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The Video Game Kickstarter Thread of the Future of Passing the Risk to the Consumer

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Mar 14, 2012#1

Frankie Williamson

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2

Like Dave put below, Brian Fargo, one of Interplay's founders, has begun a Kickstarter for a sequel to Wasteland. What is Wasteland? Well, Wasteland was the game that Fallout was the spiritual successor to. Fallout was originally meant to be a sequel to Wasteland, but they didn't own the IP. Fargo has brought a lot of the original Wasteland team together for this.

I'm kind of weary on the thought of more and more companies trying to do this and I think the bubble will pop SUPER fast if any of them fail to deliver but this is one of the few I can get on board with. All we need now is for Fred Ford and Paul Reiche to someone splinter Toys for Bob off of Activision, quit it with the Skylanders and start up a Kickstarter for a true sequel to Star Control and I think I could die happy.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2/widget/video.html

God I miss old Interplay. Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Fallout, Freespace, Descent, Planescape: Torment. They were the champions of PC RPGs.

Mar 30, 2012#2

Frank

Apparently, if they make it to 2.1 million, Chris Avellone and some of the creative guys at Obsidian will join the team working on Wasteland 2.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/03/30/obisidian-to-co-develop-wasteland-2-on-one-condition/

Chris Avellone is the guy that wrote the Fallout bible, literally. He needs in on this. I hope they get the funding.

Mar 30, 2012#3

Frank

This may actually be the real dream team of CRPGs together again. This is a good portion of the crew together responsible for Fallout, Fallout 2, Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment. Some of the best RPGs ever created. If Double Fine can do 3 million for a point and click adventure and these guys can't do 2/3s of that for this. I'm gonna be bummed out so hard.

Mar 31, 2012#4

Ravenpoe

Frank said:
Apparently, if they make it to 2.1 million, Chris Avellone and some of the creative guys at Obsidian will join the team working on Wasteland 2.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/03/30/obisidian-to-co-develop-wasteland-2-on-one-condition/

Chris Avellone is the guy that wrote the Fallout bible, literally. He needs in on this. I hope they get the funding.

Dear mother of god...

I need to go donate more!

Apr 3, 2012#5

AshburnerX

I'm starting to think we should just consolidate all the Kickstarter threads into one mega thread.

Al Lowe wants to remake Leisure Suit Larry in The Land of the Lounge Lizards; already 1/5 of the way in after less than a week.

Apr 3, 2012#6

Officer_Charon

.... Why oh WHY could I not have won the lotto...? *weeps brokenly*

Apr 3, 2012#7

Frank

AshburnerX said:
I'm starting to think we should just consolidate all the Kickstarter threads into one mega thread.

Al Lowe wants to remake Leisure Suit Larry in The Land of the Lounge Lizards; already 1/5 of the way in after less than a week.

Agreed. Thread title changed.

Apr 4, 2012#8

AshburnerX

Ex-FASA employee's want to make a hardcore, turn based Shadowrun game. You know, like we've always wanted.

Funding is a little light on this one but it's still early in it's cycle.

Apr 4, 2012#9

Shegokigo

My only exposure to Shadowrun was the amazing SNES game. I loved that game.

Apr 4, 2012#10

AshburnerX

Shegokigo said:
My only exposure to Shadowrun was the amazing SNES game. I loved that game.

That was also the only good one. The rest have been awful, mainly because the people who'd buy the rights didn't "get" the feel of the setting. These guys would probably do better.

Apr 4, 2012#11

Frank

The Genesis game wasn't terrible, it just wasn't Shadowrun.

Apr 4, 2012#12

ThatNickGuy

Jane Jensen and her husband Robert Holmes are creating the CSG (Community Supported Gaming) to create a series of mystery-based adventure games.

The video is great and their daughter (who co-composes the music with her father) is damn hot. :unibrow:

Apr 4, 2012#13

Frank

That woman almost single handedly rung the death knell for adventure games. She gets nothing!

Apr 4, 2012#14

ThatNickGuy

Say what?! How do you figure?

Apr 4, 2012#15

Frank

Gabriel Knight 3 had some of the absolute most esoteric dream logic puzzles ever to put vomited into a genre known for it's esoteric, dream logic puzzles.

It was also one of the last mainstream adventure games made before they all but died.

Hilarious video game writer Eric Wolpaw (lead writer of the portal games) was back in the day when he just had a website called Old Man Murray says it best:

http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html

Apr 4, 2012#16

ThatNickGuy

Adventure games as a whole were on a huge downfall by that point. To blame it on one game is ridiculous.

Apr 4, 2012#17

Ravenpoe

ThatNickGuy said:
Adventure games as a whole were on a huge downfall by that point. To blame it on one game is ridiculous.

Maybe... But have you played that game? If you have, then it starts to seem pretty plausible

Apr 5, 2012#18

AshburnerX

Shadowrun Returns completely funded in 28 hours, still has 23 days to go.

So yeah... this should be good.

Leisure Suit Larry remake is at almost 200k.

Apr 5, 2012#19

Ravenpoe

AshburnerX said:
Shadowrun Returns completely funded in 28 hours, still has 23 days to go.

So yeah... this should be good.

Leisure Suit Larry remake is at almost 200k.

Gah... I need more money.

These are the most extreme preorders ever.

Apr 5, 2012#20

Gared

AshburnerX said:
Shadowrun Returns completely funded in 28 hours, still has 23 days to go.

So yeah... this should be good.

Leisure Suit Larry remake is at almost 200k.

I was pretty skeptical of another Shadowrun game. After all, who can forget Microsoft's transgression? Breaking the one hard and fast rule of the setting "there is not, nor shall there ever be, any technology or magic that allows for teleportation" before you even leave the tutorial isn't going to garner you a whole lot of applause from fans of the franchise. It's good to see who the developers on this project are though. Maybe we'll finally get a good SR video game that doesn't require an ancient console.

Apr 5, 2012#21

Shegokigo

This is the first kickstarter I'm interested in enough to actually pledge as much as to get a copy.

That 10,000 pledge so far is the coolest I've seen so far:

Previous rewards + Mike Mulvihill, who led Shadowrun game development at FASA Corp., will COME TO YOUR TOWN TO RUN A TABLETOP GAME OF SHADOWRUN FOR YOU AND FIVE OF YOUR FRIENDS. (He'll even buy some snacks

Apr 5, 2012#22

AshburnerX

Someone actually donated enough for that one. I hope they record it and release it on the website.

Apr 5, 2012#23

Jay

Honestly though, this stuff if blowing my mind.

How much are publishers fretting this may be the "way of the future"? Cutting out the middle man. The suit. The guy who ruins franchises or companies since the fan base will pay for development for games directly by giving money?

Apr 5, 2012#24

AshburnerX

It'll never be the answer for AAA projects that don't have a big name behind them, but this does exist as a means for big names to get pet projects out the door or for indies with buzz to get their projects out the door. I doubt it'll carry over to consoles as well: You might spend a million bucks just to get your DVDs made, not to mention licensing fees from console makers.

Still really impressive and definitely worth doing.

Apr 6, 2012#25

SpecialKO

Jay said:
Honestly though, this stuff if blowing my mind.

How much are publishers fretting this may be the "way of the future"? Cutting out the middle man. The suit. The guy who ruins franchises or companies since the fan base will pay for development for games directly by giving money?

They're not even remotely fretting.

Not only won't this touch the scale of AAA development for anyone but the big names, but even if it did, publishers would <i>love</i> to assume no financial risk for a project. They do a ton more than just pay the bill, so if someone else could pay it for them before they did anything, I guarantee you they'll jump on it.

EDIT: Hell, half the reason games get rushed out the door is because they go over budget/time. If you knew that you had a guaranteed $10M in sales waiting for you, hell yeah you'll be fine spending an extra million over the $4M you've already spent.

The only guys for whom the videogame Kickstarter trend might be a cause to worry are the big retailers, and that's purely because Kickstarter lends itself to alternate methods of distribution (even physical distribution).

Apr 6, 2012#26

Frank

As I said in my opening post, and the reason I'll only throw in for the littlest amount possible, I don't doubt that some of these projects are not going to be able to be completed with their budgets or in the timeline provided. Sure, we all know that Schaefer can put out a small game in a short amount of time, it's what DF does but the others are really unknowns. Even Wasteland 2, which I'm absolutely stoked that it's happening (and made it's 2.1 million, so Chris Avellone is onboard, whoopa!), is being made by inXile who's had troubles with budgets and deadlines in the past. I'm not going in for 250 bucks for some giga-pack of neat shit for a game that very well could not happen.

Apr 8, 2012#27

Bowielee

SpecialKO said:
They're not even remotely fretting.

Not only won't this touch the scale of AAA development for anyone but the big names, but even if it did, publishers would <i>love</i> to assume no financial risk for a project. They do a ton more than just pay the bill, so if someone else could pay it for them before they did anything, I guarantee you they'll jump on it.

EDIT: Hell, half the reason games get rushed out the door is because they go over budget/time. If you knew that you had a guaranteed $10M in sales waiting for you, hell yeah you'll be fine spending an extra million over the $4M you've already spent.

The only guys for whom the videogame Kickstarter trend might be a cause to worry are the big retailers, and that's purely because Kickstarter lends itself to alternate methods of distribution (even physical distribution).

Kick starter projects don't need publishers... like at all. Software developers can release games direct to the public. And if you think this won't be an issue if they start gaining popularity, I refer you back to the debaucle that happened when Steam first made the scene. The publisher of Half-Life 2 sued valve over allowing direct access to the game and cutting them out.

If Kickstarter gets too popular, you can bet the publishers will show up, subpoenas in hand. Well more likely legislation of some sort.

Apr 8, 2012#28

AshburnerX

Legislation? If Hollywood can't enforce the studio system in the digital age, I really don't think Big Publisher can do it with games. The more likely culprit will be contract clauses that prohibit them from crowd-source funding like this. I doubt many would sign those though.

Apr 8, 2012#29

SpecialKO

Bowielee said:
Kick starter projects don't need publishers... like at all. Software developers can release games direct to the public. And if you think this won't be an issue if they start gaining popularity, I refer you back to the debaucle that happened when Steam first made the scene. The publisher of Half-Life 2 sued valve over allowing direct access to the game and cutting them out.

You misunderstand my post. The publishers are the ones who are going to be starting Kickstarter projects if they can be shown to be viable enough. They have every reason to go that route if they think it will work (getting paid upfront before development for guaranteed sales figures? Executive wet-dream).

Making good games is about a lot more than software development. Tim Schafer doesn't need help because he already has a multi-multi-million dollar company that worked with big publishers for years. Double Fine can afford to hire their own marketing staff, researchers, ad people, brand artists, etc. Most indies don't have that. If they're happy with the small-scale they don't really need it, but if they're not, Kickstarter is probably not going to get them there. They just don't have the brand recognition. Kickstarter had games on it a long time before Double Fine took their shot. Know who has brand recognition and recognizable IP sitting around? Pubs.

Also, Sierra sued Valve because they paid a significant portion of the bill to develop the game and Valve went around them on distribution. Completely different set of circumstances.

Apr 23, 2012#30

AshburnerX

Makers of the amazing Fallout: New Vegas fan series Nuka Break are looking for funding for a second season.

They are around 15k of 60k needed with 55 days to go. Here are some updates for other ones on the list:

Larry Remake- 465k of 500k needed, with 9 days to go. Looks like it could happen.

Shadowrun Returns - 137k of 40k needed, with 6 days to go.

Apr 23, 2012#31

Shegokigo

Really looking forward to the Shadowrun Returns.

Apr 24, 2012#32

figmentPez

Grim Dawn - an open world action RPG from some of the makers of Titan Quest.

Apr 24, 2012#33

Shegokigo

I just spent 2hrs perusing the Kickstarter page..... wow. Just wow.

You all should definitely look up "Steelie" and "Remee". I know I'll be buying both of those when they hit stores.

Apr 24, 2012#34

Frank

figmentPez said:
Grim Dawn - an open world action RPG from some of the makers of Titan Quest.

They should have just called it Grim Dark.

Apr 24, 2012#35

Frank

You think you're a bad-ass Tim Schaeffer?

You ain't no e-ink watch.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android?ref=live

/is in on this.

Apr 24, 2012#36

Bowielee

That is freakin awesome. I want one. Especially when it got to developer SDK kit, I was only sad that I don't have the money to plop down on this right now.

Also.... over 6 MILLION dollars raised with a 100k original goal.

Apr 24, 2012#37

Null

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/4wfg/deus-ex-historica

Welcome to the Kickstarter campaign for 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming's first Super-powered by M&M product, a supplement for Green Ronin's 3rd edition of the M&M RPG!

With Deus ex Historica, you take a look into the files of future archaeologist Danni Cipher, and explore the Ages of the Super-Hero: from their Golden Age beginning, straight through to the Modern Age. Follow the way these comic book eras focused on different styles, struggles, attitudes and even powers, for hero and villain alike.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/101590/Deus-ex-Historica-Blood-Lily-Promo -- Free PDF preview of a villainess Blood Lily.

This kickstarter's just $230 shy of it's goal, with 5 days remaining.

Apr 25, 2012#38

AshburnerX

Larry Kickstarter has been funded with 6 days left. Null's kickstarter has as well.

Apr 27, 2012#39

SpecialKO

Cool meta-concept game for mobile & PC/Mac platforms. You essentially play someone watching a girl trapped in a mansion with kill-traps. Your only connection to them is your phone, and you have to guide her through the house.

Art is pretty slick, and the concept looks like it could get pretty trippy.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/486250632/republique-by-camouflaj-logan

Apr 27, 2012#40

Shegokigo

Makes me REALLY miss Temco's Deception.....

Apr 27, 2012#41

Frank

That sounds good in theory.

Apr 27, 2012#42

Null

Shegokigo said:
Makes me REALLY miss Temco's Deception.....

I couldn't play that after the level where you had to kill this adventuring couple who were looking for an herb to cure their sick kid, and after you slew them it showed you their kid calling out for them as they died. I took the game out of the playstation and put it on Ebay.

Apr 27, 2012#43

AshburnerX

SpecialKO said:
Cool meta-concept game for mobile & PC/Mac platforms. You essentially play someone watching a girl trapped in a mansion with kill-traps. Your only connection to them is your phone, and you have to guide her through the house.

Art is pretty slick, and the concept looks like it could get pretty trippy.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/486250632/republique-by-camouflaj-logan

They need 400,000 in 2 weeks. That is NOT going to happen. And I actually liked Lifeline... probably because I never had any trouble controlling the girl. It was a fun experiment.

Apr 27, 2012#44

SpecialKO

AshburnerX said:
They need 400,000 in 2 weeks. That is NOT going to happen.

Oh, it's almost impossible. Hence spreading some more word.

Apr 28, 2012#45

Bowielee

Frank said:
That sounds good in theory.

I'm at work so I can't see the youtube video, but I'm going to guess it's a clip from Night Trap.

Apr 28, 2012#46

Frank

Nah, it was Lifeline. A game infamous for it's bad voice controls.

Apr 28, 2012#47

Bowielee

Frank said:
Nah, it was Lifeline. A game infamous for it's bad voice controls.

It still works either way

Apr 28, 2012#48

AshburnerX

Frank said:
Nah, it was Lifeline. A game infamous for it's bad voice controls.

The main issue is that they designed the voice commands in the English version around a single dialect from the US... that being General American. This meant that if you had the slightest of accents, the game couldn't recognize what you said, thus the crap controls. I understand that this is the biggest issue in doing voice commands these days too.

Honestly... I enjoyed Lifeline, but that plot gets REALLY fucking stupid at the end.

Apr 28, 2012#49

Frank

I never played it. I only know of it based on it's reputation and an old episode of Broken Pixels. Though, my very neutral Canadian accent probably wouldn't have had much of a problem. The only word I know I pronounce strangely in comparison to other English accents is for.

Apr 29, 2012#50

Frank

Holy shit, ok, I just read over on the GAF about how Republique is getting absolutely lambasted by the absolutely douchey and insane iOS enthusiast press for doing a Kickstarter and then daring to agree to make a version for Mac and PC. They called PC gamers elitists who don't pay for games.

Fucking excuse me?

I've probably spent more money on single fucking games (Skyrim, ME3, countless Steam downloads (seriously, look up my Steam profile) than most Iphone users have spent in total for all their 99 cent garbage games.

I'm backing Republique now just based on what a fucking shithead the Touch Arcade dude is.

Read more here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=472021

Apr 29, 2012#51

Hailey Knight

I've never heard of any of these sites or this game, but the whole "Haha, I'm losing readers, hahaha" thing reminds me of some B-grade villain from a 16-bit RPG, like Dalton from Chrono Trigger.

Apr 29, 2012#52

Frank

Well, NeoGAF is easily the biggest video game forum in NA with thousands of concurrent visitors at a time and 20+ million posts in the video game subforum.

Apr 29, 2012#53

Hailey Knight

I was only saying that to illustrate that I had no stake in this before assessing the guy's behavior. I know I'm not hip with what you kids be... hipping about. Something.

Game looks cool, but right now I don't have the cash, and I don't have a computer that could run it. I'm still waiting for the release of the last game I put money toward, Primal Carnage, and at this point I couldn't play that either on my computer.

Apr 29, 2012#54

SpecialKO

Wow, that TouchArcade guy is giant douche. I can get skepticism about Kickstarter to a point, but this is something else entirely.

May 10, 2012#55

Frank

From the makers of Space Quest comes:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ure-by-the-creators-of-space-que?ref=category

A new game by the guys who made Space Quest! They have some real talent already signed on. The Space Quest games are some classic Sierra style adventuring. You know, the kind where you forget a piece of glass very early on in the game and a couple of hours later find out you needed it.

May 10, 2012#56

Overflight

Republique has 24 hours left but has gotten a huge surge of backers. Less than 100k remaining. Hope they make it.

May 10, 2012#57

ThatNickGuy

There are new games being made by the people who brought us the Space Quest games, Gabriel Knight, and Grim Fandango.

It's like my childhood is coming back with a vengeance.

May 11, 2012#58

SpecialKO

Holy shit, Republique only needs $5k and they have 7 hours...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../225086?ref=email&show_token=36a9a9dc2132e346

May 11, 2012#59

AshburnerX

SpecialKO said:
Holy shit, Republique only needs $5k and they have 7 hours...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../225086?ref=email&show_token=36a9a9dc2132e346

Nope. It's funded with 6 hours to go. Currently 2k over the mark.

May 11, 2012#60

SpecialKO

That's really awesome. Good for those guys for getting the lead out with their grassroots reach-out.

May 11, 2012#61

strawman

Not a video game, but a board game (although it sounds like they'll create a vidja game out of it soon enough) but this is the kickstarter thread, so:

I just went in on a $100 board game:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/847271320/ogre-designers-edition

It ends today in a few hours, I'd never heard of it before, but after watching a few playthrough videos and reading about it, I believe my kids will go crazy playing it when it arrives (hopefully in time for Christmas this year). I'll probably enjoy it as well, of course.

May 11, 2012#62

Frank

That dude is a heck of a game designer.

May 11, 2012#63

strawman

He does seem to know a thing or two about game design.

May 31, 2012#64

Frank

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675907842/pathfinder-online-technology-demo

I don't know how I feel about donating to a Kickstarter for MMO technology. Just seems like a terrible waste of money.

May 31, 2012#65

SpecialKO

Maybe I'm misreading it (hate their intro page, it reads like a scammy internet As-seen-on-TV offer, and it's super obtuse about what it's for) but it sounds like the reward for helping them build infrastructure is swag?

I'm...not sure how I feel about that. I'm totally okay (and have donated to a good handful of) companies fundraising in exchange for a discounted and/or bonused-up final product. But this sounds more like straight investing, and if there's no real product in the rewards that my money is directly contributing to than I'd much prefer a company/profit-share.

