Hey,

Seeing that this is probably the biggest forum for game developers I thought i'd post my question here as well.

My original post on TIGSource :

"Hello everyone!

After lurking around the forums for some time now I've decided to create an account to ask a question that's been bugging me for a while now.
Let me start

I am THE sole developer of this little game :

http://www.indiedb.com/games/blackmoor-bay

I am currently developing it using Unity Free and I handle everything except most of the 3D ( Most of the models are bought from the asset store and some edited to suit my needs) and music.
The thing is that while Unity Free is ok and allows me to finish the game , Unity Pro would really help in making it look nicer/more atmospheric.

So I've been thinking of having an Indiegogo(Cannot use kickstarter due to country) campaign in the future( when I have the trailer out and the game is nearing release). The campaign will focus on getting enough money for 2 things : Unity Pro and voice acting.

For this I plan to have a campaign for about 5000 dollars max.

Based on your experiences with both your games and based on what you can see about my game, any estimates on the chances of it getting funded?

Because making an Indiegogo campaign will take some time and if it'd more likely to fail those resources are better invested in finishing the game faster .

Also any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!"

Some further clarifications :

- My game is an adventure game/ interactive story , similar to games like Gone Home, Lifeless Planet and Dear Esther. You explore the island, find clues and solve puzzles. There is no combat, survival , crafting elements. Just a story to unfold and location to explore.

- I hope to gather responses from people that actually had experiences with crowdfunding , positive or negative , but educated guesses help as well

Thanks !-

I've been involved with three crowd-funding projects (one table-top game, one video game, one musical project), none of them as the founder/owner. The tabletop-game (an RPG from a known designer) tripled its goal well before the target date. The video game (Turn-based RPG, Sci-Fi) didn't get to 1%. The musical project (a recording) from a well known guitarist is stalling at 38% at the halfway point.

So, based on these experiences and a few other word-of-mouth anecdotes, I fell confident in saying that unless you have a proven track record with excited customers or 500 friends willing to give you $10 each, you'll likely put a lot of time into a marketing campaign that won't pay off.

To be honest, I wouldn't back it. Nothing makes me want to pay you to make a game you will then sell to other people. Maybe a good video review from a reliable source would change my mind or spark my interest.

Hey thanks for your input and I do see your point, but one thing bugs me. You paying for a game that i will sell to other people. Doesn;t that apply to every game on kickstarter/indiegogo? I mean you will get the game for free for donating a certain amount (cheaper than the release) and I will probably include some other perks as well if people want to give more substantial donations. But I'm not really sure what you meant with that statement.

Other than that yea I do feel that it might be prone to fail before it even begins because of some of the reasons you mentioned and others. That's why I'm asking people with experience.

but one thing bugs me. You paying for a game that i will sell to other people. Doesn;t that apply to every game on kickstarter/indiegogo?

Absolutely! I didn't mean it to sound personal at all -- it wasn't about me and you, it was more of a comment on crowd-funding's bizzaro finances. I've had the same criticism of it from the start, even though I back plenty of things. Many people think it is a fine model for accomplishing projects, but the inner capitalist in me just thinks of it as investment without ownership, equity, or royalties.

And while you might release your game at a higher price point to non-backers, that hasn't always been the case in the past. It's a muddy topic and my thoughts on it are all pretty negative, so you may want to ignore my cranky old-guy ramblings of "Get yer Kickie-Go-Go off my lawn!" with a grain of salt.

But the real question is: What WOULD make someone like me want to back your project?

That's easy: I would be swayed by some third-party reviews and proof positive that with the right contributions the game will be finished. Maybe you could start showcasing a single "level" or chunk of gameplay that you could give to reviewers or send to the guys at Rock, Paper, Shotgun (or similar place).

I sincerely wish you luck. I hope I didn't sound down on your game (which seems like something I'd buy on release) when I was trying to be down on your current marketing (which doesn't grab me).

Thanks for clearing that up . I never felt it was personal, was just puzzled by your stance :)

I do plan of sending stuff to review sites and especially RPS, but that means polishing specific content while the game as a whole is not finished , which does mess with your workflow and I wanted to postpone that until close to release but it seems i might have to do it faster if i want coverage.

Thanks for your replies so far. They were really helpful so far.

First, the chances of getting your project enough money are very slim.

Then, once you get the money, the chances of actually completing it are slim.

What kind of experience do you have? Your site says you have 4 years of industry experience, but it seems like you have no idea about the budget of games.

Do you KNOW the costs to develop the game you have in mind?

