KickStarter Kickstarter Watch.

[Jaesun]

I will not pay for Grimoire before it is out; but I sure as hell would fund a making-of book.

Perhaps that can be felipepepe next book?

 

[himmy]

http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/19/6559893/kickstarter-terms-of-use-update-creators-failed-projects

"If a creator is unable to complete their project and fulfill rewards, they've failed to live up to the basic obligations of this agreement. To right this, they must make every reasonable effort to find another way of bringing the project to the best possible conclusion for backers," reads the updated document.

"Every reasonable effort" includes starting off with an explanation of the work that has been completed by that point, how the backers' funds were used and the circumstances preventing the project from being completed. Creators must "demonstrate that they've used funds appropriately and made every reasonable effort to complete the project as promised," and throughout the process, creators must continue to communicate honestly with backers. And as always, creators are required to offer refunds for unfulfilled rewards, "or else explain how those funds will be used to complete the project in some alternate form."

Only if creators satisfy those stipulations are they considered to have met their obligations to their backers and "remedied the situation." Finally, the terms of use explicitly warn creators that if they don't meet those standards, they open themselves up to possible legal action from backers.

 

[FuriousGamer87]

http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/19/6559893/kickstarter-terms-of-use-update-creators-failed-projects

"If a creator is unable to complete their project and fulfill rewards, they've failed to live up to the basic obligations of this agreement. To right this, they must make every reasonable effort to find another way of bringing the project to the best possible conclusion for backers," reads the updated document.

"Every reasonable effort" includes starting off with an explanation of the work that has been completed by that point, how the backers' funds were used and the circumstances preventing the project from being completed. Creators must "demonstrate that they've used funds appropriately and made every reasonable effort to complete the project as promised," and throughout the process, creators must continue to communicate honestly with backers. And as always, creators are required to offer refunds for unfulfilled rewards, "or else explain how those funds will be used to complete the project in some alternate form."

Only if creators satisfy those stipulations are they considered to have met their obligations to their backers and "remedied the situation." Finally, the terms of use explicitly warn creators that if they don't meet those standards, they open themselves up to possible legal action from backers.

please use archive today for any polygon link, thanks.

Here the link again https://archive.today/ldo7s

 

[Blaine]

A direct link to the relevant Kickstarter terms of use section should suffice:

https://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use#section4

 

[Kz3r0]

Carmageddon: Reincarnation

Has been released.

 

[Kz3r0]

Wasteland 2

Has been released.

 

[Kz3r0]

Moon Hunters, a Myth-Weaving RPG (Part of the square Enix Collective.)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kitfoxgames/moon-hunters-a-myth-weaving-rpg

Looks like a generic JRPG, anyone interested?

 

[Kz3r0]

Witanlore: Dreamtime - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/druidgameworks/freelance-artists-for-witanlore-dreamtime

I don't see the appeal of this, too little substance.

 

[Kz3r0]

Pathologic Kickstarter - IT'S ON: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1535515364/pathologic

Our thread: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/pathologic-remake-kickstarter-now-live.93144/

Added to Action Adventures.

 

[Destroid]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingdinosaurgames/that-which-sleeps

That Which Sleeps, thread with dev responses here.

 

[AstroZombie]

MP Arena Shooter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/191095869/reflex

 

[almondblight]

Space trading RPG from some guys that have made supposedly good mobile RPGs (this one is for PC/Mac as well):

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tresebrothers/star-traders-2-rpg

Anyone have any experience with their other games?

 

[Infinitron]

Christian Weston Chandler Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1419446823/lego-cwcville-shopping-center-with-mayor-office

 

[Starwars]

New kickstarter that use some of Banner Saga's tech: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/skyshinegames/bedlam

Haven't the time to look through it now but looks good art-wise at least.

 

[Infinitron]

Hey Kz3r0 looks like the KS that was supposed to replace Yogventures might be fucked too: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nerdkingdom/tug-1/posts/997852

The not so good news: A round of funding, that was to come in, to sustain us clear through the end of this year (January) was held back by an investor. The deal that would have gone through would have lost us all control and ownership and we are not huge fans of being owned by investors like this. Sadly, we need to cut off a few limbs to be able to ensure this does not happen.