May 31, 2012#66

Overflight

They can't do the latter in the US because apparently that goes against SEC regulations or something. However, apparently they want to do something of that kind in Europe:

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/22/kickstarter-alternative-gambitious-coming-to-europe-this-summe/

May 31, 2012#67

Frank

Gambitious sounds insane. Instead of dealing with only a few investors, the creative folks would have to deal with potentially thousands of fickle nerds.

May 31, 2012#68

Dei

OK, this is not a video game, but it's still really awesome and I'm thinking about getting some for my daughter...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/369073015/roominate-make-it-yours

May 31, 2012#69

AshburnerX

Awesome Horror game! Haunts: The Manse Macabre!

Jul 5, 2012#70

Dei

Dead State is in it's final hours of funding, and while they are already funded, they are trying to reach their last stretch goals in the last few hours, if anyone finds it intertesting.

Jul 5, 2012#71

AshburnerX

Dead State went to Kickstarter? I thought they abandoned the project after they stopped updating for MONTHS.

Jul 10, 2012#72

David

First posted this in general's kickstarter thread but figured it should probably go in here.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console

Open-source, android-based video game console for $99. It has exceeded funding goals in less than a day, and apparently has Mojang on board as a developer for it.

Jul 10, 2012#73

Overflight

Not a bad page, but I have some suggestions for some improvements.

Seriously, this is either going to be awesome or an utter disaster.

Jul 10, 2012#74

Hailey Knight

Overflight said:
Not a bad page, but I have some suggestions for some improvements.

Seriously, this is either going to be awesome or an utter disaster.

Oh, the second was a joke.

Jul 10, 2012#75

David

Since they're nearing double their minimum funding with about 12,000 units sold, hopefully it's too late at this point to become a "complete" failure (unless of course, they just disappear with everybody's money). There's always the risk it won't catch on with the mainstream gamer community, but since it's running Android, the absolute worst case scenario might be you'll have a box dedicated to playing your phone's games on the TV.

Jul 11, 2012#76

ThatNickGuy

Overflight said:
Not a bad page, but I have some suggestions for some improvements.

I don't get it.

Jul 11, 2012#77

strawman

Overflight said:
Not a bad page, but I have some suggestions for some improvements.

Jul 12, 2012#78

Frank

ThatNickGuy said:
I don't get it.

The Phantom is the most famous vapourware console of all time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Entertainment

Jul 15, 2012#79

Hylian

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/370924922/kanzume-goddess

Overview

Kanzume Goddess is a game about a war between two rival pantheons of Gods and Goddesses; the Norse Gods lead by Odin and the Greek Gods led by Zeus. Each player takes the role of one of the Gods and battles to come out on top using various warriors based upon the Zodiac.
Kanzume Goddess is a deck building game in the vein of Dominion, Ascension, Nightfall, Tanto Cuore, and Thunderstone. As with those games, you are given a basic set of cards to start with and a field of other cards to purchase and build your deck. In this game, rather than compete for victory points, the goal is to deal damage to your opponents and knock them out of the game.
We discovered this game during our travels abroad and thought that it would be a great project to translate and bring over here. The artwork is all very nice and it's a pretty fun game to boot. We've seen a lot of interest in Tanto Cuore and its expansions and felt like it was time to try something new. We're already working on the translations and it's ready to go to print as soon as those are done so we're looking at a reasonably quick turnaround here.

Jul 20, 2012#80

Tress

Did you guys ever play Defense Grid, a.k.a. the greatest tower defense game of all time?

Well, there's now a kickstarter for Defense Grid 2.

TL;DR version: The company that made Defense Grid wants to do a sequel. Every publisher they went to for funding agreed they liked the first one and that a sequel would turn a profit, but not enough of a profit. So now they turn to kickstarter to raise 1 million. If it only gets funded part way (as you can see from the images above), they will add an expansion to the original instead.

Jul 20, 2012#81

Frank

Defense Grid has constantly popped up on Steam's sales leaderboard. Do they seriously need crowdfunding?

Jul 20, 2012#82

Tress

Frank said:
Defense Grid has constantly popped up on Steam's sales leaderboard. Do they seriously need crowdfunding?

I just added a bit to explain that. They explain it further in the link.

Jul 24, 2012#83

Frank

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1829034266/volgarr-the-viking

THIS is what Kickstarter is for. I am in, in, in.

Jul 25, 2012#84

ThatNickGuy

Frank said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1829034266/volgarr-the-viking

THIS is what Kickstarter is for. I am in, in, in.

Geez, I don't know. They also made the games for Iron Man 2 and Green Lantern. Those were both abominations on Superman 64 levels.

EDIT: Halfway through the video now and they talk about how double jumps aren't unique to video games. The hell are they talking about? That's almost a staple of many games, even ones that attack.

Jul 25, 2012#85

Frank

I think they meant the way the double jump worked in Ghouls and Ghosts.

Jul 27, 2012#86

Overflight

Super Motherload. I played the original and it was fun. Shame this one likely won't make it though.

Jul 27, 2012#87

AshburnerX

Knock-Knock, a game by Ice-Pick Lodge, makers of The Void, Cargo: the Quest for Gravity, and Pathologic (most depressing, artful game I've ever played).

Gameplay Details!

Hide! We have to emulate hide-and-seek with monstrous creatures of nightmares. It turned out to be a hybrid of Lode Runner, Home Alone and Nightmare Ned.
Don’t look now! Keep (your avatar) away from the night visitors. The objective of each new night is to hold out until dawn and stay sane. The Night (a level) lasts for 7-10 minutes each.
Turn on the light! Only illuminated rooms are a safe haven and allow freedom of movement. But the light does not last for long and needs permanent supervision.
Fix the house! The more breaches there are in the house, the more fear, darkness and creatures of the sick mind the hero has to withstand.

Each night a number of useful tools appear in different rooms.

The player builds his very own house: any combination of rooms, stairs and doors are allowed. Any new room would increase the total amount of health and safety of the hero and open up new opportunities.

Every kind of Guest has a unique appearance, damage range, and personal characteristics. New seasons of the game will follow.

Everything that happens in the house is a clue. Uncover clues, master levels, stay sane and you will eventually expose the underlying mystery.

I can't wait to see what they come out with. I'm tempted to do the 47 dollar donation... if only because I KNOW Ice-Pick will make it worth it.

Jul 27, 2012#88

Jay

Fuck that..

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/902505202/castle-story?ref=category

First day... almost got it all.

Can't wait for my beta.

Jul 27, 2012#89

Jay

Fuck ya!

1 day goal... 29 to go... maybe more shit gets added

Jul 27, 2012#90

strawman

That's what I've wanted mine craft to become as a next step. The material physics requiring some amount of engineering, and the addition of automatons you can command are going to take it to a whole new level.

Jul 27, 2012#91

AshburnerX

Almost? It DOES have it all. Somebody pimped this somewhere big or is/knows somebody big in the industry. They were already going to succeed.

The Ice-Pick Lodge guys? They actually need help. They do stuff for the art and it's never the easily accessible kind. Yet I'd still say they've done amazing things with both The Void and Pathologic, whatever issues the end games had.

Jul 30, 2012#92

Overflight

Cargo is definitely a...thing...

http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-cargo-the-quest-for-gravity/17-4065/

Jul 30, 2012#93

Frank

It's weird, I find it strange that I only just heard about this:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/badplanet/bad-planet?ref=category

You'd think it would have had much more exposure. It seems like a solid concept. But right now this is totally doomed to fail.

Jul 30, 2012#94

tegid

Jay said:
Fuck that..

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/902505202/castle-story?ref=category

First day... almost got it all.

Can't wait for my beta.

Shit, I want that, but I only want it if I don't need to get into my gaming pc and load windows instead of linux. Why won't Unity work on Linuuux

Jul 31, 2012#95

Azurephoenix

Frank said:
It's weird, I find it strange that I only just heard about this:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/badplanet/bad-planet?ref=category

You'd think it would have had much more exposure. It seems like a solid concept. But right now this is totally doomed to fail.

This actually looks really promising...

Jul 31, 2012#96

AshburnerX

It's also never going to get funded. Seriously, Game Devs... if your not a pre-established name or friends with important/famous people, don't even THINK of doing a Triple A game with Kickstarter. Your just not going to get the money. Scale down. If you can't do it for less than 50 grand, you can't do it on Kickstarter.

Aug 7, 2012#97

Frank

This is the kind of shit I was talking about with the title of this thread.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...active-take-nancy-drew-games-mobile?ref=email

Wildly successful (for the genre and platform they choose, seriously, look up the sales numbers of these shitty Nancy Drew games) game publisher asks for a shit ton of money to port an already existing shitty Nancy Drew game to iOS and Droid. This is the fucking opposite of what Kickstarter should be used for in my opinion.

Aug 7, 2012#98

AshburnerX

Frank said:
This is the kind of shit I was talking about with the title of this thread.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...active-take-nancy-drew-games-mobile?ref=email

Wildly successful (for the genre and platform they choose, seriously, look up the sales numbers of these shitty Nancy Drew games) game publisher asks for a shit ton of money to port an already existing shitty Nancy Drew game to iOS and Droid. This is the fucking opposite of what Kickstarter should be used for in my opinion.

Yeah... and it'll probably crash and burn because of how much they are asking for. Who THE FUCK gives a shit about a Nancy Drew game? Not the kind of people willing to shell out for it.

These things will work themselves out when people realize your product needs to be somewhat compelling to draw in people.

Aug 7, 2012#99

Frank

My main gripe is they are a VERY successful publisher. There's no way they need a Kickstarter to fund this sort of thing. It'd be like EA starting a Kickstarter for the Wii port of Madden. Fucking ridiculous.

Give us a quarter million dollars to make the same game we already made.

Aug 9, 2012#100

tegid

Oh, in this case it's more obvious, but there are cases of smaller companies/projects/whatever that are pretty much the same. Here's how I see it: if you'd be able to get the money from regular investors or just invest in it yourself, then kickstarter is just a way to not share your benefits with would-have-been investors, or to just get pure benefit from dollar 1 instead of having to cover the investment first, in the second case.
Like that fukken 3-D virtual reality glasses thingy. They got super-big guys in there (Gabe Newell, John Carmack... come on), they could have easily gotten huge investments from companies or individuals.

Aug 9, 2012#101

AshburnerX

At the same time, it's also about getting investments from people who wouldn't have even been approached before, mainly because you didn't know they existed. Getting what are essentially pre-orders isn't wrong: The donator is taking the same risk they'd have taken ordering a triple A game, except they are getting input directly from the Devs as the game progresses. And hey... some people want more stuff. Putting down a hundred or more is kind of like ordering the deluxe edition of a game, except you get to choose what you get.

What you need to remember about investors is that they are investing to make money. If a guy gives you 100k, he's going to ask for a percentage of the profits, the rights to the franchise, or a million other little things that simply make it harder to create and later profit of your creation. If they only way you can finance your dream is to sell away your rights to it, what's the point? And really, that's the end game for publishers/investors: they want to own your franchise because they think it'll make a shitload of cash.

Kickstarter isn't just about financing the creation of games... it's also about giving artists the ability to retain the rights for their creations.

Aug 12, 2012#102

SpecialKO

This is pretty much why I never bought into this "this will shake up the publishers!" argument when Kickstarting video games became a big thing.

Why wouldn't a publisher not want to crowd-source funding in exchange for the game and some swag? That's a lot easier than answering to actual shareholders...

Aug 12, 2012#103

AshburnerX

Well that Nancy Drew game is barely at 6k a week in. It's NEVER going to hit 250K in a month at that rate.

Aug 14, 2012#104

Overflight

http://www.indiegogo.com/starshipcorp

While this looks ABSOLUTELY FRIGGIN AWESOME, I admit I am somewhat ambivalent in funding it since the creator wants to do a story mode based on friggin Atlas Shrugged if he reaches his third stretch goal. I guess you should give him money...but not TOO much.

[DOUBLEPOST=1344981320][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, I had forgotten about this:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1965800643/solforge-digital-trading-card-game

Looks pretty neat. Reminds me of Kard Combat for iOS which also had Richard Garfield's involvement.

Aug 16, 2012#105

Overflight

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...nihilation-a-next-generation-rts?ref=category

This has potential. Goal is MIGHTY steep but it has a good rhythm going on.

Aug 16, 2012#106

Frank

If that plays as rad as it looks, they could be really be behind something there.

I'm in for 15.

Aug 16, 2012#107

SpecialKO

That already looks less buggy than Supreme Commander! :awesome:

Aug 22, 2012#108

Overflight

Stretch goals announced:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../293648?ref=email&show_token=95c84c1426b53aab

$1,100,000 - Naval units and Water Planets
We are happy to announce that our first stretch goal is a set of naval units and extended support for water planets. One of the most popular questions we receive is whether or not naval warfare is going to be supported. We like naval warfare and want to have it in the game, but it’s going to be quite a bit of additional work. We want to not only support naval units but to do a great job at it. Likewise we want great support for water in the engine and the ability to create amazing planets that are largely water. First class support for naval means you will be able to have a combination of water and land planets as well as ice asteroids. Huge water only planets to play out all kinds of naval only scenarios will also be supported. Asteroid tsunamis FTW! Some of the water units we can expect include subs, amphibious units, floating buildings and of course battleships!
$1,300,000 - Gas Giants and Enhanced Orbital units
Many of you are excited about the idea of more planet types and more gameplay to take specific advantage of those planets. This stretch goal is to add gas giant planets (similar to saturn or jupiter) to the game and an expanded set of orbital units with unique gameplay. Gas giants have no land in the real world but we may allow some buildable areas on “high mountains” on these planets. Imagine massive fusion reactors sucking helium-3 right out of the atmosphere and giant orbital defense lasers. A more expanded set of orbital recon units, space platforms and other types of orbital units based on your ideas will be added as well.

Keep throwing money, everybody.

Aug 27, 2012#109

SpecialKO

You know what game I just remembered that I desperately wish someone would kickstarter a sequel/update to?

Afterlife.

It wasn't a great technical game, but it was such a blast to play, and I feel like after decades of simulationist play getting more and more refined, a modern version on Steam or iOS or something would be awesome.

Sep 14, 2012#110

Frank

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity

Obsidian's spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment they've been threatening to Kickstart is a go.

I gave them all my money.

I will regret it, but I just couldn't say no.

Sep 14, 2012#111

Azurephoenix

Frank said:
Obsidian's spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment they've been threatening to Kickstart is a go.

Damn it Frank! There is no way I can say no to this... I'll be contributing to this one as soon as I figure out how much I can afford.

Sep 14, 2012#112

Jay

Frank said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity

Obsidian's spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment they've been threatening to Kickstart is a go.

I gave them all my money.

I will regret it, but I just couldn't say no.

GODDAMNIT

Sep 14, 2012#113

Ravenpoe

Frank said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity

Obsidian's spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment they've been threatening to Kickstart is a go.

I gave them all my money.

I will regret it, but I just couldn't say no.

Uggh, I think I blacked out after reading that. I don't know what happened, I... Oh, I've got an email from Kickstarter... Thank you for blah blah... I PLEDGED HOW MUCH?

Sep 14, 2012#114

Jay

And.... backed.

Sep 14, 2012#115

Azurephoenix

Backed... hot damn the potential of this excites me!

Sep 14, 2012#116

Azurephoenix

Eternity is almost half funded already in it's first day. Goal of 1.1 million... already past $450,000. Crazy.

Sep 14, 2012#117

AshburnerX

I'm starting to wonder how this Kickstarter craze is going to affect marketing. Gamers are consistently proving that there ARE markets for games and genres that most studios had written off, so it would seem that the marketing research that the companies have been doing is completely flawed at it's core. Are they going to change tactics? If so, how?

Sep 14, 2012#118

Gilgamesh

Nah, as long as the triple A titles are still sold at $60 a pop in Wal-Marts/Gamestops at high numbers to the idiot mass public there will be no change.

Kickstarter is still majorly unknown to the -Here Comes Honey Boo Boo- public and they'll still shell out top dollar for the newest Mario etc.

Sep 14, 2012#119

Azurephoenix

Most studios don't care about producing a top quality game that may sell well but not SUPER well. They seem to be hellbent on diluting gaming to the idiot masses so they can sell staggering volumes of crap and reap the profits. As long as they can continue to do so... nothing will change.

I'm glad kickstarter provides an avenue for these types of games now. Hell, I haven't bought a big title game since the abomination of ME3 let me down so hard... but I've sponsored 5 games on kickstarter.

Sep 14, 2012#120

Frank

So, Obsidian had been counting down to this for a few days, and it had the logo with the number 4 in it. Everyone was afraid it was going to be a Dungeon Siege 4.

On the positive side, it wasn't!

Sep 15, 2012#121

Jay

And.... funded.

Oct 11, 2012#122

Piotyr

So....this looks interesting...

Oct 11, 2012#123

Jay

First Print Screen of Project Eternity...

Oct 11, 2012#124

Frank

Looks like shit, depledging.

Oct 12, 2012#125

Jay

Whatever.

Oct 12, 2012#126

SpecialKO

Man, the second season of Chappelle Show was so fucking boss...

Oct 16, 2012#127

Frank

So, the Obsidian KS just ended. Got the email reminding me how much I pledged.

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I shouldn't do that anymore.

Oct 16, 2012#128

Jay

I look forward to that game.

Keep us updated on new and exciting projects.

Oct 17, 2012#129

Ravenpoe

Frank said:
So, the Obsidian KS just ended. Got the email reminding me how much I pledged.

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I shouldn't do that anymore.

You and me both, Frank. You and me both.

Oct 17, 2012#130

Terrik

I just picked up Chivalry: Medieval combat on steam--yet another kickstarter funded game. I saw some good things about it so I'll give it a shot tonight. Hopefully my internet connection doesnt totally throttle me.

Oct 17, 2012#131

Jay

Looks nice but is it just mindless hack and slash dm with some side objectives?

Oct 17, 2012#132

Terrik

Jay said:
Looks nice but is it just mindless hack and slash dm with some side objectives?

I went ahead and played it for a good 5 hours last night.

The melee combat is a bit more involved. Blocks have to be timed (and aimed well). Melee strikes are varied. You have three basic swings--slash, overhead (more damage), and thrust (more range). You can combo your melee strike by attacking again during your swing. You trick enemies into blocking early by canceling your attack in mid-swing, and then smashing their face before they're ready. You can also kick or, if you're using a buckler/kite shield/tower shield. shield bash breaking their block and leaving them open, or knocking them, off a wall or into spikes. The game also utilizes a stamina system.

Classes are also quite distinct between Archer/Man at arms/Vanguard/Knight. I like the variety of weapons you can choose. All classes use different weapons. For example, I was playing at the Archer for quite a bit last night. For a primary weapon, I could choose between a bow, a crossbow, or a javelin ( which can also double as a melee weapon). For a secondary weapon I could choose a Dagger or short sword, and depending on my primary weapon, I could choose a special weapon. Each class has it's on perk as well. Archers can more damage for hitting in the back. Man at arms can do a quick doge by double tapping A/S/D/W, Vanguards can do a running charge and Knights soak up a ridiculous amount of damage. I unlocked the maul on the knight last night and I could almost feel the weight.

As far as matches go, I've played a couple matches and the objectives go in phases. There is usually a defending team and an attacking team. For example on one map, the attacking team has to attack a village and kill 40 peasants (burning down their house apparently counts as 2 peasants). Then you need to move a battering ram to the castle door (which is moved much like you move the bomb in TF2). Then you have to man the ram into order to bust down the door to win. Each phase has a certain time limit to complete.

