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Republique Kickstarter by Ryan Payton - NOW FOR PC AND MAC! [Ended, $555K funded]

Haunted

Member
500.000 for an iOS only game seems really steep.


Maybe not as far as the development budget itself goes (although it definitely skirts the upper edge), but as a Kickstarter goal compared to other projects. Other projects have cast a wide net with multiplatform (PC, Mac) development from the start + the promise of additional platforms (often Linux, iOS and Android) if certain thresholds are reached and it seems like that's been a winning formula so far.

So not sure how well this will go, but obviously the best of luck to Payton and the studio.
 

zroid

Banned
I have a good suspicion that they'll make their goal. Game's already getting plenty of coverage on all the major sites, and even national TV in Canada.
 

Chocoboko

Member
Watched the trailer/video and this really looks interesting. I can really tell the energy and love Ryan and co. are putting into it and his company. I'll definitely be pledging when I get home.

The goal does seem like a lot but I hope they can hit it.
 

Goldmund

Member
Let's hope someone with a giant wallet receives a desperate phone call from Ryan before this ends. I'd like him to escape the clutches of personal bankruptcy.
 

Haunted

Member
I came across too negatively - the pitch is very good and Payton comes across as very enthusiastic yet aware of the risks - which helps to give the pitch an added air of credibility and assurance.
 
This is the kind of game I was waiting for on IOS. I don't own an ipad or iphone. I will buy one for this game. Fuck Infinity blade, this is it for me.
 

Tendo

Member
Just kickstarted. I was really excited by how Ryan was describing it on Weekend Confirmed and this trailer looked awesome. Hope it all works out for them!
 
C'mon, guys! You probably already gave money for much more stupid stuff. The game looks awesome and iOS and Android makes it not less desirable. With getting this game into existence you will probably even literally kickstart more serious gaming on iOS.

And the Collector's Edition is totally worth the 100 bucks, too...

In Payton we trust!
 

depward

Member
I agree with the general sentiment here - fairly lofty goal and the limited # of platforms + kinda crummy reward tiers do not help. I will back it though, because I think the game seems really awesome and I haven't been letdown from anything Ryan has been involved in.
 

Tom_Cody

Member
To anyone in this thread: is he currently on good terms with Kojima? His departure from Kojipro seemed abrupt to me at the time, though I didn't actually follow the details closely. Does anyone know?
 
To anyone in this thread: is he currently on good terms with Kojima? His departure from Kojipro seemed abrupt to me at the time, though I didn't actually follow the details closely. Does anyone know?

He parted in good terms. Wanted to be closer to his family and start something on his own. IIRC it was even his father being sick or something, that made him going back to the States.
 

Purexed

Banned
Interested, put down $25 bucks but I'll be shocked if this thing hits 500K. The rewards are not that great, and it sucks having to wait almost a year before I get my hands on it.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
What I appreciate about this particular Kickstarter is that Ryan and crew actually put work into the game in order to give us an idea of what to expect. So many other Kickstarters offer little more than concept art and a guarantee. The fact that people have played this game and a working prototype exists should mean something.

Unfortunately, I think "iOS only" could bite them in the ass. A lot of people that may have contributed could wind up ignoring it for this simple reason.
 
My problem is that this comes after I've already donated to 4 Kickstarters in the last month, which is probably more than I would have spent on physical games had I been buying them in the same period of time.

Still, this seems exceptional. I tossed in what I could.
 

Salaadin

Member
Just pledged 25 bucks even thought I dont own an iOS device. I love Payton and this idea and want to see it succeed. Good luck!
 

Goldmund

Member
I obviously don't think the studio wants to scam people by asking for more money than it would need, but the number looks made-up, like something someone said at the weekly budgetary conference at the kitchen table, interrupting a few minutes of silence, before saying "should be enough, I guess", -- it looks made up, even though it might prove to be a realistic estimate.

