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Kickstarter, Alphafunding, Pre-orders, etc

Discussion in 'Starbound Discussion' started by CanadianWolvie, Mar 1, 2012.

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  1. CanadianWolvie

    CanadianWolvie Master Chief

    Recently for myself, I am becoming increasingly aware of how Indie Devs are breaking new ground in brushing off the shackles of a publisher's money to pay salaries and keep the lights on, especially with Kickstarter and Desura. Its a bit of a buzz these days, various projects exceeding their goals well in excess of what they could possibly dream of.

    But lets not be mistaken, this is not necessarily a new phenomenon, it just keeps taking on new forms. For years now Indie Devs have been pioneers in finding ways make the dream of making games a reality. I remember when Mount & Blade first started allowing access to their alpha and beta builds to those who pre-ordered - it was effectively alphafunding but we just didn't have a name for it yet, well in advance of Notch and Minecraft taking a crack at it. Heck, I may be off on the timeline but I was aware of Unknown Worlds Entertainment taking a shot at alphafunding on their Natural Selection 2 project before Minecraft.

    FTL is very much part of the reason I am aware of Starbound's development, I was hungry for news on it and a fellow gamer said "You think that is cool, huh? Check this website out!" and recently they thought what the heck, sure we may be no Tim Schaffer, but we have a solid thing here. Its skyrocketed. And that got me to thinking, so ... is Starbound going to do a Kickstarter? Or would they go Alphafunding on Desura? Launch their own thing? And what would be cool with other gamers here, what beefs and bouquets might you have had with the various ways Indie Devs have been taking pre-orders?
     
  2. Awesomized

    Awesomized Oxygen Tank

    Tiy got a fair share of Terraria's profit. No extra money is needed, due to the amount of copies sold.
     
  3. TheRev

    TheRev Industrial Terraformer

    It actually worries me when games start asking for money before the actual release (Pre-Ordering the game after there is some kind of beta is different as there is actual solid information that they have something done).

    Do the work, show the game, and people will pay for it. Anything before that is just greedy and impatient, and I am very glad that Starbound will not be doing something on those lines.
     
  4. Awesomized

    Awesomized Oxygen Tank

    Minecraft used kickstarter for a documentary, which apparently takes 1 year to make. 1 year for a documentary about a game with badly written code.
     
  5. TheRev

    TheRev Industrial Terraformer

    Well Minecraft was written in Java, and Notch lost most my respect right there lol...Not to mention just dropping a game, and then coming back to it after something like Terraria comes out. But I haven't actually "looked" at the code (as I said before.. Java.. eww) but I do know a bit of Java, and it is not pretty.. Not even close to the efficiency of C# and XNA

    Edit: And as I said.. Greedy and impatient.. May not make a lot of "Minecraft" Friends saying that, but it does seem to fit heh =)
     
  6. Ecchiholic

    Ecchiholic Cosmic Narwhal

    Notch.. yeah, Minecraft had so many potential, but as soon as the cash started flowing notch started to do everything but coding Minecraft and now after 3 years we have a half finished game. Don't get me wrong Minecraft is a good game, but it could be better.
     
    Zerasu and Marokutai like this.
  7. lunboks

    lunboks Phantasmal Quasar

    I'm not sure that they need or want either alphafunding or Kickstarter (or substitutes). Maybe they're just very rich, and hey, that little-known "Terraria" game Tiy worked on didn't sell too badly.

    Maybe they just don't want to release anything before they're reasonably done.

    The public statements of "the team decided against it", and the fact that there isn't such a thing when the bags of money from rabid fans are practically mid-flight, are somewhat telling.
     
  8. nish

    nish Subatomic Cosmonaut

    you do realize Jeb took over minecraft and is doing weekly updates right? >.<
     
  9. Ecchiholic

    Ecchiholic Cosmic Narwhal

    Yes, that's why I didn't criticize him. He's doing a great Job. But if Notch did everything Jeb is doing now, the game could me much better right now. I still regret sometimes that I bought Minecraft that early in development.
     
  10. nish

    nish Subatomic Cosmonaut

    yeah, i got a bit disappointed but then terraria took over, hopefully minecraft will until starbound, and then reddigits unnamed game after that, endless epic
     
  11. Ecchiholic

    Ecchiholic Cosmic Narwhal

    Play it with the YogBox, it's a fun experience.
     
