Hey guys, I have a small prototype that I’d like to develop more . To accomplish that I plan on promoting it on KickStarter, any tips ???
The kickstarter craze…
You all must relise that Duble fine is an established studio, infact Tim Schafer is famous at those kind of games it isent like they are just poping up out of no place, in short im sorry but its unlikely it is going to work for you.
While I respect your opinion , going from me asking for tips on promotion, to telling me give up now is quite a leap .
I’m only looking for enough to buy a decent mac,( 2k) push come to shove I’ll just work some extra hours this summer .
It’s not like Kickstarter charges for failed fundraising attempts anyway .
AND if it doesn’t work out the first time i’m going to develop a small version of the game, give it out for free on Android and within the game I’ll have an advertisement for the game on kickstarter .
Lifes to short to be negative, lol
Is your game actually good?
How about some more info on that?
Well the idea’s unique, I’m trying to make something that isn’t all that common…
Idk about good, thats subject to opinion , and how much progress i’m making , lol
I doubt you will get 2000 if it was that easy everyone would do it… maybe $100 Is more realistic? there have been loads of projects that have got nothing and have been already near completion.
Ignore titanty, he’s a trying out trolling. I’m not exactly sure why.
I think the biggest thing about kick-starter is knowing where the money comes from. While I’ve not done it myself, the reading I’ve done on successful games indicates they already had a market willing to spend, not that people randomly decided to give money away.
Personally I was about to invest in a indiegogo project earlier today - until I saw that it had raised $0. Big turn-off.
Aside from the obviously amazingly successful kickstarter projects, there have been a few smaller indie projects that have done quite well for themselves (such as Lifeless Planet - even a unity game!). It’s not out of the realms of possibility, but it is hard to do.
While I haven’t tried a kickstarter project myself, 3 important things that spring to mind:
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Good Idea - Self explanatory really, but the game idea needs to be good. If people don’t like the idea, they won’t buy it (Since most kickstarter rewards include the game itself, look at it more like trying to sell pre-orders). It needs to be well though out and detailed. When someone asks you about feature X or element Y you need to be able to tell them everything about it and why you’ve chosen to make the phalanges orange instead of pink.
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Good Kickstarter Page - Crucial for success. A page that says “Hi, I want to raise $50,000 to make a FPS game that’s a bit like CoD but with a twist…” isn’t going to cut it. Having an awesome idea is one thing, but if you can’t get across just how awesome it is, then no ones going to back it. You’ve got a good design, so let people know about it. Well planned things make people confident, especially when they are about to throw cash at you. Similarly, your not Tim Schafer, you won’t sell your game on a vague idea and reputation alone - your going to need details and proof to people that you can do what they’re paying you for. Screenshots, concept art, video trailers etc (Again check out the Lifeless Planet KS page).
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Publicity - Even more crucial! If you build it, they won’t come - you need to heard them to it like happy little lambs into a slaughter house. You need to talk about your project to anyone and everyone that you can get to listen - and it won’t be easy. PR is hard. Again, Lifeless Planet got coverage on PCG and RPS. That’s huge. Similarly, once Double Fine’s game hit the gaming websites the pledges exploded. So PR PR PR PR!
It’s not impossible, but it’s not easy and it does take some luck. You don’t really have much to lose by trying though, so good luck 
You’ll do better on kick starter if you have a video of the game playing up
I have a demo people can play in unity web player up 
It’s far from the final game, but in the video I’m even going to say its a chance to try it out and get a general idea of what i’d like to do .
Like I already said, it doesn’t cost money to try , so why not !
Well it can hurt your reputation quite a bit. Also you don’t get a penny if you don’t meet your goals by the date you set.
I’m totally not worried about my reputation .
Basically my goal is 2300$ since I need that to buy a Mac to put the game out this year on Iphone, otherwise it becomes andriod only for a good while and IOS ready when I have a spare 2 grand
Trying a kickstarter and failing does not hurt your rep.
Even if it does hurt my rep you only live once you know .
I’d rather try and fail , then be negative and say my game sucks and its not worth trying .
Just my view on life …
I haven’t done Kickstarter… but I am thinking about it. Here are my thoughts:
- Have a nice video, even if you have a playable demo. People may not bother to play the demo unless they get excited by the video.
- You need to find the “investors”. Don’t rely on them finding you. If you just put it up on Kickstarter and hope people will find it… that probably won’t work.
2a. Post to your social media feeds: Facebook, Twitter, etc.
2b. Start with friends and family. Ask them to spread the word via Facebook, forums, Google+, Twitter, etc.
2c. Post on forums you are active in (like this one :))
2d. If your game has a niche, like mine is a car game, try posting in relevant forums. Be careful not to be considered a spammer. This is a tricky one.
2e. Try getting some PR by approaching relevant bloggers.
2f. One old “tip jar” trick is to put some of your own money in to get things started. As NPSF3000 noted, people are less likely to invest if nobody else has. This may be a bit unethical, but it is very common (Check out the book, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”). EDIT: Apparently this is against Kickstarter’s rules.
That is all I can think of right now.
I think you could do it but you would have to work hard at promoting it after the initial buzz wares off. I have this theory that if people think its a winner they might be more inclined to donate it. So suppose you raised 1000 and your goal is 2000, put the extra 1000 yourself (you are a little less than even) but you have now secured it that way people might be more willing to think its a “winner” and support it.
Look at the projects that have succeeded usually they are alot more than 100%
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/search?utf8=&term=game
Quick reply, you can’t put your own money in on KickStarter , its considered fraud and Amazon will suspend your account .
Of course I could beg my sister to donate to my cause for my upcoming birthday( or ask her for a copy of Unity Andriod )
Yikes, thanks for the info. I wouldn’t have wanted to find that out the hard way.
Yep, there are definitely work-arounds.