KickStarter Guido Henkel's Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore - CANCELLED

[Monty]

Voting on greenlight costs nothing.

 

[V_K]

Still, being greenlit may help Guido get some publisher funding despite a failed kickstarter.

 

[Infinitron]

there was a torment shout out but not a PE one yet, i think. there's considerable overlap between the backer pools but it couldn't hurt to call in a favor.

Too late for that now. Guido Henkel must be pissed at Darren Monahan now.

 

[Bubbles]

Still, being greenlit may help Guido get some publisher funding

I don't think that's how Greenlight works.

 

[VonVentrue]

Still, being greenlit may help Guido get some publisher funding despite a failed kickstarter.

That's the least we can hope for at this stage. With that said, his latest comments - clearly indicating he either has fallen into a mental state of depression preceding the inevitable failure of the kickstarter campaign or has yet to conjure up a backup plan - make me somewhat worried the game might never see the light of day.

 

[Alchemist]

3600 backers and 8750 greenlighters is still an impressive achievement even though the KS will likely fail. The interest is there - but perhaps the budget and scope needs to be adjusted.

And indeed, clicking "yes" on a greenlight (will buy maybe someday, no commitment) is a lot different than chipping in cash for a game that isn't made yet. The first is easy, the second takes a leap of faith.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/g3studios/deathfire-ruins-of-nethermore/posts/684399

 

[Infinitron]

Eheh, "slim possibility" is right. That's not going to happen.

 

[Alchemist]

Maybe Saint Fargo will throw in 200k at the last minute?

 

[Bubbles]

Maybe Saint Fargo will throw in 200k at the last minute?

Yes, surprise millionaire backing seems the most likely scenario to save the Kickstarter now.

 

[Lady_Error]

With that said, his latest comments - clearly indicating he either has fallen into a mental state of depression preceding the inevitable failure of the kickstarter campaign or has yet to conjure up a backup plan - make me somewhat worried the game might never see the light of day.

What? You must have read something completely different. Here is what he says in the latest update:

We are also following very closely all the comments and suggestions that are coming in via email, messages and in the comments section. Many of you propose interesting suggestions trying to help increase the visibility of the project or its overall appeal. We take all these comments into consideration and we spend a lot of time evaluating and discussing possible options we may have once the Kickstarter campaign comes to an end.

All of your feedback is therefore extremely valuable, helpful and welcome, as it shows us the incredible enthusiasm and support you have to offer. We all have the same goal. We all want this game to be made, so with that common goal in mind, let’s continue the conversations and think of ways to make “Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore” a reality.

Greenlit in only 20 days!
As you might have heard by now, “Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore” has been greenlit on Steam this morning. Amazingly, it took only 20 days to get there, and in the graphs we could see that the game was way ahead of the average curve, just plowing up the charts into the Top 100.

Being greenlit means that we now have a slot in the Steam catalog and we could sell the game on Steam any time we wanted to. Great news! There’s just one hitch… we don’t have a game yet, and as we are going into the final hours of this Kickstarter, hopefully the round of newly greenlit games will attract more players to give our campaign a look.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

It's too bad. Some people who have had great impact in RPG history and may have really good ideas may never get backed. The KS thing has been around long enough that the pitch is a competitive business now,requiring specific skills that a great RPG mind may not have. If this fails, I would suggest he try again, but not without bringing some marketing and business expertise into the pitch.

 

[taxalot]

I just pledged 60$ and I hope the money gets off my account.

 

[VonVentrue]

With that said, his latest comments - clearly indicating he either has fallen into a mental state of depression preceding the inevitable failure of the kickstarter campaign or has yet to conjure up a backup plan - make me somewhat worried the game might never see the light of day.

What? You must have read something completely different. Here is what he says in the latest update:
(...)

I was referring to his prior comments, especially the ones posted on facebook - those weren't encouraging in the slightest. Good to know he's still trying to make the game happen.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I just trippled by pledge from $20 to $60.

Come on you bastards, here is someone who knows a thing or two about what a proper RPG is. If nothing else it will give dreamers something to discuss and doomsayers someting to piss all over for the next two years. Bone up!

