Harry Sunderland wrote:People need to stop looking at the budget overall and only ask themselves, "Do I like this project? If so, how much am I going to donate?"
Who cares how much the project is asking total. There's too much variance to consider that. If you don't want a project...don't donate. If you want it a little...donate a little. And if you want it a lot, donate a lot. But don't base how much you donate or IF you donate based on the relative size of the KS goal.
I really like that idea, and I think it would be rather nice if that was how everyone operated on KS and similar funding sites.
But as charming as it is, I doubt it is anything we'll see ever set in. When someone is being asked to donate or invest in something, they not only want to feel interested and excited about it, but they want assurance that what is being proposed is even possible. And "possible" can be either "able to be created on proposed budget" or " able to reach x budget to finish the fundraiser and collect" (as is the case with most Kickstarters).
For nostalgia, industry vets and familiar franchises, being so excited you forgo all reason and just throw everything you got at it is pretty common. For new properties, indie unknowns, and untested concepts, it is a whole different (much higher risk) story. Adding to that a growing number of kickstarter failures (read: unfinished games, abandoned projects or outright fraud) and you will see more and more backers being very finicky in how they spend their backer bucks.
so backers have to try and really think about what they're looking at. the metric they use to determine if it is worth it is all over the board, so relying just on "do I like this project?" is not always the first and only question, but really the last after considering all options.
It is like choosing to patronize a restaurant. Does everyone go to a particular joint just for the food? do some go for the atmosphere, or the crowd, or the big televisions? Do they go there for fond memories, or for the view out the front windows, or something else? Is it reasonable to expect EVERYONE to just pick an eatery ONLY on the food and little else?
the tough part is what is being proposed is so open ended that if it was a resturant it would mean being offered various meals for different prices but not knowing what the actual operational cost is both to make the food, supplies and seasoning, plus costs to staff the joint and pay the bills. oh wait... we don't have that now in most cases....
So then I wonder why people are so interested with gaming. lol. I think it comes down to trust, at the heart and soul of it. Are you willing to "trusst" a diner that charges $50 for a burger when the joint is small, quaint but not very decorated or frilly? If said burger looks, generally, like any other burger in town, will you trust it is really the best most amazing new experience you've had in a long time? One's mileage on trust varies, and having transparency helps. If the diner said the burger was more expensive because it used only local farmer's materials, that it was especially selected to be the best prime cuts of beef and vegetables, if it was to help fun an organ transplant for the diner's founder who is on their death bed, or to raise money for a kids charity... you might be willing to "invest" in it. If it was just that price and no explanation for WHY is given.. you'd walk away and find a better deal.
So people are looking to establish trust in the campaigns. are the dev's being up front and honest about ENOUGH of it to feel legit and trustworthy? Is there fears or questions purposefully being left out? are the asking prices justified by what they're saying and expecting? or are they saying their game will be amazing, innovative, and the best damn experience you could ever have with a puzzle/Platformer and the investment starts at $50 just to lick the bun...
since there is no consistency in ACTUAL cost of game development, much like there is no up front costs given at resturants typically, we the investors/backers are forced to use a very different system of weights and measures and make unfair and often inaccurate assumptions about the budgets and efficiency. I can assume hamburger meat is about $2 a pound for most restaurants just as easily as I can assume a dev is paid $30 an hour no matter the game. If no one is going to disclose the truth, it will keep happpening.