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“It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

kickstarter.com

51–60 of 392 posts

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#51
post #5

Here is the steam page. http://store.steampowered.com/app/281940/ Remind me of Alice, which had some beautiful levels. http://store.steampowered.com/app/19680/

It's a real shame, since I was really looking forward to this game! I suppose I should count myself fortunate that I didn't Kickstart Woolfe. Seeing these failed projects is grim reminder that just because you back something doesn't mean it will be delivered.

Actually, more failing projects should be funded IMO - Kickstarter has been too much like a store for too long, which caused a lot of people to have overly high expectations for projects they backed.

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#52
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a real shame, since I was really looking forward to this game! I suppose I should count myself fortunate that I didn't Kickstart Woolfe. Seeing these failed projects is grim reminder that just because you back something doesn't mean it will be delivered.

"Oh I didn't get the toy I paid for". Really? That's what you're posting when a group of talented artists see their dream shattered?

Quote marks should be reserved for quoting things that people actually said.

Sarcastic quote marks should be reserved to make fun of something someone actually did ... the person you're responding to said in fact that he didn't kick in on this project.

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#53
post #29
post #23

Probably I am missing something but...Making a videogame (even an indie one) with 72.139 $? They were probably doomed from the very beginning.

They apparently had investors and attracted government subsidies.

That sounds very reasonable. In that case it would be great to know what kind of penalties they incur because no releasing.

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#54
post #38

> But we have literally no money whatsoever to pay for stamps, let alone print the artbooks and dvd-cases. How did this happen? Shouldn't that money have been allocated earlier? Did they spend every dollar thinking that this is the dollar that turns everything around. Maybe I just don't get the mentality of those looking to fund projects on Kickstarter.

I really wish software kickstarters would stop doing physical rewards. The logistics of manufacturing and shipping are non-trivial and are so outside of any software studio's wheelhouse.

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#55
post #34
post #18

[deleted]

I'm glad public money is spent on this. 60k is nothing on the scale of public money and is certainly peanuts when it comes to game budgets. And honestly, while it didn't sell well (and the market certainly is tough right now), the game in itself is not bad. It lacks polish and would have benefitted from a bigger budget but it's not a bad showing. Tale of Tales is another example of a studio who produced some very int…

[deleted]

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#56
post #9

I haven't played the game and I see the reviews are "mixed" on steam but looking at the video they certainly did an amazing job for such a small team. Of course at the end of the day it has to be a good game but they should still be really proud about how far they got. I hope they try again and apply whatever lessons they learned

OT: Hey, it's greggman :) Big fan of many of the games you've worked on. Hope you're doing well.

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#58

I wanted to believe that a team of 6 to 10 people could make a game that looked and felt AAA. Boy was I wrong! When we made Crash Bandicoot (with a team of 7), it was already virtually impossible to make a AAA game with 6-10 people, and that was 20 years ago. I tell inexperienced entrepreneurs to take their honest best estimate and multiply by 10. Or, as Mark Cerny (our producer on Crash) used to tell us, "add one an…

Also, the original kickstarter [1] was for $50,000 with $72,000 raised. I'm not an expert on the economics of the video game industry, but I can't believe that would pay a team of 6-10 people for very long. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/45588301/woolfe-the-red...

It was probably enough for a loan however. Which is probably why the company folded at this time, because they ran out of funding and couldn't make it.

With that said, I've been following Patreon and the financial models at Patreon just make more sense than Kickstarter.

Various game development groups have constantly slipped their schedule, and backers respond typically by keeping the donations steady. As long as the game developer releases a demo demonstrating progress, backers are more than eager to continue their $5/month or so funding.

The main issue is the slow pace of early Patreon funding. A lot of games have to bootstrap with $500 / month or $1000/month for two or three months. Even "successful" Patreons only get $3000/month to $5000/month, and those are few and far between. (Patreon doesn't seem to have the reach of Kickstarter or Indiegogo quite yet. Perhaps if Patreon expanded and grew it'd be better?).

The Patreon model is also better for "subscription" stuffs. Podcasts, youtube videos and the like are more popular there. I can't find too many games on Patreon by searching, but I've seen them advertized on various forums.

In any case, even with $5000/month, it'd be hard to run a team of 6 on such meager money. I've been following a team of 3 and they're barely making it on that.

But Patreon does strike me as more plausible than Kickstarter.

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On the other hand, Kickstarter is extremely good at measuring "hype". So perhaps the Kickstarter model is better if you're trying to prove to outside funding groups that your team is worth investing into.

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#59

I wanted to believe that a team of 6 to 10 people could make a game that looked and felt AAA. Boy was I wrong! When we made Crash Bandicoot (with a team of 7), it was already virtually impossible to make a AAA game with 6-10 people, and that was 20 years ago. I tell inexperienced entrepreneurs to take their honest best estimate and multiply by 10. Or, as Mark Cerny (our producer on Crash) used to tell us, "add one an…

Also, the original kickstarter [1] was for $50,000 with $72,000 raised. I'm not an expert on the economics of the video game industry, but I can't believe that would pay a team of 6-10 people for very long. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/45588301/woolfe-the-red...

They're based on Antwerp, Belgium, That could make it work. Since the regular salary is $24k I'd expect it to be around $5k per person.

Re: “It’s done, there is no way back. We tried, we failed”

#60

I wanted to believe that a team of 6 to 10 people could make a game that looked and felt AAA. Boy was I wrong! When we made Crash Bandicoot (with a team of 7), it was already virtually impossible to make a AAA game with 6-10 people, and that was 20 years ago. I tell inexperienced entrepreneurs to take their honest best estimate and multiply by 10. Or, as Mark Cerny (our producer on Crash) used to tell us, "add one an…

Also, the original kickstarter [1] was for $50,000 with $72,000 raised. I'm not an expert on the economics of the video game industry, but I can't believe that would pay a team of 6-10 people for very long. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/45588301/woolfe-the-red...

Depends on what the backend motivations are.

Clearly, the amount of work involved here was way too much.

But if 72k can keep you alive on ramen and a futon so that you can make millions on the back-end ...

Regardless, it's a gamble. But the up-front money isn't the only consideration. Especially if everyone has a real stake (which is not the case for startups in general).

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