All in all, I had a really good time playing it, though Id have to play it again over the next few days to make sure the fun sticks, so to speak. But I'll tell you what, there's nothing like seeing a vanguard with a poleaxe charging your ass while you frantically try to reload your crossbow only to see your head fly off. Because that surely didn't happen to me multiple times.

Oct 18, 2012#133

Gilgamesh

So very rare that I donate to a kickstarter: This one got me.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1102507263/timber-and-stone?ref=recently_launched

Oct 18, 2012#134

Far

Looks a lot like Castle Story but maybe a bit more advanced. I've been playing the prototype for Castle Story and it's super interesting but, understandably, buggy as hell. This looks to be running better, however, so did Castle Story in it's preview vids.

Oct 18, 2012#135

Jay

Gilgamesh said:
So very rare that I donate to a kickstarter: This one got me.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1102507263/timber-and-stone?ref=recently_launched

Oct 18, 2012#136

Far

Also, the controls for Castle Story right now are fucking abysmal. They aren't too bad once you get the hang of it but having to hold space+wasd or left click drag to move the camera, hold space+right click drag to rotate seems unnecesary. The UI looks better in timber and stone so far as well.

Oct 18, 2012#137

Ravenpoe

Far said:
Also, the controls for Castle Story right now are fucking abysmal. They aren't too bad once you get the hang of it but having to hold space+wasd or left click drag to move the camera, hold space+right click drag to rotate seems unnecesary. The UI looks better in timber and stone so far as well.

I've also been playing the castle story prototype. I hope that the devs will listen to all of the feedback they're getting from this, and adjust the controls accordingly.

Oct 18, 2012#138

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe said:
I've also been playing the castle story prototype. I hope that the devs will listen to all of the feedback they're getting from this, and adjust the controls accordingly.

Apparently Jay hopes the devs don't listen to anyone.

Oct 19, 2012#139

Piotyr

Quest for Glory game designers Corey and Lori Cole are kickstarting a new adventure/RPG game. Still yet to be approved by KS, but I'm a huuuuuge QFG fan, and I'm excited about it.

Oct 22, 2012#140

Jay

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/betadwarf/forced

Oct 26, 2012#141

Jay

Timber & Stone funded.

Oct 26, 2012#142

Gilgamesh

Really looking forward to it.

Nov 12, 2012#143

Jay

Impressions?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473965863/sui-generis?ref=live

Nov 23, 2012#144

Jay

Guess it won't make it.

I did support the following games :

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1499900830/sir-you-are-being-hunted
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1317934609/forsaken-fortress

I expect these games to be pretty damn excellent.

Nov 24, 2012#145

AshburnerX

100 grand? From a Kickstarter? In less than a month? Not gonna happen.

I'm still pissed that Haunts is seemingly stuck in limbo.

Nov 24, 2012#146

Jay

It'll happen.

It has to.

Nov 24, 2012#147

AshburnerX

Looks like someone wants to make a sequel to The Ship. I'd like to see it happen but £128,000 seems like a long shot.

Nov 26, 2012#148

Jay

Another project I'm supporting.... FORCED.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/betadwarf/forced
http://www.twitch.tv/streamlicious/b/342320582

95% supported.... so close...

Nov 27, 2012#149

Jay

WOOHOO! Made it.

My next project... SUI GENESIS

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473965863/sui-generis?ref=category

Grand Theft Auto meets Morrowind in an original open world RPG.

10$ people!!!! Support it!!

Nov 29, 2012#150

AshburnerX

Pathfidner guys want to make a Pathfinder MMO.

Nov 29, 2012#151

Frank

I love Pathfinder.

Love it.

I will not be pledging shit for that. I hope it fails and they close up shop on that nonsense before it drags Paizo down into financial ruin.

Nov 29, 2012#152

Jay

Jay said:
My next project... SUI GENESIS

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473965863/sui-generis?ref=category

Funded......

FUCK YEA

Dec 20, 2012#153

Jay

AshburnerX said:
100 grand? From a Kickstarter? In less than a month? Not gonna happen.

WRONG AGAIN MOTHERFUCKER

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1317934609/forsaken-fortress

Dec 20, 2012#154

AshburnerX

Wow... nicely done. I've been underestimating Kickstarts all month. First the Duane and BrandO one (which got more than -10 grand- during their all day telethon) and this one. But you know what? It's okay to be wrong about something when it means something awesome happens instead!

Looks like the Pathfinder one is almost half way too with 29 days left.

Dec 20, 2012#155

Jay

now looking for new projects to fund

but fuck that molyneux guy tho, bastard shouldnt be on this thing

Jan 11, 2013#156

Hylian

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld

An Open Source Gaming Console Built by Gamers for Gamers...

Open Source Software Is Awesome
We here at Game Consoles Worldwide believe that a company should not just capitalize and consumers should be allowed to do more than consume. Too many devices today are walled gardens, designed solely for consumption. Not ours! The GCW Zero gives you full control of your handheld. Install any application you want to run, change the operating system in any way you want. We won't fight you; in fact we'll encourage you.
Because the Zero runs Linux, a huge library of excellent, free, open source software can run on it. Our core development team is hard at work porting popular applications to provide a strong launch day lineup and we're sure many more will follow from us and from our community.

Specifications
CPU: Ingenic JZ4770 1 GHz MIPS processor
GPU: Vivante GC860, capable of OpenGL ES 2.0
Display: 3.5 inch LCD with 320x240 pixels; 4:3 aspect ratio is ideal for retro gaming
Memory: 256 MB DDR2
Internal storage: 8 GB, most of which is available for applications and data
External storage: micro SDHC up to 32 GB or micro SDXC of 64 GB (SDXC cards must be reformatted before use)
Mini USB 2.0 OTG
Mini HDMI 1.3 out
3.5 mm (mini jack) A/V port for earphone and analog TV-out
Stereo speakers, mono microphone
Accelerometer (g-sensor) and vibration motors
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz, can connect to access point or direct device-to-device
Dimensions: 143 * 70 * 18 mm
Weight: 8 oz / 225 g
Battery: 2800 mAh

Jan 11, 2013#157

strawman

Hylian said:
Display: 3.5 inch LCD with 320x240 pixels; 4:3 aspect ratio is ideal for retro gaming

Seriously? That's a horrible design decision! It's 1/4 the resolution of old TV sets. And they're selling it for $135 as the early adopter price?

No wonder it's failing. It's not even raised 20% of its goal and it's halfway through its funding phase.

You can get 720P HD screens from asia for cheap. They really should have put one in, even if it raised the cost of the device by $10.

Might as well add multitouch input as well.

Either way, too high a cost for too little hardware. I suppose they think that people want an open source gameboy, but all the previous ones failed in the marketplace, and they aren't doing anything revolutionary here.

If they had gone with Android they would have gotten more interest, due to the existing huge library of android games.

Jan 11, 2013#158

Hylian

stienman said:
Seriously? That's a horrible design decision! It's 1/4 the resolution of old TV sets. And they're selling it for $135 as the early adopter price?

No wonder it's failing. It's not even raised 20% of its goal and it's halfway through its funding phase.

You can get 720P HD screens from asia for cheap. They really should have put one in, even if it raised the cost of the device by $10.

Might as well add multitouch input as well.

Either way, too high a cost for too little hardware. I suppose they think that people want an open source gameboy, but all the previous ones failed in the marketplace, and they aren't doing anything revolutionary here.

If they had gone with Android they would have gotten more interest, due to the existing huge library of android games.

While I will give you that the specs could be nicer and the price seems a little high. But compared to the other open source handhelds on the market the specs are not that bad. I must admit I would have probably preferred if it was running android but from the videos I have seen on YouTube it looks like it will perform quite nicely. I still am backing it because I want to back open source systems with indie developers. Now I must admit that one of my reasons for backing it will be to have a nice handheld that can emulate most any classic game system I can throw at it. Now granted my phone and tablet can play those as well but they also have their battery life drain a lot faster as well when I do so. Plus not having to sync a Bluetooth controller to the system is nice.

Jan 11, 2013#159

Jay

I'm 50/50 on that.

Jan 11, 2013#160

Ravenpoe

You could buy a used Android smartphone for cheaper, root it, and have a better open source platform than what they're offering, with better specs to boot.

Jan 11, 2013#161

Frank

Yeah, that thing's more dead in the water than the poor Vita.

Jan 11, 2013#162

Hailey Knight

Frank said:
Yeah, that thing's more dead in the water than the poor Vita.

But... Persona 4 Golden.

Jan 11, 2013#163

Frank

One game does not a successful handheld make.

Jan 12, 2013#164

AshburnerX

It's going to bomb hard unless they can get Monster Hunter back from the 3DS and onto the Vita. Monster Hunter basically carried the PSP for years.

Jan 12, 2013#165

Hailey Knight

AshburnerX said:
It's going to bomb hard unless they can get Monster Hunter back from the 3DS and onto the Vita. Monster Hunter basically carried the PSP for years.

I've never played a Monster Hunter game before, but I admit the 3DS one coming out soon looks pretty nice.

Jan 12, 2013#166

AshburnerX

Quotemander Prime said:
I've never played a Monster Hunter game before, but I admit the 3DS one coming out soon looks pretty nice.

Perhaps I should reiterate: Monster Hunter carried the PSP for years in Japan. Outside of Japan, we only got like 1-2 of the games. Most of the Western fans would import it, set up an ad-hock wi-fi spot, then play on the Japanese servers.

Really, Sony has shown a shocking inability to work the PSP and Vita. A lot of people are clamoring for certain titles but we never hear a detail about a potential release. The system's bombing because the Western titles are awful and the ones that are actually good never see release outside of Japan. It's bewildering.

Jan 12, 2013#167

Ravenpoe

If the vita bombs (and it probably will) Sony has only themselves to blame. I have one, and it's an amazing little machine. The ease of online connectivity, the wealth if classic Sony games on the online market, the power of the handheld itself, it is a piece of hardware that gamers should want and love, but somehow they are failing to both take advantage of those strengths, and properly market them.

Jan 12, 2013#168

Hailey Knight

Nintendo was failing in the same way for the 3DS at first. They've started to get their act together lately. Sony probably needs some time to do the same. Vita's only been out a few months.

Jan 12, 2013#169

strawman

I think there's a fundamental disconnect for the vita though.

What market wants console quality games in a portable system for console prices?

This is where smart phones are killing - short bus rides, waiting for a class or meeting, killing time in a doctor's office. The games are short style games that don't require an hour of intense concentration.

Gamers that want console quality games and are willing to to pay $60 a pop don't want to play them on a tiny screen unless they have no choice.

The vita is probably successful in the japanese market, but I don't think it has a strong niche here. It's a great machine, and if it only cost $180, it would probably be successful because you get console quality at a reduced price. But selling it for the same cost as a console doesn't make much sense here.

Jan 12, 2013#170

SpecialKO

There's also a clear lack of killer must-get-a-Vita-to-play titles. Uncharted and AC are great, IMO, but I wouldn't rec them to someone who didn't already love both series and I wouldn't rec anyone getting a Vita just to play them.

All of their other good titles in the West are all ports with no real benefit to the Vita besides the "keep playing on the go" thing which is pretty much murdered by having to buy the game at full price twice.

All that's left is stuff like P4 and the Tales games, and not only are those games ports of older games, but the audiences for those in the US is really small.

Jan 12, 2013#171

strawman

That's true. If the vita had two or three must-have games that simply didn't exist anywhere else, gamers might latch onto it.

That's true for most new consoles as well.

Jan 12, 2013#172

AshburnerX

The price tag for games isn't too bad. It's the same as Nintendo's and they are doing pretty well. It's really just the price of the system and the lack of quality games.

Jan 12, 2013#173

Gilgamesh

3DS survives because they release Nintendo First Party games on it. Sony has nothing that has that kind of draw for the mass public. Even Uncharted can't hold a candle to a Mario game.

Jan 15, 2013#174

Hylian

The GCW Zero open source handheld I mentioned earlier has announced that due to concerns people have issued they are upgrading the specs a bit. The system will now have 512MB of RAM instead of 256MB. They are also increasing the internal storage from 8GB to 16GB.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld

After some serious debate in the comments section here on our Kick Starter page and other forums, we have decided to upgrade the RAM from 256MB to 512MB.
We have also decided to upgrade the internal storage capacity from 8GB to 16GB on the console.
We think both of these upgrades will provide more value for the money you are pledging to get this great gaming console we call The GCW-Zero.

Jan 15, 2013#175

strawman

http://dx.com/p/yinlips-g17-4-3-lcd...console-w-tf-mini-usb-hdmi-white-512mb-179486

http://dx.com/p/5-0-resistive-touch...sole-w-wi-fi-dual-camera-tf-hdmi-black-164613

I dunno. It seems like they are aiming far below the bar for these types of systems. They could just repackage one of the above, build a dev kit and gamer community around it, and still make a lot of money on a system with far superior specifications to what they're currently offering.

I applaud what they're trying to do - be the ouyo of handheld systems - but they simply aren't rising to the occasion.

Jan 15, 2013#176

Hylian

I think they are going for a small niche and they are doing a fairly good job at it. They are trying to make a small handheld that will be capable of emulating classic games (granted mostly from the 16 bit and back era) plus homebrew games. They could have gone with a touch screen capable device that was running Android but most of the open source android systems that come out are a bit spotty and the build quality tends to be rather poor. The system is basically a spiritual successor to the Dingoo A320 which has a decent following for both homebrew games and emulation. Of course the specs are ramped up a bit seeing as the Dingoo A320 came out awhile ago. Some options would have been nice though (second analog stick,larger screen,etc) but those all would have impacted the cost and battery life of the device. They definitely don't want a repeat of the Pandora system that has excellent specs and battery life but ended up costing around $600. So I think for the market they are aiming for this will be a nice device and if it takes off they can try to branch out more with the next system if needed.

Jan 15, 2013#177

SpecialKO

Hylian said:
I think they are going for a small niche and they are doing a fairly good job at it. They are trying to make a small handheld that will be capable of emulating classic games (granted mostly from the 16 bit and back era) plus homebrew games. They could have gone with a touch screen capable device that was running Android but most of the open source android systems that come out are a bit spotty and the build quality tends to be rather poor. The system is basically a spiritual successor to the Dingoo A320 which has a decent following for both homebrew games and emulation. Of course the specs are ramped up a bit seeing as the Dingoo A320 came out awhile ago. Some options would have been nice though (second analog stick,larger screen,etc) but those all would have impacted the cost and battery life of the device. They definitely don't want a repeat of the Pandora system that has excellent specs and battery life but ended up costing around $600. So I think for the market they are aiming for this will be a nice device and if it takes off they can try to branch out more with the next system if needed.

That's all very well, but the primary point stands - spec-wise, it's quite low end, even compared to those taiwanese knockoff systems that do the same thing. Right now, they're essentially asking people to pay double over those knockoffs, and there's no reason to believe (so far), that the gaming experience will be any better. The Ouya is at least claiming decent play quality for a low, low, price.

Jan 15, 2013#178

Hylian

Now granted I don't have a unit so I have no clue how it actually plays but there are about 40 units that have been sent out already for developers and so far they are all enjoying it. I personally think the price seems a little higher compared to some of the Chinese/Taiwanese systems running Android but as I mentioned most of the reviews for those aren't overly positive. Now since the system isn't out yet I can't say for certain it is better but from what I have been reading it seems like it will be better for the most part. As I said they are aiming for a small group of people and those who it is aimed for should be fairly happy with the system. Now people who are wanting more power to play more graphically powerful systems would probably be better off else buying another system. The Dingoo A320 (which as I stated earlier this is a spiritual successor) originally retailed for around $80 - $90 so given the increase in secs I don't think the price is that large of a jump. (still a little high I suppose but not by that much)

Jan 15, 2013#179

strawman

The ouya is a funny machine. It's cheap, it doesn't have great specs, but what it does have is an existing catalog of hundreds of thousands of android games that are easily converted, and a profit structure for developers.

This little handheld has existing games, most of which are going to be pirated (despite the "you must have legal rights to the roms you play) and some of which are existing linux games that, while fun for awhile, are not exactly AAA industry titles.

Further, it has no profit structure for developers. There's no "money in the bank" so why should game developers even consider this system?

And on top of all that it has very low hardware specs. Either they are making it wrong, or they have set their profit margin way too high.

If it had fantastic specs (real value for the money) then people would buy it.

If it had a catalog of existing great games that were playable or easily ported, people would buy it.

If it had a strong profit structure for game developers then people would buy it.

Right now it has none of those three pillars.

All it has is, "Look! It's a retro console with real buttons and joystick!"

It has a very small market. Good luck to them - other similar consoles like the GP32 had a good run, and have a dedicated community. If they are successful, they might branch out and fix at least one of those three aspects above.

But they should have gone into kickstarter with a stronger case. Even a strong hint at one of those three being on the future plans list would have gone a long way to capturing more interest. If they said, "We will port android to it" they would have reached their goal right at the beginning.

With only 13 days left, currently falling so short of their goal, and already having been listed in so many publications, I suspect that it's simply not going to make it. They haven't sold enough people on their vision for the console.

Jan 15, 2013#180

Hylian

I agree that they should have gone into the Kickstarter with more info regarding their plans for the future. But they do have some people already porting games over

Also a lot of the games that the fan community has created for the Dingoo A320 should be fairly easy to port over to the GCW-Zero,. So that should give it a decent selection of homebrew games that could be available relatively soon after the system launches.

Feb 10, 2013#181

Reverent-one

So, since I haven't seen anything for it yet, Dreamfall: Chapters, the next sequel to The Longest Journey, has a kickstarter now. With an AMA going on today at 2 pm EST.

Mar 6, 2013#182

Jay

Torment is on Kickstarter... I didn't even both to wait to finish the video before I funded it.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/torment-tides-of-numenera

Mar 6, 2013#183

Azurephoenix

Jay said:
Torment is on Kickstarter... I didn't even both to wait to finish the video before I funded it.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/torment-tides-of-numenera

I must fund this...

Mar 6, 2013#184

Ravenpoe

Jay said:
Torment is on Kickstarter... I didn't even both to wait to finish the video before I funded it.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/torment-tides-of-numenera

Oh god... How much did I just pledge? I need that money!

Mar 6, 2013#185

Frank

No Chris Avellone though....

That's like having someone who isn't Tarantino make Kill Bill 2 after the first movie was made.

Mar 6, 2013#186

Jay

Torment funded in 6 hours.

Mar 6, 2013#187

Frank

You know why Planescape Torment is considered the best written game ever made? Because Chris Avellone wrote it. He also wrote pretty well every other video game that's ever been considered to have great writing. That Kickstarter is selling on the name Torment itself, it could turn out great, but it is missing a fucking key ingredient to what made the original so fantastic.

Mar 6, 2013#188

Azurephoenix

Frank said:
You know why Planescape Torment is considered the best written game ever made? Because Chris Avellone wrote it. He also wrote pretty well every other video game that's ever been considered to have great writing. That Kickstarter is selling on the name Torment itself, it could turn out great, but it is missing a fucking key ingredient to what made the original so fantastic.

What are the chances it will turn out better than the ME3 ending?

Mar 6, 2013#189

Frank

That's setting such a high bar though.[DOUBLEPOST=1362603902][/DOUBLEPOST]HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH, the video sold me though, I pledged.

Mar 6, 2013#190

AshburnerX

Frank said:
You know why Planescape Torment is considered the best written game ever made? Because Chris Avellone wrote it. He also wrote pretty well every other video game that's ever been considered to have great writing. That Kickstarter is selling on the name Torment itself, it could turn out great, but it is missing a fucking key ingredient to what made the original so fantastic.

Chris Avellone sold off on the game, and he'd be involved if he wasn't busy with Wasteland 2 and Project Eternity. He even did a video explaining why he's confident they can do this.

