KickStarter BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION - isometric post-apocalyptic adventure from STASIS developer

[Infinitron]

Infinitron make it happen

Codex, I have done my duty. Have you?

? I wouldn't know what to ask. It's a bit silly interviewing somebody who posts here regularly IMO.

But if somebody wants to come up with a list of questions and organize an interview, we'll be happy to publish it.

 

[PlanHex]

Infinitron
Regardless of interview, why isn't the kickstarter on the front page with all the other kickstarters that showed up this week? (why'd they all pick this week anyway?)

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

First paychecks of 2017 arriving?

 

[Explorerbc]

The codex has posted adventure-related stuff before in the frontpage, I don't see why we don't have an announcement yet.

 

[Outlander]

I don't see why we don't have an announcement yet.

Pillars of Banality 2 is currently being 'featured'.

 

[PlanHex]

alright let me try this, hold my beer


HEY Infinitron NMA HAS HAD THIS ON THEIR FRONT PAGE FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW, DO YOU REALLY WANT IT TO BE SAID THAT A DEAD SITE LIKE NMA HAS BETTER NEWS COVERAGE THAN THE CODEX

 

[Lyre Mors]

Never been a big fan of adventure games in general, but I felt compelled to back this based on the gorgeous artwork alone. I like the sounds of open exploration and controlling more than one character too, so maybe this will be the one to change my mind.

Oh yeah, don't forget to throw some of those RPG elements in there too, thanks.

 

[Pyke]

Never been a big fan of adventure games in general, but I felt compelled to back this based on the gorgeous artwork alone. I like the sounds of open exploration and controlling more than one character too, so maybe this will be the one to change my mind.

Oh yeah, don't forget to throw some of those RPG elements in there too, thanks.

I posted this to a question on NeoGAF - but you may find it interesting:

Games are always in a constant design flux - but I can tell you the direction that we are moving in.

The biggest difference between this and our previous games is that the game itself will be much less linear. You can explore the wasteland in any order and any direction you want to. You will discover secrets and towns and quests in different orders depending on your play through.

Our map size is currently 50 x 50 (although that may change to larger) - which gives you 2500 possibilities of places to explore. Some will be randomly generated - others will be specifically designed 'special tiles' that have optional mini quests - and of course some will have huge main towns with a further branch of main quest lines coming off of it.

So its still an adventure game - but its more a game made out of lots of smaller quests, which, depending on the order you complete them, impacts the denizens of the game world - and even impacts some other quest lines.

Everything still selves the main game storyline, which is honestly one of the coolest stories I think I've ever heard (granted...I'm biased...) :D

 

[StaticSpine]

Never been a big fan of adventure games in general, but I felt compelled to back this based on the gorgeous artwork alone. I like the sounds of open exploration and controlling more than one character too, so maybe this will be the one to change my mind.

Oh yeah, don't forget to throw some of those RPG elements in there too, thanks.

I posted this to a question on NeoGAF - but you may find it interesting:

Games are always in a constant design flux - but I can tell you the direction that we are moving in.

The biggest difference between this and our previous games is that the game itself will be much less linear. You can explore the wasteland in any order and any direction you want to. You will discover secrets and towns and quests in different orders depending on your play through.

Our map size is currently 50 x 50 (although that may change to larger) - which gives you 2500 possibilities of places to explore. Some will be randomly generated - others will be specifically designed 'special tiles' that have optional mini quests - and of course some will have huge main towns with a further branch of main quest lines coming off of it.

So its still an adventure game - but its more a game made out of lots of smaller quests, which, depending on the order you complete them, impacts the denizens of the game world - and even impacts some other quest lines.

Everything still selves the main game storyline, which is honestly one of the coolest stories I think I've ever heard (granted...I'm biased...) :D

Did the whole thing grew out of your old post-apocalyptic tech demo?

 

[HoboForEternity]

Well, this sounds ambitious. Good luck.

 

[Kev Inkline]

Infinitron make it happen

Codex, I have done my duty. Have you?

? I wouldn't know what to ask. It's a bit silly interviewing somebody who posts here regularly IMO.

But if somebody wants to come up with a list of questions and organize an interview, we'll be happy to publish it.

Ok, I have a list of questions, can you now please make it to the front page:

1) Hey, for how long do you have the Kickstarter campaign going on?
2) What's the minimum pledge?
3) Would you have liked to have the campaign featured in the front page from the day 1?