With this, we are now on a path to growth to fully support a small team with no outside investor support. And this means we have to cut our team in half… its the hardest thing we have ever had to do, but it’s what we all collectively have agreed is the best move for us, and you, our community. We certainly have had people come and go from this project for many reasons, but this core group is all family… and its heartbreaking.

With these changes, it also means that we will be a few months late on delivering all our promises by January, as we stated we would with the kickstarter goals. I apologize for that on behalf of the team and I am holding myself accountable for NOT having done more diligence on our financial partners to know this was coming. Its a funny situation, whether you do well, or REALLY well, can make the difference of supportive or tyrannical investors. Another important note, to others out there who do raise funds for games and tech… never take money from people who don’t understand games and tech.

The other good news: There are a few large publishers (not scary ones), that may want to give us access to more resources. This would allow us to make the game and tech bigger and better than we could have imagined before. We cannot discuss who they are just yet, but ironically in this situation, it really would mean a chance at ACTUAL freedom and independence. And before we do accept whatever offer from any of them, we will reach out to you, our community, to share what is going on and get some feedback to create dialog around this topic. It could end up that what is put on the table simply is not in our, or your best interests. But we want to make this project everything it can be, so its worth reviewing everything we can.

Still, it is also quite possible that this push with multiplayer, in survival, and new terrain may be able to give us a large enough jump in growth, from revenue, that we can bring our team back fast, and possibly even staff up a bit more. Unlike other games that sell SUPER fast and drop down, our steady growth really has given us amazing opportunities to really understand what we do, and what others do, that impact how the game plays and is perceived.

In closing, please DO note, that this is not us going down… quite the opposite. Its us making the sacrifice needed, now, so that we DON’T go the path of other kickstarters before us. We are doing what it takes to press on, self sustain and do what we have been telling you all since we first started on this together, well over a year ago. This is what we have to do in order to stay independent and free to do what we want to do.

We will be implementing a price hike to $20 on the game when we have Multiplayer and new terrain online in survival, which will be SOMETIME by the end of next month. And with this continued growth and exposure, we will continue to build the game, engine and tools for the modding community. The game will run and look better and better with more time and we are excited to keep working on it.

 

[Destroid]

It seems people really don't learn from failed kickstarters, instead they continue to hurl money.

 

[Infinitron]

MONEY GUN Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1706255291/the-money-gun

Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like:

But wait, hmmm: http://www.thecashcannon.com/

 

[Magellan]

MONEY GUN Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1706255291/the-money-gun

Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like:

But wait, hmmm: http://www.thecashcannon.com/

Whatever happened to making it rain the old fashioned way? Geez, kids these days!

 

[Abelian]

MONEY GUN Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1706255291/the-money-gun

Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like:

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ers-report-suggests-kickstarter-is-in-decline

ICO Partners report suggests Kickstarter is in decline
By Dan Pearson

New data shows less money going to fewer games projects

New data on games on Kickstarter has shown that both the number of projects and the amount of money pledged to them are falling, with Kickstarters in 2014 expected to raise less than half of the funds secured in 2013.

The data comes from consultancy firm ICO Partners, which has been analysing Kickstarter over the course of the first half of 2014. During that period, its analysts have discovered a sharp drop in the number, scale and success of games projects.

The numbers are necessarily extrapolated from six months of data, but barring a rapid uptick of both projects and funding, ICO Partners expects this to be the first year that gaming's share of Kickstarter shrinks - but does that mean we've passed peak crowdfunding?

In terms of the raw number of successfully funded projects, ICO expects a drop of around 20 per cent from 2013 for the current year, resulting in 350 successful campaigns compared to last year's 446. That, as analyst Thomas Bidaux notes is "a decline certainly, but not a terrible collapse," especially when we consider that 2013 was the best year ever seen for games on the service.

Extrapolating from data for the first six months of 2014, we can expect to see a drop in funded projects of about 20 per cent

However, where Thomas does see some cause for concern is in the amount of money being pledged to those projects. In the first half of 2014, $13,511,740.36 was pledged to games projects on Kickstarter. That's a lot of cash, but it pales in comparison to the total for last year. If we double the number for January-June 2014, we get $27,023,480.72 - again, an impressive commitment from backers. But, as ICO's research shows, that's less than half of 2013's total of $57,934,417.74.

