Double Fine start Kickstarter fund for new adventure game with stated goal of $400k

Bad^Hat

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... and make over $600k in a single night. :| (edit: An update on their Kickstarter page says they reached their initial goal in just over eight hours. Daaaang.)

Source: http://www.giantbomb.com/news/double-fine-raising-funds-for-new-adventure-game-updated/3973/

Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure (Watch the video, it's great.)

Double Fine page with extra insane donation rewards that wouldn't fit on Kickstarter: http://www.doublefine.com/news/comments/the_double_fine_adventure-adventure_is_here/

As of the time of posting the fund is sitting at ~$650,000, with 33 days left on the clock. (pre-post edit: It's past 700k now. It's risen fifty thousand ****ing dollars in the time it's taken me to type this.)

This is fantastic news for anyone who's a fan of Double Fine or adventure games or Double Fine and adventure games, but also has some neat implications for gaming as a medium. Double Fine set out to see if crowd sourcing development funds (and feedback, from contributors) was a viable way to create a game without publisher or investor interference, and they've already proven the unholy **** out of step one. If they can deliver on this and make a product that the gaming scene takes notice of, and if other major studios latch onto this method, think of the kind of crazy shit we (by which I mean almost entirely other people) could fund and help create. By circumventing the traditional developer/publisher relationship, they have the freedom to pursue projects that they truly want to create and that people truly want to play, projects that might have otherwise been shrugged off as lacking mainstream appeal. Most importantly, they have the freedom to do so without the meddling influence of a publisher. Instead they'll have the meddling influence of avid gamers like you and me! Wait, shit, I was trying to make this sound like a good thing.

Important to note that $400,000 is relatively minor when it comes to game budgets, not to mention only $300k was actually going towards the game, the rest was for the documentary they'll be making about the development process. But hey, you gotta start somewhere.

If you're confused: shame on you. But also, Double Fine are a game development studio headed by adventure game stalwart Tim Schafer, also comprising an individual of no small point 'n' click prestige, Ron Gilbert. They're responsible for the single most underrated game of all time (as voted by the internet), Psychonauts, and some other stuff.

In related news, Notch, creator of the single most overrated game of all time (as voted by the internet), Minecraft, has offered to fund development of Psychonauts 2 with his untold millions, after Schafer mentioned off-handedly in an interview that he would totes make it if someone would just front the cash. Nothing has surfaced yet, but they're apparently talking. Very odd timing, as this came just a day or two before Double Fine launched their Kickstarter project, which had obviously been in the works for some time. That said, it bears mentioning that this isn't the first time Double Fine have received development funds from [strike]crazed millionaires[/strike] noble philanthropists.

So, thoughts?
 
I think this might be the best thing to happen to the industry in a very long time.
 
Video was hilarious.

This is like 3D Buzz's MMO, only less educational, and more for-profit.
 
This is like 3D Buzz's MMO, only less educational, and more for-profit.

Wow, just looked this up and it sounds ambitious as hell. It's a great idea for a project too, since a big problem with MMO development for smaller studios is how prohibitively complicated it is, especially when it comes to making everything play nice with the net code under stress.

At least I'm pretty sure I heard that somewhere.
 
The video made me want to donate. Fantastic.
 
Another game developer who was doing a similar project for making a sequel to Nexus: The Jupiter Incident (Same devs who were working on the sequel before they were unable to find a publisher) who actually offered a better deal in the form of actual profit shares for anyone who donated over 2500 euro still only got around 30% to their 400K € goal.

I think the only reason this is doing so well is because this is an already well-established and recognized studio and as such I remain skeptical that this is the beginning of some new era of a lot of non-mainstream computer game titles being funded through crowd-sourcing.
 
They'll be getting $15 from me tomorrow! This sounds great, and the series they're going to be recording should be interesting to watch. It's nice how they're going to let the customers make some decisions too!

Seriously crazy how much they've raised in like a day.
 
It's essentially a very long term pre-order at the lowest rank, which is great. I wonder what they will be doing with all this extra money they have accrued.
 
Class A drugs most likely Avoidist. I was going to donate but then I realised they have more than enough funds so I'll just buy the game when there is more to show. I know that's somewhat missing the point of kickstarter but I'm extremely tight.
 
Wow theyre close to 1 mil. And a month left? Donations will peter out I guess, but it'll be interesting to see how much they get in the end.
 
All these donations hopefully means a lot of people will also be buying it. I hate that their games haven't been selling well.
 
Past a million. Still in the first 24 hours. :eek:

Another game developer who was doing a similar project for making a sequel to Nexus: The Jupiter Incident (Same devs who were working on the sequel before they were unable to find a publisher) who actually offered a better deal in the form of actual profit shares for anyone who donated over 2500 euro still only got around 30% to their 400K € goal.

I think the only reason this is doing so well is because this is an already well-established and recognized studio and as such I remain skeptical that this is the beginning of some new era of a lot of non-mainstream computer game titles being funded through crowd-sourcing.

Yeah, they're absolutely getting by on brand recognition, probably combined with some interest in the genre being (sort of) revived and people excited by the concept, but I don't think that cheapens it. There have been plenty of indie developers looking for funds for their games on Kickstarter and elsewhere, this is notable because it's a big name developer. Not as big as some, but they're on the map. Your point about profit shares is actually interesting though, I wonder if Double Fine will re-evaluate that now that their fund has exploded. Either way, the people who contributed were obviously happy with it as is.