But that's just a hunch. Much more importantly: have people fund something less ambitious or instead something proven first, for a smaller budget. Make a 2D, sprite-based game and have Hope infiltrate and repurpose towers or something. Build a brand. A card game, maybe? Something physics-based? Use the profit you make on that for a more ambitious project. I get that you want to make a cool game right away, but this is crack for concern trolling.
 
This one is going to be a tough sell. I hope they get the news sites to announce the Kickstarter and generate some buzz. However, the audience that Kickstarter generally appeals to and the one that they're going for isn't necessarily the same -- plus, it's coming after a long line of already super impressive ones.

I like Ryan, but I'm pretty pessimistic (about the funding goal, not the game).
 

yami4ct

Member
I just kicked some money in. I'm really interested to see how this turns out. So far, I have enjoyed very, very few iOS games. The only one that's really stuck with me is Sword and Sworcery. Hearing Ryan talk about this on Weekend Confirmed really makes me interested. It seems like he may have cracked the problem and found at least on genre of great, full-experience games you can make on iOS. Also, $10 is completely reasonable given what most pubs try to charge for "real" games on iOS.

I hope for the best for Ryan on this one. It is a really lofty goal. I think it's possible they can get it, but it's going to be a long road getting there.
 
Did Ryan not say he puts everything on one card with this project? I think he said something like selling his remaining Konami stock and whatnot to make this happen when he spoke with Garnett and crew. I hope this turns out well for him, but these early hours on Kickstarter don't look promising at all.
 

Kusagari

Member
It's going up at a decent pace. I could see it barely getting to 250k, but 500k just seems like a pipe dream right now.
 
I actually think this project is a case of a "hand out".

the project is well underway; they're seizing this fervour and jumping on the band wagon; but there's nothing here that does not seem like it cant be developed via a proper publisher/dev relationship.

The fact that the title, is well underway also hints at the fact that; this was already being worked on; then they see that KS is giving DFA+BF a bunch of monies; so they decide to jump on. I guess there's no risk here. at worst, they don't get funded.

still, its a very cynical KS imo.


whats next? A whole bunch of devs kickstarting their iOS games? way to clutter up the space. Jumping the shark not even a month into KS' potential for revitalising the chance for unpublishable games like wasteland 2 taking off.
 
I obviously don't think the studio wants to scam people by asking for more money than it would need, but the number looks made-up, like something someone said at the weekly budgetary conference at the kitchen table, interrupting a few minutes of silence, before saying "should be enough, I guess", -- it looks made up, even though it might prove to be a realistic estimate.

It's just an estimate. Saying you know how much a game is going to cost is roughly equivalent to saying you know how much your wedding is going to cost. You have a ballpark number, you have a worst case number, and the real number doesn't appear until you're done.

And yes, this is how much high-content games cost. Sure, they can cut all of the mocap and VO and save some money. They can cut Logan and save more money. But then it's a <$5 game that probably doesn't achieve what novery set out to do in the first place.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
I actually think this project is a case of a "hand out".

the project is well underway; they're seizing this fervour and jumping on the band wagon; but there's nothing here that does not seem like it cant be developed via a proper publisher/dev relationship.

The fact that the title, is well underway also hints at the fact that; this was already being worked on; then they see that KS is giving DFA+BF a bunch of monies; so they decide to jump on. I guess there's no risk here. at worst, they don't get funded.

still, its a very cynical KS imo.


whats next? A whole bunch of devs kickstarting their iOS games? way to clutter up the space. Jumping the shark not even a month into KS' potential for revitalising the chance for unpublishable games like wasteland 2 taking off.
I prefer to see it is as one of the first Kickstarters to actually have something to show up front. I'm sick of people just tossing out old IP after old IP with nothing to show. "Oh, here's some concept art. Believe!". If this can help a game that is underway get made (and it sounds like Ryan has already invested as much as he can into it) then I'm all for it.

