Balance of Power Creator Says Kickstarter Used To Be Cool

[Smooth Operator]

Oh Crawford you mad evil genious, I actually know a bit about the guy, mainly his lectures... the man is completely bonkers in a charming sort of way, imagine Peter Molyneux from planet Zarg and on crack.

Be that as it may, sorry but your game is not something I would want to play, hell I don't know a single soul that would... that is the main reason why this failed.

 

[SirPlindington]

Kickstarter used to be cool before it went mainstream, man!

It was never really what he thought it was in the first place. His project didn't get funded. Sucks for him. That doesn't mean that Kickstarter has changed for the worse.

 

[duchaked]

Kickstarter seems to be on the same track as the last time I checked but eh you really gotta have a good pitch to get attention

 

[Whispering Death]

Yep, kickstarter just isn't cool enough for an old man who hasn't made a video game in 20 years, wears a creepy cult white shirt, and made a boring educational game in his basement.

Kickstarter just isn't cool enough.

 

[Johnson McGee]

That video... maybe he should have at least paid that software marketing consultant for a couple hours, and gotten better sound equipment.

I would be interested in the game except I already have a very similar one called Fate of the World, and it's quite good.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

I assumed from the title and the first two seconds of his video that this guy was a dickbag. I kept on reading, and I was proven right.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

It feels more like it didn't get funded because people didn't like the idea of the game. Sorry, but Kickstarter isn't just a 'CAN I HAVE MONEY PLEASE' button. Your idea actually has to attract interest to make money.

 

[Farther than stars]

Uh, RocketHub? That's the indie equivalent of Kickstarter's mainstream these days.

 

[Twilight_guy]

So you're complaining that kickstarter needs advertising for your project to work? That's true of any area where they are numerous projects. Maybe if kickstarter had like a dozen projects, but with everyone jumping on board its going to take some advertising to raise awareness.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

At first I thought that he was talking about x-wing vs tie fighter: balance of power. Then I was disappointed

 

[elvor0]

Mr.Crawford is right. Kickstarter did change. It used to be about getting actual people who wanted to invest in projects to be created into another consumer dump where companies that are already dedicated to making the product are simply selling consumers a product in advance. It stopped being about people becoming investors and became people continuing to be consumers.

I mean this isn't entirely a bad thing but it isn't a positive thing either. One of the biggest problems with out economy is that people aren't investing and while there are sites where people can invest in small family businesses abroad they can't invest locally. Kickstarter could of been that filler but instead people have proven that they would rather be consumers instead of investors. So instead of having a stake in the matter it is safer to just offer a reward for investing.

I suppose, but then it could be more of a "safe" investment as it were. People are unlikely to just give you cash, it's a nice sentiment, but lets look at it this way: (although this is more game centric)

For the big Kickstarters, some people will give enough for a copy of the game, and some people will give thousands of dollars, this is an investment, as the only reward back is the game and a few doodads, however due to the amount of people giving cash for "a copy of the game" on top of the big investers, the kickstarter gets more cash, which will either go towards funding extra game features, or allow them to have leftover capitol for a future endevour, or may even get publishers interested in them, because they've shown that people will hand over money for the games they make, grinding away the "this isn't a safe investment/no one will buy this" philosophy that the AAA execs have adopted.

Either way, it leads to more games from the developer as the kickstarter helps them to get onto/back on their feet. So it's an investment but in a roundabout way, it's not just giving money with the hope of a come back, it's helping people...well get a kickstart in their games.

I mean we can't expect people to invest really, that's for people with lots of money, I'm quite happy to donate to kickstarters of all styles, but I'm too poor to donate lots of money, so I tend to donate the cost of the game+a fiver, and I'm sure there're lots of people like me that all add up to allowing them to have the money to make the game in the first place. I thought that was the whole point of kickstarter? Little donations adding up to a big amount, not for people to actually...invest in "Dragons Den" style.

