Neo's Land Kickstarter (*cough* shameless plug)

[Hamilton]

I forgot to announce this, of which had posted the streaming live video links...

We have started a Kickstarter campaign for Neo's Land which is using the Atavism Engine. Neo's Land is a high fantasy MMORPG, which we are taking the community driven approach to this. This is more geared for gamers, but we have some rewards for developers.

There have been some lessons learned with this and marketing. I think I'll make an eBook of how to plan for a marketing campaign.
I can tell you, this has been a good practice of what it is like to launch a game.

Oh right the link:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/neo ... -beginning

[Jackolantern]

Very cool, and the art is quite impressive!

As just a small comment, is it a good idea to give people alternatives to Kickstarter right at the top of the pitch page? You won't get the pledge money if you don't reach your goal or $100k, and every dollar kicked-in through alternative means is a dollar that isn't officially getting you closer to the goal. Maybe it would be better to give the alternatives near the bottom of the pitch, or in some kind of FAQ section.

[Xaos]

Wow, this looks amazing. If I had the money, I would donate (as much as that means, lol). Can't wait to play. I'll prob make some ingame purchases at the least

[Hamilton]

Thanks!

Yeah for PayPal... well Kickstarter does not support PayPal which is a weakness. And some people have problems with either Amazon or the third parties credit card system, or just do not have a credit card. So PayPal becomes useful for those groups of people. But of course, that funding does not go to Kickstarter, which does hurt. A blessing and a curse if you will.

From my experience with Kickstarter, the basis of the concept works, but how Kickstarter has implemented it, I think allows room for another competitor.
There are four items I can see that will be useful to have:
- PayPal integration or funds through PayPal count towards the goal.
- Business Plan with a listing of Milestones. Though this is possible for a project to show to the public, it is not mandatory. But will be support the next items.
- Funding through Completed Milestones. People are wary of giving money for something that could be a scam, or looks like it will not finish. Completion of Milestones provides a means of confidence for people to provide funding. For example, a project could give three phases of completion. After a phase has been completed, then the second round of funding can be done.
For example: I am may willing to provide $100 for a project, but I have my doubts... so I'll provide just $20 now and see what happens. If the project can make the next phase, well, I may then provide more or the same amount.
There are things that would need to be worked out, such as can a funder withdraw from the next set of rounds.
- Accountability of the funding. As it is with Kickstarter, a person could just take the money and not do much for the project. For example, I advertise that I have a great Solar Powered Clothes Dryer and I need $50,000 to finish it and market. Well, say I make that goal and thus produce a Clothesline with Wooden Pins which only costs, oh... $4.99.

There are some details that would need to be cover, but those are the gest of it.


Well however this turns out, if anyone else here tries a stab at Kickstarter, I can give some hints and tips.

[Jackolantern]

IndieGoGo is Kickstarter's biggest competition, and they are gaining momentum. One of the biggest draws to IGG is that it offers a type of entry that doesn't require 100% of the goal to be reached. You just get however many pledges are entered when time expires. Of course that isn't right for every campaign, such as those that need a set amount to get off the ground, in which case getting a portion of the money would just complicate things. But it does offer some good options for people who are seeking some extra money to just polish up a product that is going to be released in either case.

[Callan S.]

Thanks for that link, Jack!

[Jackolantern]

No problem It is a good option I believe for game devs if, like I mentioned above, you are just wanting to polish-up a game you are going to release anyway. That way almost your whole campaign would look like Kickstarter "stretch goals", like "$1,000 better background music, $2000 new player models, $4000 3 more zones, $10000 redone environment models", etc. But you have to keep in mind with this kind of campaign, no matter what you make off of it, you have to deliver the rewards you promised. If the game is going to be completed either way, with or without the money, this is an awesome option just to see how much you can get to help out the project.

It wouldn't work well for say, a movie where your campaign is for the entire budget. If you only made 25% of the budget, you aren't making the movie, but you may have hundreds of backers who are all now promised a completed Blu-Ray of it, for example. That would only cause problems, with tons of complaints, reputation damage and refunds. In that case, it is better to go with an all-or-nothing goal campaign.

Sorry to derail the topic! I figured I would just chime in, though, since there was discussion about an alternative to Kickstarter.

Just to get back on topic, I will say again, this is really great looking!

[Hamilton]

IndieGoGo is a good site, just not there yet at the same level in terms of marketing. But yes, I hope it does keep going with its momentum.