Basically, it has many others who were key members of the original game, as well as Monte Cook, who's basically the Chris Avellone of the pen and paper market. There is no reason to be concerned.

Mar 6, 2013#191

Frank

Monte Cook is one of the best tabletop game designers in existence, but his writing isn't the best.

I saw the video, but it's still going to be a huge niggle.

Mar 6, 2013#192

SpecialKO

Frank said:
Monte Cook is one of the best tabletop game designers in existence, but his writing isn't the best.

I saw the video, but it's still going to be a huge niggle.

Which is why I'm glad it's for 20/25 bucks.

Mar 7, 2013#193

Hailey Knight

Jay said:
Torment is on Kickstarter... I didn't even both to wait to finish the video before I funded it.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/torment-tides-of-numenera

Damn, it's over two million with 28 days to go. That's incredible.

Mar 8, 2013#194

Frank

The stretch goals are beyond lame.

Pick your gender for 200,000 dollars!

For 500,000 dollars, the story gets better!

Mar 8, 2013#195

Jay

For 100,000 dollars, Frank will respect gaming appointments!

Mar 8, 2013#196

Frank

Jay said:
For 100,000 dollars, Frank will respect gaming appointments!

Sorry, I haven't had time for any gaming lately. Just reading news from my phone while I wait.

Mar 22, 2013#197

Frank

Good.

Mar 22, 2013#198

Jay

Chris Avellone how I love thee.

Mar 22, 2013#199

Ravenpoe

Jay said:
Chris Avellone how I love thee.

He should be a stretch goal on every kickstarter.

Mar 22, 2013#200

Jay

George Ziets, Patrick Rothfuss, Brian Mitsoda, Chris Avellone and Mark Morgan...

This is like a fucking RPG Dream Team

Mar 22, 2013#201

Frank

Yes, it is shaping up nicely.

Mar 22, 2013#202

Bowielee

Not to piss on your parade, but they need to raise at least 3.5 million before he is on board.

Mar 22, 2013#203

Jay

It'll be done by Thursday.

Mar 22, 2013#204

AshburnerX

Yeah, I could see it happening. They have 2 weeks and they could always lower it if they really wanted to. Chris will probably be on board.

Mar 25, 2013#205

Far

So not video games but gaming related, Dwarven Forge launched a Kickstarter today that has already hit funding and is moving on into stretch goals now.

Mar 25, 2013#206

strawman

Far said:
So not video games but gaming related, Dwarven Forge launched a Kickstarter today that has already hit funding and is moving on into stretch goals now.

Time to break out the 3D printer...

Mar 25, 2013#207

Frank

Man, it is not the right time for me to be sinking more dumb money into awesome nerd shit.

Mar 25, 2013#208

strawman

s/dumb/awesome

:awesome:

Mar 25, 2013#209

Frank

Either way is acceptable for this situation.

Mar 25, 2013#210

Azurephoenix

Frank said:
Man, it is not the right time for me to be sinking more dumb money into awesome nerd shit.

I want to buy around 10 sets but Mr. Bank account might have something to say about that.

Mar 25, 2013#211

Frank

Azurephoenix said:
I want to buy around 10 sets but Mr. Bank account might have something to say about that.

Me too sir. It would be incredible to go with my soon to be glut of Reaper miniatures.

Mar 25, 2013#212

strawman

Makes me think of legos. When I saw you could barely get two rooms for $65 I couldn't help but think that it'd would always be too few. Granted, the game rules can make a two room game interesting (assuming it's a good game) but I'd always wonder what it would be like to have had $500 to spend willy nilly on a game.

Mar 25, 2013#213

Frank

I think you may have traded that luxury for a billion trillion children.

stienman said:
but I'd always wonder what it would be like to have had $500 to spend willy nilly on a game.

Mar 25, 2013#214

Ravenpoe

Frank said:
I think you may have traded that luxury for a billion trillion children.

Certainly you can build -something- out of kids.

Mar 25, 2013#215

AshburnerX

Why not just make your own with foam and paint? Or resin cast your own pieces? Both would be much cheaper than this. These look awesome but they cost WAY too much.

Mar 25, 2013#216

Azurephoenix

Frank said:
Me too sir. It would be incredible to go with my soon to be glut of Reaper miniatures.

If you lived closer we could split a ten pack and pile all of our Reaper miniatures in the dungeon (I was in on the Reaper kickstarter too).

Epic!

Mar 25, 2013#217

Frank

AshburnerX said:
Why not just make your own with foam and paint? Or resin cast your own pieces? Both would be much cheaper than this. These look awesome but they cost WAY too much.

High end niche products are expensive.

Mar 25, 2013#218

Far

AshburnerX said:
Why not just make your own with foam and paint? Or resin cast your own pieces? Both would be much cheaper than this. These look awesome but they cost WAY too much.

The time that would take is worth the cost for me.

Mar 25, 2013#219

strawman

Ravenpoe said:
Certainly you can build -something- out of kids.

AN EMPIRE!

Apr 1, 2013#220

SpecialKO

It's more an experimental experience than a game, but a friend of mine is coming to the end of a Kickstarter to develop a sound-based interpretative game called SoundSelf.

For reference, this is the same guy who made Deep Sea and scared the crap out of people at E3, GDC, and Pax a couple years ago.

Support indie-development!

Apr 1, 2013#221

Frank

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight

It's called Shovel Knight. It looks fun.

Apr 2, 2013#222

Jay

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/13861848/camelot-unchained

DAOC redone.

GasBandit

Apr 2, 2013#223

GasBandit

Jay said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/13861848/camelot-unchained

DAOC redone.

GasBandit

Yeah, problem is, Marc Jacobs was only part of what made DAOC what it was... Matt Firor I'd say was even more important to it, and he's working on TES Online.

And frankly, I think that 3-way-RvR niche is already filled perfectly by Guild Wars 2, and with no subscription fee at that.

Apr 2, 2013#224

Jay

I agree to that somewhat.

Apr 3, 2013#225

Jay

Chris Avellone joins Design Team!

Apr 3, 2013#226

AshburnerX

Good to hear. Now I'm waiting for Shroud of the Avatar to hit 1.5 mill. If it does, Spoony of the Spoony Experiment gets to interview/roast/humiliate Richard Garriott again, as Garriott promises to do a video with him.

Considering how great Spoony's Ultima series was (Garriott LOVES it), this could only lead to great things.

Apr 3, 2013#227

Frank

Considering it's at 1.3, I don't think 3.5 million in 3 days is feasible.

Apr 3, 2013#228

AshburnerX

Oops, I meant 1.5. fixing it.

Apr 4, 2013#229

Bubble181

Hmm. The Reaper miniatures I'm still sad I was going back-and)forth so long that I finally missed out, that deal was beyond amazing.
These tiles though....First off, all stretch goals only for 2+ sets? Bah I say, bah! Also, they really aren't all that interesting price-wise. I'll keep an eye on it, maybe it'll become awesome with enough stretch goals to come (see: Reaper), but for now, I really can't justify that spending. Comparatively, these are way more expensive...Though the painted ones look good and the extra cost is on the low end.

Apr 4, 2013#230

Far

As it stands right now, with what I'm planning on backing, I'd get 159 pieces for roughly $1.07 per piece if I lived in the States. I don't and would have to pay the extra for shipping, bumping the total up to $1.70. I'm still on the fence as to whether I will actually back or not but I am leaning towards doing so.

I'm not saying it's going to be for everyone but when I was DM'ing awhile back, I put WAY too much time into making maps and dungeons look visually appealing and felt if I didn't, I was doing a disservice to the players. However, this took much more time than I'd like and ended up being one of the, many, reasons the campaign petered out. I feel like these would help ease that burden slightly.

It's definitely not as cost effective as the reaper minis, which I also backed, but, for me, I feel like they would be worth it. I wish there were small magnets embedded into the sides to make them stick into each other.

Apr 4, 2013#231

Frank

Frank said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight

It's called Shovel Knight. It looks fun.

Ok, super bad-ass, they just announced that Manami Matsumae, the original composer for Mega Man and other Capcom games, will be doing music for Shovel Knight.

That's rad. From what I've read of people who tried it at PAX, it's apparently super fun. All you folks who are stoked for a relatively lazy remake of Duck Tales should seriously give this a look.

Apr 5, 2013#232

Frank

So, the Torment Kickstarter

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/torment-tides-of-numenera

Is about to end only missing the final stretch goal (unfortunate, it sounded rad). It blew the estimated curve out of the water by about a quarter million dollars too. Good for them. The game better damn well be good.

Apr 5, 2013#233

AshburnerX

AshburnerX said:
Good to hear. Now I'm waiting for Shroud of the Avatar to hit 1.5 mill. If it does, Spoony of the Spoony Experiment gets to interview/roast/humiliate Richard Garriott again, as Garriott promises to do a video with him.

Considering how great Spoony's Ultima series was (Garriott LOVES it), this could only lead to great things.

... and it's hit over 1.5 (Kickstarter doesn't count the direct donations on the Shroud site). We're getting the roast!

Apr 12, 2013#234

Frank

My MO is retro style 2D games. Because I love them.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/discordgames/chasm

This looks pretty rad.

Apr 12, 2013#235

strawman

"Authentic pixel art" ?

Heaven forbid they should produce counterfeit pixel art...

Apr 12, 2013#236

Gilgamesh

stienman said:
"Authentic pixel art" ?

Heaven forbid they should produce counterfeit pixel art...

Authetic as in original 8-16-32bit style of creation.

Apr 13, 2013#237

Jay

Frank said:
My MO is retro style 2D games. Because I love them.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/discordgames/chasm

This looks pretty rad.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight?ref=category

Apr 13, 2013#238

Jay

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkseasgames/road-redemption?ref=category

ROAD RASH????????????????????????

Apr 13, 2013#239

Frank

Jay said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight?ref=category

I posted that and talked about it in this thread already.

Apr 13, 2013#240

CrimsonSoul

Jay said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkseasgames/road-redemption?ref=category

ROAD RASH????????????????????????

First time I've ever backed anything on kickstarter

Apr 13, 2013#241

Frank

AshburnerX said:
Ex-FASA employee's want to make a hardcore, turn based Shadowrun game. You know, like we've always wanted.

Funding is a little light on this one but it's still early in it's cycle.

So, these guys may be the first big Kickstarter cautionary tale videogame wise. There's been some major backlash over the devs complete neutering of the DRM free version of the game (what was promised) and some stretch goal features being cut from the game and being turned into DLC.

Apr 13, 2013#242

Gilgamesh

Jay said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkseasgames/road-redemption?ref=category

ROAD RASH????????????????????????

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Backed.

Apr 13, 2013#243

Hailey Knight

Frank said:
So, these guys may be the first big Kickstarter cautionary tale videogame wise. There's been some major backlash over the devs complete neutering of the DRM free version of the game (what was promised) and some stretch goal features being cut from the game and being turned into DLC.

It was bound to happen eventually. One of these groups was going to get to thinking they're more important than the others (or their paying backers).

Apr 13, 2013#244

Jay

Frank said:
So, these guys may be the first big Kickstarter cautionary tale videogame wise. There's been some major backlash over the devs complete neutering of the DRM free version of the game (what was promised) and some stretch goal features being cut from the game and being turned into DLC.

Can you elaborate?

Apr 13, 2013#245

Frank

This post on NeoGAF elaborates well.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=539736

Apr 13, 2013#246

strawman

Their latest update seems to address all the concerns.

Apr 13, 2013#247

Frank

It was incredibly shady and underhanded of them to tout the Kickstarter as DRM free! when they knew damn well that their deal with Microsoft was going to require DRM of some sort. The non-DRM version is so gimped you can't even download updates for it, you have to download the entire game again every time they update it.

They may have addressed the concerns, but they remain concerns.

Apr 13, 2013#248

strawman

i didn't realize they promised the game was going to have automatic or incremental updates. Probably because they didn't.

They are delivering on exactly what they promised. Some people are irritated that they aren't getting what they wanted, and instead are only getting what they promised.

Buyer beware...

Apr 13, 2013#249

Frank

So, lies of omission then.

Just as shady.

Apr 14, 2013#250

AshburnerX

It's a little shady, but they haven't LIED about anything.

That said, I'm kinda glad I didn't back that. Then again, I backed Haunts and I may not be even GETTING that one now.

Apr 14, 2013#251

GasBandit

I wish Carmageddon would hurry up.

Apr 17, 2013#252

SpecialKO

The only thing that I think is shady about the Shadowrun thing is not disclosing why post-Berlin DLC is Steam-only, and that only matters to my sense of fair disclosure.

Everything else doesn't really seem a big deal to me. Non-backers not getting Berlin included doesn't matter to me at all since they didn't back.

Apr 17, 2013#253

Reverent-one

SpecialKO said:
The only thing that I think is shady about the Shadowrun thing is not disclosing why post-Berlin DLC is Steam-only, and that only matters to my sense of fair disclosure.

It seems fairly clear to me, Microsoft won't let them.

We said that post-Berlin Campaign DLC would only be available on Steam but we never said why. We regret the omission. The reason is that our license to develop Shadowrun Returns actually requires that the game and its DLC be distributed under DRM. This didn’t come up earlier because the situation was complicated by the number of parties involved in the license and because the process was “ongoing”. Ultimately, we were able to successfully negotiate an exception with Microsoft for us to provide our Backers with a DRM-free version of the Kickstarter rewards (specifically the game and the Berlin Campaign) but that exception does not extend to non-reward DLC. So unfortunately, we cannot sell or give away DRM-free versions of the game or DLC on stores like GoG, and that’s why any future Shadowrun Returns DLC will only be available for purchase on Steam.

Apr 17, 2013#254

SpecialKO

Reverent-one said:
It seems fairly clear to me, Microsoft won't let them.

I mean they didn't disclose it before the Kickstarter ended. That clarification didn't come until Saturday, months after they had received the pledges, even though they're saying now that they knew this all along.

I'm not all RAAAAR about it, but that's at best a poor handling of the situation and misrepresenting what the ground rules are to backers.

Apr 17, 2013#255

Reverent-one

SpecialKO said:
I mean they didn't disclose it before the Kickstarter ended. That clarification didn't come until Saturday, months after they had received the pledges, even though they're saying now that they knew this all along.

Ah, I see, my apologies.

The thing about that concern is that I don't know if they knew this was going to be the case before the kickstarter ended. From the FAQ,

What type of account system/DRM can we expect?

While the details are still being worked out, we hate draconian DRM as much as the next guy. We expect there will be an account system but it would be primarily used to enable the social elements of the game like mission and character sharing--not to restrict access to the game itself.

This question was last updated April 23rd, 6 days before the kickstarter ended. My take on this matter is that while the kickstarter was running, negotiations about the license were not complete (given the "details are still being worked out" part of the FAQ question), but they were optimisitic about them. However, sometime between then and now, whenever the deal was finalized, reality proved to be less than their expectations, leading to the current "Post berlin dlc isn't DRM-free" status. This has caused issues for some people who thought their optimism was more concrete and backed them/increased their pledge based on the idea that everything would be DRM free always. I haven't seen anything to indicate to me that they intentionally misled anyone, merely that things that were in flux (and had been stated to be in flux) changed to non-optimal final conditions.

Apr 17, 2013#256

SpecialKO

Yes, but there's a big difference between "we expect an account system" and "we're still negotiating for the license with Microsoft and we can't say for sure at this time what restrictions they may add to distribution".

Apr 17, 2013#257

Reverent-one

True, it's clear they at least were not as explicit and detailed as they could have been, but that's something that can easily be done unintentionally. It's entirely possible that they were totally honest in their expectations, but their expectations merely turned out to be wrong. Short of other information, I'm not personally going to conlcude that they were intentionally dishonest though. Hopefully they, and other kickstarter groups, learn from this to be more pessimistic/speak in non-committal terms about anything heavily influcenced by outside factors. To my understanding they are refunding anyone who finds the current situation unacceptable, so no one who cares about the matter should be harmed in the long run (other than having some crushed hopes).

Apr 17, 2013#258

SpecialKO

Reverent-one said:
It's entirely possible that they were totally honest in their expectations, but their expectations merely turned out to be wrong.

That's absolutely possible, and probably what occurred. But the details here are important, because they set radically different expectations. I won't be affected, because I'm just going to use Steam anyways, but given the prominence of the "DRM-free!" talk on the original page, they really should have been much clearer.

Good to know they're honoring refunds though. That's the right thing to do.

Apr 19, 2013#259

ThatNickGuy

This one looks really neat. It's a horror game where you play the role...of a two-year old. I might pledge to this one, myself, soon enough.

Apr 19, 2013#260

Ravenpoe

ThatNickGuy said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/krillbite/among-the-sleep

This one looks really neat. It's a horror game where you play the role...of a two-year old. I might pledge to this one, myself, soon enough.

Where's the shit yourself and cry button? Not because you play a 2-year old, but because that's what every horror game I play needs.

Apr 23, 2013#261

Frank

It's basically becoming my MO to get behind these kinds of KSs.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1445624543/anne

Apr 25, 2013#262

Hylian

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rrpgt/robotech-rpg-tacticstm?ref=live

Prepare for invasion! Robotech® RPG Tactics™ is a fast paced strategy battle game that expands on the popular Palladium role playing game. Take command of the brave men and women of the United Earth Defense Force to valiantly defend Earth from annihilation. Or, command the alien armies of the Zentraedi Armada to recover an alien artifact of immense power and enslave humankind. Collect your forces from an expanding range of world class game pieces. Relive the massive battles on your tabletop at home to enhance your Robotech® RPG adventures or as a stand-alone game.

Apr 26, 2013#263

Andi

The Tale of Alltynex, a japanese doujin (indie) shoot em up trilogy is finally being localised.

Nyu Media, a small company based in england, has already brought a few doujin gems to the west.

They are bringing the Trilogy "Tale of Alltynex" to the west. They're trying to get greenlighted in Steam and even started a Kickstarter project.

The kickstarter was funded successfully in a day, so there will be definitely a digital download of the games. Now, the thing is... If a stretch goal of 28k $ is reached, there will be a physical copy of the games, including a 82 pages guide book and the soundtrack to all the games on disc...

So, please help this project to reach 28k and get some physical copies (and goodies) of the coolest doujin-stgs ever made!

Here's the KS-project:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nyumedia/the-tale-of-alltynex-japans-epic-shooting-game-tri

Maybe if one or two people who have way too much money on their hands could pledge in the 10'000 $ bracket... Now THAT would be quite a wondrous sight to behold.

Apr 26, 2013#264

Frank

Since you called it a shoot em up rather than a shmup, I will look at that Kickstarter.

Apr 26, 2013#265

Andi

Hehe, thanks Frank. I got the game "Alltynex Second" in it's japanese version, and it's really good. Astounding production values for an indie game that has been made by only 3 people.

I really hope for the 28k stretch goal to be reached: backers from 45$ upward will then receive a physical Limited Edition... It would be just lovely to get such a great piece of STG-gaming history in a physical form.

Apr 26, 2013#266

bhamv3

I missed our forum medic.

Apr 26, 2013#267

Andi

I hope nobody died because of my absence.

Apr 26, 2013#268

ThatNickGuy

Andi said:
I hope nobody died because of my absence.

I did. Twice. Jerk.

Apr 26, 2013#269

Tress

ThatNickGuy said:
I did. Twice. Jerk.

Those were just healing comas.

Apr 26, 2013#270

Andi

Well put.

May 1, 2013#271

Jay

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1590639245/stonehearth

May 1, 2013#272

GasBandit

Jay said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1590639245/stonehearth

View attachment 10787

Why is it affecting faux-minecraft/Ace of Spades graphics when it isn't actually voxel based?

May 1, 2013#273

drifter

The dev blog says it's voxel-based.

May 1, 2013#274

GasBandit

drifter said:
The dev blog says it's voxel-based.

