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Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter by InXile [Complete; $4.3 million funded]
- Thread starter Perkel
- Start date
I'm sure they will extend some and put in limits for people to rush to them initially.
trab pu kcip
Member
I like this. this could be big, kid. we should make a kickstarter for a bioware kickstarter parody.
Thanks, he was indeed. He's already on Project Eternity with Avellone too.
At this rate, maybe someone will pick up and rehabilitate Warren Spector...
ambientmystic
Member
Oh geez, I just woke up, to find this happening and that I might miss out on this? I gotta hurry and chip in fellas.
Oh, and in yer face Kickstarter and old school CRPG haters. In yer face. Hopefully publishers wake up and take note that this is what we want, not that new fangled microtransaction and MMO always online paymium multiplayer crap. This is truly turning out to be the year of the old school RPG gamer.
EDIT:- andddd done.
GenericUserName
Banned
Or Tom Hall. Poor guy's not doin' too hot lately.
Aquamarine
Member
Precisely the reason why I'm so excited. Your concerns are definitely valid, but I'm more than willing to be as optimistic as possible when it comes to this IP.
Now of course, if Wasteland 2 ends up falling flat on its face, this will definitely be the last inXile Kickstarter I support. But until then...I'm keeping my hopes and expectations super high.
Haha
Well even if they become more popular again, I don't really want big publishers involved. Eventually the lust for money becomes too strong and they will make the developers appeal to a more mainstream audience and end up with stuff like Dragon Age 2.
GenericUserName
Banned
A very valid concern. That's basically how Ultima died (it was 8 which killed it, with its action-ified gameplay, not 9; 9 merely put the coffin lid on).
I suppose this is kind of a highschool reunion for these guys, except without the accumulated bitterness and resentment.
Hmm, maybe it's nothing like a highschool reunion.
Every 100k: One new coinkydink run in with "an old frend" occurs with the theme song "It is a Small World Afterall" playing in the background.
Every 300k: A new "tough moral choice"™ scenario that asks you to punch a baby or rescue a basket of kittens.
Every 1 million: A brand new retconned ending that completely erases the significance of all the previous endings.
Aquamarine
Member
A key facet in this process is keeping the production budget low, and the teams small. That phenomenon you're describing is a unique symptom of "AAA games" with massive overhead and impatient investors.
A $3 million budget and a small team of 20 guys....now THAT's the real CRPG experience. I really hope Mr. Fargo will maintain that tight-knit development philosophy going forward, regardless of how successful he becomes.
Someone should make a heist movie-style montage of putting a team together and saving people from making facebook games, drinking or leading boring ordinary lives.
Someone should make a CRPG about the rise, downfall, and glorious return of the CRPG.
stuminus3
Member
Whoah there, fella! The point of this is basically that megapublishers can go fuck themselves. Same as with things like Pledgemusic, from which in the past year I've picked up several absolutely amazing albums that would never, ever have been released through a traditional record label. The point is that we can have these things and we don't need the backing of 'the man' to get it. It's a brave new world.
The other thing is that this is what we want, but we probably can't command enough of a success to make a 20+ million dollar budget for the same thing but with "AAA" values a worthwhile spend to a mega publisher.
You may be right. The less the creative aspects of a game are bounced around large teams, the more likely the game is to maintain its vision.
Though if eventually publishers do start picking up games like this purely to fund them and stay hands off in the development process, but eventually DO get greedy, it's always possible to go back to Kickstarter.
I think this is an interesting point. Could there be a situation where investing too much money into a single game is to its detriment?
You were born for this.
Well, yes. If the stretch goals each add features, that (eventually has to) pushes deadlines out and introduces risk that the project will collapse under its own weight.
Pachterballs
Banned
oh wow.
I might back this. I've only ever back wasteland2
I might back this. I've only ever back wasteland2
Wasteland 2 has now 15 people working in full production (not counting VA and QA).
3mln at 100k salary/year = 15 people for 2 years or 30 people a year.
More investment necessitates targeting bigger audience, and... I don't need to say any more.
stuminus3
Member
Only if the money is in the hands of the wrong people, but yes.
