Kickstarting and Screaming

[Telefrog]

Playdeck is a legit developer (if they did abuse that KS, which was clear from the very beginning it was not what people were buying into). In this case I think it’s the backer’s fault for not seeing the writing in the wall (that they were making a mobile, online game first and a story driven game second).

The Project Phoenix case is way more typical of KS projects though. Create nice art, maybe some concept renders. Get the funding for a design you have not really scoped or budgeted. Realize you will not make it. Figure out how to get out cleanly enough.

In the last 6 months, including Project Phoenix, I have seen five KS projects lose their programmer. You don’t lose a programmer if you are either paying them enough or if they are a key team member. If neither of those are the case, maybe you have a more fundamental problem.

Project Phoenix has a breakdown of their budget. They netted $969,154.00 in funding. They allocated roughly 3.5% to “Unity” according to their image, which I’m assuming includes the programmer. That’s roughly $35k for the Unity license and the programmer. That doesn’t sound great.

As for Playdek’s project, I don’t know if I can place any blame on the pledgers. The original pitch doesn’t even mention multiplayer. Not once. Only during the stretch goal period was it revealed that they wanted to do co-op at the $1.7 million level - which they didn’t reach.

[Juan_Raigada]

Playdeck’s was a sketchy project, but it was sketchy from the get go. I love FFT, was going to pledge, read the campaign, left and never looked back.

Maybe I phrased it wrong (yes, it’s not really the backer’s to blame, but they should have seen beyond the glitz), but it was clear the project was not going to be what was being promised. I think. But it’s easy to be right in retrospect, I know (hey I’m $100 into Star Citizen :P )

The Project Phoenix budget is a joke. No way you get a 11.5 to 1 split on art vs. programming on a $500k project. And they don’t include non-programmer developers in that split (designers and scripters). It’s a JRPG with a squad based RTS game design. And yet you have allotted only 3.5% of the budget to programming+design? And where is QA and testing? And porting (this thing had console stretch goals)? They have 2.5% in localization, ffs.

And it’s been 2 years and they have done no programming?

[geewhiz]

Probably safer considering it’s a digital board game implementation and that’s their core competency. JRPGs, by contrast, would be a bold new frontier for them. Not that companies don’t genre jump like that successfully, but it’s trickier.

I did not back Playdek’s KS only because they usually take a long time to get things done (though they have always produced quality in their iOS boardgame versions, IMHO).

I would have rather seen the KS money go into a Playdek version of Twilight Imperium 3! :)

I did back Project Phoenix for some reason - I oriinally thought it was turn based and later on when I learned it was not I forgot to bail. Oh, well.

[Brakara]

Uhm, the sp campaign is still on according to the Playdek update. They just want a PvP version out first, like with The Banner Saga. Now, that nobody asked for a PvP version is another matter.

[Clanan]

That Phoenix status chart is so pathetic. So in two years they’ve basically drawn some pictures and written up a MS Word design doc? A million bucks…

[Juan_Raigada]

It is pathetic, but models and animations are not just some drawn pictures. A model plus rig can be a week or two of full time work. Animations can be another two weeks (really depends on the amount, though). Depending on the number of models that can be a lot of work (which doesn’t justify the chart at all, though)

[ArmandoPenblade]

It is pathetic, but models and animations are not just some drawn pictures. A model plus rig can be a week or two of full time work. Animations can be another two weeks (really depends on the amount, though). Depending on the number of models that can be a lot of work (which doesn’t justify the chart at all, though)

Although, presumably, their programmer might step in and realize he needs to cut a bunch of corners or implement a bunch of methods that require a re-work of the base models. I assume that’s unlikely if they were building the models toward a set goal (using the Unreal engine), since presumably the engine is already handling all the dirty work that might necessitate, say, polygon limits or whatever.

I dunno, I guess since it’s already gone so bad, I just envision a point where the programmer they hire steps in works a month or two, and says “Oh and by the way we’re going to have to make these six expensive, complex changes to every model you’ve already made.”

[Juan_Raigada]

Oh yeah, going full into art production without a working prototype to test the art pipeline in might not be very clever either. That chart makes no sense at all.

[Telefrog]

It’s hobbyist game design. This is like when someone plays a game, then thinks “Oh, you know what would be awesome? If the assault rifle had a grappling hook that could snatch enemies towards you like Scorpion in Mortal Kombat!” So they run off and start making a 3D model of the new weapon in a free modeling program, before thinking about how that impacts gameplay, or how to program it.

[Juan_Raigada]

Yeah, it’s just that those projects seldom have budgets over a million $ :P

I mean, the KS page has a lot of people with moderate industry experience involved in the project. It’s astounding it went this way.

[Editer]

I was poking around searching Kickstarter for keywords and found this under Amiga:

Retro Infinity Player

It’s weird, because Amiga Games Inc. already has a mobile phone game engine.

I’d think scam, but it’s a publicly traded company that really has sponsored a NASCAR car.

Still, the $143 pledged out of $100,000 shows just how lucrative the mobile gaming market is for most of the players in it…

[lordkosc]

The Flame in the Flood which was Kickstarted last year, just hit Steam Early Access! The Art Director from Bioshock is helping make this, so it is defiantly on my radar.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/molassesflood/the-flame-in-the-flood/description

http://store.steampowered.com/app/318600/

[Razgon]

That, and the music by Chuck Reagan is awesome!

[rowe33]

I managed to cobble together the four starting survivors and the white lion (& the butcher since he was on the same sprue) so might have a chance to try out Kingdom Death: Monster for the first time tonight. Will see how it goes! Dozens & dozens more minis to build but I’m like 0.5% finished so I’ve got that going for me. Which is nice.

[Don_Quixote]

I got the prologue figures built yesterday. Of course, this weekend I’m down in Portland for the yearly HP Lovecraft film festival, and then probably have to work ten nights straight when I get back, so I probably won’t get to try it out for a few weeks. :(

[rowe33]

From what I understand that just means your survivors will live a few weeks longer than ours. Hope you get to it soon!

[rowe33]

The prologue went amazingly well actually - all four survivors made it through, even if one has a destroyed back, permanently broken leg, and post-traumatic stress disorder. And the other male is hamstrung and pretty much worthless. But they survived!

[Don_Quixote]

Awesome. Can’t wait. :)

[WarpRattler]

The crowdfund for the new Lab Zero game, Indivisible, is now live! It’s a Valkyrie Profile-style sidescrolling RPG with heavy Super Metroid influence and music from Secret of Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta. They have a playable prototype of the game available for download, and are asking for $1.5M, with a $2M match from 505 Games if they hit their goal. $30 gets you a copy of the game, the soundtrack, and a wallpaper set.

[moss_icon]

That, and the music by Chuck Reagan is awesome!

would have been even more stoked it was from a mid period hot water music lp :)