates where people could see game progress and then decide to continue funding wouldnt work well and would be a logistical nightmare.

I have backed so far:
The legend of eisenwald - 30
Project Eterntity - 60
Wasteland 2 100
ARs Magica 30
Antharion 30

So the it looks like only 3 I backed will get made at this point.

 

I back what I find interesting and ignore what I don't (after leaving a snide remark in the relevant thread if applicable). No fatigue here.

 

Let's see what I'm in for.

Double Fine: $15
Wasteland 2: $50
Shadowrun: $30
FTL: $10
Xenonauts: $20
Dead State: $30
Jack Houston: $20
Expeditions: Conquistador: #30
Project: Eternity: $20 + $10 codex pledge.
Broken Sword: $15
MORE: $15
Predorder Age of Decadence: $25

I figured spread my money around and hope about 1/2 are actually good games.

 

Jesus I just realized I've donated to 23 KS projects (4 active) with 14 funded and 3 more likely to be. That does not include the codex W2 and P:E drives.

What a waste of money.

 

But are you fatigued, or is it 23 more to go?

 

Well, since we're all showing off our Kickstarter lists here is mine:

IceBlink Engine - $40 (I want some Gold Box goodness)
Star Citizen - $125 (50 mission Wing Commander single player game, could care less about the MMO stuff)
Project Eternity- $250 (If I get another BG II I'll be extremely happy)
Quest For Infamy - $120 (Love their Quest for Glory remakes)
Dead State - $250 (One that I hope turns out better than I think it will but still trust Brian and Annie)
Xenonauts - $20 (Never really played the X-Com games so didn't want to go overboard on this plus they didn't offer a boxed copy)
Legends of Eisenwald - $175 (Really liked their presentation and everything they already had completed)
The Banner Saga - $10 (Started really enthusiastically but quickly lost most of that after their responses here)
Shadowrun Returns - $125 (Never played any Shadowrun games/ PnP but I am really looking forward to this one)
Takedown - $15 (Guilty pleasure or just curious?)
Wasteland 2 - $500 + $100 on the Codex (The one I'm most looking forward to, can't wait for this one as I hope Bard's Tale will be next!)
Double Fine Adventure - $100 (It's Tim Shafer, duh! and I loved the old LucasArts games he did plus the video documentary is really well done and interesting)

If a game offers an old-school boxed copy I'll pledge at that level or higher if I really believe in the project. I've complained enough about the that I will put my money towards helping with the ! I think Kickstarter has gone a long way towards making the type of games I want to see and play. I hope my trust (and $) have been well spent... guess we'll just have to wait until the first ones start shipping. I'd much rather send these guys my money than the AAA game makers of today!! Just added it all up and realized I'm spending around $152.50 a game !!! Can't let my wife see that one!!

I haven't yet reached KS fatigue... yet. However, I would like some of these spaced out a little more so I can spend more for the ones that really interest me and that I want to see succeed.

Also, my first KS was for the Order of the Stick ($87) drive which I found out about close to the end of it.

 

I would pledge my soul, if the registration page on the codex hadn't taken it already. I will round up innocents and force them to do it in my name, just MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

 

Its a good investement i am not tired of it yet, its paying 15 to 20$ to get games you would have paid more than 50$ ,last year i would never have beleived such games could exist again . We can foresee fantastic entertainement in 2013 to 2014, new baldurs gate like game, new elite , new wing commander, new wasteland....
Now brothers and sisters do the right thing , skip dinner, pledge those 15$ to thorvalla, it may be as good as realms of arcania, those guys deserves it.

 

Double Fine: $30
Wasteland 2: $75
Pinkerton Road: $51
Hero-U: $20
Thorvalla: $15
Dead State: $40
Project: Eternity: $47
Predorder Age of Decadence: $40

I've been pacing myself since W2, so I doubt I'll encounter fatigue since I'm budgeting and try not to go over $50 for any kick starter. I'll also pledge $25 when Cleve launches his Kick starter, since he'll need to hit a minimum.

 

Until the day comes where I'm getting more quality RPGs and Adventure games than I have time to play them, I'm not fatigued. It probably helps that I don't pledge 100s of dollars on any one game, so I'm not broke.

I'll drop a whole paycheck on the Magic Candle IV kickstarter though.

 

I'm starting to feel the fatigue (or, well, my wallet is - that's what you get for living in a third world country, I guess) and I haven't even backed that many projects - only around 10, including the canceled/failed ones. On the plus side, most of the old-school developers who've any street cred left have already started their projects, so I don't foresee having to back that many more in the near future.

I've still got $50 set aside with JVC's name on it, though.