Why Kickstarter?

[HardkorSB]

Can someone please try to explain the appeal of Kickstarter.. to the people donating?

I mean, I get that there are games that we all think would be awesome, but unless I'm misunderstanding Kickstarter, you're basically giving them money for nothing?

You give them money.. and they give you nothing in return, eventually to develop and sell the game that you will have to buy at full price like everyone else.

Is this correct, or am I completely misunderstanding the situation?

I bought three copies of Minecraft before it was released, and considered Project Zomboid and a few others, but I get the game in a playable format and get to keep updating it. There's no way I'd be willing to fund a game project without getting something from it, it's a business not a charity.

So why are so many people willing too treat these developers like charities?

It's like this:

The developers or whoever has earned a certain amount of respect for their previous work so the people already know their potential. The more respect they have, the more money they will get from people. If an anonymous person starts a kickstarter, they won't get shit. People have to know them and have enough faith in their abilities to give them money.
Plus, they aren't constrained by companies to make this and this in order to get profit since they are making it for the people who donated and for themselves and not for the money.
You can get games that would have never been made because companies would never fund them. However, 10000 fans would and that's enough.

Also, not everything in life has to be a business. Sometimes, people like to do something for the love.

 

[Soleron]

I was hoping this would be a rant about how Kickstarter uses Amazon and hence you need to, essentially, be an American citizen to use it whereas the much lesser known (and much better) RocketHub is agnostic to the nationality of their users.

No it works with Paypal as well. The exchange fees aren't great but international users can use it, I did (UK).

You get the game in return, and your money isn't taken until the goal is met (what happens is you approve a future withdrawal authorisation, which you CAN cancel). So the only thing that requires trust is that the party, when they have met the goal, will deliver the game. So make sure it's a reputable company or person.

 

[Shemming]

Because...sometimes people are nice, especially to publishers that they feel deserve it. Its jsut giving away money, I do it fairly regularly.

 

[Weaver]

I was hoping this would be a rant about how Kickstarter uses Amazon and hence you need to, essentially, be an American citizen to use it whereas the much lesser known (and much better) RocketHub is agnostic to the nationality of their users.

No it works with Paypal as well. The exchange fees aren't great but international users can use it, I did (UK).

You get the game in return, and your money isn't taken until the goal is met (what happens is you approve a future withdrawal authorisation, which you CAN cancel). So the only thing that requires trust is that the party, when they have met the goal, will deliver the game. So make sure it's a reputable company or person.

I should have clarified:
You need to be an American to START a Kickstarer project, not fund one.

 

[DustyDrB]

I see it as a potentially reinvigorating some niche genres, ones that big publishers would see as a waste of time. I think that's pretty noble. The facts are that some gamers have become marginalized over time, even if some of the game types that have "encroached" upon them are ones I happen to love. I think it's all worthwhile if this becomes an opportunity for those gamers to once again be able to play the kinds of games they love.

It's a new thing to me. I've only donated to two (Wasteland 2 [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2] and The Banner Saga [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stoic/the-banner-saga?ref=category]) so far. Those projects are very detailed in their vision, and are open in their communication to fans/backers. If they turn out well, then I'll probably become a regular backer of games on Kickstarter.

Edit: Make that three Kickstarters for me, because Shadowrun [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1613260297/shadowrun-returns]!!! SHADOWRUN!! See here...this is a perfect example of a niche market getting some love.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

To me, it is bypassing the fucking publisher system, and giving money straight to the developers. Put as much money into a project as you expect to get out of it, with all the funds going towards the devs and not giving a percentage to a publisher who will stab you in the back.

Sure, you won't get as many licensed franchises, but this helps boost creativity. It encourages developers to come up with new ideas and games that they own the rights to, not a right given to them by a publisher and then snatched away (see Sierra taking the Homeworld License from Relic)

 

[Yopaz]

OK, so you clearly don't understand what Kickstarter is. We aren't paying money for nothing. If the funding works we usually get something in return. I donated to both the Double Fine kickstarter and the Wasteland kickstarter. In return I get the game when it is released and if I had paid more then I would get extra stuff. If they don't reach their goal then my money is refunded and I don't have to pay what I wanted to donate.
I also get to take an active part in supporting the developer of a game rather than the publisher.

