254 - Kickstarter Lessons Learned

Developer diaries about creating Neverending Nightmares.
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matt
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Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:48 am

254 - Kickstarter Lessons Learned

Post by matt »

Having recently completed all the fulfillment for our Neverending Nightmares kickstarter, I decided to reflect on some things that I learned over the course of our campaign.

-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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evilkinggumby
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Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:41 pm

Re: 254 - Kickstarter Lessons Learned

Post by evilkinggumby »

that is a lot of great advice. and OMG that background depresses me.. lol. seeing you cite "lessons learned" with empty shelves makes me feel like you got nailed by the IRS and lost all your possessions because of some scam.. lol

I do agree, updates routinely and being as transparent as possible is a goood thing. I don't think every Kickstarter needs to do as many updates as YOU did, but usually regula rones every 1-2 weeks or monthly is appreciated. A lot of campaigns I am on that fall silent for 2-3+ months get some very grumpy backers, and if it goes longer, people crying fraud and wanting blood.

Even if the update is bad news, like a part of the team got sick, deported, or dead, is better than silence. With fears of people running off with the money, just a few words makes a huge difference.

one thing I'd also suggest to potential kickstarter developers is making sure to list your teams pedigree if there is one. I really like to see that the people I am funding have experience, or that SOME of them have experience, in gaming design and industry work. If not, work in similar stuff like animation, hollywood or visual effects. It is really hard for me to back a new studio with no pedigree listed for their staff, or if their pedigree of talent is just a bunch of guys that thought "hey we should make a game" and thats it. I have backed teams like that, but only when I see some significant talent in the work so far. And even then I realize it's a hefty risk.

Granted I haven't backed as many projects as Matt has (he's backed like 161 vs my paltry 73 on just Kickstarter, not counting Indiegogo) but 73 ain't no slouch. :)

have you considered comissioning someone to make a 3d model of a iconic character for the next game and doing 3dprints of them as a mini figma? I see a number of campaigns doing that and despite charging quite a bit for the limited run, they sell out in most cases. Might be something to consider if possible.

also, look at this spreadsheet of the status of a bunch of projects and try to learn from it as this shows all kinds of projects, heavily funded and otherwise, that have issues:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... e&sle=true
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matt
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Re: 254 - Kickstarter Lessons Learned

Post by matt »

Joe did a 3D print for himself for Retro/Grade, and it was expensive as heck. I don't think it makes a good reward if we want to have close to 70-90% mark up, which is what we shoot for. :) Maybe if they were REALLY tiny and REALLY expensive. hahaha The problem is that 2D drawn characters can look really weird in 3D. Joe was going to create a 3D model of Thomas in his spare time for his portfolio and to try to sway me to 3D render the characters, but I don't think he found time.
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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