Hey all… So what’s your thoughts on Alpha Funding vs Kickstarter?
If you had to choose one of these Funding Options for your next game, which one would you choose and why?
I am reading alot about how KickStarter seems to only be a good option for those who already have a strong following, like
industry game dev professionals who have now gone indie. I have actually had that impression way before I even read up about it, mostly because of the WasteLand 2, and a few others i’ve come across.
Now, we have Alpha Funding as a New Option that lets you Sell an Alpha / Beta Version of your Game while still in Developmenet, then I guess you can raise the price later for the Updates or Final Release.
I am leaning more towards the Alpha Funding Option, but still not 100% sure, what’s your thoughts?
I have a few problems with alpha funding. First, not as many people know about it, so its even more difficult to get your name out there than crowdfunding. Second, a lot of games don’t work with a “beta” build. For instance, I’m working on an RPG. I can’t really sell people the “beta”, since it wouldn’t make any sense at all as a game.
On the other side of that, alpha funding has worked great for some people. Games like Minecraft were a perfect fit for that kind of model.
Ok, so if you used Kickstarter, what would be your primary way of getting the word out about your KickStarter?
My thoughts are Press Releases (such as gamespress.com, and gamerelease.net) IndieDB, Steam, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and maybe Forum Posting? Are there any other possible Marketing Options i’m missing via the Web? Of coarse there is always trying to do Game Conferences or a Contest to showcase your game if you Qualify but I don’t think these last two are not that helpful especially if the timing is off… and you have to wait months before you know you are selected. So it seems Web Marketing is the best way to go to get the word out for your Kickstarter…
i’m pretty sure these marketing ideas, efforts could be helpful and useful for both Options… any other idea’s ?
I think you’ve covered all of them that I could think of. If you can manage to launch your campaign around the time of a major convention, that could also help. Walk around and hand out flyers, chat it up with people at the convention, etc.
The first demographic you target with your funding campaign are your own social networks, Facebook friends, LinkedIn friends, Youtube subscribers, Twitter followers, Wordpress (blog) followers. Basically people who have already opted in to hear what you have to say online. The next is probably forums related to your game or development. This one can be touchy because they get inundated with crowdfunding threads, but some forums actually have specific threads set aside for crowdfunding posts!
Makes total sense! only small issue i see is what if you don’t have big social network? what if you don’t have a big following…? of coarse you have to then poor some money into marketing to get the word out… but then we are back at the subject of this post… would you go with Alpha Funding or Kickstarter based on how much traffic / attention your game is getting?
would you just totally NOT DO KickStarter or Alpha Funding until you have enough people talking about the game, or would just jump in try your luck, and see if the KickStarter or Alpha Funding will bring more attention (more follows) to your Game?
as the way I see it… KickStarter and Alpha Funding are both Marketing Tools as well… Kickstarter you need to list everything your going to do, post a nicely done Pitch Video, I guess you can do the same for Alpha Funding but the requirements seem alittle different because your actually giving the Players an Early Alpha or Beta Build of your Game, as that’s point of Alpha Funding to give the Players something for their Money in Advance.
I also think there are different kinds of people who be willing to fork over money in either option… for example if you are a brand new developer and no one knows who you are and your asking for support via KickStarter you chances of failing are higher then if you were an Industry Professional gone Indie, then everyone trusts you will deliver what you say you will… they probably can’t all feel the same about a New Indie Developer.
Alpha Funding allows the Players to actually pay a small price for a an Alpha Build, Fund your Game and Actually Get something for their Money and it builds a Trust relationship between Players and Developers in a way that KickStarter can’t really provide.
It’s tough choice… as I know there is no hard coded formula to success…
Kickstarter is one of those things I feel was a good avenue back when it was new, but now that everyone and their dog is using it to fund their life, people are less willing to invest in the smaller folk.
