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Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL

Zoder

Member

Some new Kickstarters

My last thread on Kickstarter is too old to revive so here is a new one.

Like Double Fine, another current developer has decided to go the crowdfunding route. This time it's Obsidian Entertainment.

Their Kickstarter launched a few days ago for $1.1 million and it's already reached it's goal with 27 days to go! Currently over 1.6 million.
It's called Project Eternity and they describe it as follows:
quote:
Obsidian Entertainment and our legendary game designers Chris Avellone, Tim Cain, and Josh Sawyer are excited to bring you a new role-playing game for the PC. Project Eternity (working title) pays homage to the great Infinity Engine games of years past: Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment.

Project Eternity aims to recapture the magic, imagination, depth, and nostalgia of classic RPGs that we enjoyed making - and playing. At Obsidian, we have the people responsible for many of those classic games and we want to bring those games back… and that’s why we’re here - we need your help to make it a reality!
The last month has also seen another old school point and click adventure developer launch a project. Revolution with Broken Sword 5.

Their goal was $400,000. They have raised $666,000 including Paypal funding with 3 days left.

Project pages are here for anyone who's interested:
»www.kickstarter.com/proj ··· ref=live

»www.kickstarter.com/proj ··· dventure

Next year should be the real test once some of these games hit the market if this will just be a fad or a new trend in how some games are financed.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Holy crap, there's people who have pledged $10,000+ for Project Eternity.
Krisnatharok

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

I pledged $65 towards Project Eternity. That gives me two copies, a digital and hard-copy!

ekster
Hi there
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join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster to Zoder

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to Zoder
I watched Project Eternity growing from the start... the amount they got on the first 2 day was damn impressive. And I got in on it since I love these games, got lucky enough to be part of the $20 crowd... Waiting till 2014 will be a pain, but at least I'll have Baldur's Gate 1&2 enhanced keeping me occupied till then.
ekster

ekster to Zoder

Premium Member

to Zoder
»www.kickstarter.com/proj ··· s/311594

The newest update. They'll be giving the kickstarter backers an option to get it DRM free from GOG. That's a good start!

Can't wait to see what they can do without any higher ups tying them down to some stupid cookie-cutter obligations.
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL

1 recommendation

Zoder

Member

said by ekster:

Can't wait to see what they can do without any higher ups tying them down to some stupid cookie-cutter obligations.

That's definately been a problem for Obsidian in the past. KOTOR 2 being one example.
Zoder

Zoder

Member

According to Obsidian, they were approached a few months ago by a publisher to do a Kickstarter.

The publisher wanted them to raise the development money themselves through Kickstarter and the publisher would distribute the game, keeping ownership of the brand and most of the profits in the process.

»kotaku.com/5944745/big-p ··· kstarter

So was it EA or Activision?

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

said by Zoder:

So was it EA or Activision?

Sure. I wouldn't past either to use Kickstart as an advertising medium where users pay THEM to find out about the game.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

I agree I would not put it passed any of the major players to abuse it and sucker indie devs with a good idea into bad contracts.

After all it is how big music works when they find a truly good and original artist, Use them up as a brand, keep all the profits, shit them out poor as dirt when done.

Or in the gaming industry, grab up indie dev, milk their title until its dry, fire the devs, milk brand until its not just a dead horse but a dead horse beaten until its nothing more than a fine red mist.

ekster
Hi there
Premium Member
join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster to Zoder

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to Zoder
Wanted to add "Shaker", formally known as "An Old School RPG" by Tom Hall and Brenda Brathwaite

»www.kickstarter.com/proj ··· -tom-hal

They have a bit of a slow start because they kind of jumped on it without giving any real details other than keep saying old school RPG.... but the latest updates are definitely making it interesting for me.
Shaker: An Old School RPG is a first-person perspective, fantasy/sci-fi game set in a Bridge world between the future and the very distant medieval past. Taking the role of operative James Connelly (you may also customize your lead character), an employee of Shaker Corporation, you are called upon to set right a deadly chain of events that began millennia ago. You and your crew of 3 operatives will be deployed to Antera, a medieval, fantasy world in the distant past. There, under a feudal guise, you must unearth the very beginning of a horrible chain of events and avert it, or the universe we know today will cease to exist in a mere 100 years.
[...]
Shaker's core technology is a device that allows it to see 100 years into the future and as far back as all past human memory allows. A team of analysts goes over the data, and Shakers are deployed into the future or past to straighten out potential disturbances. In its history, Shaker had already averted wars, plagues and countless regional skirmishes...
The idea is a bit Assassin's Creed style. And these are the guys who worked on Wizardry, DnD, Anachronox and Doom. They will be using the Unity engine, which seems to be popular as Project Eternity and Wastelands 2 are both using it as well.

Nightshade
Premium Member
join:2002-05-26
Salem, OR

Nightshade to Krisnatharok

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to Krisnatharok
said by Krisnatharok:

I pledged $65 towards Project Eternity. That gives me two copies, a digital and hard-copy!

I put in 35 myself for the game. Seems to be a good investment and looking forward to it

ekster
Hi there
Premium Member
join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster

Premium Member

I pledged for the game and expansion. Totally worth it. And I haven't been in the mood to pay full retail price for a single game in a long time (other than Torchlight!), I'd always wait for a deal... and hilariously enough, I'm willingly paying extra for the couple of games coming out on kickstarter without regret.
And PE reached every stretch goal and some more so far. Not sure if they'll add one more as there are only 12 hours left... but they did already pass the last goal of 3.5m by almost a 100k already and it's not slowing down.

I just wish Shaker would get some attention afterwards. I really love their concept, but their initial start was a bit too vague and they're having trouble keeping up. Hopefully it'll pick up once the PE kickstarter ends.
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL

Zoder

Member

There is a 4 million goal now. With the paypal pledges they just might reach it.

