Don't Expect Sid Meier To Mooch Cash Via Kickstarter

[Earnest Cavalli]

Don't Expect Sid Meier To Mooch Cash Via Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a huge deal at the moment, but legendary game designer Sid Meier doesn't have much faith that it could benefit his work.

Meier, whose name you all should recognize, is the key figure behind a number of undeniably classic games. Civilization, Alpha Centauri, Sid Meier's Pirates! - the list goes on an on. As a result, when Mr. Meier has something to say about the state of gaming, it's probably for the best that we all pay close attention to the man's words. Particularly when they're aimed at the gaming industry's current obsession du jour: Kickstarter.

Speaking with GamesIndustry, Meier offers two key reasons for his Kickstarter aversion: First, he prefers to remain out of the business side of game development, instead opting to focus on creative work.

"[Publisher 2K Games does] all the stuff I don't want to do; they allow me to make games and really focus on that part of what it takes to get a game out there. I get to design games, I get to program games, I get to work with the artists and the sound guys and do the fun stuff. They worry about testing it and publishing it and promoting it and selling it - whatever it takes to do that I would be really bad at, they do," Meier says.

"So more power to Chris Roberts and the Kickstarter, but having a great publisher is a real asset and allows me to focus on the things that I can do and not worry about all the other stuff that needs to be worried about."

Second, he believes that all of the promotional material needed to attract proper Kickstarter support locks developers into ideas at a very early stage of development. Meier prefers the ability to change things as a game's creation rolls along.

"You've got to convince people to support it and create trailers or whatever it takes to get the support," Meier states. "I think you kind of lock yourself into a lot of ideas early. I really enjoy the luxury of changing my design and evolving over time. I'd be a little concerned with Kickstarter if I committed to X, Y and Z and I found out down the road that Z didn't work very well, I kind of promised to do this."

That said, Meier acknowledges the benefits Kickstarter offers for certain development teams. "I think it's great for people who want that indie environment, but there are advantages and disadvantages to each situation," he adds.

As I mentioned above, Meier is a guy who certainly knows the gaming biz, so it's nice to see him weigh in on this issue, particularly as he's one of the few voices who remains moderate on the topic. Instead of blindly praising Kickstarter, he lists solid reasons why it wouldn't work for him. Propers to Mr. Meier for that, and here's hoping he never has to turn to the public to fund his next big game idea.

Source: GamesIndustry [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-05-13-sid-meier-we-must-not-forget-the-value-of-the-core-gamer]


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[DTWolfwood]

Coincidentally, someone of his protege pedigree would certainly garner more kickstarter money than your average joe wanting to get his project off the ground.

Also to be fair he has the clout to tell publishers what he wants made, not many developers have that option. So yes its nice when the publisher is willing to give you a chance. Not so much when they don't.

But good points nonetheless, good on you Sid Meier. (Love saying his name for some reason.)

 

[MrCollins]

A very calm and rational view from an Industry Figurehead.

The title, however, leads to the assumption that Meier is criticizing other famous devs who are using kickstarter to fund their projects.

 

[frizzlebyte]

He has some excellent points. To add something, I also think that people will get tired of directly funding the development of games. There has been some talk of "Funding Burnout" amongst players, and I think that is a very real concern. Kickstarter is great for those devs who need the money for a game that is almost impossible to fund through traditional pubs, but overusing it, or shoehorning it into your plans without looking at the downsides, would be foolish.

Great to see that some developers are able to notice that the grass might just be green enough on their side of the fence.

 

[BlindTom]

You can rely on the old guard to actually say interesting things every now and then instead of the usual "my game 2 deep 4 u" "pirates r x" "no pirates r y" nonsense.

The second point is really interesting and has a definite ring of truth to it. Kickstarter projects really can't iterate on new ideas in radical ways. This will affect how I view them, since only a very precisely defined project (like a re-release or graphics update) could really avoid this pitfall.

Shadowrun Returns has already suffered from this problem in numerous small ways and it isn't even out yet.

 

[GothmogII]

I don't think that ideas get locked in at all if the developers are careful. I've seen a few Kickstarters I've followed step back and say, okay, this idea isn't working let's try something else. Granted, I've never seen one do a complete 180 and morph into something else entirely... The rest of what he's saying is pretty obvious though, regarding having to drum up support and the like, but I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing, while marketing might not be the same thing as presenting the finished game, it at least shows that the developers have some degree of faith in the project themselves that they'll devote time to advertise and promote rather than just put their idea up.