Anyway, I'm not suggesting this is going to replace publishers or investors, I'm just saying it could be a neat alternative for certain games by certain developers, if they can get the traction. That's not to say there aren't publishers out there supporting innovative and niche games either, there absolutely are, but this could give them another avenue to pursue that sort of thing without making too many compromises, which kind of excites me. But now I'm really getting ahead of myself.

It's essentially a very long term pre-order at the lowest rank, which is great. I wonder what they will be doing with all this extra money they have accrued.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention this: if you donate the lowest rewarded denomination of $15, you'll get the game when it comes out on Steam. It's essentially a pre-order, but you get beta access, the documentary, and access to the contributor's forum too. All this stuff is listed on the Kickstarter page, but it bears mentioning.
 
The biggest problem with this kind of funding is going to rear its head as soon as a fairly large budget project gets funded, but the developers **** up somehow during development and all that money goes down the drain. Once that happens, people will be much, much less inclined to offer up funding in this manner. Publishers protect themselves by having some kind of guaranteed return, however small. Funders like this dont have that, but the number of people dilutes the effect of a failed game so its not as bad. But still, if enough people are scorned, there'll be enough commotion on the internet about it to make others hesitant.
 
On the other hand, they're only necessarily out $15, and if the success rate of these kickstarter projects is at least 25% then they're at least breaking even vs the traditional developer-publisher-retailer-consumer model.
 
On the other hand, they're only necessarily out $15, and if the success rate of these kickstarter projects is at least 25% then they're at least breaking even vs the traditional developer-publisher-retailer-consumer model.

Except we're talking about the internet here. With how many people supply fund for a project like this, some of them will feel scammed, and will scream about it until all the internets knows about it.
 
tim schafer have the advantage of being tim schafer so honestly I dont see such big deal whit this fund record,since some people are claiming it like some kind of revolution stuff,but at the end if someone else tried to get this same kind of goal even showing a decent looking proyect it wont reach this kind of sussces
 
Hey, you guys like Obsidian, right?

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...y-day-gives-planescape-dev-kickstarter-fever/

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/10/obsidian-want-to-know-what-you-want-them-to-make/

Chris Avellone, the guy responsible for Planescape and stuff, is interested in doing something similar if there's enough fan demand. He's also asking for ideas of what kind of game people would like on their forums.

The biggest problem with this kind of funding is going to rear its head as soon as a fairly large budget project gets funded, but the developers **** up somehow during development and all that money goes down the drain. Once that happens, people will be much, much less inclined to offer up funding in this manner. Publishers protect themselves by having some kind of guaranteed return, however small. Funders like this dont have that, but the number of people dilutes the effect of a failed game so its not as bad. But still, if enough people are scorned, there'll be enough commotion on the internet about it to make others hesitant.

This crossed my mind too, and obviously it's already occurred to Double Fine since they're documenting the whole thing, so that if it's a complete disaster the contributors will still get something out of it. Not a completely foolproof method mind you, but it's a nice thought. This is still relatively unfamiliar territory in any case, so it'll be interesting to see how things play out at least.
 
Didn't think it warranted a new thread. Apparently that Minecraft Let's Play channel "Yogscast" is making a sandbox multiplayer game.

  • Beautiful, randomly-generated game worlds that are different every time you start a new Yogventure
  • Fully shapeable terrain - with the ability for players to raise a mountain range or create a vast ocean; you can effortlessly shape your world however you imagine it
  • A wealth of novel building materials, creatures, NPCs and items
  • A rich underground to mine and explore - bristling with rare outcroppings of gems and crystals, hidden tombs and dark underground terrors that drop rare weapons and loot
  • A fully-fleshed out crafting system
  • An in-game physics engine that will even effect the blocks you place in your creations
  • The ability to customise your own unique avatar or play as one of your favourite Yogscast characters
  • Easy-to-use in-game modding API including in-game scripting
  • Ability for modders to have a chance to get their work added to the game
  • Regularly released video updates from the developers including the latest feature additions
Sounds like Minecraft.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/winterkewlgames/yogventures

Also lol at the 'what you'll get' donation requests.
 
Jesus Christ how horrifying. That game is going to be a steaming pile of crap - a pile of Minecraft that is.

The whole Kickstarter thing is getting out of hands. If the developers are truly letting the funders affect the development, it's clear that they're making the game with money and profit as their only goal.

This also causes arrogance amongst funders. Imagine buying a game and posting constructive feedback on a forum only to have a user with an "Original Funder" tag tell you your opinions are worthless because you didn't fund the game. I've already seen shit like this.
 
Man, back in December me and a couple guys I am making a game with were talking about starting a kickstarter thing to fund our game. Instead we decided to get real jobs to pay our bills and just work less on the game. This makes me mad.
 
I think the word "investment" is where issues are going to arise in the long run. It should be made clear to people that the money they put forward is a charitable donation and nothing more. That any future outcome is a risk they have to be willing to take. Right now the site is a little too good at making people feel involved in the projects they are contributing to.

I put some money towards the Wasteland 2 kickstarter because I like the people involved and agree with the sentiment behind what they are trying to do. However I am under no illusion that they're guaranteed to create something great, I just want to donate towards their attempt. If they succeed? Awesome. If they don't? No big deal.

But like Krynn said, the Internet is full of people who are really good at kicking up a storm when they feel let down by something. All it takes is one high profile meltdown to burst the bubble for the entire system.
 
Correction: The first scam that's been caught.
 
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