Ugh. What the hell is with GAF today?
Their publisher is legally bound to withhold venture capital for DLC development after a loan fuckup unrelated to Skullgirls. Skullgirls' main method of funding is frozen until that wraps up (And it may go away forever if things turn for the worse).
Skullgirls actually sold quite well with it's NA release. It also sold quite handily in Japan and easily secured the #1 spot on the JP PSN.
Voice actors, like any actor, are paid
relative to their past expertise and training, not for how many hours they've worked in a studio or on a set.
The game uses contractors to
speed up development, not to find cheaper labour. The in-house artists do the brunt of the art direction and main keyframes.
If I remember correctly, the costs and process for technical QA is mandated by Konami as terms for their backing. On top of that, extensive playtesting has to be done either way. While Mike Z made a lot out of loke tests at tournaments and gatherings, skilled balance testers should be paid for their work. Due to how consoles work, they only have a chance to patch the game when new characters drop. Since they can't acquire backing for this from their publisher, the crowd-fund has to take this into account.
A lot of the people who talk shit about the in-game assets haven't touched the game, nor have they compared it to similar work. I capture raw footage of this kind of stuff regularly. A small studio of plucky developers have TOPPED what A-list devs have been doing for years for less, while paying their workers and contractors, what I assume is, reasonable wages.
I mean shit. Who could we call redundant at LabZero right now?
Go watch their animation panel. The guy who made the engine (Mike). One lead illustrator (Ahad). Two in-house animators. Their cleanup guy (I would consider having one on hand as mandatory). A sound guy.
They also have a dedicated PR dude and what I assume is someone handling legal and business.
I would consider that the bare minimum for a project of this magnitude. They are stomping developers in some areas, those of which are much better staffed and have much higher budgets.