Poll: Do you trust or fund kickstarters?

[whycantijustdeletemyaccount]

Not anymore. I thought it was quite a cool idea at first, went along and backed a couple of projects. One still hasn't come out and the other was a game that got pushed back a year without giving any information (other than to say they were announcing on extra platforms before the thing was out) and the game wasn't even that good when it came out.

There's a lack of accountability in kickstarter and I feel that you're pretty much throwing money at a random person on not much more than a good presentation. Maybe I'd be cool with it if I had more of a disposable income but I consider this to be gambling (with a relatively low payoff) rather than investment and I can't afford that.

Actually, given the way the industry works on bullshit promises and fake shots designed to mislead, I never really go for anything till it's been out for a few weeks and people are saying it's good. There are a few calculated exceptions but most companies in the industry who aren't CD Projekt RED have worked very hard to eliminate any trust I may have in anyone. So no preorders and by extension, certainly no crowd funding of any kind. You want to make a game, product, album or whatever else, get money the way every other fucker does.

 

[Strelok]

Depends? I have only backed one, Among The Sleep, and I have had no regrets on that one. Great game, still waiting on my rewards. I am in the credits for that one.

 

[Gone Rampant]

I don't do it, primarily due to not having a credit card, but my opinion depends on the history of the person behind it.

For example, I trust Obsidian to use the funds from Project Eternity to make a great game.

On the other hand, we have people like Anita Sarkeesian, who made a hundred and sixty grand and hasn't said where it's all gone (Although considering her 2010 video where she flat out says "I don't play games," my money's on a kickass PR campaign).

 

[Aramis Night]

So far I have had good experiences with kickstarter. I have only helped on 2 projects but there are several others I wish I would have had the money to invest in. I invested in Path of Exile and have no regrets about that one. I have also invested in Grim Dawn, but there partnership with steam for alpha and beta makes me wish I hadn't as I don't allow steam or any other DRM on my machine and am holding out for the DRM free copy they promised me upon retail release even though I had paid for the privilege of playing in beta before they announced that it would be through steam. But it wasn't a lot of money and as long as I get the DRM copy, I'll be happy.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Nope. I'm not going to pay for the promise of something cool with no opportunity for a refund if things go badly. That's just gambling. The stakes are low, sure, but the payoff is all but irrelevant so why assume the risk?

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Can't say I've ever been persuaded into it, especially when it comes to digital games.

 

[Windcaler]

Trust. It depends on the project and whos running it

Fund: Yes on occassion.

Ive put money toward Planetary annihilation, Shadowrun returns, Eternity, Torment, Nekro, and Wasteland 2 to name a few. I consider that money gone completely and I understand that I may never get a product for the money I put down. Im not an investor, if I was I would actually invest in a single company or project that I thought was worthwhile. That said, I have gotten some great games from Kickstarter. Shadowrun was my favorite RPG of last year and Im pretty happy with how Nekro turned out as well. PA Ive got some issues with but its not a bad game by any means. Then there's Wasteland 2 which Ive got some big concerns with their thematic approaches even though the game is pretty solid.

As you can see Kickstarter has been pretty good to me so far because Im pretty picky with the projects I fund. If a dev doesnt have something concrete to show me then I wont give them any money. Today I need a demo or something representative of the game to feel confident enough to put money down on it. That wasnt the case at first but thats how my kickstarter funding philosophy has developed over time.

In the case of star citizen they did not do an actual kickstarter campaign as far as Im aware. It's a private crowd funded project. However that project has blown up because the development team behind it has done everything right. They've been transparent with backers, theyve done regular updates and gameplay demo's, Im pretty sure they even have a road map to give a rough idea of what theyre working on when and when they'll add or adjust features. If you want to check out some of star citizen I recommend looking up a channel on youtube by the name of Luetin09. Hes done several videos on the game which are pretty informative.

The thing about kickstarter is you have to inform yourself if you want to feel like your money has been well spent and you may have to admit that the project you funded may never get made. You can get projects like shadowrun returns that are everything you wanted out of it and more. Then again you can get projects like Takedown:Red sabre that are complete garbage on release (although that ones gotten better but still has a ton of issues).

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Nope...when i buy something i want it in my possession once money has changed hands and any other option is exposing me to risk that is completely worthless to me. Also, when i make an investment i want my share of the profit not just a copy of the end product...that is a shit investment for idiots with more money than brains

this is alot more like a contract than a standard "investment". Group A petitions to group B that they would like to make Game C and that they would get a copy when they are done, if they would like to contribute they can get added bonuses D and E if they give even more to it. Group B decides they like group A's effort, and in a contract Group A has to act in "good faith" which is what most of the good kickstarters do.

If you want to invest and see money from it, start joining investment groups (for gamers, essentially publishers.)

 

[Cerebrawl]

I tossed "get game" money at Elite: Dangerous, because I've got at least some trust in David Braben's ability to make it come true, albeit perhaps not on schedule, and Elite 2: Frontier is a game I sank thousands of hours into in my teens. It's also worth noting that he's renowned for the optimization of that game, and I expect at least some of that perfectionism to shine through in this new product.

 

[go-10]

so far I've funded:
Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero
Mighty No.9
Broken Age
Shovel Knight
Midora

and of the one's that have come out I would argue those are some of my favorite games of the year. Shovel Knight might end being my game of the year. So yeah I get that there's a lot of crap on KS but I look at it the same way miners look at gold. Sometimes you find it sometimes you don't, doesn't mean you shouldn't look for it

 

[kasperbbs]

I'm the kind of person who doesn't pay for things that don't even exist yet and even if it gets made i can't be sure that i will like it. Perhaps i would be interested if i had some money to burn, but thats unlikely for the next 15 years until i get rid of my loans. Besides i don't think that working on a game with uncertain budget can be very good for development, i wonder how the devs of star citizen reacted when their estimated budget went through the roof, now they need to make something a looot grander than the game that they were planning on making.