Then the dev blog contradicts the FAQ area where it describes custom home design as being done via entire walls at a time.

May 1, 2013#275

drifter

Does that preclude it from being voxel-based, though?

May 1, 2013#276

GasBandit

drifter said:
Does that preclude it from being voxel-based, though?

Voxels would be an extremely inefficient paradigm to use in such a situation, when such a dynamic could be done with polygons for much less computing power. The point of a voxel based sandbox is the ability to work block by block. If that's not enabled, it makes it... well... pointless to have voxels.

May 1, 2013#277

strawman

Someone's picking nits...

May 1, 2013#278

figmentPez

GasBandit said:
If that's not enabled

That should be your question. Just because there are easy build options doesn't preclude there being more advanced, block-by-block building options as well.

May 1, 2013#279

Jay

I'd like to see more gameplay footage IMO.

May 13, 2013#280

Gilgamesh

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cardinal-quest-2?website_name=cardinalquest2

Not exactly a high end game, but it speaks to my old school simplistic gamer. It's not exactly kickstarter but the demo was enough to make me fund it ($8? I spend more than that on a combo at a fastfood joint). Really fun little time waster.

May 14, 2013#281

Far

I backed Hex for more money than I'm comfortable disclosing.

May 14, 2013#282

Vrii

That...is very tempting.

May 15, 2013#283

CrimsonSoul

I need to watch the video. If it's anything like sanctum I'm in because that game was awesome.

May 15, 2013#284

Far

May 15, 2013#285

Vrii

I just watched that - it looks a lot like M:tG, which may or may not be a plus. Going to watch this for a bit before deciding whether to back it.

May 15, 2013#286

CrimsonSoul

Am I the only one that's played sanctum?

May 15, 2013#287

Far

Vrii said:
I just watched that - it looks a lot like M:tG, which may or may not be a plus. Going to watch this for a bit before deciding whether to back it.

It does seem very similar to Magic. My biggest issue with tcg's though is that I can never find anyone around to actually play the game. This should help with that, and the purely digital medium allows for some interesting concepts.

And no CrimsonSoul , I've never played Sanctum.

May 15, 2013#288

GasBandit

PA weighs in on online CCGs:

May 15, 2013#289

Vrii

Far said:
It does seem very similar to Magic. My biggest issue with tcg's though is that I can never find anyone around to actually play the game. This should help with that, and the purely digital medium allows for some interesting concepts..

I'm looking at it as someone who plays Magic Online and drafts pretty consistently there - if the value is better and it's comparably fun, I'll get in on this. If it turns into a mediocre clone of the game that's using MMO elements as a crutch, I'll end up passing. It's intriguing either way though.

May 15, 2013#290

Far

GasBandit said:
PA weighs in on online CCGs:

Oddly, they are from where I heard of Hex. I think it was the news post and comic before this one.

May 15, 2013#291

Dei

CrimsonSoul said:
Am I the only one that's played sanctum?

I played Sanctum, but got bored with it after a few days.

May 23, 2013#292

Hailey Knight

Eternal Darkness needs sequel funding

Pardon me while I drool. This needs backing.

May 23, 2013#293

Jay

Did you back it?

May 23, 2013#294

Frank

Quotemander Prime said:
Eternal Darkness needs sequel funding

Pardon me while I drool. This needs backing.

Dennis Dyack needs means of defrauding more money.

May 24, 2013#295

AshburnerX

Frank said:
Dennis Dyack needs means of defrauding more money.

This is basically the entire issue. The guy in charge is a total scumbag, unwilling to admit his felonious activities, even after a court made them public record. Not only did he steal assets from Epic Games (after he accused them of withholding Unreal Engine updates and files), he diverted money and resources away from X-Men: Destiny to make something for Eternal Darkness 2 to ship around to studios, which lead to X-Men: Destiny being a terrible title. Combine this with the fact that they can't make any money off of Too Human anymore (a court ordered all copies destroyed because of the stolen assets) and it's clear why the company is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Seriously... just let the company die and let someone buy the Eternal Darkness rights. Even if this kickstarter succeeded, he'd still be without the original team and he's under no obligation to actually make the game. Given his record, he's liable to take the money and run.

May 24, 2013#296

strawman

AshburnerX said:
Not only did he steal assets from Epic Games (after he accused them of withholding Unreal Engine updates and files), he diverted money and resources away from X-Men: Destiny to make something for Eternal Darkness 2 to ship around to studios

This is, sadly, pretty common in the gaming industry.

While the court released the records, was he actually convicted of a felony?

May 24, 2013#297

AshburnerX

stienman said:
This is, sadly, pretty common in the gaming industry.

While the court released the records, was he actually convicted of a felony?

The money thing was never brought to court because it was only reported by ex-employees when they left for other studios. Whoever holds the X-Men license didn't bother to sue, I guess. The Too Human thing is over and done with though.

May 25, 2013#298

Bubble181

You all need to back this Kickstarter with the fire of a thounsand suns. Or something, but it's worth a look, anyway. It's an RPG where you play "regular" people instead of a hero, it's set in (mythical) old India against the background of a civil fight, and your choices will have actual consequences. Imagine that!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/698883673/unrest-an-unconventional-rpg-set-in-ancient-india

May 25, 2013#299

Hailey Knight

Jay said:
Did you back it?

I hadn't because I wanted to see what Julie thought.

Now that I've read what Frank and Ashburner said, I'm not going to.

May 30, 2013#300

ThatNickGuy

Double Fine are back, baby. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'll back this one just yet. I'm not a fan of tactical RPGs, but he name-drops X-Com and Final Fantasy Tactics, which should be enough to garner a lot of interest.

May 30, 2013#301

Jay

Stonehearth funded.... 700+%

May 30, 2013#302

Hailey Knight

ThatNickGuy said:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fines-massive-chalice

Double Fine are back, baby. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'll back this one just yet. I'm not a fan of tactical RPGs, but he name-drops X-Com and Final Fantasy Tactics, which should be enough to garner a lot of interest.

I LOVE tactical RPGs, so ... win.

May 30, 2013#303

Jay

Sadly, I have a real problem funding any game I'm not 100% on board with (game style wise) unless I see some level of gameplay. It does seem interesting, I'll star it. But show me some level of gameplay.

There's a lot of jap crap tactical RPGs I can't stand. You know the ones, the ones where you see retarded 49780743497834 hit combo shit. Jagged Alliance? Odium? Fallout Tactics? YES PLZ.

May 30, 2013#304

Hailey Knight

Jay said:
Sadly, I have a real problem funding any game I'm not 100% on board with (game style wise) unless I see some level of gameplay. It does seem interesting, I'll star it. But show me some level of gameplay.

There's a lot of jap crap tactical RPGs I can't stand. You know the ones, the ones where you see retarded 49780743497834 hit combo shit. Jagged Alliance? Odium? Fallout Tactics? YES PLZ.

Example?

May 30, 2013#305

AshburnerX

I think he's talking about Nippon Ichi titles like Disgaea and La Puccelle.

May 30, 2013#306

Jay

Whatever games that is jap crap and does 3482340892 hit combos. Can't describe it any easier than that.

IMHO, there's simply no intelligence to those games. Nothing beats AP points and planning accordingly, setting up, getting 87% hit chance and rolling the dice.

When enemies are bouncing in the air with shitty animations while Clouds and Seprisoths are moving around quickly with swords 5 times bigger than them to get huge counter hit combos then bimbo in a mini-skirt comes in with a final "meteor" style attack and WOW YOU GOT A 57 HIT COMBOOOOOOOOOOOOO-OOOOOOOOO... 3983498349834 damage. Guy is still alive though....

O.O

Fuck that shit.

Want to make a tactical RPG? No problem. Show me some fucking gameplay or else you ain't getting shit from me.

May 30, 2013#307

Hailey Knight

I've never played a tactical RPG like that.

May 30, 2013#308

AshburnerX

Yeah, he's talking about the Disgaea series, which is actually pretty good... but only if you like a game that completely unserious 50% of the time. Also, you have to like anime.

It's a completely different sort of game, with more in common with Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle than anything you'd find on the PC. The actual combat itself can be utterly ridiculous at times, with the aforementioned 1000+ hit combos if you really wanted to break the game over your knee. However, it's much deeper in several other ways. It wouldn't call ether type of tact-rpg better, just different.

Jun 2, 2013#309

Gilgamesh

AshburnerX said:
Yeah, he's talking about the Disgaea series, which is actually pretty good... but only if you like a game that completely unserious 50% of the time. Also, you have to like anime.

Honestly it was the gameplay and system that made it feel horrible for me. I love Anime and Unserious games. As for it beign like FFT? Slightly. Ogre Battle? Nothing.

Jun 2, 2013#310

AshburnerX

Gilgamesh said:
Honestly it was the gameplay and system that made it feel horrible for me. I love Anime and Unserious games. As for it beign like FFT? Slightly. Ogre Battle? Nothing.

I meant that in the broadest terms possible: Console turn based strategy game with anime-inspired styling , a multitude of unit types, and less of a focus on cover and strategy. How you build your units and what kind of equipment they have is far more important than strategy and cover in most Japanese style strategy games, while it's generally the reverse in Western style ones.

Jun 2, 2013#311

Gilgamesh

But I liked FFT and Ogre Battle?

As well as games like Vandal Hearts.

The problem with Disgaea was the grinding and the even worse grinding Item Levels. The characters beyond the main two couldn't make me care less about anyone and the plot was way way too thin. (If we want to go on complaints beyond the gameplay/system)

Jun 2, 2013#312

AshburnerX

Your missing the point I think. I'm not saying Disgaea is entirely like those other games, but rather part of the same sub-genre and share some elements.

It's like saying Final Fantasy X and Shadow Hearts are both alike: both are turn based JRPGS with anime inspired character designs and a focus on love stories, but one plays like a traditional JRPG and the other is more reflex based because you need to hit highlighted areas on a ring to do ANYTHING. Both have elements that are the same, but are executed entirely differently.

And let's stop talking about Final Fantasy Tactics for awhile... it reminds me the latest entry is a social web app thing instead of... you know... a game. I can't wait until Square Enix folds up and someone buys their assets to actually make the stuff people want instead of all this over-priced mobile crap.

Jun 2, 2013#313

Hailey Knight

AshburnerX said:
And let's stop talking about Final Fantasy Tactics for awhile... it reminds me the latest entry is a social web app thing instead of... you know... a game. I can't wait until Square Enix folds up and someone buys their assets to actually make the stuff people want instead of all this over-priced mobile crap.

Thiiiiis.

Also, Ash, you keep saying turn-based strategy games. Tactical RPGs and turn-based strategy games are two different genres. Turn-based strategy games would refer to games like Advance Wars, as it's a turn-based version of real-time strategy games a la Starcraft, Dawn of War, etc., whereas tactical RPGs refer to Ogre Battle, Final Fantasy Tactics, etc.

Gilgamesh said:
As well as games like Vandal Hearts.

I forgot about Vandal Hearts! I played the shit out of the first one way too many times before even learning about the Vandal class. I heard the second one was good too.

Jun 2, 2013#314

AshburnerX

Quotemander Prime said:
Thiiiiis.

Also, Ash, you keep saying turn-based strategy games. Tactical RPGs and turn-based strategy games are two different genres. Turn-based strategy games would refer to games like Advance Wars, as it's a turn-based version of real-time strategy games a la Starcraft, Dawn of War, etc., whereas tactical RPGs refer to Ogre Battle, Final Fantasy Tactics, etc.

Yeah, yeah. I realize that now looking over the posts.

Jun 4, 2013#315

AshburnerX

Shadow of the Eternals Kickstarter suspended. It's a sure bet that the guy behind it realized he was never going to reach his goal and shut it down so he's not blocked from trying it again with a smaller amount. In all seriousness, he was stupid if he thought he was going to get 1.35 million with his reputation.

Jun 5, 2013#316

ThatNickGuy

AshburnerX said:
Shadow of the Eternals Kickstarter suspended. It's a sure bet that the guy behind it realized he was never going to reach his goal and shut it down so he's not blocked from trying it again with a smaller amount. In all seriousness, he was stupid if he thought he was going to get 1.35 million with his reputation.

Someone recently said there was some kind of kerfuffle on Facebook that likely wasn't helping? Anyone know what that was about?

Also, what's his reputation?

Jun 5, 2013#317

Frank

Just up the last page of the thread we talk about Dennis Dyack.

Jun 25, 2013#318

Jay

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fines-massive-chalice

48 hours left for this tactical RPG from Double Fine.

I love the premise.

Jul 16, 2013#319

Jay

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/railboy/frontiers-explore-discover-survive

Anyone else find this interesting?

Jul 16, 2013#320

GasBandit

I read somewhere briefly this morning that there's a movement afoot to start charging sales tax for kickstarter donations.

Jul 16, 2013#321

AshburnerX

GasBandit said:
I read somewhere briefly this morning that there's a movement afoot to start charging sales tax for kickstarter donations.

I doubt that will happen. Kickstarter makes it clear that you are not buying goods from the service, you are simply funding the creation of them and then are (possibly) receiving a finished product if/when it's completed if the project leader feels you donated enough. However, there is also the possibility that the project will fail even if it's funded completely or even if it's overfunded... what will you have been taxed for then?

Basically what I'm saying is that there is no defacto sale of anything in Kickstarter and you're not guaranteed to be receiving anything. As such, you can't be taxed for donating to a Kickstarter because there has been no trade of goods and services.

Jul 16, 2013#322

GasBandit

Kickstarter's own tax page seems to contradict that to a degree:

http://www.kickstarter.com/help/taxes

Sales tax may also be applicable in certain cases depending on the local rules. In general, sales tax applies only if the creator has sufficient connection to the location of the backer.

Here's the article, had to go back and dig for it, stupid feedly doesn't have a search function. God I miss google reader.

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ChristianAllen/20130714/196237/Sales_Taxes_for_Kickstarters.php

Jul 16, 2013#323

AshburnerX

GasBandit said:
Kickstarter's own tax page seems to contradict that to a degree:

http://www.kickstarter.com/help/taxes

Here's the article, had to go back and dig for it, stupid feedly doesn't have a search function. God I miss google reader.

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ChristianAllen/20130714/196237/Sales_Taxes_for_Kickstarters.php

That does imply that it doesn't apply to all cases. If I donate $100 to a web series and all I get is some swag, what did I purchase? The goal of the KS was to put out a web series for people to view for free. Would I still be taxed for that?

Jul 16, 2013#324

GasBandit

AshburnerX said:
That does imply that it doesn't apply to all cases. If I donate $100 to a web series and all I get is some swag, what did I purchase? The goal of the KS was to put out a web series for people to view for free. Would I still be taxed for that?

From what I read, you the funder wouldn't be responsible for the taxes, rather than entity doing the development would be expected to separate out some of their donations and render them as "sales tax" retroactively.

Jul 16, 2013#325

MindDetective

Doesn't Kickstarter (the business entity) pay taxes on their take? Would it be double dipping, possibly, to then also tax the entrepreneurs that Kickstarter is servicing?

Jul 16, 2013#326

strawman

MindDetective said:
Doesn't Kickstarter (the business entity) pay taxes on their take? Would it be double dipping, possibly, to then also tax the entrepreneurs that Kickstarter is servicing?

Kickstarter doesn't pay sales tax, though I'm sure they pay corporate income tax.

A business which sells goods to the public has to both pay corporate income tax and collect sales tax.

Keep in mind that with sales tax, it's the purchaser that's paying, not the business. The business merely collects it.

Jul 16, 2013#327

MindDetective

stienman said:
Kickstarter doesn't pay sales tax, though I'm sure they pay corporate income tax.

A business which sells goods to the public has to both pay corporate income tax and collect sales tax.

Keep in mind that with sales tax, it's the purchaser that's paying, not the business. The business merely collects it.

True, true. In which case it seems like Kickstarter is the one that may need to collect sales tax, not the ones taking advantage of the service they provide. Clearly we are in some murky territory with regards to defining the entities involved.

Jul 16, 2013#328

strawman

MindDetective said:
True, true. In which case it seems like Kickstarter is the one that may need to collect sales tax, not the ones taking advantage of the service they provide. Clearly we are in some murky territory with regards to defining the entities involved.

I think Kickstarter is in very murky waters. They assert that they do not take charity or investments, nor that they sell products. People pledge money to a project that they want to succeed. If the project is fully funded, and it succeeds, they may receive rewards for their pledges.

But the rewards are not guaranteed, and I think that this is the way they skirt sales tax. On the other hand, it almost seems like it's gambling on the success of the project, which would then sway into the territory of contests, gambling, betting, etc.

Either way, Kickstarter is making bank. 5% of all money that goes through their website goes to kickstarter, and it requires a very modest team and server costs to manage, so they are making money hand over fist there.

Eventually the state they reside in is going to want a cut of that action.

Jul 16, 2013#329

GasBandit

stienman said:
Eventually the state they reside in is going to want a cut of that action.

They should buy Sealand and set up their headquarters there.

Jul 16, 2013#330

strawman

GasBandit said:
They should buy Sealand and set up their headquarters there.

Well, since HavenCo shut down in 2008, they are seemingly in rocky waters, but they recently sent out a newsletter indicating they are going to be offering new services soon.

I don't think kickstarter would want to flee the US anyway - they'll just pass it on to the customers and follow the law as much as they have to.

If they did go off shore, the states would start going after the bigger individual projects for back taxes, and that would scare off all the kickstarter clients - their cash cow.

Jul 17, 2013#331

Bubble181

stienman said:
If the project is fully funded, and it succeeds, they may receive rewards for their pledges.

But the rewards are not guaranteed, and I think that this is the way they skirt sales tax. On the other hand, it almost seems like it's gambling on the success of the project, which would then sway into the territory of contests, gambling, betting, etc.

That's not gambling. That's buying stock options. If anything, I think they could be taxing all contributors as if they were financers of a corporation. General Motors goes public saying "we want to make a new type of car, if you'll invest $100.000.000 we'll make it and you get a part of the profit", that's pretty much the exact same thing. You buy Microsoft shares, you're not buying anything from them, but you're financing them to make something, and if it's succesfull, you'll recuperate your investment.

Jul 25, 2013#332

Jay

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/codagames/liege?ref=email

Couldn't help but back this old school rpg.

Jul 25, 2013#333

Null

So apparently the Kickstarter funded "Shadowrun Returns" tactical RPG is getting pretty decent reviews. I loved the SNES game (I didn't have a Genesis).

Aug 31, 2013#334

Frank

All of it. My money I mean. Take it Keiji. Take it all.

Sep 2, 2013#335

Frank

So, that's going swimmingly. Mega Man dream team teaming up to make what is essentially a next gen Mega Man game. This is the game I am most excited for now.

Sep 2, 2013#336

AshburnerX

Frank said:
So, that's going swimmingly. Mega Man dream team teaming up to make what is essentially a next gen Mega Man game. This is the game I am most excited for now.

Inafune hasn't heard shit from Capcom yet ether, but I doubt they'd have a case anyway. Still, I chalk this up us a big middle finger in the face of Capcom from all the Mega Man fans who've seen their favorite franchise be systematically destroyed. We told them what we wanted and they wouldn't give it to us. Now Inafune is getting our money to make the thing we asked for.

If this doesn't send a clear message to Capcom about their business practices, I don't know what will.

Sep 2, 2013#337

filmfanatic

This is Neverending Nightmares, a horror game that is inspired by the developer's depression and OCD.

Sep 2, 2013#338

ThatNickGuy

filmfanatic said:
This is Neverending Nightmares, a horror game that is inspired by the developer's depression and OCD.

Well, I tossed $10 at it. Hopefully he gets to make this because this looks pretty great.

Sep 4, 2013#339

Frank

Frank said:
All of it. My money I mean. Take it Keiji. Take it all.