 

[Pyke]

Did the whole thing grew out of your old post-apocalyptic tech demo?

Ive had the itch to do a post apoc game for a long time, and including some of the things from that demo was a must. Randomly generated environments, the ability to stop anywhere, and a large map to explore. So yeah - those ideas are all in Desolation.

 

[Pyke]

The Codex did do a tweet for us, and I would love some front page news - but I understand if they want to keep the FP news more 'rpg' friendly.

Honestly the more mainstream press has been extremely difficult to get to report on the game or the Kickstarter. We have a big announcement coming up in a day or two (as soon as its finalized) which should give them something 'news worthy' to post. It is more than a little frustrating. We spent quite a bit of money on CAYNE to make sure we had something 'news worthy' to help Desolation - even translating the game into 8 languages (4 of those at our direct expense, and 4 as a result of promotional deals with the companies) to try to get it as widely spread as possible.
The saving grace for us has been social media. Facebook conversations, smaller bloggers, forums, and YouTube Lets Players have been where the bulk of our traffic has come from.

One good thing with CAYNE is that we have made a lot of sales from STASIS and the Deluxe version is generating its own money - so through those 2 things alone the game should eventually cover its costs.

Kickstarter has become something that people are so heavily mistrusting of. Every single Kickstarter that crashed or took people for granted has made it infinitely more difficult for small studios to get funded. We do have plans to break the need for KS in our company - but it is frustrating that the KS model died such a quick death. FIG seems to be a strong model, and I think that when those games start to pay out dividends it may inject some extra life into crowdfunding again.

 

[Infinitron]

Pyke I think the real problem with reporting on Kickstarters isn't that many Kickstarters have failed, but that it's increasingly uncomfortable to report on what comes across as well, panhandling. You don't want to come across as a site that considers its reader base as a sort of charity mailing list. "Look who needs your money this week, friends!"

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Pyke I think the real problem with reporting on Kickstarters isn't that many Kickstarters have failed, but that it's increasingly uncomfortable to report on what comes across as well, panhandling. You don't want to come across as a site that considers its reader base as a sort of charity mailing list. "Look who needs your money this week, friends!"

Weak.

 

[Pyke]

Pyke I think the real problem with reporting on Kickstarters isn't that many Kickstarters have failed, but that it's increasingly uncomfortable to report on what comes across as well, panhandling. You don't want to come across as a site that considers its reader base as a sort of charity mailing list. "Look who needs your money this week, friends!"

I do get that. I think that its a very different landscape today than it was 2 or 3 years ago - and that sites want to protect their readers. Thats why we did CAYNE as a free release - to 'sweeten the pot' as a news story. My ideal would be for people to talk about CAYNE, and then also (hopefully) mention BD. The old shareware model of 'if you liked this - check out THIS!'.
I really dont hold a grudge against the gaming press - I think there is a very fine line that they tread. I was a little optimistic that our previous success in delivering a product would have counted in our favor - but I suppose every developer thinks that they are the exception to the rule!

 

[ghostdog]

There's no room for another Kickstarter newspost, but there sure is room for daily newsposts for each and every PoE II FIG update.




What a load of crap.

 

[Pyke]

Honestly the more mainstream press has been extremely difficult to get to report on the game or the Kickstarter. We have a big announcement coming up in a day or two (as soon as its finalized) which should give them something 'news worthy' to post. It is more than a little frustrating.

Don't limit yourself to the mainstream press. Your RPS John Walkers etc is probably not enough.

One possibility is to emphasize the Africana angle to the 'diversity and multiculturalism in scifi' crowd by playing up BD as "a voice for marginalized and subaltern cultures". That would be your Wired, Atlantic, Salon, Guardian Books columnists, The Mary Sue, John Scalzi, tumblr Neogaf bioware etc. You can pitch to the gatekeepers of this faction or take it to their audience directly. This is a bit dangerous though since you'll be treading into the morass of the identity politics culture war. I would not take this approach lightly, it could well backfire for being insufficiently African.

The saving grace for us has been social media. Facebook conversations, smaller bloggers, forums, and YouTube Lets Players have been where the bulk of our traffic has come from.

I don't frequent adventure game fora but I imagine GOG to be an important one.

Perhaps some free Stasis/Cayne codes to some of the indie-friendly twitch/youtube personalities with large audiences would be a good idea. Who those are, I have no idea since I don't really follow any, but I know they exist. This is similar to how Red Hook marketed Darkest Dungeon's EA launch.

