Kickstarter Projects

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I gotta tell you that if you played one game of Civ V, you probably didn't give it a chance. There's no way to evaluate a Civ-type game in one sitting. But to each his own.

I'm prepared to back Civitas if they can show us something.

Appreciate the perspective - I just have had no desire to play it, the way I did with 2 or 4.

I did back Civitas because I view all of this as an experimental fund - even if things fail, I'm okay with it - I want to encourage the ecosystem.

[Crapshoot]

Dola,
and now I backed Torment: Tides of Numenera as well. You guys have to stop showing me cool stuff!

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Torment: Tides of Numenera hits funding target in six hours, first stretch goals announced | News | PC Gamer

Hit $2 million in just over two days, if it follows the path of the other big video game projects on Kickstarter it's probably looking at finishing somewhere around $5 or 6 million. It would take $4 million to beat the previous high for a game project on Kickstarter, though even hitting $6 million it would fall short of Star Citizen in terms of total crowd funding which has brought in over $8 million.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I am too. Hopefully, these guys will deliver. The quality of these games could go a long way in determining whether this whole Kickstarter process is an actual, viable well to make games or whether it's a fad. I really hope it's the former.

First gameplay video of Shadowrun Returns, looks pretty good for the alpha. Promising early videos from Wasteland and Shadowrun are great to see.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by mckerney

First gameplay video of Shadowrun Returns, looks pretty good for the alpha. Promising early videos from Wasteland and Shadowrun are great to see.

I agree completely. I am pretty excited and optimisitc about most of these games.

I have blown a lot more money on pre-orders or first week purchases of games that I never played or were terrible than I have funding these kickstarters. So, if there is even a 50% hit rate, I consider it a wise investment.

[Blackadar]

I still haven't funded Civitas. I'm not convinced it's not a scam or a pipe dream.

- As of this morning, there was no simple Facebook connection to prove the person's identity. Of course, Facebook doesn't prove anything, but that's damned unusual.

- We haven't seen anyone's team member names. Who's the face of this project? Are there 3 team members, or 12? Who is doing the scripting, the modeling, the music? What have these people done before? There's no real details about the team members. I can't tell if this is 3 high school kids or a professional development team of 15 who have worked on like projects.

- There's no website. They want to wait until AFTER being funded to create one? They're asking for for $250,000. This isn't chump change. I understand that they may need the money to complete the project, but creating a quick website should be child's play for a team that has the capability to build a city simulator.

- There's really no plan about the game itself. Ok, we see a terrain model. And a building model. A decent programmer could create that in a couple of hours. Where's the game? Are they planning on ordinances? Zoning? Do zones grow? What's the transportation model going to be like (probably the single most important thing in a city-builder)?

- What engine are they going to use? City-builders tax systems and there's no mention of even the engine?

- No opening video. They finally put out a video showing some very limited terrain tools, but it was very limited.

- Brand new Kickstarter account. The project leader hasn't even so much as backed another gaming project? Or is he hiding his identity for another reason? That doesn't strike me as kosher.

The whole thing smacks of unprofessionalism. Even the video was a rambling, unscripted mess. There's a real lack of upper tiers that can be purchased. No website. The project leader repeatedly complaining about how "tired" he is and how late he stayed up in the comments area. The obvious slams at Simcity. I'd love to back a city-building game, but this one appears to be very disorganized (at best) or an outright scam (at worst). As such, I'm following this, but they're not getting my money until we get some concrete answers.

[mckerney]

- There's no website. They want to wait until AFTER being funded to create one? They're asking for for $250,000. This isn't chump change. Create a friggin' website.

Except when you're talking about a budget for a city builder it is chump change. Especially when you factor in kickstarter fees and physical goods like t-shirts (around $400k of the Double Fine project funds went to fulfillment of physical goods for backer rewards). If they make their goal I don't see how it's enough to finish a project like they're pitching.

If I back a game I really need to see one of two things, a decent prototype to show they can are able to at least get a start on what they want to make. Nekro, Castle Story and FTL all showed something they looked really promising in their pitch videos that. Short of that If it's just a concept I'm not going to pay any attention to it unless its an established developer who I know can not only ship a game but make one I'll like. Anyone can tell you what awesome game idea they'd like to make, who gives a shit about an awesome sounding pitch? On the other hand if it is Tim Schafer, Chris Avellone, Tim Cain, Brian Mitsoda or Brian Fargo talking about a game they'd like to make I'll definitely listen to what they've got to say.

Civitas doesn't seem to fit either of those requirements so it really doesn't look like something I'd back

[Blackadar]

New Kickstarter...from Lord Brittish. Yep, that's right...Richard Garriott returns with an Ultima-like game called Shroud of the Avatar.

Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues by Portalarium, Inc. — Kickstarter

Considering that U7 was one of the best games of all time and I cut my teeth on Ultima games, I'm in.

[mckerney]

Probably unlucky timing coming right on the heels of the Torment project, though it should have no problem passing its target

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

New Kickstarter...from Lord Brittish. Yep, that's right...Richard Garriott returns with an Ultima-like game called Shroud of the Avatar.

Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues by Portalarium, Inc. — Kickstarter

Considering that U7 was one of the best games of all time and I cut my teeth on Ultima games, I'm in.

On hell yeah, Ultima and the original Bards Tale trilogy were the games that started it all for me on that old crappy Apple IIC. In for sure!

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

New Kickstarter...from Lord Brittish. Yep, that's right...Richard Garriott returns with an Ultima-like game called Shroud of the Avatar.

Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues by Portalarium, Inc. — Kickstarter

Considering that U7 was one of the best games of all time and I cut my teeth on Ultima games, I'm in.

I backed the shit out of that thing for $25, thanks for the heads up!

[Abe Sargent]

How long will it take for next big name guy to jump on Kickstarter with a large ambitious project we will love to support?

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

New Kickstarter...from Lord Brittish. Yep, that's right...Richard Garriott returns with an Ultima-like game called Shroud of the Avatar.

Dude gots money to go to space, dude gots money to fund his own game. I'll wait for the retail release.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Dude gots money to go to space, dude gots money to fund his own game. I'll wait for the retail release.

I think part of it is also testing to see who is interested. Is this a concept that works? Are people excited?

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

How long will it take for next big name guy to jump on Kickstarter with a large ambitious project we will love to support?

You mean like Front Office Football?

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Dude gots money to go to space, dude gots money to fund his own game. I'll wait for the retail release.

I figure at the very least the massive success of Torment, Avatar and Eternity will encourage other companies (large and small) to make their own RPG games. And considering that I'd buy it Day 1, I might as well get it cheap now rather than pay full price later.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Matthean

You mean like Front Office Football?

No, more like Will Wright or Sid Meier or someone.

[Lonnie]

Well... had to back that one also.

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I figure at the very least the massive success of Torment, Avatar and Eternity will encourage other companies (large and small) to make their own RPG games. And considering that I'd buy it Day 1, I might as well get it cheap now rather than pay full price later.

How's SimCity workin' for you?

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Shkspr

How's SimCity workin' for you?

I dunno. I didn't order it. Your point?

[Shkspr]

Sorry, I didn't think you were only repeating speculation and hearsay when venting about the release all week long. I misread and thought you had actually played the game. Mea culpa.

Now, one might also think that when faced with the prospect of a persistent online world from a team that has never released a game headed by someone whose last shipped product was a abysmal failure of a persistent online world that died less than eighteen months after release, that the concept of "waiting for reviews before giving money" rather than "I'mma buy Day 1" might guide your impulses. Again, I hadn't considered that you had actually dodged the bullet that struck much of the Internet this week and were simply covering us all in schadenfreude rather than learning the lesson that giving anyone cash up front just because you might as well get a discount on your Day 1 purchase is silly. Again, my apologies.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the game that you have decided to buy now based on concept art that may or may not be released in nineteen months' time. As stated before, I believe Mr. Garriott has ample resources with which to oversee development without my charity, and my poor choices several months ago have led me to believe I shall be more than happy to pay full price for this title upon a well-regarded retail release rather than the discounted price offered in anticipation of the wishes and dreams of nostalgia.

Good luck with your investment.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Except when you're talking about a budget for a city builder it is chump change. Especially when you factor in kickstarter fees and physical goods like t-shirts (around $400k of the Double Fine project funds went to fulfillment of physical goods for backer rewards). If they make their goal I don't see how it's enough to finish a project like they're pitching.

For a bit more on the amount of money as a budget for a city builder game, 2D fighting game Skullgirls recently put up an indie go go campaign. They went in with a goal of raising $150,000 to add one character to the game. Their breakdown in costs went like this.

$48,000: Staff Salaries - 8 people for 10 weeks
$30,000: Animation and Clean-up Contracting
$4,000: Voice recording
$2,000: Hit-box Contracting
$5,000: Audio Implementation Contracting
$20,000: QA Testing
$10,000: 1st Party Certification
$10,500: IndieGoGo and Payment Processing Fees
$20,500: Manufacturing and Shipping Physical Rewards

Now, a full city builder for $100k more? No chance.

EDIT: Reddit thread asking if Civitas might be a scam.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Sorry, I didn't think you were only repeating speculation and hearsay when venting about the release all week long. I misread and thought you had actually played the game. Mea culpa.