Actually, isn't that what happened with Interplay? :lol
It's not that simple since you have to factor in insurance and other fixed costs but your premise is more or less correct in that small teams have much more leeway to maneuver the more they are funded.
BETA access is cool, but I'm not sure I want to play a BETA of a single-player game. Plus no cloth map at that tier
This is true when you have to recoup your investment, but in a hypothetical ultra-successful kickstarter scenario that wouldn't be the case.
Still, I think the point about team sizes is a good one. The more money you get, the more tempted you are to add additional content (or improve existing content), and the larger your team will need to be to get it done in the same time period (or at least close to it).
I doubt this will hit that point, but it does bear mentioning that there is absolutely no reason why they can't just keep any excess money and buy Ferraris with it. Tim Shafer pledged to put all the money raised into the game's budget, and most others have carried that tradition on, but there's nothing about Kickstarter that says says you have to do that or that you can't make a profit.
People got so mad at that Tropes vs Women KS because she was spending her money on vacations and shit, but why not? As long as she delivers a product in the end (and yeah I know she's late on that) she can spend the money on whatever she goddamn pleases.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
Backed with the force of a thousand Tachyon Beams. It's still so heartening to see the positive response these Kickstarters are getting.
A Human Becoming
More than a Member
It's probably because of the setting, but I'm not sold on this at all. I've never play Planescape: Torment and I'd feel more confident backing it if I'd played Wasteland 2 first. The Kickstarter video wasn't as good as the Wasteland 2 one either.
It would still be because more funding means more backers. Obviously, the difference in design won't be as big as between a $ 3 million Kickstarter game and a $ 50 million AAA game, but it would be there since you have to satisfy most of your backers.
Yeah this isn't even a question. You need to play Planescape: Torment. Yesterday.
A Human Becoming
More than a Member
Alright, I bought it. I'll make sure to play it within the next month.
MightyHedgehog
Member
I think it matters whose money it is, but also that the initial funding amount has to be what the developer can actually deliver upon (after reward costs). If the money put into a game is coming from the backers and inside of the company as opposed to having to be under the gun of outside and public investment, I think the pressure to broaden appeal to make up the risk seen before release can be non-existent because there is a vision that necessitates aiming straight for the very people who funded the game's production. Yes, too much could be too much if the people behind it aren't good at prioritizing and managing. For inXile, and in particular Interplay/Black Isle, Brian Fargo has a pretty exceptional record for delivering on the business side while satisfying the core audience and enthusiasts' expectations. It's really down to how they can deliver the games everyone expects them to be, I think.
superdeluxe
Member
They better retro the stretch goals
Like the original Double Fine pitch puts it, these games would likely not have happened outside this scenario. It is a case of gamers going "I would pay so much money for a new Torment game" and then allowing them to put their money where their mouth is.
It is always a risk when you buy or pre-order a game, most kickstarters get you the main game for $20-30, often cheaper then a full title. It's all about level of risk acceptance. Does this group who would never get full creative freedom from a big publisher to make a Torment 'sequel' seem like they deserve the chance to prove themselves? If yes, pledge, if no, wait for the release of the game and see what happens. It's that simple.
RPG for stretch goals is ideal platfrom since RPG is highly scalable.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
We'll see.
But if it goes that far, I highly doubt it will stay that way for long. Yes, sure, there are lots of people that blindly donate, expecting ULTIMATE VIDEO GAEM, but the majority of folks (hopefully) know what's what.
Can't it be both?
Trojita
Rapid Response Threadmaker
Well this escelated quickly.
I don't know what tier to choose. I already put down $250 for Project Eternity and a respectable donation to the Prokect GAF Inn. I don't know If I have it in me to get one of the higher tiers this time. I don't have that much expendable cash.
I don't know what tier to choose. I already put down $250 for Project Eternity and a respectable donation to the Prokect GAF Inn. I don't know If I have it in me to get one of the higher tiers this time. I don't have that much expendable cash.
It's totally possible all these games will crash and burn, but it's also possible for an entirely new way for games to be funded and developed. Something that fits best with mid-sized development teams I would say.