Asking Your Genuine Feedback
Ho there, adventurers!
Sadly, we don't have good news today. We were truly happy on 8th January when Black Geyser won the Bronze Medal in the "Game of the Year Awards 2022 - Best RPG" category on RPGWatch, but now, darkness approaches.
If you have no time now to read further, please skip directly to our
short Google survey[forms.gle].
We reached a point where we just can't keep going in these circumstances. We hoped that the Steam Autumn Sale and Winter Sale would turn the tide, but they didn't. Our studio will need to close soon, unless we are able to make a successful Kickstarter soon to help finish our DLC for Black Geyser. This DLC would be released around August, giving a major boost for Black Geyser sales as well.
We already have substantial content finished for this DLC, so its development won't happen from scratch.
Our revenue is currently unable to support even the daily operation of the team in the current economic situation in Europe. We reduced team size to a minimum, and optimized all aspects of operation. It wasn't enough. The game still has more than 80,000 wishlists, but these haven't produced substantial sales yet. Players might be waiting for a bigger discount (e.g. 50%), but this is nothing more than an assumption (the 40% discount applied so far didn't make a real difference in sales).
Once we run out of reserves, we will have to split up and shut down the studio. However, this will not endanger the delivery of crowdfunding rewards and localizations to players (such as the boxed editions and the Italian translation). We have got these covered from our reserves.
Why Kickstarter is Necessary
A successful Kickstarter allows us to complete the development of a brand-new DLC for Black Geyser (take a look at
planned DLC features[forums.grapeocean.com]). Once released, the DLC will automatically improve Black Geyser sales as well. (Existing backers who already pre-ordered the Black Geyser DLC add-on before will be offered another cool reward for their support in the new Kickstarter.)
Finishing the DLC development helps us to overcome difficulties and survive this temporary period of darkness. Local economic forecasts for the 2nd half of 2023 are now carefully optimistic, but without your support for the DLC, there is no way we can survive till then. Your support in Kickstarter is a win-win situation, because it allows you to pre-order the DLC at a
discounted price.
As a part of the DLC development,
a free Fixpack will also be created for Black Geyser (with long-awaited features such as strongholds, dual-wielding, more romances, or the option to travel directly to questgivers from the journal menu - see
complete list[forums.grapeocean.com]). When the DLC is released, this standalone Fixpack update will be delivered automatically to all owners of the base game. Players who don't own the DLC will also receive this free update on Steam and GOG.
After creating the DLC and Fixpack, we are planning to re-use the Black Geyser game engine to create a Black Geyser sequel and other brand-new games.
We have created a FAQ below, and there is a
Google survey [forms.gle]as well that we ask you to answer. Your feedback in this survey will decide if the team can stay together or splits up permanently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does this difficult situation affect the Kickstarter rewards (boxes, books, keychains etc.) that have not been delivered yet?
A: No, they are not affected. All Kickstarter rewards will be delivered to backers. We have dedicated reserves to ensure this.
Q: I don't know much about you. Could you tell me about yourself?
A: We are a very small indie team, and Black Geyser has always been a community effort. Without the support of backers and fans, it wouldn't exist at all. Sometimes we receive feedback where disappointed players seem to believe we are a mid-size indie company. We are not, and it's definitely our mistake if we have set exaggerated expectations with Black Geyser for some players. Having said that, we sincerely believed in every single objective that we ever set for Black Geyser. It is our very first videogame product, and we learnt really a lot from this project.
Q: I understand that the worst outcome is the irreversible shutdown of the Black Geyser team and studio. What is the best outcome if you get the necessary support from me in your upcoming Kickstarters?
A: If you decide to support us, the short-term and long-term outcome would include the following:
- Brand-new DLC for Black Geyser + free Fixpack of long-awaited features and improvements
- A much better sequel to Black Geyser, taking into account the lessons we learnt
- A unique sci-fi/post-apocalyptic style RPG (story and world basics already exist)
Q: I'm sure you gained much experience, but the above plans are very ambitious. What makes you believe you can make it if I support you now?
A: We learnt several lessons from Black Geyser. Including design and management mistakes we won't make again. We just need your help to bootstrap the process by backing the DLC on Kickstarter or PayPal.