Those don't mean what you think they mean.

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Now, one might also think that when faced with the prospect of a persistent online world from a team that has never released a game headed by someone whose last shipped product was a abysmal failure of a persistent online world that died less than eighteen months after release, that the concept of "waiting for reviews before giving money" rather than "I'mma buy Day 1" might guide your impulses. Again, I hadn't considered that you had actually dodged the bullet that struck much of the Internet this week and were simply covering us all in schadenfreude rather than learning the lesson that giving anyone cash up front just because you might as well get a discount on your Day 1 purchase is silly. Again, my apologies.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the game that you have decided to buy now based on concept art that may or may not be released in nineteen months' time. As stated before, I believe Mr. Garriott has ample resources with which to oversee development without my charity, and my poor choices several months ago have led me to believe I shall be more than happy to pay full price for this title upon a well-regarded retail release rather than the discounted price offered in anticipation of the wishes and dreams of nostalgia.

Good luck with your investment.

It's mostly a single player game that allows people to join you. The entirely different infrastructure means the situations aren't comparable. Nice try, though.

The MMOs - whether you consider Tablua Rasa or City of Heroes - aren't relevant. The last RPG coded by Garriott was Ultima 7 and it remains one of the best of all time. The entire series from 1-7 was incredible gaming. So it's worth $25 to me for him to go back to his roots and work on what many of us have wanted him to work on since the mid-90s. A little nostalgia and a couple of dreams aren't necessarily a bad thing.

Enjoy your schadenfreude. I hear it goes well with a side of fava beans.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I agree completely. I am pretty excited and optimisitc about most of these games.

I have blown a lot more money on pre-orders or first week purchases of games that I never played or were terrible than I have funding these kickstarters. So, if there is even a 50% hit rate, I consider it a wise investment.

The only Kickstarter games I went into with really high hopes for them were Project Eternity and the Double Fine Adventure. When it comes to RPGs the crew at Obsidian are some of the best and it doesn't get better than Tim Schafer when it comes to adventure games. The other games I backed are ones that I'm looking forward to and seem like they have a lot of potential, but didn't go into them as optimistic as I am about these two.

The gameplay videos for Wasteland 2 and Shadowrun have upped my expectations for them a bit, very impressed by both of them. I also love what I have seen of the art for the Double Fine Adventure.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

New Kickstarter...from Lord Brittish. Yep, that's right...Richard Garriott returns with an Ultima-like game called Shroud of the Avatar.

Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues by Portalarium, Inc. — Kickstarter

Considering that U7 was one of the best games of all time and I cut my teeth on Ultima games, I'm in.

4 super nerds have already ponied up 10k for a tour of the castle

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

4 super nerds have already ponied up 10k for a tour of the castle

And Akalabeth!

[BYU 14]

Damn, he is going to smash the 1,000,000 mark

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Damn, he is going to smash the 1,000,000 mark

Garriot? Absolutely. You can tell how the parabolas will go with Kickstarter projects. He got more than enough in the first day to guarantee making 1 - his goal

[Abe Sargent]

Average donation / person for Torment - 54.8 dollars

Average donation / person for Avatar - 63.09 dollars


Avatar has roughly 1/4 of the donors the Torment one has, but a much higher average donation level

[Blackadar]

The Civitas story is getting...interesting.

Specifically, this post

In short, the leader of the kickstarter, Brandon Smith, says some of the team don't want to be made public. Ok, I could buy that though I wonder if they're really prepared to quit their jobs and work on this if it does fund. But then he goes a step further and says that he might lose his job at Greyland Studios if they find out what he's doing. Except the domain for Greyland is registered in his name, the kickstarter funds are pulled by Greyland and the two iOS games released by Greyland were by him. So if he IS Greyland studios, then why would he fear losing his job? Seems Mr. Smith got caught in a little white lie...

Is it just coincidence that the intials of the lead guy are BS and the kickstarter itself ends on April Fool's Day? That seems weird. And he's started to make some public mis-steps:

"We are not shaken at all by the doubters that love to donate 1 dollar to discourage us all in our comments section, we know where they are coming from, and we all know how they'll end up looking when the kickstarter is updated and we all move forward making this amazing game together."

Insulting the people who might be interested in funding you is not a great way to get started. Some people have already reduced their pledges back to $1, so it will be interesting to see how he recovers from this. I would love an alternative to Simcity, but as I said before this one hasn't passed the sniff test yet.

[mckerney]

The Kickstarter will be cancelled within a week.

[Matthean]

The Veronica Mars Movie Project by Rob Thomas — Kickstarter

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by Matthean

The Veronica Mars Movie Project by Rob Thomas — Kickstarter

I hope the killer is a sloth.

