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[Victor Omega]

There were a lot of successful games that got funded on platforms like Kickstarter. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Shenmue 3, Yooka-Laylee, and many more.

But from that success, there were many downfalls and shortcomings. Obviously, we can't talk about Crowd funded gaming and not mention Keiji Inafune and his attempt to "kick it to the man", the man being CAPCOM. In a different timeline, It seems that if his projects like Mighty No 9 were critically acclaimed, Red Ash and Kaio: King of Pirates all went to become released, consumers and even Big name studios and publishers would have looked at crowdfunding as a guaranteed alternative in gaming development.

Aside from that we get a project like Star Citizen where its ambitions outweigh its release and never being completed.

Do you think crowdfunding could have been a bigger alternative to big published game studios?

 

[Daneel Elijah]

I got FTL because of kickstarter.
This is as big as it can be. Steam early access does the rest in my opinion.

 

[Deft Beck]

There's way too many risks in crowdfunding, especially when the devs have to start shipping physical goods promised to backers. There's a lot of horror stories about people never receiving their games, even if you can just go and buy it on Amazon or Best Buy. Didn't that happen with Shenmue 3?

If you're a small developer and you need the funds, set your goal low and don't overpromise. If you build a following and get enough buzz, then seek a traditional publisher. There are options now like Devolver, Thunderful, etc. that are more than accommodating to indies than there were 10 years ago.

All else aside, early access is a good way to access funding from fans over time while mitigating risk.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Too many scams and failures. Early Access is the better path these days and even then, no guarantees of success.

 

[AJUMP23]

It turned out to be unsustainable. The people willing to put capital at risk is a small pool. The crowdfunding scene got overcrowded. And game development got expensive. A successful company like double fine wanted 300,000, got 3 million, still needed corporate money to finish.

Scope creep kills projects like these too.

 

[Irobot82]

Pillars of Eternity is an amazing modern day CRPG and literally saved Obsidian from going under. Crowdfunding can be and amazing thing. The Goose and the Fox lives on forever in the game.

Too many scams and failures. Early Access is the better path these days and even then, no guarantees of success.

Early Access is kind of an evolution of crowdfunding. They are similar in their attempt.

 

[worldwithpyramids]

Sometimes it makes sense I guess. Shovel Knight is a good example. But it felt strange when that studio returned to kickstarter for their next game too after Shovel Knight had been a wild success.

 

[Impotaku]

The problem is some devs start out with good intentions then they see the money flowing in and start to get greedy & overambitious so you end up with garbage like shitey number 9. When decent devs kickstart it's a good way to get more riskier games onto the market that might otherwise be too niche to be able to survive a general retail release.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Ouya and the other high profile disasters basically killed it.

Crowdfunding has changed a lot in most areas though, not just gaming. The core group with interest there is becoming more discerning in where they put funds and how much they contribute. Those platforms were a dream come true for scammers to start with. Star Citizen just keeps going though, LOL

 

[StereoVsn]

I got Pillars of Eternity, couple Divinity Original Sin games, Shadowrun Trilogy, Pathfinder Kingmaker, and many more out of Kickstarter.

Mind you, I got a few duds in between (Soul Saga, Star Citizen, etc), but overall we got some amazing games that otherwise would probably not be made. Don't forget it's not just the cash, a lot of devs use Kickstarter for publicity, get hires out of it and potentially sign up with publishers for additional funding.

 

[StereoVsn]

Sometimes it makes sense I guess. Shovel Knight is a good example. But it felt strange when that studio returned to kickstarter for their next game too after Shovel Knight had been a wild success.

1 - GameDev is expensive. Indie success in one game doesn't guarantee continuing cash flow.
2 - "Free" marketing and publicity.
3 - Can use to get interest for open hiring positions.
4 - Can get interest from publishers/potential partners.
Its a pretty decent idea for a dev to take.

 

[jaysius]

It was mostly indie devs that had no idea what costs really were and then set goals too low, they mostly tricked fools by showing short clips of thigs you wouldn’t be able to put into games mixed with inspiring music.

 

[Beer Baelly]

Another System Shock reminder, thanks.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Star Citizen's dev managed to reclaim their independence, not just from big corporations, but from scope definition and release date deadlines altogether.

So yeah, there's that.

 

[Joshmyersbv]

Most small developers use crowd funding now to pitch their game to publishers. The more money they get from Kickstarter the easier it is to get a publisher to pick it up.

 

[fermcr]

Star Citizen... millions and millions in funding...

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

I still believe that in certain cases, crowd funding can be a viable venue for funding games. It takes the right team with the right mindset to execute the plans outlined in their goals

 

[StueyDuck]

As always the shitty abusers ruined it.

Although I'd say the 3 titles in OP are at least an exception as they mostly lived up to expectations, not necessarily exceeded.