You say you want a total of $5000. With that paltry amount of money, you want:

• A gripping story told from multiple points of view.
• Freely explore a living,breathing island , each place with it's own history to uncover.
• Dark , wet and gloomy atmosphere.
• Interactive world.Almost every object can be picked up, moved or used.

For $5000 you can afford two or three weeks of total development time. That is one individual for less than a month. What you described usually takes 30+ people more than a year of effort, costing millions of dollars.

With that much money you might be able to meet your funding goal, but you will likely be in the two thirds of products that don't deliver a finished, polished game.

Thanks for clearing that up . I never felt it was personal, was just puzzled by your stance

I aim to confuse!

but that means polishing specific content while the game as a whole is not finished , which does mess with your workflow and I wanted to postpone that until close to release but it seems i might have to do it faster if i want coverage.

It is a double edged sword, but taking the time to do it now might give you the boost in attention you need to get some buzz and fans.

First, the chances of getting your project enough money are very slim.

Then, once you get the money, the chances of actually completing it are slim.

What kind of experience do you have? Your site says you have 4 years of industry experience, but it seems like you have no idea about the budget of games.

Do you KNOW the costs to develop the game you have in mind?

You say you want a total of $5000. With that paltry amount of money, you want:

• A gripping story told from multiple points of view.
• Freely explore a living,breathing island , each place with it's own history to uncover.
• Dark , wet and gloomy atmosphere.
• Interactive world.Almost every object can be picked up, moved or used.

For $5000 you can afford two or three weeks of total development time. That is one individual for less than a month. What you described usually takes 30+ people more than a year of effort, costing millions of dollars.

With that much money you might be able to meet your funding goal, but you will likely be in the two thirds of products that don't deliver a finished, polished game.

Hey thanks for the rather brutal reply. But let me clear up a few things.

The cost of development is 0 starting now. Well 0 financially. The cost is probably go pretty high on my mental stability once the project reaches the latter stages. I have a full time job in the industry. So I don't count my cost of living in the budget.

I have already bought slowly over the course of a few months all the assets I will be using for about 500-600 dollars total. It's amazing how many cool things you can find on the asset store if you look and have just a bit of 3d knowledge to modify them where needed.

I have been working on this for about 6 months or so and it's over 50% done.

The story and the flow is written already.

The level design is done 70% ish. Needs polish

The systems are working, just need polish( journal system, map system, object interaction system weather system etc). You need not forget that this game involves no combat . It was relatively easy to write the code for all the systems I use.

The island is quite small ( around 500m in length)

I'm currently working on putting the flow from the paper to the actual game (about 20% done i'd estimate).

The game is quite short. It will take the same time to complete as the games mentioned above. 3-4 hours if you take your time and explore the island.

I am the only person directly working on the game and I plan to keep it that way, since I am confident I am able to release this alone. I do have someone writing the music , but other than that , it's just me and me alone. I have hopes of releasing it in mid december, but that's me being optimistic. But I should be able to release it sometime in Q1 next year if not.

The money I want to raise will be used for 2 things : Unity Pro and paying voice actors. That is all. I do not plan to hire programmers or 3D artists with it. Maybe purchase a few more assets packs from the asset store if I find something that looks nice and fits.

Well I don't know what else to say at this point. That's the gist of things and hopefully it clears a few things up

I would ignore frob's entire reply, even though every bit of it was truth for certain situations.

You are obviously not asking for crowdfunding support to pay a team or yourself. You need assets (audio, models, textures, whatever). Why not create a really detailed list of what you think you need to finish, why you need it, and how it adds value? While "I need $5,000 for this," sound iffy, a statement of "I need $X for this, $XX for this, and $XXX for that," would lend more credibility to any fundraising campaign.

Also, I know you didn't ask this question, but I'm going to give you a suggestion anyway. If you live in a town or city of moderate size, there are likely many small audio production studios. Most of them struggle to turn over studio time. I've moved all of my musical rehearsals and band auditions to a recording studio because I can pay them by the hour, they want my business (even though I'm not recording), and it is easier than having strangers show up at my house. Contact a small studio and tell them what you need to do (voice acting, sound effects, mixing, whatever). You'll be amazed at what they throw together talent-wise just to get you to buy several hours at the studio. Plus the recordings will be better that what most solo devs can do at home.

I didn't mean it to sound personal at all -- it wasn't about me and you, it was more of a comment on crowd-funding's bizzaro finances. I've had the same criticism of it from the start, even though I back plenty of things. Many people think it is a fine model for accomplishing projects, but the inner capitalist in me just thinks of it as investment without ownership, equity, or royalties.

Does the same thought process apply to developers using KickStarter merely to "launch" projects that are only a month or two out from release? That is, it's more clearly a pre-order, because the game is at this point almost entirely created.