Can't stop the rock (I mean Beck), can't stop the rock (Beck). Look at this mother fucker go. 1.5 million already.

Sep 6, 2013#340

Frank

I'm not endorsing this, just gonna make some observations. They're trying to make a Mass Effect scaled game for 500 grand? I want to back this just to see the trainwreck it could become. MMO inspired boss fights is a FUCKING FEATURE! HA HA HA HA HA.

Oh, and one of the stretch goals is hiring Dragon Age 2 (and object of internet ire via threats and such from people who should be too dumb to breath) writer Jennifer Hepler.

For 750,000, we'll hire Jennifer Hepler and for 800,000, we will immediately fire her!

(joke stolen from Tim Schaffer)

Sep 9, 2013#341

ThatNickGuy

Four words:

RIVER.

CITY.

RANSOM.

SEQUEL!

Sep 9, 2013#342

GasBandit

.... and they need $300k to make a NES sequel? Even stainless only needed 400k for a current gen Carmageddon sequel. I mean, I liked River City Ransom as much as the next guy... But I'm thinking that project has some fat that could be trimmed.

Sep 9, 2013#343

ThatNickGuy

GasBandit said:
.... and they need $300k to make a NES sequel? Even stainless only needed 400k for a current gen Carmageddon sequel. I mean, I liked River City Ransom as much as the next guy... But I'm thinking that project has some fat that could be trimmed.

$180k. Not $300k.

Sep 9, 2013#344

GasBandit

ThatNickGuy said:
$180k. Not $300k.

Ok, that seems a bit more reasonable. I saw $3143 = 1% and did some math, so I guess they just round off decimals of percentages.

Sep 9, 2013#345

AshburnerX

I am fucking tapped out. Between MN9 and Shantae and saving for Christmas, I am kind of broke.

Sep 23, 2013#346

Frank

A more lowkey Kickstarter project that looks SUPER promising to me. A bunch of ex-Bioware, Ubisoft, Relic, Volition, etc. people making a very Canadiany episodic open world game about life after the apocalypse. I am really stoked for this.

A lot of their concept art looks like where I'm from (I'm from the NWT).

Sep 25, 2013#347

SpecialKO

Frank said:
A more lowkey Kickstarter project that looks SUPER promising to me. A bunch of ex-Bioware, Ubisoft, Relic, Volition, etc. people making a very Canadiany episodic open world game about life after the apocalypse. I am really stoked for this.

A lot of their concept art looks like where I'm from (I'm from the NWT).

That's pretty cool, but I don't really want to play the game version of The Road. That might be just depressing.

Sep 27, 2013#348

Hailey Knight

Frank said:
A more lowkey Kickstarter project that looks SUPER promising to me. A bunch of ex-Bioware, Ubisoft, Relic, Volition, etc. people making a very Canadiany episodic open world game about life after the apocalypse. I am really stoked for this.

A lot of their concept art looks like where I'm from (I'm from the NWT).

Nice group of people working on it. And I love the concept.

Oct 2, 2013#349

AshburnerX

Mighty No. 9 hit a bit over 4 million dollars (including the PayPal money). Not only does that mean that it hit all of it's stretch goals... not only does it mean that it blew away DoubleFine's kickstarter... but it means that Might No. 9 is actually one of the biggest crowd funded projects in the site's history.

So, on behalf of all the fans, I'd just like to say FUCK YOU, Capcom. We begged and pleaded for a new Megaman game for years. We spoke with our wallets and now we're getting exactly what we want.

Oct 2, 2013#350

Hailey Knight

AshburnerX said:
Mighty No. 9 hit a bit over 4 million dollars (including the PayPal money). Not only does that mean that it hit all of it's stretch goals... not only does it mean that it blew away DoubleFine's kickstarter... but it means that Might No. 9 is actually one of the biggest crowd funded projects in the site's history.

So, on behalf of all the fans, I'd just like to say FUCK YOU, Capcom. We begged and pleaded for a new Megaman game for years. We spoke with our wallets and now we're getting exactly what we want.

Terrific; now I don't feel inclined to buy any of the Megaman stuff on 3DS, but I think I'll get this when it comes out.

Oct 2, 2013#351

Frank

ZeBoyd, makers of fun retro RPGs such as Breath of Death 7, Cthulhu Saves the World and the Penny Arcade episodes 3 and 4 have a Kickstarter for a new sci-fi RPG in the vein of Phantasy Star. I'm in, I like their games.

Oct 3, 2013#352

AshburnerX

Quotemander Prime said:
Terrific; now I don't feel inclined to buy any of the Megaman stuff on 3DS, but I think I'll get this when it comes out.

This is basically my take, unless they do a Megaman X finale or something. Half the reason why I wanted more Megaman games is so I could get a definite finale for each series. Was Megaman defeated by Wily and that's why he's not running around? Did he kill Wily, go crazy, and then Dr. Light shut him down? Is part of Megaman in X? How about how the X series ends? Does Axel usher in the end of the Reploids like they hinted at? Or how about getting Megaman Volnutt off the fucking moon? OH WAIT, THEY CANCELLED THAT LAST ONE.

In other news, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero has also been successfully funded, but has 35 hours left if you want to get a donation in. Donate if you want the exclusive costumes (One for Shantae, one for Risky Boots, and a special weapon).

River City Ransom: Underground (an officially licensed sequel to River City Ransom) is about 40 grand short but with 6 days to go.

Oct 3, 2013#353

Frank

I dunno, the X series really ends with 5, which effectively ends the X series and leads to Zero. Then they wrecked it.

Oct 3, 2013#354

Jay

Frank said:
ZeBoyd, makers of fun retro RPGs such as Breath of Death 7, Cthulhu Saves the World and the Penny Arcade episodes 3 and 4 have a Kickstarter for a new sci-fi RPG in the vein of Phantasy Star. I'm in, I like their games.

BLA BLA BLA... Chrono Trigger.... BLA BLA BLA...

*as I'm watching actual gameplay in the background*

....and backed.

Oct 6, 2013#355

AshburnerX

River City Ransom Underground is funded. I don't think it has any stretch goals, but I doubt it would make enough to hit any. Still, it's funded!

Oct 11, 2013#356

AshburnerX

The Long Dark is about 13 grand short but with 4 days to go.

Hope this one gets funded because it looks interesting. I love how Survival Horror seems to be hanging in there on PC, even if it's all but dead on console.

EDIT: Funded, currently looking at stretch goals. It MIGHT hit the first, but that's it.

Oct 23, 2013#357

AshburnerX

A Night in the Woods by Infinite Fall

A game about dropping out of college and returning home to your dying coal town, only to realize the people from your old life have grown apart. Throw in paranormal powers and a secret that threatens everyone and you have a real winner. Also, you're a cat.

Seeing as how this is being made by the guy behind Aquaria (look it up on Steam, it's AMAZING). I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Oct 24, 2013#358

AshburnerX

Whoops. Included the wrong link the last post. Fixed it.

Oct 24, 2013#359

Bubble181

AshburnerX said:
Whoops. Included the wrong link the last post. Fixed it.

Hey, now that it's not a single, static image, I seem to like it even more!

Oct 24, 2013#360

Frank

AshburnerX said:
The Long Dark is about 13 grand short but with 4 days to go.

Hope this one gets funded because it looks interesting. I love how Survival Horror seems to be hanging in there on PC, even if it's all but dead on console.

EDIT: Funded, currently looking at stretch goals. It MIGHT hit the first, but that's it.

I know I upgraded.

So Halforums, what should I name a location?

Oct 24, 2013#361

AshburnerX

A Night in the Woods is ALREADY funded. With no stretch goals posted, who knows what it will have now.

Nov 1, 2013#362

strawman

Nov 1, 2013#363

GasBandit

Nov 14, 2013#364

Piotyr

I helped kickstart 3 projects at about the same time two years ago. I've received the reward from one of them so far, and that one was delayed by 6 months because the artist nearly severed his writing thumb. At least that one kept constant contact so I knew what was up.

Both the other two significantly changed the scope after the project, one because the kickstarter went way over budget, one because they just barely met their kickstarter budget but hadn't counted on just barely meeting their kickstarter budget. I've received nothing from either aside from excuses as to why their original plans are 18 months behind.

Nov 14, 2013#365

Frank

Which two might I ask? I've backed quite a few, and while some are kind of in a bunk state (Double Fine), the others (Torment, Wasteland 2 and Destiny) seem to rolling along fine.

Nov 14, 2013#366

GasBandit

I still get periodic updates on how the Carmageddon remake is progressing.

Nov 14, 2013#367

Piotyr

Frank said:
Which two might I ask? I've backed quite a few, and while some are kind of in a bunk state (Double Fine), the others (Torment, Wasteland 2 and Destiny) seem to rolling along fine.

Double Fine and Hero-U. Hero-U just barely got the funding they asked for, and then the original development staff up and left immediately, so they've been stuck in a much slower process of development.

Nov 14, 2013#368

Reverent-one

Piotyr said:
I helped kickstart 3 projects at about the same time two years ago. I've received the reward from one of them so far, and that one was delayed by 6 months because the artist nearly severed his writing thumb. At least that one kept constant contact so I knew what was up.

Both the other two significantly changed the scope after the project, one because the kickstarter went way over budget, one because they just barely met their kickstarter budget but hadn't counted on just barely meeting their kickstarter budget. I've received nothing from either aside from excuses as to why their original plans are 18 months behind.

That seems a bit uncharitable to the Double Fine kickstarter, like Rich they've kept in constant contact and put out regular, detailed updates about what's going on, progress made, ect. Yes they are behind schedule, but you gave Rich a bit of a pass for his communication, why not Double Fine as well?

Nov 14, 2013#369

Piotyr

Reverent-one said:
That seems a bit uncharitable to the Double Fine kickstarter, like Rich they've kept in constant contact and put out regular, detailed updates about what's going on, progress made, ect. Yes they are behind schedule, but you gave Rich a bit of a pass for his communication, why not Double Fine as well?

I gave Rich more of a pass because he was physically incapable of doing any writing/drawing for 6 months. DF took forever to update after the KS was completed because of the "slacker backer" factor, and just now are finally starting to show something of a game. It's getting better, but there was a long morass of nothing but promises and changes before they finally settled down and started doing something productive with all the backer money.

Nov 14, 2013#370

Reverent-one

Piotyr said:
I gave Rich more of a pass because he was physically incapable of doing any writing/drawing for 6 months. DF took forever to update after the KS was completed because of the "slacker backer" factor, and just now are finally starting to show something of a game. It's getting better, but there was a long morass of nothing but promises and changes before they finally settled down and started doing something productive with all the backer money.

The thing is, games take a fair bit of time to develop before you have much of anything to really show off, especially since they didn't have the idea of the game all set prior to the kickstarter, so they had to do a lot of design work before they can start developing in earnest. They've been being productive and keeping us informed since mid-last year at least, so I can't see how you can say that it's only just now starting to show something. I mean, they're in the playtest and recording voice-over stage now, so they're more end-stage than beginning stage now.

Nov 14, 2013#371

Jay

That's the risk of Kickstarter. I've backed 16 projects.

I always try to abide with the following three rules :

1. Do you have a gameplay video? Yes? Ok. No? Sorry bub.

2. What is the planned release date? Q2 2014? Ok. "2015-ish". No thanks.

3. Are they whoring themselves out on the stretch goals? No thanks. A bit? OK. As a backer you don't win with stretch goals unless they plan to double their team.

My projects :

RimWorld - Just finished KS. Very excited. Great gameplay already available.
Contagion - Already in Beta, already playing it. Solid.
Cosmic Star Heroine - Just finished KS. Not usually my sort of game but reminds me of old school RPG goodness.
Liege - Updates every month.
*Double Fine's MASSIVE CHALICE - Slight regret on backing this. Great premise. Weak on the updates. News on their FUBAR on their other project scares me.
Stonehearth - Updates every month. WANT.
Divinity: Original Sin - Updates every month. WANT.
Torment: Tides of Numenera - Updates every month. Very early in Dev.
ROAM - Updates every week.
Sui Generis - Updates every 2 months. Weak. Not regretting it but hoping for solid news soon.
Sir, You Are Being Hunted - In Beta. SOLID AS FUCK.
Forsaken Fortress - In Alpha v1, was really weak. Working on it.
FORCED - Released. Solid.
Timber and Stone - Released. Solid.
Project Eternity - Updates every month. A few months away... WANT.
*Castle Story - FUBAR. They failed hard. Alpha is useless with bad UI. Regret.

So out of 16, 1 was a solid fail, the other is a different type of regret.

All in alll, be careful before you back.

There were others I wanted to back but wasn't impressed enough to do so.[DOUBLEPOST=1384471466,1384471326][/DOUBLEPOST]Confederate Express may join this list soon.

Nov 14, 2013#372

AshburnerX

Only KS that I've been part of that's failed is Haunts and that's because their lead programmer found a job where he could make more money and ran off. Haven't had an update since March. My only KS an ongoing problem is one from a close friend and I know exactly why everything is going so slowly, so no harm there.

Nov 14, 2013#373

Ravenpoe

I've backed a few kickstarters but have no idea how to claim the finished items or the extras I should get for my pledge status.

This kinda worries me, I should probably look into that.

Nov 14, 2013#374

Reverent-one

Ravenpoe said:
I've backed a few kickstarters but have no idea how to claim the finished items or the extras I should get for my pledge status.

This kinda worries me, I should probably look into that.

That might be a good idea...

Generally they send out a survey so you can tell them where to send the physical stuff or your email for digital things.

Nov 14, 2013#375

Bubble181

Reverent-one said:
That might be a good idea...

Generally they send out a survey so you can tell them where to send the physical stuff or your email for digital things.

...Which, if you're like me, gets sent to Spam or autodeleted.

Nov 14, 2013#376

CrimsonSoul

Bubble181 said:
...Which, if you're like me, gets sent to Spam or autodeleted.

In which case if you go to kickstarter there will be a big banner at the top when you have a survey

Nov 14, 2013#377

Frank

Jay said:
1. Do you have a gameplay video? Yes? Ok. No? Sorry bub.

...but a good portion of the games you backed didn't have those.

Nov 14, 2013#378

Tress

I've backed many projects on KS, although they were all physical games rather than video games, and overall it's been satisfying. One was a scam and my money is gone, two are way behind and being run by lazy twits, and the rest (20+) have been good so far. So KS is definitely a risk, but it's manageable.

Video games might be worse than other types of projects, though.

Nov 14, 2013#379

Jay

Frank said:
...but a good portion of the games you backed didn't have those.

What's a good portion to you?

Previously, that point was more of a "preference", now unless the company really sells their point, it's now a dealbreaker.

RimWorld - Gameplay vid.
Contagion - Gameplay vid.
Cosmic Star Heroine - Early Gameplay vid.
Liege - Early Gameplay vid.
*Double Fine's MASSIVE CHALICE - RISK
Stonehearth - Gameplay vid.
Divinity: Original Sin - Gameplay vid..
Torment: Tides of Numenera - RISK (but not really)
ROAM - Early Gameplay vid.
Sui Generis - Early Gameplay vid.
Sir, You Are Being Hunted - Gameplay vid.
Forsaken Fortress - Early Gameplay vid.
FORCED - Gameplay vid.
Timber and Stone - Gameplay vid.
Project Eternity - RISK (but not really)
*Castle Story - Early Gameplay vid.

Most have some sort of gameplay vid.

Nov 20, 2013#380

Jay

Backed

Nov 20, 2013#381

ThatNickGuy

I've backed 12 projects in total. Some of them I honestly regret, but not many. This got longer than I planned, so I'll spoiler it.

Order of the Stick - Already got my books, which was the purpose of the project, so I'm happy. There are some backers that are pissed Rich hasn't finished all the extra comics that he promised, but I honestly don't care about the ETA on those. They weren't specifically a backer reward, but an extra bonus he provided for hitting every new goal. To expect them is ridiculous. NO REGRETS.

Double Fine Adventure - They really went over-budget with this one. The problem started when they got a lot more money than they intended or expected. Everything went downhill from there. I can see why people are mad they missed the October 2012 delivery date, but that was using the originally expected goal, which was far exceeded. That said, I'm absolutely sure the final project will be worth the wait. SOME REGRET, which will dispel when it comes out.

The Image Revolution - A few years ago, I pirated a really great documentary about Grant Morrison. I said as much on the Bleeding Cool message boards and one of the producers private messaged me, giving me hell for pirating. I actually stood and took the shots, promising to back this project. Still waiting for the finished project a year later. NO REGRET, as the last documentary was great.

Jane Jensen's Kickstarter - Some regret, but then, I haven't been playing the betas of Moebius because I want to wait until it's all done. But I was really pleased to hear about the Gabriel Knight remake, which I'll be getting thanks to my backer level.

SpaceVenture - Some regret, as this project nearly didn't make it until the very end. Its alpha didn't fill me with much hope in terms of quality.
Shadowgate - No regrets. This one's coming along and I can't wait.
Pro-Wrestling X - It failed to make its goal and I'm glad. The guy's reputation and lack of solid work behind this are horrendous.
Lady Sabre (comic) - Backed purely for the creative team: Greg Rucka & Rick Burchett. It's nearly done, just in time for the promised delivery date. NO REGRETS.
Horizon's End (comic) - Supporting a friend of mine and sadly, they didn't even come close to making their goal. I didn't like its chances, honestly.
Headlocked (comic) - Updates have been scarce since this was funded, which doesn't fill me with a lot of hope. Some regret.
Neverending Nightmare - Getting close to its alpha, so no regrets. They might actually beat their promised delivery of August 2014.
River City Ransom: Underground - Kind of regret, as there hasn't been much word on this so far. We'll see. I honestly forgot I backed this one.

Are there any that you guys regret not backing? The Mighty No. 9 comes to mind for me. I sort of regret not backing Massive Chalice, but it just wasn't the kind of game I was interested in, regardless of how cool its concept was. I regretted backing the Ouya at the time but don't know.

Nov 20, 2013#382

AshburnerX

I wouldn't be too upset over River City Ransom: Underground. Mighty No. 9 still hasn't gotten it's website up or issued people with their Mighty No.'s for the website, despite this being the first goal and that's from a team full of veterans of the industry.

My regrets? Not having enough for Shantae or even half of the new Old World of Darkness books that are getting KSed. I'm getting Vampire (and it's going to be a massive book) but I wish I had gotten Werewolf or had money for Demon. I WILL get Changeling if at all possible though.

Nov 22, 2013#383

AshburnerX

Night in the Woods KS ends with over 200k or 4x what they were asking for. Hit for 100k over it's last stretch goal.

Nov 23, 2013#384

Jay

I get annoyed when KS projects go WAY over their ceiling. Mostly because they hit STUPID stretch goals (in general) and projects I want to play will need MORE time to be completed.

Nov 23, 2013#385

AshburnerX

Jay said:
I get annoyed when KS projects go WAY over their ceiling. Mostly because they hit STUPID stretch goals (in general) and projects I want to play will need MORE time to be completed.

I think that's one of the things they are addressing in Night. They are aware of how often that happens so that extra 100k is for unexpected expenses. They aren't expanding the scope of the game more than they already have.

Dec 18, 2013#386

AshburnerX

Wayside Creations, the creators of the FANTASTIC Fallout: Nuka Break series, want to do a Legend of Grimrock series. They have Chris Avellone attached as a writer and Vic Mignogna will be returning for a role. They also have the stars of Nuka Break helping out too. Looks to be good.

Plus you can get early access to Legend of Grimrock 2!

Dec 21, 2013#387

Frank

SpecialKO said:
Cool meta-concept game for mobile & PC/Mac platforms. You essentially play someone watching a girl trapped in a mansion with kill-traps. Your only connection to them is your phone, and you have to guide her through the house.

