For $15 I get a movie about a funny and charismatic guy going through interesting ups and downs trying to make a game. As a bonus, at the end I get a game that may (probably will) be worth playing.
Looks like I’m the odd one out here. I think many of you are ok because you as a backers do not need to fork extra money. Now what happens if they didn’t get enough fund out of Steam Early Access and have to cut corners. Will you still be as forgiving?
I guess my beef is not with DF but more of how they are the yard stick that video game Kickstarter is measured on. If it can happen to DF, I shudder to think of all the other KS I have pledged. My confidence in this is shaking now. If the same case happened to Wasteland or Torment, I will not trust KS anymore.
What? Since when?
I think the interesting point is that when most kickstarters are presented the creative team is often the main attraction. The artistic side is the main selling point. The Project Manager side is not something that is usually pushed. Kickstarter supporters now need to just be a bit more picky and as a game grows very large we need to see the addition of an experienced project team.
It would be interesting to see a study on those projects where strong producer experience is a part of the equation and how that relates to success.
Since it was the first highly publicized videogame Kickstarter that drew in over $1 million in pledges?
I thought that the success of Double Fine’s kickstarter project influenced a lot of other projects when the large amount of money for an old school type of game was reached.
Yeah, DF’s Kickstarter was the proof in the pudding that showed that large-scale funding was possible for video games. It’s success or failure will be magnified by its prominence.
Except this time it’s not only late, it also needs more money. After it raised millions more than anticipated. I think Schaefer is great, but this reflects very poorly on DF’s business practices, especially when they just finished another Kickstarter. The fact that this announcement came out after the Massive Chalice campaign ended is not a coincidence.
I’ve unpacked one of my two sets of Reaper Bones miniatures. The very first miniature I cut out of its little baggy was leaning forward at an impossible angle, far enough that it would fall over if placed upright. This proved to be a pattern, almost anything that could be bent probably was. Mostly swords, but also any figure with relatively thin ankles.
Fortunately, there Reaper Miniatures forum had a fix. Dunk the miniature in boiling water for about 10-15 seconds, bend what needs bending, and then dunk it in ice water. It works like a charm. A fair number of bent things straighten out on their own in hot water, as they return to the original shape from casting. For those that didn’t, getting stuff straight was problematic. Mostly I had to settle for “close enough.”
The Clockwork Dragon was the biggest disappointment, since out of the box it simply would not stand up. Each of the 3 legs in contact with the ground was at a significantly different angle. I tried the boil-and-straighten solution, and had only partial success. Part of the problem is that the body, legs, wings, and tail are separate parts, and when I tried to shape the legs they’d pop out. I’ve cemented them to the body, and I’m hoping that when they set that I’ll be able to address this.
Anyway, this is what I’ve unpacked. Keep in mind I have a complete second set of everything you see here except the Clockwork Dragon in the back. I just haven’t unpacked it yet.
Mine just came in as well. My friend bought the minis, so I haven’t really looked through them much yet, but I got the paint set. $64 for 48 colors is a great deal, even if I didn’t get to select the colors myself. Looking on their website, a set of 54 paints is $184.99, so yeah, just a bit of a savings.
Is this kind of thing prevalent in minis? Or is it just Bones? (I’ve seen a few problems with the figures in various boardgames, but I’ve never had such a large amount of pre-formed plastic minis from a single source as you have in that image.)
I’ve seen a lot of minis with bent swords from various sources, including metal minis. Thin, projecting things are easy to bend if the mini isn’t packaged well.
On the other hand, there’s no question that the Bones figures are made of a relatively soft plastic. My Space Hulk figures are tangibly harder, you can tell just by handling them. None of them have any bends. The basic Terminator marines have no projecting bits to bend, but the Genestealers have plenty of projections and no damage. Similarly, the Librarians and Hybrids from the expansions don’t have this problem.
I was really quite unhappy that the Storm Giant (big figure, top left) had a sword that looked like bent rubber. Since I was able to fix that with boil-and-bend, the only thing I’m unhappy with now is the Clockwork Dragon.
It’s still a nifty number of figures for the money. I also got all 4 sets of paints, which were priced nicely as well.
What do you mean “except this time”? There is literally a 1:1 correlation with “needing more time” and “needing more money”. In game development, costs are almost exclusively paying people for their time. Do you think that past Schafer games funded by publishers simply took more time while somehow not costing more money?
Again, “millions more than anticipated” is irrelevant. After getting $3.3 million, they no longer intended to create something that they planned to cost $400k. They planned to make something that cost $3.3 million (including the documentary, rewards, etc.)
Maybe they purposely delayed this announcement until after the Massive Chalice campaign was over, but really none of this was news to anyone who’d been watching the documentary for the last year. If you’re donating your money to a Kickstarter, then it’s your responsibility to fully understand the track record of the people you’re donating to. Also, Massive Chalice is not headed up by Schafer, so I don’t expect there to be the same over-ambitious design that is his trademark.
In the end, they’re raising more money by selling their game through early access. They’re not asking people who have already donated to donate more. Is that really such a crime?
It all looks good, but I have to say with downcast heart… the dragon looks dorky. He looks like a cat wearing shoes stepping awkwardly. They should have gone with a solid base? From the knees up the dragon looks awesome though.
Putting the dragon on a single base has crossed my mind.
Looking at that array of Bones is intimidating. I’ve got my Vampire box (+ some extras) coming Friday and there is no way I’ll ever get around to painting all of those figures. Seriously thinking about selling the Vampire box and just keeping the add-ons hoping that I’ll get around to them.
GhostControl Inc.
Deadline: Saturday July 6, 9p EDT (59 hours away)
Target: 7,500 LBP (British pounds) – already funded, working through stretches
Description:
Turn-based, isometric, pixel graphic ghost hunt in London with a day/night cycle, diverse procedurally generated environments, and equipment choices.
I don’t know how I missed this one earlier, looks great.
I don’t like some of the stretch goals. e.g. if someone donates £5,000, they’re going to delay the game for everyone whilst the guy knocks out a new city. :(
edit: For some reason KS isn’t getting past the ‘pledge’ button.
Agreed, that one is a bit strange – though I doubt anyone gives them 5,000 GBP.
I made a thread for my continuing adventures with the Bones miniatures. If I have the energy, I’ll record the process of painting them. If I don’t just fink out.