I think its also a case of being smart with the projects. I found electronics projects generally deliver (if not at a much later date), because they usually have a working prototype and have actually put the time into how to build the production models (often they even have a few prod ones made up, and just need money for dies etc). Furthermore anyone looking to make big runs often works in the electronics industry themselves and knows exactly how to get stuff to market/have the knowledge of how to do it.In contrast games seem to have a fairly bad streak because people underestimate how hard it is to make a game. And from what i have read (read a lot of the why kickstarter project x failed), people don't know how to manage money for things like this. There's no 10k invoice to pay a manufacturer for parts, so people spend it on stuff like promo gear, or flying people places etc. Then realize they are short of money to pay for things they need to complete the project.
So people look at folks who spend uber dollars on this and go "how fucking sad" and "wtf that's waaaaaaay too much to spend on a game!" etc. And that's COMPLETELY the wrong way to look at this. They're not 'buying the game' at all. They're investing to help it reach fruition at all (not that it really needs much more at this point but that's beside the point). The amount that has been invested (overall or by any individual) isn't a measure of how they're printing money, it's a measure of how MUCH the community want to see this succeed.
Is someone in this forum psychic or something? Yahtzee "Ben Croshaw" decided to widdle all over the idea of Kickstarter this weekhttp://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/8744-Broken-Age
I like the swearwords he invents and also his ramblings. More humour than actual reviewing.
Plus I agree on most points he makes. Probably helps.
I think Kickstarter is one of the troublemakers. It's a system wherein people are asked to pay for something based solely on a description, and in that environment, nostalgia is king. Projects that pledge to recreate old games you used to like are virtually guaranteed to make the money back. And through that process you can see microcosmic examples of nostalgia becoming a conduit for conservatism and mistrust of the outsider. Look at all that retardation that surrounded Mighty No. 9 when the community of backers threw a collective shit-fit over the controversial hiring of a community manager who - through either being a woman, a feminist or a non-Megaman fan, depending on who you ask - committed the sin of being NOT ONE OF US. So everyone pointed and screeched like Donald Sutherland at the end of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Seriously though, if given a choice between funding something new and innovative vs, say, the new Pokémon Stadium game, which would you choose?
Quote from Pyromanik: January 31, 2014, 12:04:20 amPlus I agree on most points he makes. Probably helps.Yahtzee defecates on Kickstarter again this week in his Extra Punctuation.http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/10990-The-Nostalgia-Factor.2QuoteI think Kickstarter is one of the troublemakers. It's a system wherein people are asked to pay for something based solely on a description, and in that environment, nostalgia is king. Projects that pledge to recreate old games you used to like are virtually guaranteed to make the money back. And through that process you can see microcosmic examples of nostalgia becoming a conduit for conservatism and mistrust of the outsider. Look at all that retardation that surrounded Mighty No. 9 when the community of backers threw a collective shit-fit over the controversial hiring of a community manager who - through either being a woman, a feminist or a non-Megaman fan, depending on who you ask - committed the sin of being NOT ONE OF US. So everyone pointed and screeched like Donald Sutherland at the end of Invasion Of The Body SnatchersSeriously though, if given a choice between funding something new and innovative vs, say, the new Pokémon Stadium game, which would you choose?
Side note: why did I read that paragraph in his accent and at speed like he would...
Nostalgia doesn't promote investment, it promotes "I would buy that".New and innovative is an investment, you risk money to reap benefits and rewards at other end.Nostalgia is safe, "I'd love to play something like that again..." only without actually having anything playable at all.
The Repopulation is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game in a science fiction setting. In many ways it is a throwback to the social aspects and sandbox driven gameplay that made titles like Star Wars Galaxies and Ultima Online successful
