Kickstarter. The very name causes game journos everywhere to puke in their mouth a little bit. Ever since Tim Schafer raised THREE MILLION DOLLARS using the crowd-source funding site, every indie developer in the world has started their own page and harangued sites for coverage. Heck, I’m even tired of the “We’re tired of your Kickstarter” tweets by now.
Yet, the unwashed masses of Bozeman have hardly been bombarded by Kickstarter stories the way that internet-users have been. Not only that, the underdog story of how République found funding during its twilight hours sounded compelling enough to make for a worthwhile story. Even the most played-out topic can work with the right story, or so they told me in school.
From this comes the May 2012 edition of Game On. It’s a timely piece about Camouflaj’s recent tribulations as well as a gateway article on how games can find funding through Kickstarter. Perhaps a bit immediate for a monthly gaming column, but I’m pleased with the result. Or rather, I’m pleased with my editors being pleased with the result.
Title: “Game on: New projects make it work with Kickstarter”
Outlet: Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Publish Date: 5/18/12On the morning of May 11, after a month’s struggle, Camouflaj, a Seattle-based game studio founded by industry veteran Ryan Payton, successfully gained financial backing for their newest videogame, “République.” Their method was Kickstarter, a website that gives inventors and creators a platform to find investors by pitching their project and offering rewards if the project gains funding.
“République” isn’t the first game to back itself through Kickstarter. Earlier this year, game designer Tim Schafer and his studio, Double Fine, raised over $1 million in less than 24 hours for their new point-and-click adventure game. The game went on to collect a whopping $3,336,371 over 34 days.
The giant pile of money generated by Double Fine triggered a sort of gold rush for independent game developers looking for investors. Some, like “Shadowrun Returns” or “Oregon Trail: Director’s Cut,” found success. Most did not; in fact, gaming website Kotaku reports that only 25 percent of gaming Kickstarters have succeeded.
For a while, “République” looked like would be part of the other 75 percent.