 

[Robert Marrs]

Nope. I never have. I might if it was from someone I trust and a product I was extremely interested in. For the most part though I don't feel comfortable giving money towards an idea without the investment leading to monetary gain. Really that is all kickstarter is. Investing in something that will get you zero money. If the idea was really good and had an almost guaranteed return they would have REAL investors lining up to give away money. Just with kickstarter the investors have pretty much zero say in what happens and no recourse if funds are abused or lost.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Its like the gambling rule - only gamble with money that you can afford to lose. As in if you want to put $30 on a kickstarter project then you have to do it with the knowledge that what you get out of it could suck and be a waste of your $30.

 

[DementedSheep]

Trust? no. Fund? I haven't since I'm not swimming in cash but I might at some point. I would only pledge small amounts though.

 

[Ickorus]

I've backed four projects:

Divinity: Original Sin - Released, excellent game and has my recommendation.
War for the Overwold - Coming along nicely, pretty happy with how it's progressing and it seems like it'll be a worthy successor to Dungeon Keeper.
Delver's Drop - Pretty decent game, does everything it promises but is making very slow progress.
Sui Generis - This is a game everyone should be excited for. [http://www.baremettle.com/sg/home/]

The key is to look at the project frankly and back only if you have faith that the developer has what it takes to get their game to release.

 

[Johnny Impact]

Generally no. I backed Tides of Numenera because I play the tabletop Numenera and because freaking TORMENT. Wanted to back the Warmachine game, again because I play the tabletop version, but only found out about it after the deadline.

Some Kickstarters fail, some produce average or bad games...but I don't see it as all that different from the games market in general. Do you know how many people prepurchased Duke Nukem Forever only to find out it was average at best?

 

[DoPo]

Some Kickstarters fail, some produce average or bad games...but I don't see it as all that different from the games market in general. Do you know how many people prepurchased Duke Nukem Forever only to find out it was average at best?

Moreover, there were people pre-ordered Duke Nukem Forever way, wa-a-a-a-ay before it was finished. As in, not back in 2010 even but back last millennium. There are people who paid actual money for Duke Nukem Forever when there was little but a title there. Furthermore, some of them did neither cancel their pre-order nor even lose it [http://www.gamepolitics.com/2011/05/30/gamestop-will-honor-old-duke-nukem-forever-pre-orders#.U7-OAP4tjT8] - they held on to what was a hollow promise for over a decade.

I really find it amusing how now Kickstarter seems to be out to get you in your sleep when people complain about things literally around for decades.

 

[Hieronymusgoa]

I only back games. I backed Shadowrun Returns and was very pleased with my investment.
I backed Unwritten and that was not made in the end or at least not finished, which is sad, but that can happen.
I would do it again, but then I never back more than the usual 15$ "get the game when it's done" amount.

 

[Frankster]

Kickstarters I've funded:

-Expeditions: Conquistadores
-Xenonauts
-Maia
-M.O.R.E

Kickstarters completed:
-Expeditions: Conquistadores
-Xenonauts

I am very happy with Conquistadores and am totally over the fucking moon for Xenonauts (especially now that there's some amazing mods for it..Forgive me for my heresy but Xenonauts has taken over original Xcom in my heart).

Of the other 2, Maia is making good progress and I'm reasonably confident it will turn out decent.
M.O.R.E is the riskier proposition as I fear it's a case of a young inexperienced team biting off more then they can chew (they want to make a modern moo2 only better and more complex..GL! If they pull it off it will be amazing but I can't help but fear the result will fall below expectations given how other 4x games have failed in this same endeavour).

Overall my experience with kickstarters has been good and the result have been beyond my wildest dreams in the case of xenonauts. I read about those other failed kickstarters and take them on board as cautionary tales but overall I felt i've avoided any big kickstarter landmine, only M.O.R.E remains a bit of a gamble.

I don't outright trust kickstarter, to do so would be foolish. But I do still fund projects I really like and the payoff possibilities are worth it, as xenonauts shows.
Took me more then a decade but I finally got my modern xcom game :')

 

[CannibalCorpses]

Nope...when i buy something i want it in my possession once money has changed hands and any other option is exposing me to risk that is completely worthless to me. Also, when i make an investment i want my share of the profit not just a copy of the end product...that is a shit investment for idiots with more money than brains

this is alot more like a contract than a standard "investment". Group A petitions to group B that they would like to make Game C and that they would get a copy when they are done, if they would like to contribute they can get added bonuses D and E if they give even more to it. Group B decides they like group A's effort, and in a contract Group A has to act in "good faith" which is what most of the good kickstarters do.

If you want to invest and see money from it, start joining investment groups (for gamers, essentially publishers.)

Nope, it's a bastardized investment as far as i can see. You need money to make a product that you can sell and you ask other people to give you that money so you can go ahead with the project. In normal circumstances it would be a small number of large investors and to do that you would need to offer them something (returns on the investment). With the kickstarter ideal though you get many small investors to basically purchase a product that doesn't exist yet and then use that to fund the manufacture of the purchased product. That is fine if the game sells the projected amount but if the game sells 10 times more than expected then the rewards should be higher...which they aren't.

It seems to me that kickstarter is just an even more ridiculous way to get people to pre-order and the target audience is people who make kneejerk decisions based on hype rather than cold hard facts...it's similar to judging a book by it's cover except in this case there isn't even a cover to judge it on, just a statement of intent that can change at any time.