Art is pretty slick, and the concept looks like it could get pretty trippy.

Dearest Backers,

Natedawg here. I want to start off by saying that the amount of support and understanding you guys have displayed over these last 48 hours has been truly staggering. It means the world to the team that despite all the complications in getting you folks the game, you have stuck by us and remained overwhelmingly positive.

As you can imagine, we’ve been absolutely swamped with both preparing ourselves for gifting you all the game as well as all the extra craziness that comes with launching a game! So apologies if we’ve been a little slow on getting back to any of you!

It is super critical that you read this update closely, as we have both good and bad news to share with all of you.

SOME QUICK CLARIFICATION FOR PC-ONLY BACKERS
A number of you have reached out to us, wondering why you haven’t received any surveys. Please hold tight as – we haven’t actually sent out surveys for the PC-only tiers and likely won’t in the immediate future. However, you guys should still make sure to redeem your unique Humble pages along with everyone else! More on that later in this post.

LET’S START WITH THE BAD
Following the last update and sending out our official Kickstarter surveys to most of you, many of you raised concerns that gifting apps on the App Store can’t be completed internationally, meaning that the U.S. Camouflaj iTunes account cannot gift République to anyone outside of the U.S. Unfortunately, this is true.

Before releasing the last update, we were led to believe by a credible source that we would, in fact, be able to internationally gift apps. Now, it’s shame on us for not thoroughly testing this in advance. After doing some test runs later that night (at 2:30am, rather), the horror dawned on us that we had just asked everyone for their Apple IDs with no indication of which region it is associated with.

We’ve been taking a hard look at all of our options over the last day and have come to the conclusion that we’ll have to take two approaches now. The first is to gift iOS copies of our game to backers in the U.S. The second, is to refund $5 USD to international backers so they can use that money to buy the game on the App Store.

"NATEDAWG: YOU SAID YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH REGION OUR APPLE IDS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DO THIS?!"
Yesterday was a really stressful day for me when I realized we would have to be continuously merging incoming Kickstarter results, with results from having previously surveyed the $100+ tiers in November. Then we started talking about having to survey most of you again to figure out which region you are in and merging those results in as well. All this merging would have to be done with very little means of matching up results from the various sources. It was a very scary and daunting situation to be in.

But, as I walked over to Top Pot this morning for an extra large latte, I had an epiphany!

HOW YOU GET YOUR GAME
To simplify everything, we will need all iOS backers to take one new Surveymonkey designed solely for iOS fulfillment. We’ll then use your results, easily merge them once with our master list of all you backers, and continue gifting and refunding the s**** out of you guys.

To all you international backers: We are currently waiting to hear back from Amazon in regards to making partial $5 refunds for your original Amazon Payments payment to Camouflaj back in May 2012. While we remain hopeful, it could end up that we have to investigate other means of sending you all $5. The survey you are about to take will ask you to provide us with the transaction id of this payment (see below for instructions on finding this). We wanted to make sure and get this information from you now so that if we get the green light in the next day or two, we would be able to quickly start firing off refunds to all of you. In the unfortunate event that we can't, we will find another way to get you $5; it is the internet after all! If this occurs, it means there will likely be another update and, I cringe typing this, another survey. In the meantime, International Backers: We ask that you trust Camouflaj will refund you $5 and go ahead with purchasing the game through normal means.

Overall, this process will dramatically increase the speeds and simplicity in the way we can get you all a copy of République on iOS. Please understand that this decision was made to make sure we had a clear and super efficient process to make things go as quick and smooth as possible for each and everyone one of you.

As a disclaimer, your official Kickstarter surveys are still very important to us! Although they will now be asking a lot of redundant information, there are still bits of those surveys that have key information we need to deliver you any sort of physical goods you might have earned. Please make sure to fill those out as well if you haven’t already.

Below is a link to the new Surveymonkey for iOS fulfillment. Please make sure to triple check your information before submitting, as accuracy is key; and will help increase the speed at which we can get you your refund or gift.

A few quick notes about the survey before you take it:

We will also be sending an email with the same link to help increase response rates; if you are reading this and take the survey from the link below, go ahead and ignore the email.
If you have a super old Apple ID that is not reflective of an email account you have access to, please provide us with an alternate email to receive your gift at (it can still be redeemed with your Apple ID)
If you are an international backer and need help finding your Transaction ID, follow the instructions below the link

Holy fuck am I glad I didn't back this. Most people, even in the US, who weren't backers, could have just bought it for less money and had been playing it before backers.

Dec 21, 2013#388

Jay

Was intrigued but didn't back it, thankfully. That was painful to read. What a clusterfuck.

Also trying to make your own engine with 6 staff members and a 20k budget? Ugh....

Dec 22, 2013#389

SpecialKO

Fortunately, as a US backer, I got mine within a day. Haven't had a chance to play yet (at folks' place for holidays, haven't had much need to pick up iPad and play), but hoping that it will be at least decent.

Jan 14, 2014#390

AshburnerX

Creator of Final Fantasy Tactics wants to make a spiritual successor with the help of Playdek. Will also have the same composer as Tactics, FFXII, and Vagrant Story. 600k asking price though... I'm not sure they can make it.

Also, can someone sticky this thread? We post often enough and it's important enough that it shouldn't get lost in the shuffle.

Jan 14, 2014#391

Frank

It's already 10 percent funded. They'll make it. I pledged because...fuck it, I haven't pledged to anything in a long time.

Jan 14, 2014#392

Dei

I pledged this so hard.

Jan 14, 2014#393

AshburnerX

Frank said:
It's already 10 percent funded. They'll make it. I pledged because...fuck it, I haven't pledged to anything in a long time.

When I posted it, it was less than 40k. I think it's only so low because word hadn't gotten out yet.

Jan 14, 2014#394

Hylian

I am so backing this one!

Jan 14, 2014#395

Jay

It'll make it.

Jan 14, 2014#396

ThatNickGuy

I never liked Tactics or games like it. Never had the patience for long, drawn out battles like that. I always preferred the wham-bam-thank you-ma'am battles like the older FF games. Still, I hope it makes it because I know Tactics (either FF or Ogre) has a LOT of fans.

Jan 14, 2014#397

Hailey Knight

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Must have must have IT MUST MAKE IT. I don't go zany for many games, but Final Fantasy Tactics, my love, my sweet ...

Backing it.[DOUBLEPOST=1389759221,1389758677][/DOUBLEPOST]I'm hoping it'll make the 2.8 million stretch goal, but I'm not holding my breath. I just have doubts my computer will be able to run it in a satisfying way and I don't want to have to get a PS Vita.

Jan 15, 2014#398

Null

I am backing this so hard.

Jan 15, 2014#399

AshburnerX

Yeah, they definetely hadn't gotten the word out yet. It started at 40k yesterday and it's past 130k less than 24 hours later.

Jan 15, 2014#400

Jay

I like the concept but I have way too many reservations about the company & people making it as well as their approach on Kickstarter.

So, if I read this right, the lowest tier that includes a copy of the game is $20 ("the deal!") with the project itself asking for $600,000. To me it's a bit on the high side for a Kickstarter on both those parts but not unheard of. I also severely dislike the ridiculous stretch goals... and they are also there on the first day. I personally see that as a bad sign. They're asking for $600,000 but they've already made plans on what to do with up to $3,200,000 and the numbers and the features seem rather arbitrary and don't really leave me with the impression that those amounts are needed for every one of those additional features. $100k to add two new employees? $200k for ports (that's 1/3rd the cost of the entire game)! $150k for orchestral music AND $300k for a concert? Geez. It looks greedy as fuck and honestly, will only delay the game for months/years.

From what I see the target platform is mobile before PC (they are listed in that way and their game website experience suggests so). While there isn't anything wrong with that... their asking amount is rather high for that. This has me thinking that their focus on those platforms is primarily driven by them being the most profitable. Fine for a business proposal to investors but this is a Kickstarter. Too expensive.
I find the "advisor" aspect to Yasumi Matsuno suspect. Was he even in this video? Nope. Remember people being duped by Double Fine using Ron Gilbert in their Kickstarter pitch when it turns out he was going to have nothing at all to do with their project and has already left the company?

Most interesting is this bit of their FAQ:

Why is Playdek doing a Kickstarter?

Playdek is looking to bring extra funds in to allow for development on additional platforms and to allow for the expansion of the creative team. We are planning to bring out Unsung Story on iOS and Android devices; however we need additional funding in order to deliver the game on requested platforms such as PC and MAC. Playdek and Yasumi Matsuno will continue to develop Unsung Story regardless of whether or not funding is met. The main focus on the crowd-sourcing isn’t to create the game but rather to bring the game to the platforms requested by our fans and to help further the immersive world being created by Mr. Matsuno.
I think they should have done their iOS/Android version first before raising money to port it to other systems.

My instinct is this is a company putting the money before the vision, doing this for a "quick cash grab" or "easy money". There is also NO GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE.

Personally, I will keep my money in my pocket until the product is made and delivered. With them hitting 10% of their goal in the first day, they'll probably reach their goal anyway without me. So, I'll let the masses blindly throw their money at this and see what happens.

Jan 15, 2014#401

AshburnerX

100k for two employees isn't ridiculous if both are expected to work for the better part of a year on the project. Alexander O. Smith did the translation of Vagrant Story, which was both wildly different than it's original Japanese and WAY better because of the added Shakespearean dialect. He's also a long time Square Enix veteran from the gold old days and does more than just translation. Joseph Reeder is from similar stock and background. That 100k is likely going towards their entire salary and insurance costs for a year, if not relocation expenses. This is totally reasonable.

150k for orchestral music also isn't out of the question if they go live orchestra, which is almost a given considering the title. You need to rent space, then pay the musicians for their time... which could take weeks and involve dozens of musicians as well as technicians. A professional orchestra performer can easily cost over 1k a week. You also need to pay the composer for his work. Again, this is reasonable.

I'd also like to add that Double Fine is having money problems with their KS games right now explicitly because they didn't budget correctly. Having stretch goals planned in advanced tells me that Playdek did some research before setting them. Most big KSs plan them out now explicitly because of what happened to Double Fine. They usually just trickle them out instead of listing them in advance, explicitly because of the perception you've stated.

Really, the only thing that seems out of ordinary is 300k for the concert... and I'm puzzled as to why they haven't listed an artist. I guess Akihiko Yoshida is out of the question (he still works at Square), but the art design is part of what sold the Ivalice games.

Jan 15, 2014#402

ThatNickGuy

I'd say Double Fine's biggest problem is that they originally budgeted for exactly what they asked for. But when they got over 1000% what they were asking, then they just sort of went "OH FUCK, what now?"

Jan 21, 2014#403

AshburnerX

Sequel to one of the best indie games of all time is look for cash. Only asking for 200k and the first game was stellar, so this seems like a no brainer to me.

Jan 21, 2014#404

Ravenpoe

AshburnerX said:
Sequel to one of the best indie games of all time is look for cash. Only asking for 200k and the first game was stellar, so this seems like a no brainer to me.

The first game was also HARD AS FUCK.

But in a good way.

Jan 22, 2014#405

Jay

.... and backed.

Also fuck publishers.

Jan 22, 2014#406

Gilgamesh

Wow, yes definitely thanks for the heads up on this one @Jay I'm in.

Jan 22, 2014#407

Jay

This thing is up 100000 euro in the first day alone.

Please make more games like this.

Again, fuck publishers who thing, we need more FTP MMOs out there.

Idiots.

Jan 23, 2014#408

GasBandit

Now on steam greenlight, Catlateral Damage.

Jan 23, 2014#409

filmfanatic

GasBandit said:
Now on steam greenlight, Catlateral Damage.

It needs more challenge in it, like the owner is frantically trying to put stuff back or prevent you from knocking stuff over. That or the owner is running around and spraying you with water, yelling, "Bad kitty! Bad kitty!".

Jan 23, 2014#410

figmentPez

filmfanatic said:
It needs more challenge in it, like the owner is frantically trying to put stuff back or prevent you from knocking stuff over. That or the owner is running around and spraying you with water, yelling, "Bad kitty! Bad kitty!".

I've heard that there is a mode in the works where you try to destroy as much as possible without waking your owner up, and a time-attack mode as well.

Jan 23, 2014#411

Jay

Jay said:
.... and backed.

Also fuck publishers.

Funded in less than 36 hours.

HEY Publishers!!!!

Jan 23, 2014#412

CrimsonSoul

Jay said:
.... and backed.

Also fuck publishers.

Trying to pledge but it's telling me my card is declined?

Jan 23, 2014#413

Jay

They don't accept money from bandits.

Jan 23, 2014#414

GasBandit

Jay said:
They don't accept money from bandits.

They took mine just fine for Carmageddon.

Jan 23, 2014#415

AshburnerX

Video Game High School is doing an Indiegogo campaign for Season 3. Should be fun.

Jan 23, 2014#416

Jay

GasBandit said:
They took mine just fine for Carmageddon.

Except Gasbandits, everyone loves black gold.

Jan 24, 2014#417

figmentPez

figmentPez said:
I've heard that there is a mode in the works where you try to destroy as much as possible without waking your owner up, and a time-attack mode as well.

I've been thinking about Catlateral Damage, and I've come to the conclusion that it's just not a game about the damage a cat can cause if you can't throw up in your owners shoes.

Jan 24, 2014#418

Jay

This update speaks wonders on how fucked up Publishers are.

""https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1294225970/kingdom-come-deliverance/posts/728309""

Beware consoles.

Jan 25, 2014#419

SpecialKO

Jay said:
This update speaks wonders on how fucked up Publishers are.

""https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1294225970/kingdom-come-deliverance/posts/728309""

Beware consoles.

Huge, huge kudos to those guys for doing proper market research. If you're trying to bring a labor of love to an actual mass market, it's critical to actually know who your targets are and what their expectations may be (bonus: it also told them exactly how full of shit the publishers they were talking to were), and I've seen so many wishful-thinking game developers eschew it because "I'm a gamer, and I love this, so other gamers will to and spend money on it".

Jan 25, 2014#420

CrimsonSoul

Had to call my bank and have them authorize an out of country payment because it was in Euros instead of USD lol

Jan 25, 2014#421

Hailey Knight

Jay said:
This update speaks wonders on how fucked up Publishers are.

""https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1294225970/kingdom-come-deliverance/posts/728309""

Beware consoles.

That nervous publisher idiocy makes me glad I got a Wii U. If all the consoles are going to have a dearth of titles, I'd rather the ones I get be from Nintendo.

Jan 26, 2014#422

PatrThom

Jay said:
This update speaks wonders on how fucked up Publishers are.
""https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1294225970/kingdom-come-deliverance/posts/728309""

Heh. It reads practically the same as the story of The Little Red Hen.

--Patrick

Jan 27, 2014#423

Bubble181

I'm pretty sure one of the reasons the reception was weaker in Germany than the US is because Eastern European games are much more visible here. Yes, with Metro and the Witcher the US is slowly discovering there's a game developing world out there, but it's still limited to "big" names. Germany already gets more games from that side, and the low-fantasy (or no-fantasy) medieval(ish) settings seem much more popular there.
That aside, I find it funny how, time and again, publishers are all shown to behave like sheep. Honestly - I can say "hmm, PS4, XB1, WiiU, I'm not sure which one's going to make it, I'll wait it out and invest in a game for the one that seems successful" too. That's not venture capital, that's not taking risks, that's not innovating. Game publishing has become one of the least innovative industries around, along with but perhaps even worse than film producing.
Once again, they're shooting themselves in the foot and making a self-fulfilling prophecy at the same time. If all you invest in is MMOs and mobile games, you'll be making a lot of money on mobile games and MMOs - right up until those markets are saturated and the margins fold. At which point they'll all rush off to the next "big thing". Ridiculous.

Jan 27, 2014#424

SpecialKO

Bubble181 said:
That aside, I find it funny how, time and again, publishers are all shown to behave like sheep. Honestly - I can say "hmm, PS4, XB1, WiiU, I'm not sure which one's going to make it, I'll wait it out and invest in a game for the one that seems successful" too. That's not venture capital, that's not taking risks, that's not innovating. Game publishing has become one of the least innovative industries around, along with but perhaps even worse than film producing.

This is why VC funding is generally a better source than publishers if you're not making something that they can expect to make $100M in profit off of. Publishers have become so risk-averse that the idea of spending $5M to maybe only make $10M just seems crazy to them (which is crazy thinking to anyone else).

Jan 27, 2014#425

strawman

Publishers never took risks before, it's not like something has changed.

Jan 27, 2014#426

SpecialKO

stienman said:
Publishers never took risks before, it's not like something has changed.

Yes and no. They've never been risk friendly, but they've never been as desperate to only have mega-hits as they are now, and it's because of how much money they think they need to spend to compete. In 2005, your average AAA publisher title cost around $5M to develop and another $5 to promote, with maybe double that for the big franchises. Now we're looking minimum at the $30-40M to develop and as much to market, and that definitely doesn't include the big franchises. That's well beyond inflation. Bubble had it right; game publishers are stuck in Hollywood blockbuster mode and don't know how to get out of it.

Jan 27, 2014#427

PatrThom

SpecialKO said:
Bubble had it right; game publishers are stuck in Hollywood blockbuster mode and don't know how to get out of it.

--Patrick

Feb 3, 2014#428

Jay

Feb 3, 2014#429

SpecialKO

Do they have any videos showing the combat yet?

Feb 7, 2014#430

Jay

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/05/obsidians-pillars-of-eternity-delayed-to-late-2014

Pillars delayed till end of year. Was support to come pour in Q2.

Why?

IMHO? Stretch goals.

Feb 8, 2014#431

Jay

Feb 8, 2014#432

GasBandit

The developer is playing with a console controller.

Welp, so much for that game.

Feb 8, 2014#433

Frank

Jay said:
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/02/05/obsidians-pillars-of-eternity-delayed-to-late-2014

Pillars delayed till end of year. Was support to come pour in Q2.

Why?

IMHO? Stretch goals.

I'd rather it get delayed than released in a rushed shitty state.

Feb 10, 2014#434

Jay

SpecialKO said:
Do they have any videos showing the combat yet?

Feb 14, 2014#435

Jay

A LIVE AI WORLD???

Bethesda better be looking at this game carefully... heck most game companies should.

Feb 14, 2014#436

Ravenpoe

Jay said:
A LIVE AI WORLD???

Bethesda better be looking at this game carefully... heck most game companies should.

I don't know, I've heard promises like this from video game developers before.

Feb 15, 2014#437

AshburnerX

Unsung Story funded. Enjoy your spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Tactics!

Feb 15, 2014#438

ThatNickGuy

Ravenpoe said:
I don't know, I've heard promises like this from video game developers before.

Hell, I remember it being mentioned all the way back for Grand Theft Auto III.

Feb 15, 2014#439

Ravenpoe

ThatNickGuy said:
Hell, I remember it being mentioned all the way back for Grand Theft Auto III.

Don't forget Fable.

Feb 16, 2014#440

AshburnerX

La-Mulana 2 is funded with 6 days to go. Enjoy your spiritual successor to Maze of Galius and one of the best indie games of all time!

Feb 20, 2014#441

Jay

Jay said:
This update speaks wonders on how fucked up Publishers are.

""https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1294225970/kingdom-come-deliverance/posts/728309""

Beware consoles.

Funded with 1.1 Million Euro.

Take that publisher douchbags.

Feb 20, 2014#442

ThatNickGuy

For those playing the US Dollar game, that's about $1.5 million.

Feb 20, 2014#443

Ravenpoe

ThatNickGuy said:
For those playing the real currency game, that's about $1.5 million.

ftfy

Feb 20, 2014#444

Jay

Spoken as a person who's never gone to Europe. Nothing changes that opinion more than changing your currency to Euro.

TRY IT.

