Crowdfunding for Video games

Jimmy Lin

What is Crowdfunding

- Crowdfunding is the means to raise money for certain projects from a large group of

people. Usually, you would use the internet to crowdfund.

- It seems easy to do but chances for it to succeed is typically low unless you engage your

audience smartly.

- A popular way for many game developers is to use crowdfunding as a means to secure

many funds especially since most video games are supported by large publishing

companies and developers themselves.

Examples of Crowdfunding Websites

● The three biggest crowdfunding websites are Indiegogo, Kickstarter, and GoFundMe.

There are a lot of similarities but there are some key differences

● Kickstarter is “all of nothing” which means you fail if you don’t reach your goal compare

to the other websites. Both Indiegogo and GoFundMe allows you to keep the funds if you

fail.

● You do have to pay a small fee to the website if you're successful with the campaign

● All 3 have a distinct focus for certain types of project. For example: GoFundMe is more on

personal causes and Kickstarter has a heavy emphasis on creative projects such as games.

● There are pledges or benefits if you are a donor for a project ● https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zackdangerbrown/potato-salad● https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night

Bad Video Game Project

● The infamous Mighty No.9 made waves in 2013 for being a “spiritual

successor” to the Mega Man series as it was produced and created by Keiji

Inafune who made the Mega Man games.

● It raised nearly 4 million dollars which was very successful and was

considered to be a potential worthy successor to Mega Man because

Capcom, the publisher of the Mega Man series, was not making them at all.

● Unfortunately numerous delays and portrayals of mismanagement led it to

be released in mid 2016 in which it was deemed as a mediocre game and was

ridiculed as an example of what not to do for crowdfunding a game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YngbHOz--oc

Another Bad Video Game Project

- The Ouya was another example of an extremely hyped project

that miserably failed upon being released.

- The premise seems great. It was designed as a cheap micro-

console that uses Android technology and as an easy way to

mod or hack for many aspiring developers to be used as a

platform for their ideas.

- The problem is…. Um it just lacks much? There aren’t much

games to be played with and they’re mostly Android apps.

Sure there are some indie games but at this point it was just a

lost cause and many developers moved on to another console.

- Very good example of a ‘game’ for the Ouya and keep in mind

it raised over 8.5 million dollars which is still amongst the 10

highest raised KickStarter projects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-u9gCsVOz4

Good Project

● The video game industry is a very tough business to break

through especially when you have to compete with many Triple

A companies to make a profit. For some people, creativity can

envision a successful game and that's Shovel Knight by Yacht

Club Games.

● Created as a way to show appreciation for retro lovers, Shovel

Knight is a platform adventure game where the titular

character, Shovel Knight, uses a shovel to do many things

including fighting enemies or digging up items.

● The game was pitched in 2013 and released in June 2014. It

raised over 300,000 dollars and sold over 2 million copies. It is

undeniably one of the best and most successful crowdfunded

projects made and it just shows that earning more money for a

crowdfund project doesn’t mean it will always be successful.

Another Good Project

● That Dragon, Cancer is an autobiographical game by Numinous

Games based on the Green Family and their life on raising their son

Joel who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at about 12 months.

● It’s a very fascinating game in general. It is meant to create these

feelings of high and low for a player that wouldn’t be shown in a film

or what not. There isn’t really a phrase to describe the gameplay

other than you feel yourself in it.

● This project pledged about 104,000 out of 80,000 dollars and while it

wasn’t successful financially, it still received great reviews and is an

excellent example of how crowdfund can allow unique narratives to

prosper.

What’s the potential for Crowdfund?

● It’s a great idea. No mistake!

● I just think that there’s a lot of pressure for a developer to make dues for their project.

Understandably not everyone will be happy for the product you produce if you didn’t

meet one of their expectations.

● Gaming in general, I believe creativity will lead the most success for a lot of projects. But

at the same time, you can’t turn in a flubbed project or everyone will turn against you just

like in the game of Mighty. No 9 where a once renowned game developer has become a

target for ridicule.

● Less than 50 percent of video game projects in general get crowdfunded successfully so it

is a risky endeavor to partake.