This brand-new DLC will give a strong push and press coverage to the Black Geyser project again, and its revenue will allow the team to design the sequel (and then prepare another Kickstarter for the sequel). There is a saying that success breeds success. While nobody cares about old or failed projects, a truly successful Black Geyser sequel will enable additional projects (including a unique sci-fi/post-apocalyptic style RPG). On the other hand, without a Kickstarter for a DLC now, bootstrapping and survival are impossible, which means we will be forced to close permanently. It's an all-or-nothing, now-or-never thing. There is no middle ground.
Q: You just mentioned that you want to make a Kickstarter for the DLC now, and then another Kickstarter later for the Black Geyser sequel. Why is that?
A: The Kickstarter for the DLC enables us to complete the DLC's development and release the DLC. The DLC's Kickstarter establishes a fresh and active backer base, which will be handy for the sequel's Kickstarter as well. Developing the DLC also gives us valuable experience that we can use for the sequel.
Q: I'm not satisfied with a number of things in Black Geyser. These include loading times, QoL things, lacking depth of characters, too few romances, empty and boring maps, unsatisfying epilogue, and way too many fetch quests. How come you didn't you get these right?
A: The issues you listed were known by us even at the release of the game in 2022. Getting these right would have required a much bigger budget or a longer development time with a bigger team (the two are interchangeable). This was not predictible in 2018 when we planned the original budget. Since Black Geyser is our first videogame, we certainly made mistakes during its development and learnt several lessons, but 80% of Black Geyser's biggest issues are still the result of insufficient budget. RTwP games are very expensive to develop from scratch, and we had to face several unexpected happenings (such as the pandemic). Nothing is more frustating than having the skills to do something but lacking the necessary budget at the end of the day.
Q: Will the DLC address 100% of the issues mentioned in the previous question?
A: The DLC primarily focuses on new content and on the delivery of long-awaited features (in its free Fixpack). You can read the
complete list of planned features[forums.grapeocean.com]. While we do our best to improve as many features as possible in Black Geyser, remastering global stuff like fetch quests or character depth is impossible with a DLC budget. What you are asking is the main objective of the Black Geyser sequel instead. We are convinced that we can address all major issues of Black Geyser 1 in its sequel, and create a much better game, but to do that, we will have to to raise a significant budget for the sequel. This cannot be done in a single step, especially not now. The first step is the DLC. The second step is the sequel.
Q: What makes you think that you can raise enough money to fund more memorable characters, engaging side quests, interesting maps and an overall smoother experience for the Black Geyser sequel?
A: For Black Geyser 1, we had to build a real-time-with-pause (RTwP) game engine from scratch, based on the Unity core engine. Contrary to the common misbelief, it isn't possible to license an existing RTwP RPG engine from other studios, as their engines are not available for licensing. Creating our own engine used up more than 70% of the total project budget. Since we have now the Black Geyser 1 engine in place and ready to use, we will only have to optimize it and improve it for a sequel. Which is no little work either, but it is much, much, much less expensive than creating an engine from scratch. Therefore, most of the sequel budget can be spent for in-depth system and content design (QoL features, memorable characters, engaging quests and maps etc.). This was not possible for Black Geyser 1. Moreover, since we learnt from our mistakes, we will not only have
more money to spend on production quality, but will also be able use this money
more efficiently.
Q: You mentioned that your revenue is not enough to support your daily operation. So how would these Kickstarters really fund new products when you have issues with your daily operation even?
A: They are interrelated. Income means you have work, and vice versa. Imagine a carpenter who makes a living creating wooden staircases. Now, if the carpenter no longer gets any new jobs at all, and is asked to repair their existing works only, their income won't be enough to make a living. The carpenter's tools and workshop have fixed overhead, regardless of the amount of work they get. We have a talented team and a functional game engine, but our costs are no longer sustainable without new projects in the current economic situation. Imagine an architect who designs buildings. They cannot make a living by designing a single building whole their life.
Q: What happens if the funds raised on Kickstarter won't be enough to develop the DLC and the team cannot stay afloat after all? I don't want to risk even $15 for an uncertain thing.
