KickStarter Kickstarter Watch.

[tuluse]

Neocolonialism looks moderately interesting. The shirt is amazing.

 

[Destroid]

Cult ran into some problems:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dhagar/cult-awakening-of-the-old-ones/posts

Apparently the guy got overwhelmed and went silent for two months. The community thought they were scammed, and got pissed. The creator then posted an update a couple of days ago with a mea culpa.

Sounds like he made all the most common kickstarter project mistakes. Less money left over, help flaking out of the project, not accurately assessing technical challenges before promising features.

 

[Kattze]

Neocolonialism looks moderately interesting. The shirt is amazing.

Would be better if he didn't let his politics influence his work. Also, flipping the world map upside-down is retarded.

 

[Ermm]

I have to say that kickstarter is starting to get oversaturated with RPG's, and it's only a matter of time before people will stop donating to those projects.

What about some good single player FPS, some more arcadey racers, action-adventure or platformers?

 

[almondblight]

Sounds like he made all the most common kickstarter project mistakes. Less money left over, help flaking out of the project, not accurately assessing technical challenges before promising features.

Getting a large chunk of money and spending it on stupid things. Why would he hire a PR manager for a 35k project? Why pay for a PR manager and then piss off your customers by disappearing for two months without a word? Also, by the numbers there, he spent about at least 10k on the musicians and PR person alone (and probably much more, if he didn't completely screw up his taxes).

 

[Blaine]

Radio the Universe has a little over four days left before it's funded. I like the art direction, visual style, animations, sound quality and of course the fact that the game's supposed to take place in a dark science fiction setting. The tone of the creator's description is perhaps a little too edgy and brooding, but at least it's not completely overdone. No gimmicky pledge options with this one. You can pledge $10 for the basic game, $25 for a deluxe version, and that's pretty much it aside from some extremely limited collector's editions that sold out in the first two days.

 

[Kz3r0]

Malevolence and Tales of Fallen London have been released.

 

[Metro]

From the comments it still seems Malevolence is in a somewhat unfinished state. Not surprising as they promised to release in December so they eventually had to put something out.

Edit: Looks like a closed beta for backers (this is from the Greenlight page):

CumQuaT [author] Jan 16, 2013 @ 8:08am ​

Thanks Crowtac! You can get in pre-orders now at a discount on our main site, otherwise we'll be going live to a public beta in about 2 weeks! :D​

​

 

[Kz3r0]

From the comments it still seems Malevolence is in a somewhat unfinished state. Not surprising as they promised to release in December so they eventually had to put something out.

Edit: Looks like a closed beta for backers (this is from the Greenlight page):

CumQuaT [author] Jan 16, 2013 @ 8:08am ​

Thanks Crowtac! You can get in pre-orders now at a discount on our main site, otherwise we'll be going live to a public beta in about 2 weeks! :D​

​

Sorry, my bad, oh well, they are making progresses at least.

 

[Kane]

Obscure RTS in the making:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1908729396/terrestrial-domination

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

I don't really read this thread any more since there's too much chaff, but let me contribute by adding even more!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2023800195/the-return-of-tom-vs-bruce Remember that? The guy asking for $10,000 to do video game articles monthly for 10 articles?

http://www.tomvsbruce.com/ August 2012 was when the Kickstarter said their first article would be, so it's been 5.5 months since they went "Live" and have produced a whole 2 articles. One of which they didn't even finish the game of. I would say "Writing about videogames is haaaaard!" but 99% of all the LPs on the Codex are of better quality than that and sure as shit don't get $13,000 for it. Seriously, Jesus fucking Christ.

 

[Spectacle]

I don't really read this thread any more since there's too much chaff, but let me contribute by adding even more!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2023800195/the-return-of-tom-vs-bruce Remember that? The guy asking for $10,000 to do video game articles monthly for 10 articles?

http://www.tomvsbruce.com/ August 2012 was when the Kickstarter said their first article would be, so it's been 5.5 months since they went "Live" and have produced a whole 2 articles. One of which they didn't even finish the game of. I would say "Writing about videogames is haaaaard!" but 99% of all the LPs on the Codex are of better quality than that and sure as shit don't get $13,000 for it. Seriously, Jesus fucking Christ.

Seriously, how hard can it be to write some bullshit about games an post it? It doesn't have to be good, it just has to technically fulfill what your promised so that no one has an excuse to sue.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

I don't really read this thread any more since there's too much chaff, but let me contribute by adding even more!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2023800195/the-return-of-tom-vs-bruce Remember that? The guy asking for $10,000 to do video game articles monthly for 10 articles?

http://www.tomvsbruce.com/ August 2012 was when the Kickstarter said their first article would be, so it's been 5.5 months since they went "Live" and have produced a whole 2 articles. One of which they didn't even finish the game of. I would say "Writing about videogames is haaaaard!" but 99% of all the LPs on the Codex are of better quality than that and sure as shit don't get $13,000 for it. Seriously, Jesus fucking Christ.

Seriously, how hard can it be to write some bullshit about games an post it? It doesn't have to be good, it just has to technically fulfill what your promised so that no one has an excuse to sue.

Shit blow my mind.

 

[Garbonzo]

Quite right. Monetizing one's friends and relatives, essentially using your relationship with them as bargaining leverage, is beyond crass.

You think?