 

[Tiamat666]

I actually played Balance of Power and knew who Chris Crawford is. But this video of his, it's no good. He's trying to be funny, but the style doesn't suit neither him nor the subject at hand. He would have been better off making a serious and factual promotional video for his serious game.

Also, I have always suspected Chris Crawford to be an egocentric guy. The "bad" ending of Balance of Power basically told you that you're an idiot and you suck (not really, but that's the way it felt). And unfortunately this video really highlights that uncharismatic personality trait of his.

 

[Judgement101]

Kickstarter is going to be the death of innovation. People like what is familiar so they will throw money at remakes of old games, minecraft variations, and other non-imaginative games. I know this may not be true but based on the games that are currently being largely donated to, it seems like this may end up becoming the truth.

 

[Right Hook]

Awe poor baby, nobody supported your game so now you are gonna complain that it has nothing to do with people not liking you and thinking your concept is a banal waste of time. The video is just him phoning it in for four minutes, trying to act all kooky and funny so people will like him but it just doesn't work. The first minute is of him explaining how fucking great he is and how it's essentially an atrocity that he is unknown, so he had to take this last stab at really getting a name for himself. It failed, he got bitter and bitched with no real point, get over yourself dude.

 

[PlasmaCow]

the internet not altruistic? The same internet that has donated over $1,000,000 on IndieGoGo in just 4 days to a fund to buy the site of Nikola Tesla's laboratory and fund a museum?

 

[Formica Archonis]

At first I thought that he was talking about x-wing vs tie fighter: balance of power. Then I was disappointed

Wow. Just "disappointed"? That should be a drop like a five-year-old finding Santa's corpse in the chimney on Christmas morning instead of presents.



I remember Balance of the Planet. Read a strategy guide for it some years ago. Even from the screenshots in the strategy guide I was getting a vibe of "You're First World and you should feel guilty!" It made my 11-year-old self feel bad. I didn't know who this Fidel Castro guy was but the fail-screen quotes complaining how my lifestyle was condemning little children to starve seemed pretty serious.

Whatever, so it's a preachy sim game, let's see if he can talk me into parting with some cash. I'm up for it if he's at least good.

(Watches video.) Oh my God. He's like the most annoying schoolteacher and the most patronizing kid show host all rolled into one. I'm in my thirties and he's talking at me like I'm three. He seems to forget that a lot of gamers with money are working adults or at least part-time job teenagers.

Well, no matter, let's look at the rewards. Like always, the first one is the ga... "There is a probability that your name appear -- all by itself -- in a credit screen at the beginning of the game." WHAT? Five bucks for a lottery ticket with a not very good prize?

Okay, free game, I see that now, but he seems to be missing the point here. Even if he gives it away in the end he should have late beta/early access for the donors. Also: The tiers are completely broken. 5/25/50/100/1000? Seriously? Can't fill out those gaps a bit more, especially that HUGE one between "a bit over one day's work" and more than my entire paycheck?

The trick is to stagger it so there's a SMALL jump between levels, so the person who pledges sees it's $10 more for the next thing, and then only $15 more for the next.... Then later on a few really over the top pie-in-the-sky tiers in case rich people happen to come along.

Yeah, I can see why this failed. Crawford crapped out a Kickstarter without ONCE looking at the pitches of the successful ones to figure out what they did right.

If you'll excuse me, I'll be over here throwing money at the Giana Sisters Kickstarter [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/project-giana/project-giana]. Seriously, playable demo? Demos = goodness.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Kickstarter is going to be the death of innovation. People like what is familiar so they will throw money at remakes of old games, minecraft variations, and other non-imaginative games. I know this may not be true but based on the games that are currently being largely donated to, it seems like this may end up becoming the truth.

That is complete baloney.

I'm sorry man, but you couldn't have pulled such a shining example of fox news worthy fear mongering if you tried.

How the fuck will kickstarter be the death of innovation? That makes no sense. Kickstarter creates an environment where 100% creative control of the projects are given to the project proposers. No board of directors or investors bvreathing down your neck to "play it safe" or throwing flow charts and statistics telling you that boys between 14-20 like to shoot brown people.