It's more that his issue seems to be that if he were to undertake a Kickstarter project that he wouldn't like to get involved with the business side of things, especially if it interfered with time he'd want to spend on game design, which is fair enough. But, he could still be the 'face' and otherwise just stick with the design and give someone else the other responsibilities.

Yeah...a bit confused on the 'mooching' bit...he doesn't say anything about that at all.

 

[ksn0va]

Wow, all sorts of problems with this. Worst being the title, Meier does not consider those who use Kickstarter "moochers." That is the bias of the person creating the article and not the view of Meier who the article is supposedly about, which is unprofessional.

I kinda feel like the title was a slight jab at Lord British

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

His view makes perfect sense but the title of this article should be changed, it makes it sound like he is calling out kickstarters as a way to mooch money or is just someone criticizing kickstarter in a non-calm and rational way.

 

[Abomination]

Terrible title, especially when Sid mentions

"So more power to Chris Roberts and the Kickstarter, but having a {{{great}}} publisher is a real asset and allows me to focus on the things that I can do and not worry about all the other stuff that needs to be worried about."

Emphasis mine. When the publisher does the publishing stuff and lets the designers do the designing stuff the relationship works great.

When it doesn't, it doesn't.

So congratulations, Mr. Cavalli, you titled a piece that would imply Sid - one of the most successful and highly respected designers ever - would call Kickstarter the crutch beggers. People clicked thinking "No way, I've got to hear this" and got the exact opposite.

 

[Parakeettheprawn]

His view makes perfect sense but the title of this article should be changed, it makes it sound like he is calling out kickstarters as a way to mooch money or is just someone criticizing kickstarter in a non-calm and rational way.

Agreed. Title needs changed, he's being far more reasonable about it. I don't expect sensationalism from the Escapist, if I wanted that, I could go to Kotaku. The article itself is well written and makes the points clear, but yeah... change the title.

 

[mad825]

In other news; major Publishers/developers don't use kickstarter. If he did use kickstarter, he would look bad.

 

[nathan-dts]

"So more power to Chris Roberts and the Kickstarter, but having a great publisher is a real asset and allows me to focus on the things that I can do and not worry about all the other stuff that needs to be worried about."

Sid, if you weren't one of the greats then you wouldn't find it so easy to get your game published and if you did, you wouldn't have full creative control. Kickstarter is important; Indies aren't at risk if their game fails and new ideas have a place to be picked up.

 

[mechalynx]

To be fair, his publisher is 2K, one of the last shining beacons in the industry being rapidly engulfed in darkness. I'd be praising them too.

 

[FEichinger]

Gosh, people, stop complaining about the "news" on this site not being neutral enough. I, for one, love the fact that the author's opinion plays a role in the articles. It makes it seem all the more human than the likes of Kotaku and IGN - which, no matter how much douchebaggery and ill-informed content you see there, still remains wonderfully neutral.

If you don't like the author, don't read it. But I'd rather have Grey making dickjokes, Susan squeeing half-way into a sentence and Chalk hating on ... well, something, than a surgically clean article. Hell, half of what Lemon writes has me shaking my head. Doesn't mean I want him to stop, though. (Even though he sure could at least do research a little more sometimes *cough cough*)

Stop reading too much into the way something is phrased. The gist of the article is still the same: Sid Meier isn't going to use Kickstarter. Simple as that.

(And, quite frankly, the title isn't even misleading this time. If Sid Meier were to use Kickstarter it is just mooching. He is one of the big guys. He has full backing by his publisher. Going to Kickstarter for money would be disrespectful to the community, imo.)

 

[Evil Smurf]

I'll buy any game with his name on it. I love that man.

 

[rapidoud]

To be fair, his publisher is 2K, one of the last shining beacons in the industry being rapidly engulfed in darkness. I'd be praising them too.

They made GMG charge Aussies more by charging GMG more for products, and they are notorious for charging us more in every aspect they can get their grubby fingers on. You know those steam games that cost $90 when retail is about $70-80 nowadays? Yeah, that's mostly 2K Games doing it. Whoever is in charge of that aspect at 2K Games should be fired as it's bringing the company's reputation down amongst the global community.

They're the opposite of a shining beacon; they're a black hole, sucking everything down with it.