    CanadianWolvie likes this.
  12. Nodscouter

    Nodscouter Subatomic Cosmonaut

    Ever heard of Starfarer?
    They asked for donations, showing off a few screenshots and such, and eventually, once they had enough money to continue developing properly, they gave the preview versions to people who donated, and then proceeded to sell the game in a M&B way.
    They actually needed the money to continue developing the game, it wasn't just ''Give us munny!'' or anything. It was simply asking the community to help pay for the games development.
    Asking for money before releasing a game =/= Pure evulz, mate.
     
  13. lunboks

    lunboks Phantasmal Quasar

    No. 2 Player Productions used Kickstarter to make a documentary that is Minecraft-related. They are not a video game, and they are also not Mojang.

    That's different.
     
    CanadianWolvie and Starheaven07 like this.
  14. Princeofmar5

    Princeofmar5 Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    So this topic went from Kickstarter and Alphafunding to bashing Minecraft (which is a great game btw) back to Kickstarter and Alphafunding. I think it's ok to have something like pre-ordering if you have enough proof that you aren't just trying to get people's money (like pictures, maybe videos or even a demo)
     
    CanadianWolvie likes this.
  15. TheRev

    TheRev Industrial Terraformer

    I am sure a lot of people agree with this, but at some point ya just need to consider is if a game is currently good or currently bad, not how good it could of been cause then your just looking at grass on the other side.. which we know is obviously greener :p


    The exception does not make the rule... I am not saying that there is no way it could work out, just that if it does not then you are out of luck. And also it doesn't matter how they ask for it, if they ask for money that "Could be considered" a step in the wrong direction... Its as simple as this, if you need money there are many ways of going at it, there is no reason to "Hit up" what could be your customers for a few bucks, it is unprofessional, and puts you in a spot of now "Owing" them... Also those who do pay, are just basically gambling money, as any "real" production would have some kind of Demo, or Pre-order from a shop (Like Steam) to show for itself.. Not just someone saying "Trust me..."
    Just pointing out the faults that were apparent in Minecraft, as someone used it as an example of people asking for money. But I as I said earlier I do agree with the pre-ordering, although I have been burned Pre-Ordering a game that ended up being a flop before... (To keep on topic I will leave Final Fantasy's name out of it heh.. oops)
     
  16. orillian

    orillian Void-Bound Voyager

    Them asking for money is not really that different from Silicone Valley start-ups that get millions upon millions of dollars for telling people. "We want to change the world!" When a dev studio asks for money to continue production of a game there is an inherent risk like with any business that's just starting out. Not everyone is a risk taker, not everyone wants to spend their paper route money on risky ventures, but for those that do the rewards can be amazing. I've yet to get burned when helping devs out with money. It doesn't necessarily mean I like or enjoy every game I've helped fund. But in the end if you help support a studio early your doing it to help not to get a game YOU like.

    I guess what I'm saying is that a studios can and should look towards those interested in their work for funding if they need it, and it's not evil, it's what every other industry does. Look for funding with people that can see your vision. Does it always work? Nope! Are some people just trying to swindle people out of cash? Some, but most studios that fail to launch their product after funding failed for other reasons than that.
     
    CanadianWolvie likes this.
  17. CrateMuncher

    CrateMuncher Big Damn Hero

    If this gets a Kickstarter i'll probably not donate unless i can donate €10 and get the game instantly along with any future updates.
     
  18. orillian

    orillian Void-Bound Voyager

    I highly doubt they need or want to do a Kickstarter mind you! But then again anything could happen.
     
  19. Jermex

    Jermex The Stampede Forum Moderator

    Personally, I think they should do alpha/kickstarter funding for several positive reasons.
    For alpha funding - Your fans will bug test your game for you AND PAY YOU TO DO IT.
    It will allow the game time to snowball in popularity, so when the actual release comes around and the price goes up, you will make a Bundle!

    for kickstarter funding - It will allow the developers to get a good feel for their core audience. What works, what doesn't. therefore the final version can avoid those features which don't hit their mark.

    That being say, there are also distinct disadvantages as well.
    For example, releaseing it TOO early & bug ridden wont impress anyone. The devs will spend more time fixing bugs than they will adding features.
    Ideally, I would like to see at least 80%feature implementation. And let us fans do the bug testing.
     
    CanadianWolvie likes this.
  20. Bixxith

    Bixxith Void-Bound Voyager

    I think Kickstarter is a good idea. I was wondering if they were going to use that to determine beta users like a lot of newer games are doing. Guess forum involvement works instead though.
     
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