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

kickstarter.com

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

#111

Post by archimedespi »

chazu wrote: post #102
dmbaggett wrote: post #10

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…

Was that title developed using lisp? If so (or if you worked on other Naughty Dog games which did use lisp) do you feel that it was a force multiplier in any way?

Yes! GOOL/GOAL (see [1]) was a lisp-family language. See [2] for an explanation by the guy who developed it.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Oriented_Assembly_Lisp

[2] - http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/03/12/making-crash-ban...

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

#112

Post by xixixao »

TomGullen wrote: post #79
dmbaggett wrote: post #10

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…

What does "AAA Game" mean anyway? I'm a bit lost on the definition. Wikipedia says: > In the video game industry, AAA (pronounced "triple A") is a classification term used for games with the highest development budgets and levels of promotion. A title considered to be AAA is therefore expected to be a high quality game and to be among the year's bestsellers. By definition, a budget of $75k + 6-10 people wont make an…

That's a pretty bad definition of a AAA game. I'd say it's a game that is up to the current standard in video gaming, which is rapidly evolving. This means that the graphics aren't archaic, the game content has appropriate magnitude (the game doesn't feel short, or lacking in items, game levels/areas etc. as applicable for each genre). It's the level of "polish" the game has. Now that implies the team sizes and budgets, but not that the game will be a bestseller. It can be a total flop, although the high cost of producing such game implies that it has significant marketing, which should bring at least some sales.

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

#113

Post by raverbashing »

gambiting wrote: post #84
raverbashing wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USD or GBP?

$30k USD, converted from GBP for the convenience of US readers ;-)

Hopefully not in London then :)

Let me say you can find better opportunities outside the field

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

#114

Post by agumonkey »

danso wrote: post #92
agumonkey wrote: post #66

It's interesting to see the reactions here. The matchstick project ended up giving full refunds to the backers and yet they were trashed in the comments. While here people are showing lots of love even after the bankrupt notification.

I know Kickstarter failures are pretty common...but I submitted this one because I liked the refreshing straightforward admission of abject failure. The comments on the OP are pretty mild and supportive considering that the project isn't sending out any of its promised rewards, nevermind not finishing the game. I'd like to think that the OP's honesty is a factor in that.

I don't know, I didn't pay attention to most of the failed projects, but the matchstick guys seemed honest enough (they too took a road to difficult for them). Especially considering they'd refund everybody. Yet people seemed quite angry.

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

#115

Post by cousin_it »

TomGullen wrote: post #79
dmbaggett wrote: post #10

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…

What does "AAA Game" mean anyway? I'm a bit lost on the definition. Wikipedia says: > In the video game industry, AAA (pronounced "triple A") is a classification term used for games with the highest development budgets and levels of promotion. A title considered to be AAA is therefore expected to be a high quality game and to be among the year's bestsellers. By definition, a budget of $75k + 6-10 people wont make an…

Yeah, the term AAA can be a bit slippery. Thankfully, the year 2015 gave us a game that feels like the proverbial "spherical AAA game in a vacuum": The Order 1886. Seriously, it might not be the best game ever, but it feels like it was made to become the definition of "AAA look" for the next year at least. And yes, making a game of such visual quality with only 10 people is flat out impossible with current technology, and it's hard for me to even imagine the technology that would make it possible.

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

#116

Post by kraig911 »

dmbaggett wrote: post #10

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…

Ok that's great that means you can make another one!

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

#117

Post by eterm »

wisty wrote: post #107
TomGullen wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does "AAA Game" mean anyway? I'm a bit lost on the definition. Wikipedia says: > In the video game industry, AAA (pronounced "triple A") is a classification term used for games with the highest development budgets and levels of promotion. A title considered to be AAA is therefore expected to be a high quality game and to be among the year's bestsellers. By definition, a budget of $75k + 6-10 people wont make an…

The only way to make a "AAA" game on a low budget now, competing with the massive asset libraries AAA games build up, is to create some kind of easily modded game, where players can build their own assets. Minecraft does this, in a way. Instead of a villiage-sized Barbie / GI Joe playset (with everything perfectly designed), you get a giant bucket of lego bricks. Not that Minecraft / df style games have done much bet…

Minecraft is in no way a "AAA" game.

Yes, it's a hugely popular game, but it is the archetype of "indie game done good".

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

#118

Post by rhino369 »

kin wrote: post #39

So if the game is on Steam right now and I try to support them by buying a copy, where does the money go?

Short answer: their creditors.

Long answer: depends on their circumstances in bankruptcy court. The company could potentially reemerge from bankruptcy with the creditors owning it. Or the court might rip the company apart and sell off assets to pay back creditors. The money Steam owes the company is just another asset.

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

#119

Post by rockdoe »

jacalata wrote: post #74
raverbashing wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Since the regular salary is $24k Where did you take this number from? Try at least, the bare minimum, double that in Western Europe for anyone calling themselves a game developer

That sounds like the number for the average salary in Belgium.

On the receiving end, yes. PSA: You have to pay taxes. And in Belgium, you have to pay A LOT of taxes. It's one of the most taxed countries in the world: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2012...

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

#120

Post by micampe »

dudul wrote: post #43
bko wrote: 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.

Agreed. I don't understand how they can not give anything at all to all the people who poured money into their kickstarted. What does it say about crowdfunding?

It says that people don't understand what Kickstarter is: you are investing in a project, not buying a product. Investments carry risk.
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