We did consider the 'diversity and multiculturalism in scifi' angle - but as you said its not something I want to really get involved in. I would immediately feel bound to create the type of game that they 'wanted' - and creating art without those limitations is why Nic and I got out of the corporate culture! I mean if they picked up on it and reported on it I wouldn't be upset - but its not an angle we want to sell, and if we contacted them we would have to go that way.

We are busy talking to GOG - and CAYNE is going to be on the system as soon as the artwork is approved. They are an amazing site and have really done a lot for Stasis and I know they will do what they can for Cayne and BD (when its out!).

We also have a YouTube mailer - but some specific personal emails may be in order!

CAYNE has done very well. Last I saw we were on 80 000 downloads, and like I said, its boosted Stasis quite a bit. Lifetime it'll cover its costs and then some - and I think that it has given us a lot of new fans!

 

[Kev Inkline]

Pyke I think the real problem with reporting on Kickstarters isn't that many Kickstarters have failed, but that it's increasingly uncomfortable to report on what comes across as well, panhandling. You don't want to come across as a site that considers its reader base as a sort of charity mailing list. "Look who needs your money this week, friends!"

He says as the front page is all Pillars, TTON, Underworld, Banner Saga, and Apocalypse Now

 

[HoboForEternity]

>literally posted that shitty looking apocalyse now game, but not this.
>said the front page is crowded with crowdfunding, yet keeps posting everything that is not desolation
fuckingfinitron

 

[evdk]

Pyke I think the real problem with reporting on Kickstarters isn't that many Kickstarters have failed, but that it's increasingly uncomfortable to report on what comes across as well, panhandling. You don't want to come across as a site that considers its reader base as a sort of charity mailing list. "Look who needs your money this week, friends!"

We need an "alternative facts" rating.

 

[Pyke]

Are you saying that you'd be down with it if a 3rd party were to approach them?

*Discreetly slides $1 across the table*

 

[Alienman]

The Codex did do a tweet for us, and I would love some front page news - but I understand if they want to keep the FP news more 'rpg' friendly.

Honestly the more mainstream press has been extremely difficult to get to report on the game or the Kickstarter. We have a big announcement coming up in a day or two (as soon as its finalized) which should give them something 'news worthy' to post. It is more than a little frustrating. We spent quite a bit of money on CAYNE to make sure we had something 'news worthy' to help Desolation - even translating the game into 8 languages (4 of those at our direct expense, and 4 as a result of promotional deals with the companies) to try to get it as widely spread as possible.
The saving grace for us has been social media. Facebook conversations, smaller bloggers, forums, and YouTube Lets Players have been where the bulk of our traffic has come from.

One good thing with CAYNE is that we have made a lot of sales from STASIS and the Deluxe version is generating its own money - so through those 2 things alone the game should eventually cover its costs.

Kickstarter has become something that people are so heavily mistrusting of. Every single Kickstarter that crashed or took people for granted has made it infinitely more difficult for small studios to get funded. We do have plans to break the need for KS in our company - but it is frustrating that the KS model died such a quick death. FIG seems to be a strong model, and I think that when those games start to pay out dividends it may inject some extra life into crowdfunding again.

Did you say something that angered the gaming press? They don't have any problems banning certain devs if they misspoke on some issue.

 

[Pyke]

Did you say something that angered the gaming press? They don't have any problems banning certain devs if they misspoke on some issue.

I don't think so. I pretty much keep as far away from politics publicly as possible. They spoke favorably about us with the Wasteland 3 stuff, and most reported on our press releases about the BD Kickstarter and CAYNE being released for free (I think it was around last year September when we made the announcement). I mean I am a member of the codex, so they may be holding that against me... :D
I think perhaps its just crowdfunding fatigue, but I know that The Banner Saga and PoE has gotten a lot of press, and before that KINGDOM DEATH received a lot of press coverage. There is the possibility that the game just isnt newsworthy, although I think its still pretty cool. Im confident that will be funded (we are only $50 000 off and still have 19 days to go) and we have enough reserve capital and other offers to make sure that the game gets made - but it does hit a little in the gut when moving forward. We have a big announcement in a day or two, so that should boost us a little with another press release going out.

 

[Alienman]

It's probably the Codex membership. Guilty by association

Anyway, hopefully it will pick up. Sure there might be a Kickstarter fatigue but what else is there to write about? A Kickstarter piece you would think writes itself almost.