But for every "success" we had mighty number 9s or "from the makers of <your favorite game>" which turned out to be the guy who wrote the credits from that game and didn't do a whole lot else.

Again rotten apples ruining it for the bunch

 

[Northeastmonk]

NightCry was a cool concept. It sucks because I thought the controls were terrible. Unsung Story was a big let down. It was teased to be the spiritual successor of FFT and it ended up being something crafted by someone completely different. A handful were good. Even for being a lackluster game, ShenMue III was fun to have. Bloodstained was the best project I funded. I don’t browse Kickstarter as much as I use to. If it’s good I’d rather pay when it’s out.

 

[Spaceman292]

I think all the good games that came out of it made the whole idea worth it

 

[HL3.exe]

Game dev is expensive and it's only gonna get more expensive as time goes on (looming recession, rising standards, etc).

Crowdfunding is incredibly time-consuming and in a lot of cases not really worth the the investment for getting a proper workable budget.

Plus, the risky unpredictable nature of game development in general is shaky when consumer investment is involved.

 

[recursive]

indies...they mostly tricked fools by showing short clips of thigs you wouldn’t be able to put into games mixed with inspiring music.

I would argue that this is something done industry wide, a tactic used by the big pubs and developers too.

 

[MrA]

Crowds discovered they were just as risk averse as big corporations,

 

[nemiroff]

I have a few good KS backings like Divinity OS2 and Elite Dangerous. But many also made me iffy about it. Shenmue 3 and Tex Murphy was the last drop for me to get out of Kickstarter projects.

Anyway, a lot of people have already said it; early access has kinda taken over.

 

[RafterXL]

The only thing crowdfunding was ever meant for was removing the risk from publishers and developers and shifting it to consumers. That doesn't mean it has given us a few gems but it was never about being something better.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

There were a lot of successful games that got funded on platforms like Kickstarter. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Shenmue 3, Yooka-Laylee, and many more.

But from that success, there were many downfalls and shortcomings. Obviously, we can't talk about Crowd funded gaming and not mention Keiji Inafune and his attempt to "kick it to the man", the man being CAPCOM. In a different timeline, It seems that if his projects like Mighty No 9 were critically acclaimed, Red Ash and Kaio: King of Pirates all went to become released, consumers and even Big name studios and publishers would have looked at crowdfunding as a guaranteed alternative in gaming development.

Aside from that we get a project like Star Citizen where its ambitions outweigh its release and never being completed.

Do you think crowdfunding could have been a bigger alternative to big published game studios?

It should have been (going by your title) but... I dunno...
Maybe I am just a jaded, old, fuck... but, I feel almost, everything is corrupted, at this point.

 

[Davevil]

Please Eiyuden Chronicle be good

 

[Punished Miku]

I never thought it was acceptable, and never participated.

• No real guarantees on time frame for delivering the product.
• No real guarantees on quality of the final product.
• No financial incentive at all for people to invest when they're not treated like investors. No profit sharing, no anything.

It's basically the worst possible version of a pre-order imaginable. I'm glad some people feel like doing this, but I don't.

 

[nush]

Too many backers thought they were actually placing a pre-order. Development is a long and twisting road sometimes.

 

[AJUMP23]

Star Citizen... millions and millions in funding...

500 Million.

While I do not fault them for what they have done, I funded day one. And when I saw what they were doing with the scope of the project as they kept getting millions I knew that the scope creep would delay the game for years. They do have something playable but they do not have a game, and we do not have what I wanted a new wing commander with SQ42.

 

[Fuz]

Too many disappointed, trust broken.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I dont know what the success completion rate of a KS project is. And important too, how good they are.

But I'd never put money into it. I'll just pay regular price for the final released game. I totally get that people get amped up and want to support a project for something that would never come otherwise, but even putting down $50 isnt worth risking. Its not like they have a guaranteed obligation to make the game at all.

It's like going to a flea market vendor, giving him $50 and telling him to call you in two years when he gets the product in.

 

[diffusionx]

With Kickstarter there were so many issues with so many games that it proved just not to be a reliable mechanism for funding and making games. It showed that most devs simply cannot manage this stuff on their own without a publisher breathing down their neck. Like I remember when I would read stuff like "for an extra $50K stretch goal we will add a whole new endgame mode" like what lmao. Even successful games had issues. Broken Age, the first one, made by an experienced team in a genre they understood, took way longer than expected to come out and had to be split into two. Obsidian thought they figured out a new way forward for making games with POE, but when POE2 bombed they had to sell out.

This isn't even getting into complete meltdown projects like Star Citizen (yes), Mighty No 9, and Unsung Story. That shit poisoned the well for everybody else. And after a few of these, people realized they could just wait and buy the game when it's done like anybody else, so why risk even $50?

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Anyone wanna do a quick recap why Mighty No 9 is hated so much? I saw videos. It looks like a indie version of Megaman. In which that kind of game made in modern day is going to be indie looking anyway. It's no AAA $100M kind of game.