You mention Wasteland 2, but all they offered were a few pieces of generic concept art that don't even match up with what I'd expect from such a game. Too many Kickstarters are playing on peoples nostalgia without anyting to show.
 

pakkit

Banned
I actually think this project is a case of a "hand out".

the project is well underway; they're seizing this fervour and jumping on the band wagon; but there's nothing here that does not seem like it cant be developed via a proper publisher/dev relationship.

The fact that the title, is well underway also hints at the fact that; this was already being worked on; then they see that KS is giving DFA+BF a bunch of monies; so they decide to jump on. I guess there's no risk here. at worst, they don't get funded.

still, its a very cynical KS imo.


whats next? A whole bunch of devs kickstarting their iOS games? way to clutter up the space. Jumping the shark not even a month into KS' potential for revitalising the chance for unpublishable games like wasteland 2 taking off.

I disagree. I'd much rather give money to a kickstarter that has its feet on the ground and has already made headway than just "wouldn't that be neat?" concepts. With a design plan and story already being worked on, it makes their KS goals seem much more credible. I look at something like Shadowrun's KS and think, "What is it about 1 million that would enable them to create a new location compared to 700,000?" It's arbitrary, and create a sense of reward where there doesn't need to be one.

I like this pragmatic approach, and I also really appreciate that this is a new IP instead of a KS relying on nostalgic value.
 
I prefer to see it is as one of the first Kickstarters to actually have something to show up front. I'm sick of people just tossing out old IP after old IP with nothing to show. "Oh, here's some concept art. Believe!". If this can help a game that is underway get made (and it sounds like Ryan has already invested as much as he can into it) then I'm all for it.

You mention Wasteland 2, but all they offered were a few pieces of generic concept art that don't even match up with what I'd expect from such a game.

Yeah, there are wildly different extremes for Kickstarters. Double Fine and Wasteland 2 were both completely banking on name recognition; they had nothing to show, but invoked the PC gaming enthusiasts of yore.

Shadowrun occupies the middle: they don't have anything real to show; but, Jordan has a clear vision for the project, plus it's a beloved IP and their goals are well-documented.

Republique is on the far opposite end: actual interesting stuff to show, but a new IP for a platform that most "traditional" gamers are indifferent toward. Plus, Ryan is a name, but not a huge name in gaming.

Can't wait to see how it all pans out.

I look at something like Shadowrun's KS and think, "What is it about 1 million that would enable them to create a new location compared to 700,000?" It's arbitrary, and create a sense of reward where there doesn't need to be one.

Hiring more people? Dedicated UI artists to clean up the level editor, and designers to work on building the second city and its associated content. Plus, high quality music isn't cheap. The numbers may be arbitrary to an extent, but the goals are reasonable.
 
I prefer to see it is as one of the first Kickstarters to actually have something to show up front. I'm sick of people just tossing out old IP after old IP with nothing to show. "Oh, here's some concept art. Believe!". If this can help a game that is underway get made (and it sounds like Ryan has already invested as much as he can into it) then I'm all for it.

You mention Wasteland 2, but all they offered were a few pieces of generic concept art that don't even match up with what I'd expect from such a game. Too many Kickstarters are playing on peoples nostalgia without anyting to show.


that's precisely the point of the WL2 kickstarter though. Until DFA, BF didn't know what to do with the "desire to make a sequel". KS made it happen. Your dismissal of it as "Too many Kickstarters are playing on peoples nostalgia without anyting to show" is completely off base.

say there's no KS. what is ryan payton going to do to get his game done? Talk of him making a game has been going around for ages; since he left kojipro. so what we're seeing now is that result. Pretty sure there was already a plan. This is opportunistic.

* whats next? Avellon's kickstarter is "Too many Kickstarters are playing on peoples nostalgia without anyting to show". It will be a new thing and it will be exciting and it will get support.
 

Tom_Cody

Member
He parted in good terms. Wanted to be closer to his family and start something on his own. IIRC it was even his father being sick or something, that made him going back to the States.
Ok.

As a follow-up question, what was his actual role on MSG4? I know he did the podcast but it was never clear to what his actual production role was. Again, I admittedly didn't follow this that closely at the time.
 
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