Direction, Cuts, redesigns, edits... effectively all the decisions potentially facing the project are left 100% at the feet of the creative team, who are by far and largely more suited to creative decisions then a team of accountants and chart readers.

If there is any problem with kickstarter is that there is too much freedom given to people who, more often then not, can't manage it properly. That is why a lot of projects fall to the wayside. Aim too big and scare away any potential investment, fail to make your project appealing to your targeted audience, aim for an infeasible funding target... there are many reasons why projects don't work.

The best projects in kickstarter are always small ones. There is a limit to the size an independent project can be, since the chances of a small team or single person been versed in marketing, direction, production and distribution is slim at best.

***Worse case scenario: Kickstarter makes games on par with what the current industry trends.

***Best case scenario: Kickstarter enables niche games that might never see AAA budgets, to get budgets that stretch beyond a typical indie production.

Nothing will change as nothing has changed. It offers potential, but it won't revolutionise the industry like some people would like to believe. If innovation dies, kicktstarter will have nothing to do with it.

OP: Not meeting a target is the fault of the project leads, not the "potential" investors. Kickstarter puts 100% of culpability of failure at the feet of the proposers. The guy might have a novel idea, but he didn't sell it... or aimed for a market that doesn't exist.

 

[Judgement101]

Kickstarter is going to be the death of innovation. People like what is familiar so they will throw money at remakes of old games, minecraft variations, and other non-imaginative games. I know this may not be true but based on the games that are currently being largely donated to, it seems like this may end up becoming the truth.

That is complete baloney.

I'm sorry man, but you couldn't have pulled such a shining example of fox news worthy fear mongering if you tried.

How the fuck will kickstarter be the death of innovation? That makes no sense. Kickstarter creates an environment where 100% creative control of the projects are given to the project proposers. No board of directors or investors bvreathing down your neck to "play it safe" or throwing flow charts and statistics telling you that boys between 14-20 like to shoot brown people.

Direction, Cuts, redesigns, edits... effectively all the decisions potentially facing the project are left 100% at the feet of the creative team, who are by far and largely more suited to creative decisions then a team of accountants and chart readers.

If there is any problem with kickstarter is that there is too much freedom given to people who, more often then not, can't manage it properly. That is why a lot of projects fall to the wayside. Aim too big and scare away any potential investment, fail to make your project appealing to your targeted audience, aim for an infeasible funding target... there are many reasons why projects don't work.

The best projects in kickstarter are always small ones. There is a limit to the size an independent project can be, since the chances of a small team or single person been versed in marketing, direction, production and distribution is slim at best.

***Worse case scenario: Kickstarter makes games on par with what the current industry trends.

***Best case scenario: Kickstarter enables niche games that might never see AAA budgets, to get budgets that stretch beyond a typical indie production.

Nothing will change as nothing has changed. It offers potential, but it won't revolutionise the industry like some people would like to believe. If innovation dies, kicktstarter will have nothing to do with it.

OP: Not meeting a target is the fault of the project leads, not the "potential" investors. Kickstarter puts 100% of culpability of failure at the feet of the proposers. The guy might have a novel idea, but he didn't sell it... or aimed for a market that doesn't exist.

I guess I need to clarify again. People will fund stuff that looks like something that they already like. If I was to put something on Kickstarter claiming it to be "Minecraft with guns" or something similar to that it would get funding. This could possibly lead to people starting kickstaters to a game that is not nessisarily innovative because they just want to get their name out there. I know Kickstater right now is a breeding ground for a new direction of gaming but I'm saying that it could easily be abused to fund games that are just clones of a popular game. Also, Indie Go Go is a service that does the exact same thing but it seems like people have taken to begging for money to fund a youtube channel, I know it hasn't happened yet and I hope it doesn't happen, I'm just saying that there always is the possibility of Kickstarter funding counter-innovative games.