A: This cannot happen, because we will set a Kickstarter funding goal that fully covers the DLC development costs and release. Any funds raised above this will serve as a safety reserve, and will be used eventually to improve the game. Moreover, as already mentioned before, the local economic situation is predicted to improve by the end of this year. Without your support for the DLC, however, we cannot survive financially till then.
Q: My Kickstarter rewards are still not delivered. Why is that? Are you asking support without delivering rewards to your existing backers?
A: Digital rewards (soundtrack, lorebook PDF etc.) were already delivered - if you haven't received yours in BackerKit, please contact us and we will look into it. Regarding the physical rewards (boxes, hardcover books, collector editions, mousepads etc.), we are grateful for your patience. All physical rewards will be delivered to everyone before we launch any Kickstarter or crowdfunding. Sadly, the delivery prices we estimated in 2018 skyrocketed since then. Having said that, we do have the budget to get all physical rewards delivered even now, but then we would risk the daily operation of the team by using up our last reserves. Before starting the delivery, we want to see what funds (if any) we can expect in the future for the DLC. Of course, your rewards will be delivered to you no matter what, but we want to see our future first before scheduling delivery costs.
Q: I enjoy classic-style RPGs, but some features of Black Geyser were too old-school for me (example: per-character inventory). Are you planning to introduce well-established RPG concepts into the sequel, such as stash i.e. shared inventory?
A: Certainly. The sequel will place a big emphasis on QoL, and will no longer insist on very old-school features that restrict User Experience.
Q: If the sequel is successful financially, would you consider implementing major improvements retroactively to Black Geyser 1?
A: Yes, if the sequel is financially very successful, we will definitely consider improving some major aspects of Black Geyser 1. One example is reworking fetch quests to make them more complex and engaging, with more interesting choices. Another example would be adding engaging content to the locations that are currently quite empty. We would also love to improve character movement and combat animations.
Q: I've never participated in a Kickstarter or crowdfunding before. How does it work? Do I get the full DLC later for free if I back the project financially on Kickstarter?
A: Yes, if you choose the appropriate reward tier in the Kickstarter campaign, you will get the DLC for free when it's released. You can consider your Kickstarter support as a DLC pre-order at a discounted price. Kickstarter is a platform for reward-based crowdfunding. Each project has a financial goal. 50,000 USD, for example. If the funding goal is not reached for the project, your credit card will not be charged at all. So it's an all-or-nothing platform. If the goal is 50,000 USD, it isn't possible for the project creator to raise 45,000 USD for example.
Q: So you are basically asking advance payment for developing a brand-new DLC, aren't you? You did the same in 2018 with your Kickstarter. You had no track record of released products that time, and used crowdfunding to develop and release your first game, Black Geyser.
A: Exactly. Using Kickstarter is like a carpenter asking an advance payment for the staircase they are going to create. The Black Geyser DLC would be our second product, so our experience enables us to use the new Kickstarter funds more efficiently than before. Once the DLC is released, we will focus all our efforts and knowledge on the Black Geyser sequel - our third product.
Q: Since you already delivered a full project to the market (Black Geyser 1), I trust that you can develop, release and support a videogame from scratch. I believe you learnt from your mistakes, and will do your best in the DLC and then deliver a great sequel to Black Geyser. What is the next step, how can I help?
A: Preparing a Kickstarter campaign requires significant costs. We want to start preparations only if we are convinced that the funding goal of the DLC Kickstarter will be reached. Otherwise, we will be set up to fail, and all Kickstarter costs will be wasted money. Therefore, we ask you to fill out this
short survey[forms.gle] (it takes a minute or two).
Q: I don't do Kickstarters. Can I use PayPal to support your campaigns instead?
A: Yes. PayPal pledging usually opens on the last day of Kickstarter campaigns.
Q: When should the Kickstarter launch for the DLC & Fixpack?
A: This depends on several factors, but we would like to launch it in April.
Q: What was the survey link again?
A: This is the
Google Forms survey[forms.gle]. Feel free to share it with others. Thank you for your time.
The Black Geyser Team
As Kristjanson noted, a bunch of people were talking about LARPing romances with some of the companions on the forums so they knew the demand was there.
Kindly fuck off, I'm not funding any of that degeneracy.