 

[Zed]

I think if he just reboots the campaign when it ends, it will be successful. The initial wave of "re-backers" will put it in a good spot.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I think if he just reboots the campaign when it ends, it will be successful. The initial wave of "re-backers" will put it in a good spot.

I agree but I also think that the next pitch had better be better organized or he will turn everyone off and that will be the end of it.

 

[stony3k]

Mainly I think he underestimated the time it took to generate some publicity, because he's not a big enough name. All the other mistakes he made are and were corrected. So I agree that he will likely be more successful if he restarts the campaign again. He may want to reduce the amount asked, too.

 

[Alchemist]

no exclusive content tiers that smack of DLC and P2W i'm looking at you "nethermancer"

This is a big one that hurt the campaign in my opinion. I wonder how many people saw that on the first day and never took a second look because it sounded so ridiculous. He fixed it, but first impressions are a huge factor with these things.

A reboot might work... perhaps cutting down some features to reduce the budget needed for the base game. Maybe add those features back as possible stretch-goals.

 

[Infinitron]

The only key takeaway is "ask for less money".

 

[dukeofwhales]

Looks like the anticipated reminder email surge hasn't materialized. Ah well.

Key takeaways for Guido:

• no "early bird" tiers that slap latecomers in the face

This is tough because you need to convince people to pledge when they first see the kickstarter, and the idea of limited copies at a cheaper price plays to that. Kickstarters absolutely need to get momentum in the first few days. I've looked at plenty of kickstarters and thought 'meh I'll come back later' and never get around to it. Perhaps there can be an added benefit for early birds as an incentive - a digital art book or something - which means latecomers can still get the game at the same price as early birds, but there's an incentive to 'call within the next 30 minutes to get your free steak knives' as it were.

Agreed on the other stuff though.

 

[imweasel]

Third times a charm... (I backed though, so it isn't my fault)

fix the name, shoulda called it "Arcane Realms" or something

The title he chose is pretty shitty. Many of us said that months ago.

Y u no listen to codex, Guido?

 

[theSavant]

I think if he just reboots the campaign when it ends, it will be successful. The initial wave of "re-backers" will put it in a good spot.

I am not so sure about that. It still doesn't attract enough people and they also might be fatigued.

Damn... here is the hour of armchair scientist rant. If Guido starts a new campaign I HOPE he:
- will get rid off the title "Deathfire" (everyone is facepalming because of the name)
- delivers content other than poorly animated dragons (sorry, but they are)
- shows something else than a sad winter scenery (not very attractive to look at, not an eyecatcher, people will be turned off)
- doesn't show an inventory that had better been unseen (if you were to design an RPG, your very first mock up of an inventory will just look like that)
- may reduce some of his 40 traits (be honest, it's highly unlikely that he can implement all these sufficiently, other than just being gimmicks)
- shows a well polished demo to see that he has nothing lost of his genius

The impression is that he was gone from the RPG industry for too long (which is fact) and now he must totally start from scratch, like developing a game for the very first time. And you recognise all these beginner "features" in the screenshots, concepts etc. You expect people to trust in this? Seriously?... it's even more sad when you look at the Unity forums (the engine he uses) and you see content by hobbyists looking more professional than a 400K campaign. Yeah... that's sad.

People "smell" that. As they did on the Shaker RPG. Both campaigns have a lot in common, starting with retarded titles. Really, they should team up. I'd back for a game made together by these 2 companies, purely to see what comes out of it. Hence they have a lot more in common, even the past, which means both put their backs on RPGs and went to fucking social mobile games for 10+ years. They dismissed their roots, just went for the money... oh yeah capitalism at its best.

That's the price for it... people have forgotten you. Social/mobile/casual gamers don't care about who is the developer. These gamers have certainly not pledged anything all. If you want a restart, then you must deliver a well implemented, polished demo already in the beginning to get your old fans back. To prove you have nothing lost of your genius. Not some sad interface or scenery with "good intentions"... that doesn't work anymore.

 

[Infinitron]

A single-player party-based CRPG that combines deep characters and rich storytelling with turn-based combat—NOT A DUNGEON CRAWLER!

Just saw this.

 

[Bubbles]

Well, at least he's getting better marketing advice now.