Bidaux sees three major factors in that decline: the lack of low-hanging fruit, a waning enthusiasm - partly driven by some high-profile failures - and the introduction of some serious and well publicised alternatives.

"If you consider that there have been 21 projects getting more than $500k in funding in 2013 and only 3 in 2014 so far, you might feel that Kickstarter is done for large projects," says Bidaux. "But looking at the projects profiles, a lot of those big hits in 2013 were banking on strong 'brands': Torment, Mighty Number 9, Elite, Camelot Unchained, Dreamfall, Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar, etc. The three projects that raised over $500k in 2014 are Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Amplitude and Unsung Story. Hardly the wave of known brands that flooded Kickstarter last year."

Whilst the number of projects has dropped by 20 per cent, pledge value has dropped by over 50 per cent.

Those big names make for good headlines and bring in a lot of cash, but Bidaux also believes that they have a halo effect, bringing people to the Kickstarter site, encouraging registration and engagement, and allowing the system to recommend other similar projects to the backers, helping them to discover smaller projects which they may have previously passed over. That said, those big names accounted for over half of 2013's funding total alone, so it may be as simple as a gap in that schedule.

As Bidaux points out, there's also a bit of Kickstarter fatigue. Journalists are no longer excited by the word in an email subject and backers who have already invested in projects which are yet to see release might be less willing to speculate further on other games which are still years away. In addition, some relatively big name projects which failed to reach fruition, like YogsQuest and Clang, may have left something of a sour taste.

Perhaps the biggest factor, however, could be that eternal curse of the first to market - that a better known, better funded company with a bigger audience will adapt your idea and enter your market, pulling cash and attention away from your business. Enter Valve and Steam Early Access.

There are clear differences between the two, obviously. In fact, many games that go on to participate in Early Access have already achieved funding via Kickstarter. However, Early Access allows developers to maintain a longer, closer point of contact with backers/customers, on a well trusted and prevalent platform which is geared up for regular updates and community discussion. Whilst other crowdfunding alternatives like IndieGoGo may not have troubled Kickstarter too much, Early Access has had a definite impact.

 

[SuicideBunny]

hm, i wonder if it has enough traction to shoot thin rigid sheets of metal...

 

[WhiteGuts]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/agustincordes/h-p-lovecrafts-the-case-of-charles-dexter-ward

"Do not kickstart that which you cannot fulfill".

 

[J_C]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/agustincordes/h-p-lovecrafts-the-case-of-charles-dexter-ward

"Do not kickstart that which you cannot fulfill".

Why is that?

 

[Zed]

You had the hype train. Many developers came out of the woodwork to pitch a game, often a spiritual successor to some beloved game of olden times. Projects with a good pitch and some tangible concepts were successfully funded and moved on to development, and the hype train kind of left the station.

Some of those developers are done with their games now, and they're asking themselves "is Kickstarter still a thing?", because they've heard about Kickstarter declining.

Of course Kickstarter has declined. While industry favorites and experienced developers were gone making awzum games, who were carrying the torch in the crowdfunding space? Fucking clowns, that's who. Grade-A crazies with no game development experience and barely any tangible proof of concept. Teenagers. "Life hack" assholes -- "how to fund a game on KS and earn $$$." The kind of people you wouldn't invite over for dinner.

Name a single $100k game on KS for the last 6 months that haven't had "shit and balls" written all over it.

There hasn't been a single "high profile" Kickstarter in a long time now. That's the reason why it has declined.
To Larian and others on the fence: return to Kickstarter with a good pitch, and you'll yield good results.



BTW, listen to this crazy motherfucker:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/whiteguardianstudios/ct-demons-revenge/posts/1003349
145 backers, $2,447 pledged of $12,000 goal.
"I believe this is something that will put my kids through college and give my family a better life."

 

[garren]

There has not been any interesting projects in a while at least from my point of view, no more high profile RPG's or other interesting stuff, really. Plus I think people are more careful in backing stuff nowadays because of mismanagement and unfulfilled promises, and outright scams, that have been reported.