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The Kickstarter conundrum

Crowdfunding has risen to become an important means of video game financing in 2012. What are the dangers and how are the winners?

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As of August 31, more than $30 million had been pledged towards video game projects on Kickstarter this year. That sum has grown with the likes ofProject Eternity more recently, and it is starting to become obvious that not only is Kickstarter and crowdfunding a major force in the industry today, it is here to stay.

And while Kickstarter is a huge force, crowd funding is not entirely new and has been a part of the indie scene for many, many years. It just wasn't as organised and business like. If you make something people want to experience - some of those folks may want to help realise your vision. It's simple really, but its also dangerous. Let's not assume that crowdfunding is a solution akin to cutting the Gordian knot of a situation where publishers are taking fewer risks, mainly focusing on sequels. In fact, spiritual successors or games that appeal to our nostalgia are likely to be the most successful when it comes to crowdfunding. Project Eternity, Wasteland 2, and Double Fine Adventure are perfect examples of this. They had the heritage factor going for them, and they were all hugely successful on Kickstarter.

The Kickstarter conundrum
Project Eternity received more than $4 million from backers.

Of course, the minnows, rookies and true indies can also find success with crowdfunding, putting food on the table while they finish their dream project, but there are those in the middle who are finding crowdfunding a difficult arena. If you have a professional outfit, pay wages, and have a reasonably complex concept, then $100,000 doesn't go far. And you don't want to build unrealistic expectations by having a target that's lower than the actual money needed to complete the project.

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Naturally, there are pitfalls for both developers and funders - and I think as long as we're honest and open about what crowdfunding is - then everyone stands to benefit, gamers and developers alike. What we should keep in mind is the high risk nature of game development, delays and cancellations happen frequently with the traditional publisher model, and there is no reason to why the same won't be true for crowdfunded endeavours.

One interesting aspect of crowdfunding is letting go of some of the creative control. Allowing people to name characters, locations or even appear in your game for a larger contributions may not seem like a big concession, but others go as far as letting funders design weapons or locations. It's a scary prospect, but perhaps the greatest influence on design is the fact that any Kickstarter pitch needs to have a modular structure. What's the core? What absolutely needs to be in there for the target amount? And how can we then expand the game if we get more funds? In many ways it's a similar model to releasing a game for ten dollars on Steam and then flesh it out with lots of DLC.

Failures

This week a game called Haunts: The Manse Macabre got attention in the media. It was a successfully funded Kickstarter game ($28,739 pledged of $25,000 goal). Unfortunately Richard Dakan had underestimated the costs of programmers finishing the game, and in a letter to th backers he pulled down his pants and told people he would personally refund any backer who wanted out, but he also said they would finish the game some way. It turns out there were people out there willing to lend a hand, and subsequent posts offer a more positive outlook. But Haunts is a reminder that just because a game reaches its target that doesn't mean it is successful.

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The Kickstarter conundrum
The worlds of Shaker (Loot Drop) - a game that did not achieve its target.

Another failed project this week was Shaker: An Old-School RPG from LootDrop. Having reached $248,916 from 7,660 backers with 15 days remaining LootDrop decided to pull the plug. It had names attached to it (Tom Hall and Brenda Brathwaite), but in the shadow of Project Eternity it just never really took off to the kind of heights it would have needed. Perhaps with a great sprint they could have reached the target and just barely scraped through, but instead they opted to come back with a stronger concept at a later time. "In game design, mercy killing is the law," read a line in the final Kickstarter update and that is certainly a truth to remember for those who try and gain backing for their dream projects through Kickstarter.

As more developers flock to Kickstarter we will see more failures. There are limits to crowdfunding, and in order to get a decent budget from it you need to hit a few notes. Firstly, you need to have some sort of credibility (company name or creative talent involved), secondly you also need a project that is easy enough for backers to understand and appreciate, thirdly you need to present backers with appealing tiers and rewards that doesn't take too much out of your pocket to produce.

Turn to page two for info on some current crowdfunding projects, and a look at the future.

Current crowdfunding projects:

The Kickstarter conundrum
Distance

Distance (Refract Studio)
Developers behind the racing game Nitronic Rush, want our money to create a futuristic arcade racer with several interesting and innovative features. They ask for a sizeable amount of money ($125,000) and given their limited reputation it will be interesting to see if they manage to achieve their target.

