Thursday, October 30, 2014

Side Post!

It's been a while since I've come up with a Side Post. I guess I just want them to be at least remotely meaningful when they come around. I could just spit one out and call it a day, but that doesn't feel right for me. I'd rather have fewer posts with better quality than just a pile of posts with little quality. (Although one could argue that more recent stuff for the past couple months doesn't compare to how I used to be...) Then an idea hit me!... and then that idea got twisted around, lost, misunderstood, rewritten a few times, and then it ended up like this. It's kinda unpolished and highly irregular, but try to enjoy it nonethless!


Recurring Fantasy Side Post Theater Proudly Presents
Crowdfunding - The Heavily Traveled Road to Indie Fortune


I know I have mentioned Kickstarter before, but I figured it's time to throw my gloves into the gauntlet of talking about them in more depth! Like... Are they truly worth it? There's all kinds of  crowdfunding out there. It ranges from charity-esque things to inventions to scams to (the main focus of my post) video games! (Yes, I know that Kickstarter isn't the only crowdfunding source, but it's the main one I see used.)

Now, I've backed my fair share of Kickstarters. I'd share my Kickstarter profile, but... I'm a tad ashamed of some of the things I've backed. To just be clear on how many projects I have gotten behind... The current count for "backed and successful projects" is THIRTY-EIGHT! Of that count, nineteen (exactly half by chance) of those are video games of one sort or another. Here's a list containing the majority of what I've backed so far...
You've probably heard of at least a few of those games. Mighty No. 9 was a pretty big one among those above. Project Eternity (actual name is Pillars of Eternity now) was another pretty big one a couple years ago. All in all, I'm generally happy with what has happened with these Kickstarters. There's a few of them that went south, but I've accepted that and moved on.

If you'd prefer a few crowdfunded games that are actually out... 
  • They Bleed Pixels - Pixel art platformer with lots of challenge and pixel blood to unleash!
  • Shovel Knight - Return to your childhood with a mixture between Mega Man, Super Mario Bros 3, and various other NES games mixed into one fantastic new classic game!
  • Risk of Rain - Roguelike with an interesting twist! Speed through the levels while fighting off hordes of enemies. Longer you take, the harder it gets!
  • Dungeonmans - I clearly enjoy roguelikes... Fight your way through various dungeons as a "Dungeonman". Plenty of enemies to slay and challenge to be served.
  • Shadowrun Returns - Video game adaptation of the popular Shadowrun role playing game.
  • Divinity: Original Sin - cRPG (Computer RPG) with a lot of detail and tactical-style battles.
I don't own all of these, but they're all quite successful in creating what was promised.

Now, it's time to get to the meat of this very post. I'll be positive as usual and start with what I enjoy about crowdfunded games.

Crowdfunding is a great idea on many levels. (Going to focus purely on game crowdfunding from here down.) You bring forward the idea of your "ultimate game", and then you ask people who enjoy what they see to help bring the game to fruition. With the right planning, preparation, and idea, you can come out with one of those record breaking crowdfunds that broke the goal and hit all those fancy stretch goals. Let me just list out what I think are the greatest positives to Kickstarter:

  1. Indie games with interesting gameplay and unique ideas.
  2. Able to bring the idea straight to the gamers for both judgement and input.
  3. Aren't limited by someone upstairs who can change things at their own will.
  4. Ability for people like me to help support something we truly want.
  5. Variety of genres that are getting revived through this method.
  6. Old series seeing the light of day with revivals.
I could go on!... But then I'd probably just repeat previous points. It's great to see people who create games want to make their dreams happen and bring those games to the public. Whether that's the little guy trying to bring us something new (Risk of Rain), a group trying to revive the old with a new twist (Shovel Knight), or trying to revive an entire series/genre! (Mighty No 9, Pillars of Eternity). These crowdfunding ventures succeeded because the gamers saw something that made them say "I want to play that!" It's great to see these success stories building from the crowdfunding level, to the developing level, to the fully finished, just released amazing game that's blowing the world apart! It just feels great to see your support make a difference and come to the world! 

Unfortunately, not every crowdfunding venture is successful. Often times, there's just as many failure stories as there are success ones. While one game might succeed, another one might be neglected in entirety. Whose fault does that lie on though? Even in the regular game programming world, the game can go wrong at so many levels. Production might get halted in favor of a more prominent project. Games can be abandoned due to problems and lack of interest. Then you have those titles that enter "development hell" for years and years... eventually it becomes a joke. That being said, crowdfunding can fail for many reasons. Even upon success, that's no guarantee that a game will be released even remotely like what was promised.

I'm really not that negative yet, but I've been wrapped up in some of the failing projects on multiple ends. So what truly can kill the crowdfunded game? Let's split into two lists. 

First up, the games who don't make the cut:
  1. Game description - Sometimes, the game they're passionate about just isn't what the world wants. It's possible that SOME people want it, but maybe it's not enough to hit that ten thousand or more mark that is required to get these games going.
  2. Video - The video is truly the make or break point if you ask me. If you don't even have a video.. I don't know what to tell you. Now if you do make the video, be sure to give a good talking about the game, its story, and your overall goal. You need those because otherwise... You are just in it for the money.
  3. Lack of gameplay - This factor plays somewhat into the previous one. If your video doesn't have any gameplay (beta, alpha, demo), you... probably aren't as prepared as you should be. I'm saying this from what I've seen.
  4. The feels - Let's be fair. If I go to your crowdfunding page, and I don't get that immediate feeling of "I want to play this". It could just be me being picky, but the first thought upon seeing your page should just have that immediate BAM! (Of course, that's a lot of things in life, but you get what I'm saying.)
Secondly, the games who DO make it but fail somehow:
  1. No work beforehand - Don't start from scratch. Do not do a crowdfund until you have everything almost entirely planned out AND have a demo/video of gameplay or even really basic example of gameplay.
  2. United workforce - You're about to take on a huge project with a group of people. You need to be united as a group ready to take on some hard times.
  3. Funding - Don't undershoot how much you truly need to do the game. From what I've heard, even many of the super funded games can run pretty close to the edge. 
  4. Promised Day - Very, very, VERY few crowdfunded games (or any in general) seem to make it on time. Don't fret about it, but don't promise a day you can't handle. You can't promise the end of the year and then release the game 2-3 years later. That is failing.
So at the end of the day, crowdfunding isn't perfect. It's a neat way for people to get their ideas created into reality, but there's no guarantee it will work out. I've had a few of my projects go downhill and die... I won't point any fingers, but one of the ones I listed above has ended up a complete failure. On top of that, it was even super-fully-funded! (Hit multiple stretch goals and all.) I was bitter about it for a while, but then I realized the money was gone and no point getting angry over it. All I can hope for now... Is for more great crowdfunded game opportunities! 

I'll be sure to share a few when some great ones come down the line, but until then... Thanks for reading!


~May the Crystals Guide Me~
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