Deo85
join:2012-10-19

Deo85 to Zoder

Member

to Zoder
Kickstarts is a amazing site and set up for Indy Developer but god if the big publishers will not screw this up and try and abuse it for every penny they can get... You try and walk away and they want the whole cake asap not caring who they hurt in the process god I hate that about publishers these days.

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok to Zoder

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to Zoder
Total Annihilation kick-start:

»www.kickstarter.com/proj ··· ref=live

Still remember the mods for TA--anyone remember the total makeover that set it in outer space with massive cap ships? So much goodness.

ekster
Hi there
Premium Member
join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster to Zoder

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to Zoder
A new kickstarter that I just noticed, and that might interest a few people. It's an RPG set in the post-apocalyptic world where you gather resources, build a base, stay alive and kill stuff! It's like Sims meeting Fallout.

»www.kickstarter.com/proj ··· fortress

It's a "a special RPG in which you assemble your team, build and defend your base, collect resources, and survive in a post-apocalyptic world "

"Unlike many other existing post-apocalyptic RPGs, Forsaken Fortress emphasizes simulation features such as base building, character personality/interaction, and resource collection. You will need to lead a group of survivors to construct your base and maintain its basic functions, such as electricity generation or food storage. Meanwhile, you will ensure the base's security by building defenses and setting traps. You will also need to lead your expedition team to the wasteland to gather supplies and to work on missions, balancing their professional skills in order to maximize their effectiveness. Characters in Forsaken Fortress are highly dynamic in their behavior. They have needs, goals and personalities which will influence their daily life and decision making. Some of them may fall in love and some of them may not get along, but all them bring life to the devastated, forsaken world."

I AM
Premium Member
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM

Premium Member

What happens if these dudes just take allt his money and run with it?

ekster
Hi there
Premium Member
join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster

Premium Member

The creators do have an obligation to either fulfill the project, or refund the money if they are unable to complete the project... but like anything else, if they run, then they run. Not much you can do.

A few more details.
»www.kickstarter.com/blog ··· kstarter

In general, I either pick projects that have a big name behind (you know they'll have to do it, as reputation would mean too much for them to screw up) or there is already a fair amount of work done, like the game above. I doubt they'd spend all that time making so much of the game only to run afterwards.

But it's a risk like anything else in the end. Though, so far, kickstarter has been pretty good for everyone.

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS

Premium Member

Let me get this straight.
Company XYZ makes games.
People are giving real money away to XYZ (through an intermediary) so that XYZ will produce what they are supposed to produce to begin with, without gaining real consideration (stocks, etc).
If and when XYZ does produce the title, the same people who have already given money away, will give XYZ more money to purchase that game they have already funded.
Is that about right?

ekster
Hi there
Premium Member
join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster

Premium Member

By funding it, depending on your pledge and their reward, you will have the product, and possibly other extra things (if you choose the higher rewards.)

As for the supposed to be making it part... for some, they will make it regardless if they get funded or not by kickstarter, others will not be able to make it in the first place if it doesn't get funded originally, and some will be able to make it bigger and better with extra funds than what they had originally been able to do with extra funding.

EUS
Kill cancer
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join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS

Premium Member

Interesting, I have to digest this.

ekster
Hi there
Premium Member
join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster

Premium Member

And for what it's worth, the lower tier plain pledges for most video games, where you just get the game and nothing extra, have all been $10-20 so far (at least the ones I've seen.) Including big titles like Project Eternity... which will probably retail for the usual $60 in stores later on, I bet.

EUS
Kill cancer
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
canada

EUS

Premium Member

Oh, you do get a copy of the game then.
Thx.

I AM
Premium Member
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM to ekster

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I'm sure people are being smart about this but from what I read there's no real stopping them from just taking your money and running with it? Doesn't it seem like a big scam?

ekster
Hi there
Premium Member
join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster

Premium Member

It's always a possibility, like anywhere else. People can always run of with you money everywhere. But kickstarter is not a scam. It's been around since 2009 and has worked fine so far.

Plus the updates show the actual product being worked on... so it's not a quick 'we want to do this, thanks, see ya!' thing. You can see them working on it.

And while there were some scams, they got found out and shut down pretty quick. But in the end, if you don't trust it, then nothing can be done or said to change that and you would be better off avoiding it.

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

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to I AM
I don't think there's the risk of a company taking your money and running, as much as a developer fails to live up to the promises and hype and the the backlash affects Kickstarter.

But that remains to be seen. The Star Citizens and Project Obsidians will be what Kickstarter needs to remain successful.

Jobbie
Keep It Simple
Premium Member
join:2010-08-24
Mexico

Jobbie

Premium Member

Another awesome kickstarter is Elite Dangerous:
Going from this in the 80's

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· bZpH1QuE


To this:

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· YRyhxYhI


»www.kickstarter.com/proj ··· angerous

Adding more into the space sim genre.

ekster
Hi there
Premium Member
join:2010-07-16
Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC

ekster

Premium Member

Out of space sims, I'm personally following »www.kickstarter.com/proj ··· egy-game

There are plenty of 4X FPS/Sim type games, and I've been looking for a turn based one for a while... so I'm keeping an eye out on the above. It seems to be a much smaller project, but they're already pretty far into it.

But first, I want to see Forsaken Fortress to go through!
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

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to Jobbie
I read somewhere that Elite was one of the big inspirations for EVE-Online.

Deremus
join:2011-09-01
Chandler, AZ

Deremus to ekster

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to ekster
said by ekster:

But first, I want to see Forsaken Fortress to go through!

I got interested in Forsaken Fortress as well, being a fan of Dwarf Fortress. I checked out their site and it looks like they got the goal funding plus a little extra. I can't wait for it to be finished!