Check out the Kickstarter page

The Kickstarter conundrum
Strike Suit Zero

Strike Suit Zero (Born Ready Games)
A different proposition comes from Guildford and Born Ready Games. They want just $100,000 - a ridiculous amount of money for an ambitious game like Strike Suit Zero, but they need the money to finish the last few months of development on the game and get it out in a polished state on PC. They managed to amass 40 percent of the needed funds in just a few days which is promising.

Check out the Kickstarter page

The Kickstarter conundrum
Star Citizen

Star Citizen (Cloud Imperium Games)
The most ambitious current crowd funding project is without a doubt Chris Roberts attempt to resurrect the space simulator genre with Star Citizen. Asking for $2 million is a lot, but then again this is a genre shamefully overlooked in recent years with a lot of older fans capable of contributing a smaller or larger amount to make this game a reality. Having reached 58 percent of the target sum with 20 days remaining they are within striking distance of the goal, but fully realising the vision will probably take some outside financing or additional crowdfunding.

Check out the Roberts Space Industries page

The Kickstarter conundrum
iBeg

iBeg (Last Pick Productions)
At the opposite end of the spectrum is iBeg an iOS game designed to simulate a day in the life of a homeless person in Vancouver. Last Pick Productions aren't asking for much (just $15,000), and while they have almost a third with 20 days remaining it might be a tall order to achieve the target sum. There are several things that are stacked against the project - firstly, people may be more inclined to contribute to an actual charity to achieve social change, and secondly, mobile games have a hard time finding backers on Kickstarter. Anyway, it's an interesting idea - and that's why it's on this list.

Check out the Kickstarter page

The Kickstarter conundrum
M.O.R.E.

M.O.R.E. (IdeaLcenter)
The 4X space strategy genre was never huge, and has never completely disappeared. Nevertheless it's a genre that large publisher wouldn't touch with a stick. M.O.R.E. is developed by a start up Polish developer with 12 people (some based in other countries), all young, and all eager to make a game of this kind. They asked for fairly limited funds ($50,000), but have already surpassed that target with a week to go and are now hoping to achieve some of the stretch goals.

Check out the Kickstarter page

The Kickstarter conundrum
Tridek - Creatures of Galena

Tridek - Creatures of Galena (Team Tridek)
Team Tridek are a young development team out of Regensburg, Germany that want to bring their upcoming collectible card game Tridek to iOS and potentially more platforms. The game is already coming to Android thanks to Dreamfab, but now the team wants to add more platforms and potentially add cross platform multiplayer and more. Unfortunately Team Tridek are facing an uphill battle in spite of just asking for $30,000.

First of all, collectible card games are a dime a dozen, and it's a market that Magic The Gathering dominates. Secondly, they are asking for money to port to iOS with a freemium model. It's hard to see the value here for backers, even if booster packs are promised with each tier. Team Tridek have struggled so far, and a third into the campaign only 10 percent of the funds have been pledged. It's not just that pledgers are hard to come by, it's difficult to get media coverage for this kind of project, which makes it all the more difficult to get any kind of traction beyond friends and family. Maybe it's just not the kind of project Kickstarter is meant for.

Check out the Kickstarter page

The future of crowdfunding

The success stories of crowdfunding have a huge upside for the developer. Not only did Double Fine, Obsidian Entertainment and InXile Entertainment procure funds for their project, but they will also own their work, no publisher or investor involved with a claim on the work and intellectual property. This means that whenever, Double Fine Adventure, Project Eternity and Wasteland 2 goes on sale the developers will have a larger than normal cut (basically everything apart from Steam fees and equivalent) that can be invested back into new projects and help secure the future of the company. They also own the rights for a sequel themselves. In a way, their fans have afforded them a shot at true independence in this industry.

I can certainly see more developers going down this route, especially those who have been rejected by publishers for years, when pitching their dream projects. Someone like Peter Molyneux would probably be able to amass support this way, even if his tendency to promise more than he can deliver could work against him. But I can also see a bit of backlash coming. What if one of the high profile Kickstarter projects in this article fails completely in delivering a game, or deliver a game that just simply doesn't live up to expectations. That's the inherent danger here, and when that happens (cause it will) it's going to be interesting to see how it affects the overall willingness to help crowdfund games.



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