[Abe Sargent]

In case we have any Magic the Gathering fans


The Gathering: Reuniting Pioneering Artists of Magic by Full Steam Press, LLC — Kickstarter

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Matthean

The Veronica Mars Movie Project by Rob Thomas — Kickstarter

The massive success of this Kickstarter could be huge for cult TV shows.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

The massive success of this Kickstarter could be huge for cult TV shows.

I was going to make a comment about calling it a massive success, and while it isn't funded, the amount went up a lot since I posted, so this should end up with really good numbers.

[Matthean]

And doesn't Joss Whedon have to be looking at this and going, "So, Firefly."

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

The massive success of this Kickstarter could be huge for cult TV shows.

Yeah...not even a fan of the show, but this is a cool development.

[Abe Sargent]

Yeah, or J Michael Str is going to pump more time/money in Babylon 5.

[Logan]

Did they say what the actual budget would be for this movie? I know the goal is to raise $2MM but is that going to be the entire budget...production, cast (I saw Kristen Bell and others plan on working cheaply), marketing, etc? If so, there's gotta be some serious potential returns on the back end there.

[stevew]

I know Adam Carolla was talking about funding a smallish movie via Kickstarter soon. Something about older comics that are forced to go back out on the road in their 50s because all of the yearly million dollar TV development deals have dried up. Sounded like a funny premise.

[PackerFanatic]

So pumped about the potential Veronica Mars movie - and what a fantastic way to go about funding it.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by stevew

I know Adam Carolla was talking about funding a smallish movie via Kickstarter soon. Something about older comics that are forced to go back out on the road in their 50s because all of the yearly million dollar TV development deals have dried up. Sounded like a funny premise.

That rich fuck should fund his own shit.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Logan

Did they say what the actual budget would be for this movie? I know the goal is to raise $2MM but is that going to be the entire budget...production, cast (I saw Kristen Bell and others plan on working cheaply), marketing, etc? If so, there's gotta be some serious potential returns on the back end there.

They're encouraging people to keep donating past the $2 million, so I think that's just a baseline. They also have "the support of Warner Brothers" on this - that was needed at a minimum for intellectual property reasons, and I don't think that means extra funds for production, but I wouldn't be surprised if WB covered a lot of distribution and marketing once a viable movie is made.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Yeah...not even a fan of the show, but this is a cool development.

This.

This could quite literally resurrect cult classic movies and TV shows based entirely on fan response.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Matthean

And doesn't Joss Whedon have to be looking at this and going, "So, Firefly."

Seriously, Veronica Mars (a niche show even amongst the niches) can raise $2M - Think Joss Whedon can't raise $10M for Firefly from nerds? I'm in for a couple of hundred bucks without even thinking about it.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by mckerney

The Kickstarter will be cancelled within a week.

It hasn't been yet, but these Civitas jokers are giving everyone a lesson on how not to run a successful kickstarter.

Even with the massive amount of anger/disappointment against the Simcity series, these idiots have managed to stall out their kickstarter at about $100k. They finally pushed out a couple of videos, but they're of poor quality with no professionalism - just a couple of relatively young dolts talking about the game. They've been promising gameplay examples, but haven't delivered in two weeks. Hell, they haven't been able to deliver any concept art! And now Brandon Smith, the leader of the kickstarter, has started talking about putting the game on the Wii-U. Needless to say, a bunch of people have jumped on him because:

1. Porting a game like this to the Wii-U would be virtually impossible for the dollars they want.
2. In order to make it work with something like the Wii-U, you'd have to considerably dumb down the PC version.
3. A PC, Unix, Mac AND Wii U version? Even tier 1 studios don't pull that off very often.

Right now you could shit in a box and get $250,000 in donations if people thought it could replace Simcity. These guys have actually managed to fuck that up. I do so enjoy watching this train wreck develop, though.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Seriously, Veronica Mars (a niche show even amongst the niches) can raise $2M - Think Joss Whedon can't raise $10M for Firefly from nerds? I'm in for a couple of hundred bucks without even thinking about it.

I'd think you'd need like 25m or so in order to make a viable 10 hours of TV. Possibly doable, but everyone would have to take a reduced rate and the stories would need to be somewhat limited.

[PackerFanatic]

Veronica mars project over $2.6 million in less than 24 hours. Crazyness.

[larrymcg421]

The bigger problem for Firefly is getting the cast. Nathan Filion is on Castle. Morena Baccarin is on Homeland. Gina Torres is on Suits. Doing a whole season of Firefly that fits their schedules just isn't practical. And the first movie required a $40million budget. Veronica Mars is a much cheaper product to produce.