And then when your company turns into a $100 million juggernaut, how will your friends and family feel that you never gave them an opportunity to invest early?

Being an entrepreneur and seeking early investment isn't begging or being crass. Yes, you're asking for money, but if you have a good idea you are also giving people an awesome opportunity.

Do you think the friends and family that were the early investors in companies like Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. feel it was "crass" when they were asked to make their early investments?

How do you think anyone other than angels and VCs ever get an early, pre-IPO taste of big successful companies? Usually because they were a friend or family member and had access to this great opportunity.

 

[Blaine]

And then when your company turns into a $100 million juggernaut, how will your friends and family feel that you never gave them an opportunity to invest early?

My family would feel fantastic, because I'd share the wealth whether or not they invested. My friends would either remain my friends, or they'd get kicked to the curb, because money-grubbing is a poor basis for friendship—which is why I wouldn't solicit them for investments in the first place. That's not to say I wouldn't provide some financial assistance for friends who are struggling, of course. I'm aware that when a person become a multi-millionaire, the people who surround him or her sometimes start to see dollar signs, but that's a separate issue.

Besides which, "turns into a $100 million juggernaut" is an extreme outlier. Most entrepreneurship fails or simply does okay. How would they feel if I'd asked them to invest, they did, and then their money evaporated? "Well, they knew the risks," I suppose? That's not how people (especially those who aren't professional businesspersons) function. They'd blame me to some extent, as well they should, since to secure money from people you often must accentuate the positive.

And that is why I feel it's better to separate your professional life from your personal life. Find investors elsewhere, unless your family and/or friends are extremely wealthy, in which case they may have a lot of money to burn.

 

[OSK]

Never lend money to family.

 

[Garbonzo]

And that is why I feel it's better to separate your professional life from your personal life. Find investors elsewhere, unless your family and/or friends are extremely wealthy, in which case they may have a lot of money to burn.

Fortunately in this country, most people don't agree with you.

A huge portion of the most successful businesses in America started off with money from "friends, family, and fools." It is a vital part of the entrepreneurial spirit of the country.

Maybe you need to get some smarter friends with better business ideas, and then you'll understand wanting to be let in on the ground floor.

 

[Blaine]

Maybe you need to get some smarter friends with better business ideas, and then you'll understand wanting to be let in on the ground floor.

Yes, in the absence of hard data, insults will surely win you the argument. Here are some facts for you to mull over:

3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail (Wall Street Journal)

12 Tips for Successfully Borrowing Startup Money from Family Members (YEC conensus)

It's clear from the list that if you feel you must borrow from family, you should be completely honest and transparent with them, which includes admitting that you'll probably fail (otherwise, it wouldn't be honest). You must also realize that it WILL become personal if you lose their money and can't/won't pay them back—and that's my major sticking point. It's also important not to ask them to invest more than they can reasonably afford. On a personal note, I should add that if you do want to seek funding from friends and family, you shouldn't pressure them in any way, nor use your relationship with them as leverage. I also feel that if you can't secure investors outside your circle of family and friends, you shouldn't "turn to" them. If you really are offering them an opportunity that other professional investors are happy to take, fine; if you're hitting them up because you can't get the money elsewhere, however, you ought to think twice or thrice about what you're doing.

To sum up, entrepreneurship is highly likely to fail, and borrowing from friends and family can be disastrous even if you handle the situation as delicately and responsibly as is feasible. Anything is worth risking EXCEPT relationships with your loved ones. It's not worth sacrificing your happiness for money, unless your family is impoverished and starving... but the vast majority of successful entrepreneurs have a higher education and come from lower-middle-class or better families, so that's rarely the case. Also, impoverished people don't have any money to invest to begin with.

 

[Metro]

Borrow it from Blaine -- he has money to burn!

 

[JudasIscariot]

Homesick, an adventure game KS project. Modest goal of $8,000 with almost $3,000 raised.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/312084766/homesick?ref=search

 

[Jaesun]

Homesick, an adventure game KS project. Modest goal of $8,000 with almost $3,000 raised.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/312084766/homesick?ref=search

That actually was interesting. I backed it for $25.

 

[JudasIscariot]

Homesick, an adventure game KS project. Modest goal of $8,000 with almost $3,000 raised.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/312084766/homesick?ref=search

That actually was interesting. I backed it for $25.

Glad you liked it. I try to bring only the most interesting KS projects ...or the most lulzy :D

 

[Tzaero]

A space colonisation sim, Terminus.
Very little to show though.

http://www.indiegogo.com/terminusgame

 

[Infinitron]

Not related to gaming, but there's a new SMBC Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weiner/science-ruining-everything-since-1543-an-smbc-coll/

 

[Kz3r0]

Homesick, an adventure game KS project. Modest goal of $8,000 with almost $3,000 raised.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/312084766/homesick?ref=search

That actually was interesting. I backed it for $25.

The problem is that even if Kickstarter has been intended for this kind of projects there are all the alarming signs of such projects, one man team, from what I understand he doesn't have programming experience, only in 3D, he is living with his savings, making the low goal almost certainly not enough to complete the game, the engine used is not cited, Unity, I guess, which pro license costs one thousand dollars.
Sorry, but I have decided to be more strict from now on, too much projects were listed that shouldn't have, later on maybe I will make a 2012 retrospective post to analyze the ups and downs of this thread.