So what was so bad about it?

 

[DGrayson]

Arent some backers of Mighty No.9 still waiting for some of their rewards?

 

[EverydayBeast]

Crowdfunds were thrown out the window but I give them credit for trying.

 

[Fbh]

I don't think they have been that bad.
People just mistakenly interpreted it as an early pre order when it's more like giving free money to a group of devs (often ones with little business experience) in the hopes that they make something cool.

We still got coll stuff like FTL, Superhot, Shovel Knight, Divinity Original sin and Hollow Knight
Also one of my most anticipated games of the year was Kickstarted:

 

[OuterLimits]

it has certainly been successful at times, especially for niche games that otherwise wouldn't have been made otherwise,. Unfortunately, my luck was terrible the couple times I donated(Hex Heroes for Wii U, I'm especially looking at you) and they never got released.

Sometimes it makes sense I guess. Shovel Knight is a good example. But it felt strange when that studio returned to kickstarter for their next game too after Shovel Knight had been a wild success.

Agreed. Asking the community to help with funding after releasing a very popular (and likely extremely profitable) game seems a bit gross in my opinion.

 

[Dazraell]

Kinda ironic that a lot of devs behind some the most high profile crowdfunded projects (Obsidian, inXile, Double Fine) were literally bought by a big corporation

 

[jshackles]

You know how most big corporations that make games (Microsoft, Ubisoft, etc.) make a lot of things that are extremely formulaic and designed by a committee? It's because they know these types of games will appeal to a wide enough audience that they'll make a profit.

With a crowdfunded game, you're essentially relying on the developer to bring their own creative vision to life. This can either be a single person, a small team, or (sometimes as is the case with Double Fine or Obsidian) even a company. Typically, a single person or small team isn't going to have the experience to know that you need to do things like market testing, focus grouping, advertising, etc. The un-fun stuff behind making a successful game.

The cool thing that crowdfunding has brought us are those weird games that would have been too risky for a company to pull off, but the developers were passionate about. Most of the best crowdfunded games weren't commercial successes by any stretch. But even after Shadowgate got funded a few years ago and went almost straight into obscurity, the same guys are making Beyond Shadowgate now (to emulate the look and feel of the NES classic), and I'd consider that a win.

 

[Doczu]

I lost interest when devs started to over promise and under deliver. FFS i'm still wiating for System Shock

Oh and devs coming back to kickstarter after their previous one was a hit, released on e erythimg under the sun made me question everything. You have the funds, why more?

But the wirst offenders became board games. Kickstarter exclusive titles, shitty quality miniatures - you name it

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Oh and devs coming back to kickstarter after their previous one was a hit, released on e erythimg under the sun made me question everything. You have the funds, why more?

Easy.

KS funds are upfront money from gamers with zero obligation, zero interest payments, zero deadlines, zero business plan needed aside from putting up a few screenshots and a one page game description.

Try raising money from a venture capital company or a bank with those kinds of terms.

"Hi Mr. Banker, I'd like a business loan for $500,000 to get started making a video game"

"Ok, sounds good. Right now we have a 5% interest loan geared to small businesses. Payments are due monthly over 10 years. Please have a seat, can you show me your business plan and how you'll spend the money?"

"Sure. But I can't give you any details on anything, except these 3 mock up screens I did in Photoshop which I'm going to post on KS too. Is that enough?"

 

[Pejo]

I like the idea in concept, and at least we got Bloodstained, which was awesome. There's too much wrong with the model as we later found out though. I think I still have a handful of kickstarted games that I'm waiting for, but I honestly can't even remember.

 

[ReBurn]

I think crowdfunding really only works for smaller games. There's too much risk that you'll never get anything for your money. I agree with others that the better way for gamers to benefit is to have the option to pay for early access. That way they get something for their money and in some cases get to shape the final product with feedback.

 

[Doczu]

Easy.

KS funds are upfront money from gamers with zero obligation, zero interest payments, zero deadlines, zero business plan needed aside from putting up a few screenshots and a one page game description.

Try raising money from a venture capital company or a bank with those kinds of terms.

I know the reason why. That's why i stopped funding kickstarters.
Just bullshit - my opinion

 

[BbMajor7th]

Crowdfunding has been the platform of choice for nostalgia and revival (Mighty No. 9, Shenmue 3, Bloodstained, Yooka Laylee) and audience pandering ('A modern take on that thing you totally loved before'). How can something drive an industry forward when its primary function is to reheat the past?

 

[Griffon]

Early Access has been a slightly better way to do it.
People get to play the game immediately and can quickly judge if it's worth the trouble.

And no fucking baker rewards bullshit, I'd rather my money go to development than on shipping some dumb plastic doodads.
Has there been any example of a successful kickstarted project that didn't ship useless swag as rewards?