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Poker Smash PC Kickstarter (with playable demo) -- down to the wire!

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SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
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Poker Smash, one of my XBLA faves, is making its PC debut with a Kickstarter campaign. Think Poker crossed with Tetris Attack. They set a $7,500 goal and they have 30 days to go. Lets make this happen.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/voidstar/poker-smash-for-pc

Make sure to vote on the Greenlight page if you want to see this on Steam:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=121178723
 
Does it have a campaign and will this one have a new one compared to the existing game? Or was it like not profitable enough to fund a mere port to another platform (I thought XBLIG games can be made to run on PC easy too but oh well)?
 
Drkirby said:
Whats the money need for?
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From the kickstarter:

We released Poker Smash on XBLA 5 years ago to many positive reviews, and we were excited about our success. We have been working on other titles since then, but we decided that it was about time that we brought Poker Smash to a new audience on PC. So we have been porting the code over, but a lot of the features that were supported by the Xbox infrastructure needs to be reworked, and that takes time and money. We need your help to make it happen!
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Looks like there's no GFWL and people requested multiplayer, leaderboards and achievements. So it'll have to be re-worked. Also looks like we're getting a new mode that's straight up Tetris Attack.

New mode with Color Matching (for all those old school Tetris Attack fans)
Click to expand...
 
Thanks so much for all your support, guys. The Kickstarter isn't going very well. I just can't seem to get anyone to view the project. We've only had around 500 people watch our video. I recognize that our pitch isn't the best ... porting a 5 year old game to a new platform isn't exactly hot news. With that said, I think that Poker Smash is a great game that just never found the audience we expected on XBLA. I was hoping that we could find some of those Tetris Attack / Puzzle League fans on the PC. Anyway, I really appreciate all of you guys trying to spread the word about Poker Smash!
 
Shadow Hog said:
I must admit, for such a modest goal as $7500, I'm surprised you're not farther along.
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Me too. I was hoping we could get more support. I'm horrible at self promotion though, and I just don't know how to get coverage. I don't know whether I should take this to mean that the game doesn't have an audience, or if it just means I suck at marketing.
 
dcard said:
Me too. I was hoping we could get more support. I'm horrible at self promotion though, and I just don't know how to get coverage. I don't know whether I should take this to mean that the game doesn't have an audience, or if it just means I suck at marketing.
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Any chance you could or would port it to Linux?

I'm not sure why many don't do this, but it seems when someone puts Linux version in front of a project, it gets a little more focus from that community. Plus there's always a shot you could get it into a Humble Bundle.
 
TheNatural said:
Any chance you could or would port it to Linux?

I'm not sure why many don't do this, but it seems when someone puts Linux version in front of a project, it gets a little more focus from that community. Plus there's always a shot you could get it into a Humble Bundle.
Click to expand...

I could see doing Linux and Mac versions, but it's not trivial for me. I've never done an Linux development before, so it's a whole new platform for me. The biggest issue there is that my engine is all DirectX, so I would have to port my renderer over to OpenGL.
 
dcard said:
Thanks so much for all your support, guys. The Kickstarter isn't going very well. I just can't seem to get anyone to view the project. We've only had around 500 people watch our video. I recognize that our pitch isn't the best ... porting a 5 year old game to a new platform isn't exactly hot news. With that said, I think that Poker Smash is a great game that just never found the audience we expected on XBLA. I was hoping that we could find some of those Tetris Attack / Puzzle League fans on the PC. Anyway, I really appreciate all of you guys trying to spread the word about Poker Smash!
Click to expand...

I think the genre plays into it. I played the Poker Smash demo on XBLA recently and really enjoyed it, I think you've made a pretty great game, and I think the review scores and continued sort of cult buzz that the game gets reflects that. But I think it's a little tough in today's mobile world, when there's maybe 10,000 or more puzzle/action/arcade type games (match-3, rotation, block dropping, rhythm stuff) to really distinguish between them. Obviously over time and after playing it you can tell the good stuff from the bad stuff and the subtleties of gameplay, but up-front they appear very similar. I'm not really sure how the occasional one that breaks through really achieves the awareness/buzz that it needs to go big.

I think if you did get released on Steam and actively participated in daily sales and seasonal sales, you'd have a steady little revenue generator just from people interested in taking a chance... probably not talking millions of copies, but more like a few tens of thousands of copies.

Most Kickstarters that make it to the 50-60% mark do get funded so I still think you have a good chance, but I hope even if you don't make it that you see it through. Good luck.
 
dcard said:
Thanks so much for all your support, guys. The Kickstarter isn't going very well. I just can't seem to get anyone to view the project. We've only had around 500 people watch our video. I recognize that our pitch isn't the best ... porting a 5 year old game to a new platform isn't exactly hot news. With that said, I think that Poker Smash is a great game that just never found the audience we expected on XBLA. I was hoping that we could find some of those Tetris Attack / Puzzle League fans on the PC. Anyway, I really appreciate all of you guys trying to spread the word about Poker Smash!
Click to expand...

Huge Poker Smash fan, here.

What ever happened to your action RPG? You guys just seemed to disappear at some point.
 
dcard said:
Me too. I was hoping we could get more support. I'm horrible at self promotion though, and I just don't know how to get coverage. I don't know whether I should take this to mean that the game doesn't have an audience, or if it just means I suck at marketing.
Click to expand...
I think it comes down to getting the word out.

Building awareness can be a difficult process. Alpha demo impressions from sites like Rock Paper Shotgun or TotalBiscuit could help the stats. There might be communities of people hoping for something like Poker Smash on the platform but have no idea it exists. Like groups port begging for Tetris Attack or Planet Puzzle League on the PC. I don't post there, but the gaming subreddit, GFAQs, and Penny Arcade are other popular gaming forums. Also, don't rule out friends and family.
 
