This is a hypothetical question just for fun. If you made a Kickstart for your Unity3d game, what would your rough target fund be and why?
Also, if you exceeded your target, what would you do with the extra?
This is wildly arbitrary. I’ve seen Kickstarter games ranging from a couple thousand dollars, to millions. Some had no stretch goals at all, some promised more content, new platforms, new languages for the game, etc.
Asking a broad hypothetical would be impossible here. Are you asking for individual experiences/thoughts?
Yes. If you were to toy with the idea, what are the main things that would require the most funding?
Art. Every single time; art is the most costly portion of development.
With code, you write the core rules, then every bit of content is typically a derivative of that code. If you want a new feature, yes, it requires some code, but it will normally be a spin-off of existing features.
On the other hand, if you want a new item, character or location in your game, you’re looking at weeks, if not months added to your development time.
So, in answer to part of your question, our stretch goals will typically involve a larger world, more characters, etc.
This is a good question - i’m in the same headspace myself. My approach so far is to self-fund and wait until I’m at ‘that point’ of no return - when I’m 100% all my ducks are in a row and its not a matter of ‘if’ anymore but ‘when’. Since i’m planning on having most of the core pieces in place by the time I kickstart, my main concern is securing enough funds to ensure the game can be produced at a high level of quality and to cover outsourcing expenses. I’m thinking of shooting for about the $50-100k mark (it really depends what i’ve finished by kickstart time) - my thought is to secure as much interest and feedback from like minded folks as it is to get funding. If things really took off and went crazy, there’s a ton of features i’d love to implement - but the first thing i’d probably do is ‘quit the dayjob’ and focus on the game 24/7.
This is all very speculative atm, frankly I’m planning on backing the project myself and may just go with self funding from inception to delivery - but imo pressure/expectations can do wonders to kick yourself into overdrive and seeing a group of folks looking forward to something I’m passionate about would be really awesome, especially since you’d feel like those who show an interest and put down $ to show it are probably an excellent source of feedback to bounce design changes/tweaks off of.
This is a basic formula for the cost of development:
cost = timeToFinishGamenumberOfDeveloperslivingExpense+licenseFees+paymentFees;
You might want to add contractors to that formula for sounds or voice overs so really the answer is “it depends”
Just wondering, when making a KickStarter can you save it and share the page before it goes live(before people can donate?)
Yes you can
however much you can ripoff artists for…just kidding(mostly) Try to set your project in the low thousands to hundred unless you have a big image.
If I started a campaign for my current project(6 month project). I’d go after 3 - 6 grand for tools, equipment and music. If I exceeded my target I would hire builders to help me.
Well, that depends entirely on the individual’s circumstances and the requirements of the project.
Are you asking because you’re thinking about making one and want to know the areas you’ll need to hit? If so, letting us know a little about the project would be a good start.
But also, I’m not sure that the amount of funding requested is the big ticket item for a successful kickstart. People look at pitches and complain about the numbers, but what that really indicates to me is that the pitch’s business proposition doesn’t represent adequate value. If it did then people wouldn’t care so much about the total value (as long as it’s believable) because you’re only asking them to kick one small part of it, which only costs them anything if the goal is reached.
The main issue that I see with most amateur game Kickstarter pitches is that they’re all about what’s in it for the developer, where the real question should always be “What’s in it for the investor/purchaser?”. Successful pitches that spring to my mind (Wasteland 2, Torment, Double Fine Adventure, and the OUYA spring to mind) all answered that incredibly well. The games all allowed fans to help create something that they wanted which wouldn’t exist under a traditional publishing model. What was in it for the investor was getting a unique type of game that they were unlikely to get through other means, and the feeling that they helped to make it happen (which they did). Actually, the Ouya’s pitch was exactly the same thing, only with a platform for indie games rather than a specific game. What was in it for the investors was helping to create a platform which enabled easy distribution of indie games for something other than a phone or tablet (and the feeling that they helped to make it happen… which they did). In each case the developer was trying to do something which their target audience very much wanted, and just needed financial help in making it happen.
Kickstarter is a crazy beast ~_~ marketing for it is bananas. It is already difficult to market for a finished indie game…but marketing for a fund raising to finish an indie game???
Unless you have a large following already, it is pretty tough.
I’m actually on kickstarter now with Bloom…and…well…it is rough ~_~
Pro Tip: You just mentioned it, and you didn’t post a link. If nothing else, put it in your signature.
Well…since you asked 
http://kck.st/ZYaA9x
hehe
yeah its pretty rough, I’ve put a project up for kickstarter a while back (didn’t get funded 
)
it depends on how much you need/ask for and what you need it for.
how well your presentation of your game/project is
how good does your game look
rewards worth the investment/donation
and lastly timing: (hope you dont end up funding with a huge project that looks so awesome that everyone funds that project instead of yours)
I just don’t see the point until you have a proven track record of creating playable games. And I don’t mean games that function but ones people want to play.
Your kickstarter will fail without decent gameplay video. For example in the case of Bloom I see concept and a bunch of people talking that I don’t care about plus 1 minute of what seams like gameplay. No one wants to see or hear you flap your yapper. They want to see gameplay. They want to see what they’re investing in. That’s like running to a company asking for a million dollars for your invention and all you have is a few 2 year olds drawings of it; not going to happen. That’s called vaporware.
Kickstarter is only a success if you know a single thing about marketing and actually have a product to sell, which most do not; take some classes or hire someone to help you with the marketing and do NOT make a kickstarter until you at least have an early Alpha (preferably let pledge’s play it). Have to keep in mind as an indie no one knows who you are and you have no value in the market. It’s good to establish a player base and a following before you reach release using Alpha builds then let word of mouth sell your game.
Too often I see a kickstarter and I scratch my head wondering wtf it even exists for. Don’t ask for my money on concepts. Your concepts hold no value to a player. I also don’t like low goal kickstarters. If you’re asking for 5k then you’re just wanting me to buy some software for you. You’re not going to make a decent game with 5k. So it is thus a BS scam. Set a realistic goal for an actual quality game release and people will take you seriously.
The catch 22 of indies You need a game to get money…and you need money to make a game.
Not necessarily.
You could start with Unity free for example. Develop some smaller games in your free time and earn some bucks with it. Rinse and repeat until you have enough money for better tools and a more ambitious project.
Mmm, I’m not so sure small games are such a good plan for getting funds 
There are a bazillion small games and most don’t make money. It would be better to just work a lot at a full-time job and make a decent living and save up for 5-10 years and then try to fund your game.
The thing is, I’m not sure I’ll want to put this much work into games when I’m 40 Passion dies with time, life moves on, priorities change, and well… life
Right now I have a ton of passion and willing to work non stop for a game. Got a great idea, got a pretty good start, just need a little funding to make it happen (pretty much how any business works).
The only difference with this industry is there aren’t many ways to get funding for indie projects (because people generally don’t see it as a business or job, they see it as having fun 
Like eating cake why would you pay someone to eat cake??).
Oh, also…the problem isn’t the tools. The problem is time. The main cost is just affording to eat while working on the project