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Forums - Gaming - So why is kickstarting games a thing?

Fayceless on 23 March 2013

I was looking over kickstarter's games just yesterday and I saw they mostly fall into two categories.  On one hand, there are random people who think they have an awesome idea but can't sell it (nor themselves) and don't get funding. On the other, relatively well-known and respected developers have interesting ideas and want to bypass publishers and let interested gamers fund the initial development.  Publishers suck.  That's a known fact, and Kickstarter helps alleviate that by funneling funding to imaginative developers from enthusiastic gamers who essentially get to pre-order a game before it's even made.  They can make bigger contributions if they really, really want to see it succeed.



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SvennoJ on 23 March 2013
bertlsenix said:

Kickstarter is great for niche and W-RPGs that aren't made for casuals like Skyrim and so on.
Games like "Torment: Tides of Numenera" didn't even get a chance from publishers...

Thanks for mentioning that. Sounds right up my alley, I just backed it too.
Wasteland 2 development is going well so far. I'm looking forward to both now :)



Netyaroze on 23 March 2013
bertlsenix said:



Personally im pretty interested in a lot of those J-RPG/SNES Style Projects that remember me of the good old Secret of Mana times.
And a lot of them get funded and behind them are developers who worked on those old franchises that aren't cool enough for those Online Soldiers this Gen created.


I should follow the site more. Hopefully Kickstarter will get bigger in the future so more people get to show of their concepts and more expensive risk projects get funded. Maybe with the PC like architecture, next gen consoles will have, we might see some interesting developments in the future there too. SNES+RPG and proper Survival Horror Games like SH on PS1/2 or RE on PS1 is what I miss the most. I also think real Oculus Rift games/projects build from the ground up as VR experience might need to be kickstarted at first.  

 

Yeah I am definetly glad this exists and works. Even if not everything will turn out good.



SunofKratos on 23 March 2013

I will never support Kickstarter. Simply because as a customer i buy the games and dont finanziate the games.



zuvuyeay on 23 March 2013

there is another dreamfall/journey is there,goes off to have a look



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Jon-Erich on 23 March 2013

I think Kickstarter can lead to a lot of innovative ideas becoming reality. The videogame industry has sadly become an industry that does not like to takes risks. This is one way to get around that. Besides, do the naysayers have a better solution?



Check out my art blog: http://jon-erich-art.blogspot.com

okr on 23 March 2013

Because it gives us the opportunity to fund games which wouldn't have been funded by publishers. In my case mostly old school adventure and RPGs.

Game developments I've backed so far:
Dreamfall Chapters
Double Fine Adventure
Cognition - An Erica Reed Thriller (meanwhile released)
Quest for Infamy
Jack Houston and the Necronauts
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption
SpaceVenture
Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements
Project Eternity
Shadowrun Returns
Torment - Tides of Numenéra
Star Citizen

Next one I'll support will be a TBS game (once the PayPal option has been added):
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingartgames/battle-worlds-kronos-turn-based-strategy-revisited



oldschoolfool on 23 March 2013
Netyaroze said:
I think Kickstarter is a great way to satisfy niches. Or start unorthodox projects.

If there is something I really want but noone gives it to me I would back a project. Like Shen Mue 3. Or Secret of Mana 4 SNES style for Consoles. Or VR games when the time comes. Haven't backed anything yet but I would if its exactly what I want made by the right people.


I agree with this. I think kickstarter is a great idea in that aspect and it's a win,win for the consumer and developer in those cases.



naruball on 23 March 2013
noname2200 said:

Maybe I'm just yelling at clouds here, but I always thought that a business' job was to provide a product that the consumer base wanted, and that the consumer's "job" was to purchase completed products tha fulfill a need or desire. Company makes a car public wants, public buys it. Developer makes game people want to play, people pay for said game. Simple enough, I figured.

So with that in mind, why is it that so many developers are now requiring the public to pay for a game before the game's development has even begun? It seems like every other day sees yet another developer pitching a new game project on Kickstarter. Said developer puts what I presume is even less energy into pitching a game to the public than it would to a publisher, and if their game gets funded they get to own 100% of the rights at the end of the day. Great deal for the developer, but why exactly are the consumers now having to not only hold up their end of the deal, but also do what the developer/publishers are supposed to do (without any of the actual rights that go along with said funding)?

While the fact that people are stupid enough to buy into this system is one thing, I'm also bothered by how this demonstrates that the current videogame industry can't be doing its job particularly well. Presumably, each kickstarter goal is enough for the game to break even. Also presumably, there's enough demand for every Kickstarted game for it to break even. And, presumably, there are additional people who will buy the title after release, so the game should be profitable. So...why aren't publishers funding thes things instead? Why is there such a demonstrative untapped market here?

I suggest you edit this part out. Calling people stupid is against the rules. Several members of this site have backed up projects and you're offending us. And I'm not even gonna bother explain to you how this makes sesne. Others have done so far. In most cases we get a digital copy of the game we backed up, so it's pretty much like pre-ordering a game.

Publishers don't always make the right decisions. It's like saying that all hollywood movies have better scripts/premises than inidie films, which is far from the case.



pokoko on 23 March 2013

I have no idea why anyone would have a problem with this.

Remember, a developer isn't trying to convince publishers or venture investors that they're going to make a good game, but rather that they're going to make a game where those investing will make a substantial profit. Those two are not the same things at all. On the other hand, with kickstarter funding, the developers are trying to sell the idea, and nothing else, that they will produce a quality product.

It's just investing, but with a different goal.

Not every great developer is a great promoter or businessman. If we punish those that aren't by denying them a means to create games then we're the ones missing out in the end. Kickstarting cuts out some of the business-people who run most of gaming and I can't help but see that as a positive.