I just ran across the Kickstarter for this today, and thought I should see if there was a thread (and I guess bump it if there is one).

Loved this game on XBLA. Also, didn't realize there was an iOS version of the game.. guess I'll have to pick it up this weekend.

I think it's crazy that it seems to be a struggle to generate what's a pretty modest funding goal for a game that's actually very well reviewed. I would suggest putting out some feelers to press, if you haven't already.
 
Only 7 days left and it looks like there's a chance of getting over the line. It's going to be close though. If you can't kick in at least share the demo with your friends.

Kind of an aside, but the game looks awesome in stereoscopic 3D. There's a lot of depth in the image for a puzzle game. The board scrolls into the horizon and I had Tridef set up so poker chips and sparks would go flying out of the screen. It's also easier to tell when cards are about to tip over the edge. I don't know if a side by side screenshot would do it justice but I'll try to get one and post it here. If you're experienced at that sort of thing then please do the honors.
 
SapientWolf said:
Only 7 days left and it looks like there's a chance of getting over the line. It's going to be close though. If you can't kick in at least share the demo with your friends.

Kind of an aside, but the game looks awesome in stereoscopic 3D. There's a lot of depth in the image for a puzzle game. The board scrolls into the horizon and I had Tridef set up so poker chips and sparks would go flying out of the screen. It's also easier to tell when cards are about to tip over the edge. I don't know if a side by side screenshot would do it justice but I'll try to get one and post it here. If you're experienced at that sort of thing then please do the honors.
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Thanks, Wolf! Speaking of stereoscopic 3D ... I'm a backer of the Oculus Rift, and the dev kits should be shipping soon. My original intent was (and still is) to use it for my larger game, Junction, but I'm planning on adding support for Poker Smash as well.

I know that most people on this thread have already pledged and I want to thank you guys. I really appreciate the support!
 
I have high experience with Panel De Pon which is faster and harder than Tetris Attack, I fear this game will be too easy for me but I'll check it out!
 
mujun said:
That sucks :( I hope that you can find a way to get some value out of the work you did in the future. Maybe a kickstarter or something.
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A lot of the work is the engine, and all of that stuff lives on. This video is kind of old, but this is a video for my latest game, Junction ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8vLAZtAeyA&feature=youtu.be

I wanted to do a Kickstarter for Junction, but I'm just worried about how to present it. The biggest concern I have with Kickstarter is making sure that I can actually deliver something great. With Poker Smash I know that I can deliver the game with a small goal, but with Junction I would need considerably more money. I don't have the star power to hit big money on Kickstarter, and doing a low goal just seems like a recipe for disappointment.

I also know I'm going to get slammed for Junction not having gameplay. Right now it's not really a game, but rather a set of tools for making and sharing worlds. My plan has always been to layer in gameplay, but I've been so bogged down with the world building that I just haven't gotten to it yet.
 
dcard said:
A lot of the work is the engine, and all of that stuff lives on. This video is kind of old, but this is a video for my latest game, Junction ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8vLAZtAeyA&feature=youtu.be

I wanted to do a Kickstarter for Junction, but I'm just worried about how to present it. The biggest concern I have with Kickstarter is making sure that I can actually deliver something great. With Poker Smash I know that I can deliver the game with a small goal, but with Junction I would need considerably more money. I don't have the star power to hit big money on Kickstarter, and doing a low goal just seems like a recipe for disappointment.

I also know I'm going to get slammed for Junction not having gameplay. Right now it's not really a game, but rather a set of tools for making and sharing worlds. My plan has always been to layer in gameplay, but I've been so bogged down with the world building that I just haven't gotten to it yet.
Click to expand...

Whatever it is it looks really cool! Would providing some sets of logic and having the community create levels (and their gameplay) work?
 
mujun said:
Whatever it is it looks really cool! Would providing some sets of logic and having the community create levels (and their gameplay) work?
Click to expand...

Thanks, man. That's the broad idea. I want Junction to be a place where every world can be very different both visually and as gameplay experience. Maybe one world has cars you can race, another could be a pvp shooter world, and another could be filled with puzzles. I need to incorporate some kind of scripting system to allow players to have control over gameplay so I don't have to create everything myself.

Anyway, that's the big vision, but right now I'm trying to scope things down so that I get all this work out in some kind of product. If I focus on the big thing I'll never finish:)
 
A really awesome game which strangely has a very low user rating on XBLA. It is number 361 out of 521 ranked just above Discs of Tron and just below the shitty Centipede remake.
 
Ok, here's a quick 3D sample. Haven't used the old red and blue in awhile:

0015-2d_zps7e6b4981.jpg
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Side by side:
pokerSmash1_Right_zps833bcb56.jpg
pokerSmash1_left_zpse39224fd.jpg
Click to expand...

The poker chips and paper clips flying out of the screen look crazy in slow motion.

$6,113/$7,500 with only 3 days left now. Barring a last minute surge or a wealthy investor, I think the current donators are going to have to significantly up their contribution to put this one over the line. Every bit helps. I'd hate to see them get so close to the goal and fail.
 
Looks like the goal has been hit, but I hope there are a few more backers... seems like someone took a big stab at the remaining balance, since it hit the goal on the nose and it doesn't seem like there was a significant jump in the total number of supporters. Seems like a project that could still be kinda tenuous to actually receive backing, but it's nice to see the glimmer of success :)
 
We made it with the help of some generous friends and family. Thank you all so much for your support! I'm going to make this PC version of Poker Smash awesome, and I can't wait to play with you guys!
 
thread needs tetris attack somewhere in the title imo, now i've actually looked here and found that its basically tetris attack, it's coming to pc, it has multiplayer and it's on steam i will back it as soon as i get home from work
 
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