I’m personally toying with both ideas. Kickstarter is appealing but they take a big cut out of your profits, plus, you basically have to spend months working on nothing but PR and kickstarter stuff. My time is limited since I’m a hobbyist right now, I work on my game when I get home from work and the thought of spending time spinning my wheels doing something not directly contributing to finishing the game for months, is not appealing :-/
Whereas with alpha funding you basically get to do less PR and more work on the game with the hope that people will like what they see and spread the word.
By the way, did you attend the last SFGD meeting in March?
Kickstarter is incredibly difficult if you are unknown / small… especially if you are asking for any decent amount of money.
With my campaign, I was covered in a wide range of places (even the penny arcade) and still not even half way to the goal (and this is with heavy work on my side sending press releases and updates and things).
Really, if I were going to do a kickstarter again… it would be with a public demo and invest 10k in hiring a good PR company to handle the campaign. Then it becomes a lot more risk if you fail though.
Don’t underestimate kickstarter (lots of people do). If you are asking for anything over a couple thousand dollars, just trying to rely on your friends / current social networking won’t work (unless you have a hugeee following). It may seem like the successful campaigns just put it up and suddenly they get lots of money… but actually they have a huge marketing campaign behind them (especially with those big projects, they spent a tonnn on marketing).
thanks for sharing Ivory, I just recently saw that the Legend of Dungeon Game was overfunded at 32K I think when they just asked for 5K, but after Googled Robot Loves Kitty (their company name), it seems they have been making games since 2009 so that’s about 4 years worth of putting out games / content, and enough time to gain a good fan base… they were living in a Tree when they Made this Legend of Dungeon Game So I don’t think they put in a whole lot of money into Marketing for this game… but probably with their 4 years they’ve managed to earn a following possibly through some markting, and also contests… as I saw they also won some Indie Contests as well, so that’s probably a big plus and may generate instant traffic.
So really the key her I think is Marketing Marketing Marketing… wither you choose Alpha Funding or Kickstarter, how successful these are may very much depend on Marketing and ofcoarse having a Good Game.
I think with kickstarter you either already have a following or maybe you go with something off the wall crazy where people can buy into the idea. If you are doing something that people cant really “believe in” then I dont think its going to work, so it might be better to aim for something bigger then you might think, we always poupou the people who want to a MMO and say you need to think smaller, but if you are trying to get the non-game developers you really have to wow them with a big idea.
Ivory, since you’ve been down the kickstarter road before, would you mind sharing how you ran the marketing for your campaign? Where did you send your press releases, what services if any did you use, what did you do to get coverage in the games media (even if you weren’t funded, penny arcade is a great get)? I’d love to know more about the details of your experience.
Sure, I sat around and compiled a long list of gaming websites and their emails. Then one by one sent out my press release every week or so (with new news each time).
I also went to various forums posting, posted updated into indiedb and steam, and basically just ran around trying to reach people.
Then you also have to do updates on KS and be active in the comments. Answering peoples emails and things like that.
But, still, most everyone will ignore you ~_~ It is a ton of work, and slow to get attention (it is kind of depressing when you see a quicky pixel art game getting tons more coverage when you get ignored haha). That is why if I came to KS again, I would be further in the build (something for people to play) and hire a professional PR firm to handle the media relations (spending 10k).
Self marketing as an unknown indie studio is an extremely uphill battle (and even worse when you have things about you that people generally don’t like ~~ I’ve heard a lot people specifically commenting that they won’t donate to a “crossdresser”. Or the forum where they started to post tranny porn in my thread ~~ Niceee).
Sorry to hear about that Ivory, this kind of behavior truly pisses me off! Unbelievable! >_<’ but on another note… I truly believe that persistence is the key to success and believing in what you do before anything else…
I think it’s a tough battle for all of us in different ways… but I strongly believe that if we keep our mind focused on the end goal and don’t allow anything to shift us from that focus… we’ll get there! ofcoarse with also putting in the time and work needed…