Feb 20, 2014#445

GasBandit

Monopoly money. Bright and colorful.

Feb 21, 2014#446

Ravenpoe

Jay said:
Spoken as a person who's never gone to Europe. Nothing changes that opinion more than changing your currency to Euro.

TRY IT.

I've converted my currency to Chuck 'e Cheese tokens. More or less the same thing.

Feb 24, 2014#447

Bubble181

I have no clue what brings on the sudden Eurohate, but...what? It's only real if it's American? I expect better from you. As in, at least funnier.

That aside, though, slight mistake. It's £1.1m. That's €1.5 million, or about $1.8 million US for those still using legacy currency.

Feb 24, 2014#448

Tinwhistler

GasBandit said:
Monopoly money. Bright and colorful.

I liked the euro currencies when I honeymooned in Ireland. They made US money look so drab and ugly.

The exchange rate at the time sucked balls, though.

Feb 24, 2014#449

Frank

Drab green/grey money is boring. Our money has astronauts, holograms and robots on it.

Feb 24, 2014#450

Ravenpoe

Frank said:
Drab green/grey money is boring. Our money has astronauts, holograms and robots on it.

You're not the only ones with blue money now!

Feb 24, 2014#451

GasBandit

Frank said:
Drab green/grey money is boring. Our money has astronauts, holograms and robots on it.

And it melts in the sun, from what I hear.

Feb 24, 2014#452

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
And it melts in the sun, from what I hear.

You're supposed to iron it onto your favorite T-shirt.

--Patrick

Feb 24, 2014#453

Frank

GasBandit said:
And it melts in the sun, from what I hear.

Unsubstantiated lies.

Feb 24, 2014#454

GasBandit

Frank said:
Unsubstantiated lies.

Well, there was a LITTLE more to it than just "in the sun." I'd heard about someone who left an envelope with some of the new bills in it on their dash, in the sun... and they melted together.

Feb 25, 2014#455

Telephius

http://www.snopes.com/business/money/melting.asp

People have a real hard-on for hating anything plastic, well except 3d printer users

I have yet to see damaged plastic bills(granted they have only been out a few years) but our paper variety wasn't indestructible either.

Mostly people trying to validate... :cool:

their hate of change.

Feb 25, 2014#456

Frank

I washed a handful of the buggers and they came out good as new. I like the new bills.

Mar 3, 2014#457

Hailey Knight

Any news on the Planescape Torment sequel?

Wasteland 2 is almost here. If I didn't have The Banner Saga to play, I'd probably be getting that or Shadowrun.

Mar 3, 2014#458

GasBandit

The Carmageddon remake will hit early access within a month. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also a little underwhelmed by the latest engine footage.

Mar 3, 2014#459

Jay

Still in deep dev. I get updates every month or so. They are working on the game world.

I also don't read much of the update, need to be un-spoilered as much as possible.

I believe they will do nice but as usual, will be late, such as Wastelands 2, Pillars and whatnot.

Mar 3, 2014#460

AshburnerX

I'd rather a game be late but perfect than on time and crap.

Mar 3, 2014#461

ThatNickGuy

For all intents and purposes, I should be the number one kind of person that would support these guys. But they've been trying to get this game off the ground for almost 10 years and I've seen so little actual development in the game. I've heard that a number of developers that Dave Wishnowski has brought on have walked out because of how much he asks of them with giving so little. I've heard a lot of really iffy stuff on the guy, actually.

The sad thing is, I want this to do well because I've been hoping for a good, modable wrestling game on the PC pretty much all my life. I just wish the project was in hands that actually made me feel could actual deliver on a decent product.

Mar 21, 2014#462

GasBandit

Apr 1, 2014#463

filmfanatic

Apr 8, 2014#464

AshburnerX

The Black Watchmen: A persistent ARG game tied into The Secret World.

Don't know what an ARG is? ARG stands for "augmented reality game". It's the kind of game that blurs the line between the game and reality. In this case, it's about The Secret World... a world where every myth and legend is true and conspiracies have controlled everything since the dawn of time. However, you don't PLAY this game in TSW. You play it in the real world, on different levels depending on how involved you want to be.

- Red: You get access to the Black Watchmen website, which has games and missions that tie into the overall plot of both games.
- Orange: You get access to the Black Watchmen App, which allows greater real world involvement. Not only does the app allow you to team up and confront other agents, it also means you might get phone calls from the Black Watchmen which have mission critical data.
- Yellow: Full involvement. At this level you might have a black SUV show up at your front door and have agents escort you to an isolated location to participant in a real test. You might get packages delivered to your front door. You might have people following you. ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPENED IN PREVIOUS WATCHMENT ARGS.

They are asking for a whole lot and aren't promoting it well. Toss some money their way.

May 5, 2014#465

Hailey Knight

Shovel Knight guys say they've finished work and have a submission model going out. So, as far as they're concerned, it's ready and we're just waiting on Nintendo.

I decided to look at the stretch goals just to see what consumed some of the time--I don't know about you guys, but I don't care about most of these. I'm glad the game was funded so well, but I just don't see most of these being relevant.

Whatever; the game's coming.

May 6, 2014#466

Frank

The added Nintendo 3DS and WiiU features are 2000% likely to be the cause of the last delay.

FUCKING FINALLY.

May 6, 2014#467

Hailey Knight

Frank said:
The added Nintendo 3DS and WiiU features are 2000% likely to be the cause of the last delay.

FUCKING FINALLY.

What I don't get it is why they suddenly felt the need to do that last minute. 3DS and Wii U versions were intended from the start; they weren't stretch goals that the team suddenly realized they could do more with. They were always going to release the game on 3DS and Wii U. So why decide so late that they needed more special stuff for those systems? Do they think that might encourage people to buy it on more than one system? Because I have a feeling those who buy it for PC aren't going to give a shit about those features. Hell, I'm buying it for 3DS and I don't give a shit about those features.

Jun 7, 2014#468

Hailey Knight

Shovel Knight has a release date

June 26th.

Jul 29, 2014#469

AshburnerX

Looks like we're getting another season of NukaBreak and Chriss Avellone and Brian Fargo are back on board this season.

Aug 10, 2014#470

AshburnerX

A Wild West strategy game where XCOM meets the over world of Heroes of Might and Magic? And it's being done by some reputable devs? I'm totally on board for this.

Sep 2, 2014#471

Hailey Knight

Mighty No. 9 backer update:

Beta codes should be going out for those who are getting them.

Also, everyone who backed the Kickstarter should be getting a free code for Mighty Gunvolt, an 8-bit style game for 3DS, with two of the playable characters being from Mighty No. 9 (and then one from Azure Striker Gunvolt).

Sep 2, 2014#472

ThatNickGuy

Is it just me or has the flood of Kickstarters slowed down to a trickle or stopped altogether? A year or two ago, we had developers coming out of the woodwork, especially old school developers from Sierra and LucasArts, but it seems now that crowd funding isn't as big as it was a few years ago. Maybe because a lot of these games haven't delivered, didn't do very well, or took too long to release that the shine off crowd funding has worn off?

Sep 2, 2014#473

Bubble181

Starters have realised that:
a) a KS isn't "free money"
b) stretch goals that are too cool are unrealistic and too expensive, and can bring the whole thing crashing down
c) publishers did more than just "ship the game to the shop"
d) there's more to making a good game than having a good idea and a good coder

And backers have realised:
a) that it isn't just like a pre-order
b) that the final product can look nothing like promised and that's just too bad
c) that the waiting period can be quite long (as in, 2+ years) and there's no guarantees about it any which way
d) it's actually not really worth it to get early access/beta/alpha/etc for most games these days

Also,
a) there was a big rush when it was just starting, this seems a more realistic level of new KSers being launched
b) most of those who really wanted to and could get the cash (aka those with some sort of name to attach to their game or have a really good idea), are probably busy right now.
c) obviously, some games have failed and soured quite a few people

I still see a LOT of KSers for board games and such, of the "it's finished but I need the cash up-front for production costs" variety. People have no problems backing those. People have become a lot more wary about funding companies of 1 person who has no business background. Surprise surprise, people think banks should take hosts of risks and support small up-and-coming ventures, but if it's their own capital, suddenly most people aren't all that eager to take risks.

Sep 2, 2014#474

ThatNickGuy

I think you're right on all accounts here, Bubble. I think a lot of people got wise to Kickstarters, like @Jay's rule that he must at least SEE some of the product in question. Some game play in the case of video games.

Plus, I think there's been a strong rise in Early Access games, for better or for worse.

Sep 2, 2014#475

Eriol

Bubble181 said:
Surprise surprise, people think banks should take hosts of risks and support small up-and-coming ventures, but if it's their own capital, suddenly most people aren't all that eager to take risks.

I think a lot of that comes from perception of large banks. The headlines go that "1stCitiNationalCorpBank posted $4B in profits!" and think that they should be funding everything since obviously they can afford it. And that they're being evil, etc. Now some of that may well be happening, but $4B profit is probably on $20B-$40B of revenue, which means 5%-10% profit. Not really all that "holy f'n awesome!" profit there. Healthy yes (I think) but hardly robber barons. If banks were much much smaller, then you wouldn't hear about it because the sensational number is lower. And there's probably benefits to many smaller institutions rather than big large ones too, but that's for a completely different thread (and different sub-forum).

Edit: fixed math

Sep 2, 2014#476

Jay

ThatNickGuy said:
@Jay's rule that he must at least SEE some of the product in question. Some game play in the case of video games.

Even this is fail proof. I've backed 19 KS projects so far. Most have been a variety of success and failure but you are correct, I now completely HAVE to see gameplay and even then I'm now pickier then ever.

Castle Story : Gameplay shown, plays like absolute shit. Still in Alpha hell with incompetent devs in control.
Project Eternity : In pre-alpha, reviews are mixed. Will wait and see when released.
Timber and Stone : In Beta. Played some. I like it. Will play more once I clear up my gaming queue.
Forced : Released. It's solid. Wish more people had it for COOP goodness.
Forsaken Fortress : Failed. Barely got in Alpha. Unplayable mess.
Sir, You're Being Hunted : In Beta. Played some. It's entertaining. Will play more once I clear up my gaming queue.
Sui Generis : In slow dev hell. Slightly worried but gameplay vids so look promising. Updates are sparse.
Roam : In devl. Not worried as gameplay vids and constant updates shows progress.
Torment : Q4 2015
Stonehearth : In Alpha. Updates are sparse but not worried at the moment.
Massive Chalice : I regret backing this. Updates are irrelevant. No gameplay yet.
Liege : In closed alpha. Updates are good. Looking forward to the game.
Rimworld : In Alpha... feels Beta though. Very playable and fun. Will play more once I clear up my gaming queue.
Lord of Xulima : In Alpha. Got "Greenlighted" recently. Updates are sparse. Will try the alpha once I clear up my gaming queue.
Kingdom Come : Q4 2015
Wasteland 2 : Releasing in September 19th.
Contagion : Released. It's solid. Will play more once I clear up my gaming queue.
Divinity Original Sin : Released. It's solid. Will play more once I clear up my gaming queue.
Cosmic Star Heroine : No gameplay shown yet but updates are there. Releasing in December.

So out of 19 KS...

3 have released successfully.
2 were absolute failures.
2 are leaning towards failure.
1 is being released next month.
The rest are in dev.

Backing KS, one should expect a variety of results. My advice? Back those who show the most promise. That show actual gameplay. Or else expect to wait many years for "something". Project management for these people are clearly terrible.

I see KS being more and more unpopular... for good reason. Maybe KS needs to select those projects a bit more. There's been too many failures and more of note, too many scandals.

To be frank, I haven't even checked KS the last few months unless someone posted something somewhere of note.

Sep 2, 2014#477

MindDetective

I thought Massive Chalice had a playable demo at PAX.

Sep 2, 2014#478

Reverent-one

Bubble181 said:
b) most of those who really wanted to and could get the cash (aka those with some sort of name to attach to their game or have a really good idea), are probably busy right now.

This is probably the biggest factor. A lot of the companies that got in when the new source of funding opened up (causing the big rush of KS projects we had previously) are either still working, or completed their projects and didn't need to immediately jump back into doing more kickstarter projects, for example Stoic and Harebrained Schemes (creators of the Banner Saga and Shadowrun Returns respectively).

Jay said:
Massive Chalice : I regret backing this. Updates are irrelevant. No gameplay yet.

I didn't back this one, but a quick check of their update history shows that they're done multiple twitch streams of gameplay. Maybe if you paid attention to the "irrelevant" updates you'd have seen what looks like hours of gameplay, which they still have on their youtube account. They even had a playable demo at PAX.

Sep 2, 2014#479

GasBandit

I've backed the new Carmageddon, which is playable in beta and making slow but steady progress.

Now, on the other hand, I've bought early access to:

Gnomoria, which is really far along - there's still a few bugs to squash and some features on the roadmap I'd really like to see implemented (prosthetic limbs especially, I've got a number of gnomes missing an arm or leg)

Space Engineers, which shows incredible promise but is so frustratingly buggy as to almost be unplayable, especially in multiplayer. Also its dev has a bad track record - only released one other game, released it unfinished and buggy and abandoned development to start working on SE

Prison Architect - which is currently perfectly playable and almost bugless, but development is going very slowly (hasn't been an update since I bought it in the summer sale) and while it is entertaining for the first few hours, right now has no endgame other than "make your prison even bigger."

Kerbal Space Program - totally awesome. Don't regret it one bit. Even when it was more unfinished, it was still tons of fun.

Sep 2, 2014#480

Necronic

I don't get the Carmageddon remake. Wasn't the original complete garbage? Why remake that?

I-76 on the other hand, amazing game and...well....I'm assuming Mr GasBandit would back that in an instant.

Sep 2, 2014#481

PatrThom

Eriol said:
I think a lot of that comes from perception of large banks. The headlines go that "1stCitiNationalCorpBank posted $4B in profits!" and think that they should be funding everything since obviously they can afford it. And that they're being evil, etc. Now some of that may well be happening, but $4B profit is probably on $20B-$40B of revenue, which means 5%-10% profit. Not really all that "holy f'n awesome!" profit there. Healthy yes (I think) but hardly robber barons. If banks were much much smaller, then you wouldn't hear about it because the sensational number is lower. And there's probably benefits to many smaller institutions rather than big large ones too, but that's for a completely different thread (and different sub-forum).

Edit: fixed math

Oil companies make much better examples.

--Patrick

Sep 2, 2014#482

GasBandit

Necronic said:
I don't get the Carmageddon remake. Wasn't the original complete garbage? Why remake that?

I-76 on the other hand, amazing game and...well....I'm assuming Mr GasBandit would back that in an instant.

Oh, no no no NO! I-76 naturally, was really fun on da bun. But Carmageddon was not garbage at all! It was one of the first games to pioneer polygonal deformation under damage, had good and unique car designs, a large variety of levels... I have the original carmageddon on my tablet now (which reminds me, I need to put it on my new phone) and it's by far my favorite mobile game of all time. It was great fun in LAN multiplayer too, so long as you kicked the crap out of any friend who dared choose the bulldozer car. Really, it was one of the best games of the mid 90s. It spawned other sequels of varying quality, but the original is definitely one of my favorite games of all time. If you can spare 99 cents, I definitely recommend you try Carmageddon out on Android or IOS.

Sep 2, 2014#483

Tinwhistler

As a computer programmer, this looks so interesting to me:

When we were young, wizards like Gandalf and Dumbledore struck a chord in our minds. We spent hours pretending to be wizards and casting epic imaginary spells.
Now, we want to bring that kind of creative freedom to video games. Instead of giving the player pre-packaged spells, CodeSpells allows you to craft your own magical spells. It's the ultimate spellcrafting sandbox.
What makes it all possible is code. The game provides a coding interface where you can specify exactly what your spells will do. This interface is intuitive enough for individuals (young and old) who have never coded before. But skilled coders will also enjoy using their coding skills in new and creative ways! Even children can use this interface to make mountains out of the terrain, make an impenetrable force field around yourself, or even make a golem creature out of the surrounding rocks. The sky is the limit!
...

They were 6% done when I first started watching the video, and hit 9% right as I was finished. I have a feeling this will easily make its goals

Sep 2, 2014#484

PatrThom

"Arms Race: The Video Game!"
I do like the idea that it will allow the practical expression of all those kids who play like:
"I shot you"
"But I have a bullet-proof vest"
"But I'm using armor-piercing bullets"
"But I spun out of the way"
"But I caught you"
"But I'm covered in butter and slipped away"
...etc.

--Patrick

Sep 2, 2014#485

Null

PatrThom said:
"Arms Race: The Video Game!"
I do like the idea that it will allow the practical expression of all those kids who play like:
"I shot you"
"But I have a bullet-proof vest"
"But I'm using armor-piercing bullets"
"But I spun out of the way"
"But I caught you"
"But I'm covered in butter and slipped away"
...etc.

--Patrick

Have them play a card for each move, and you've got a TCG right there.

Sep 2, 2014#486

ThatNickGuy

@Jay, I respectfully correct you on Massive Chalice. I've seen a number of updates on the Double Fine Youtube channel, and they just released a nearly 30-minute video showcasing the PAX demo.

Sep 2, 2014#487

Hailey Knight

Everyone who got money has to make their games now. Expect to see more Kickstarter game projects building up next year, though perhaps not from the same people.

Sep 2, 2014#488

Jay

Haven't seen that. Thanks man.

I couldn't give a shit about weekly twitch vids. Write down these things like every other Kickstarter does. I love reading the lore shit from games like Pillars, Wasteland, Torment and so forth.

Sep 4, 2014#489

AshburnerX

I've been waiting awhile for this one to start...

Pathologic, but remade. Easier to run on modern systems. Doesn't fucking break down all the time. And all the depressing Russian literature I can stand. God, I love Kickstarter.

Oct 2, 2014#490

Tinwhistler

I would so play this

Oct 2, 2014#491

Dave

Just saw some of these posts from Gas about Carmageddon. Best fucking game ever. I had so much fun playing this game!

The guy in the video sucks, though.

Oct 3, 2014#492

Jay

Tinwhistler said:
I would so play this

No thanks.

They pretty much abandoned their previous kickstarter game in a mediocre release state.

The game before that met similar failure.

They don't finish their projects. Beware.

Oct 6, 2014#493

ThatNickGuy

Welp, we knew this was coming after Irrational shut down earlier this year. I may actually back it, even if my computer wouldn't be able to run it. It'd be there for me to play whenever I get a good gaming computer.

Oct 7, 2014#494

Frank

That looks....interesting.

Oct 7, 2014#495

AshburnerX

The best thing about Kickstarter is now any game developer can circumvent the investment period of production by taking their game idea directly to the public, who can help it succeed or fail by it's merits instead of having to appeal to a board of marketers who are wondering if they can make their money back and more. This means new players have a chance to get in and established players can put out the art projects they actually got into the industry to make.

The worst part is that ALL OF THEM seem to want to do this. Which, really, just shows that the industry itself needs a good ol' reboot.

Oct 7, 2014#496

Hailey Knight

So long as Ken Levine isn't involved, I'm interested.

Oct 7, 2014#497

Jay

Kev Levine is GOD.

Oct 7, 2014#498

AshburnerX

Jay said:
Kev Levine is GOD.

Last time I checked, God didn't need us to give him 550k to make a game. He could have easily pitched this to a studio and gotten it made in exchange for working on another IP.

Oct 7, 2014#499

Ravenpoe

AshburnerX said:
Last time I checked, God didn't need us to give him 550k to make a game. He could have easily pitched this to a studio and gotten it made in exchange for working on another IP.

Ken Levine isn't at all involved with this game, so... I guess Ken Levine as God confirmed?

Oct 7, 2014#500

Null

Now I'm going to have to look up who Ken Levine is.

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