Good intentions, but I wouldn't fund one. What happens if the game turns out to be shit?

Buying a game the normal way is not a gurantee the game will be good. Take Alone In The Dark, Kane and Lynch or Duke Nukem Forever.

Yes, but you have plenty of reviews and gameplay footage the normal way. Funding a game before it's even being made? I'll stick with my way thanks.

I bought Bioshock and I didn't like it. Great reviews and most of my friends love it. There is no guarantee that a game you buy will be good no matter how you buy it.

 

[Luke5515]

Kickstarter is great for lesser known bands, studios, developers, or anyone else you can think of to get off the ground.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2116056391/help-fund-dethlehem-2012-tour
Take Dethlehem for instance. They are a local band from Pittsburgh that needed funding to do a tour. Set up a kickstarter, make a video and boom! one month later they have 2,500$ to use for touring expenses.

 

[Lord S. Binkleheimer]

To keep it short, you're basically investing in the game.
So it's not donating.

 

[tautologico]

With KickStarter you have the opportunity to make sure games that are not being picked up by publishers are made. You can invest in this as little as you want, and typically any amount above $10 or $15 will get you a copy of the game when it is done.

Of course it is risky, but for people who like those kinds of games there is no other way. Also, for most people who are employed, 10 or 15 dollars is basically almost nothing. You get to fund a developer you want and help make them free of publishers to make a game you want. And you get the game in return.

What if the game is not good? This is part of the risk. As I said, you can invest next to nothing if you think the risk is high. It's your call. People who believe in the devs and really want their kind of game to be done donate large amounts. This comes with higher rewards, like having a NPC in the game modelled after you or having a shrine to you somewhere in the game world, or spending time with the developers and so on.

The thing is that each person contributes what he/she thinks is reasonable for the project, and with the collective patronage of a lot of people, something will be made that wouldn't otherwise. I think that's cool (and I have funded lots of projects in KS).

 

[tautologico]

I have been really interested in this concept since I first heard about it but haven't really looked into any of the options out there at the moment. Any Kickstarter projects I should be looking into?

Right now I think you can start having a look at Wasteland 2 and The Banner Saga.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stoic/the-banner-saga

Both have very detailed plans for their creation, and are to be done by veterans of the game industry, so I think they are relatively safe bets. As safe as you can get funding a future project, at least. Both have already reached their goals, however, so you can pledge if you want to get on the action or just wait for them to be done if you like the ideas but don't have money (or are not willing) to invest.

EDIT: Oh yeah also look at this if you like Shadowrun or cyberpunk:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116646-Shadowrun-Returns-Comes-to-Kickstarter

 

[Fappy]

I have been really interested in this concept since I first heard about it but haven't really looked into any of the options out there at the moment. Any Kickstarter projects I should be looking into?

Right now I think you can start having a look at Wasteland 2 and The Banner Saga.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stoic/the-banner-saga

Both have very detailed plans for their creation, and are to be done by veterans of the game industry, so I think they are relatively safe bets. As safe as you can get funding a future project, at least. Both have already reached their goals, however, so you can pledge if you want to get on the action or just wait for them to be done if you like the ideas but don't have money (or are not willing) to invest.

EDIT: Oh yeah also look at this if you like Shadowrun or cyberpunk:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116646-Shadowrun-Returns-Comes-to-Kickstarter

Thanks for the links, both look pretty damn cool. I may have to invest in one or both of these.

 

[GiantRaven]

It may be risky backing something on Kickstarter in the sense that the game might not be made, or might suck, but right now I don't see a huge wealth of old-school WRPGs coming out and Kickstarter already has two in the works. I'd rather potentially have old=school RPGs than have not have them at all.

Also, the rush to capitalise of old franchises with dedicated fanbases raises the chances of a new Arcanum game to higher than ever before!

 

[Gnoekeos]

I haven't messed with kickstarter myself but my friend has been using it to trying get the remaining funds he needs to start a hot dog cart and he tells me that when you pledge money depending on how much you give the person who is asking for it will give you whatever they have on offer for the amount of money you gave. I think he offered free hotdogs for a month to anyone who would give him half of what he needed. I think the Idea is pretty appealing myself I'll eventually get on there and help out some interesting projects.