If you have not read it yet please go over to Tenkar's Tavern and read his posts on Kickstarter.
If you are considering supporting one you should read it. If you are considering starting one then you certainly need to read it.
http://www.tenkarstavern.com/search/label/kickstarter
Here is the point I am getting in all of this. Unless your game is close to being done I am not likely to suport the Kickstarter. I gladly supported Eden Studios on their ConX and AFMBE kickstarters because I knew where they were on things. I was a play tester, I had seen the doc files, I had even seen some concept art. I knew they were well on the way.
This is also why I am confident in backing Adventures Dark & Deep.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/623939691/adventures-dark-and-deep-players-manual
Joe has a lot of the work done. He has said on the page things are written and he is looking for some art. That is cool with me. Art is expensive. I am certain that a Hardbound copy of AD&D will be on my shelves in the future.
I am not going to support projects though that still need to be written or developed. To much of a risk.
By my count I am still owed about $150 worth of RPG products that I might never see. So my next $5 is going to come a lot slower.
I'm trying to figure out at what point do I begin to get disgruntled about a late Kickstarter project. The author of the RPG in question has been pretty good about communicating, posting samples from the game, etc. but as of today he's now past his second deadline (having moved the deadline back once before).
ReplyDeleteCaveat emptor, I guess.
I think part of the problem is a mindset issue. It's easy to look at Kickstarter like any other online store. But it's not. Risk is part of the equation. It's just a lot of people taking a little risk instead of a few people taking a big risk. For some people, they choose to mitigate this by seeing progress on the product. Others stick to big names. Others limit their contributions. But if Risk makes you uneasy, then maybe you should wait until it's completely produced and available through another channel.
ReplyDeleteThat was a rough article to read, but he makes some good points. Good communication is just as important once they have our money, especially if there's an issue with it.
ReplyDeleteTim - thanks for the kind words.
ReplyDeleteWQRobb - it's your money. Only you can decide when to get disgruntled. For me, it's about 3 months after something is due, give or take. Depends on the number of stretch goals hit, communication, and where the project actual was in it's completion state when the funding finished.
I'm pretty much done funding someone's notes and scribbles that they hope to make into the next legendary gaming product. The product should pretty much be written when asking for funding - editing, layout, art, more art - I'm willing to wait on that, but the main product should be done.
Otherwise you are funding someone's dreams, not a nearly solidified reality.
Philo - there is risk and there is "risk". If the product is mostly written, you significantly cur down on the risk. Publishers are treating it as a preorder system, and it's not, or shouldn't be.
Justin - the projects that "go dark" for a period of timer lose the trust of their supporters and customers.
Few doing a kickstarter are planning to do a "one and done". Most want to do a follow up, but if they produce late and fail to properly communicate, would you trust them a second time for your money up front?