Kickstarter – Curse Or A Blessing?
There was a time when if video game developers could not find money the usual way, the project was destined to never see the light of day. But then along came Kickstarter. A unique and innovative website, Kickstarter allows creators to be seek funding from the general public. Those interested in seeing the project go ahead give a small to moderate pledge, with the total of all pledges equalling the project’s budget.
Many were skeptical about the concept at first, but after many successful projects launched via this group funding system, the possibilities became clear. Kickstarter soon became an online sensation, much like casino no deposit sites, and many were excited about attempting to make their video game dreams a reality.
But it wasn’t long before the problems with the system became apparent. And, just as it seemed Kickstarter was the answer to many people’s prayers, the system began to gain a terrible reputation.
The Problems
More than one project on Kickstarter has ended in disaster. And not just any projects, those that had gained enormous attention via media coverage. Once such infamous project was Yogventures, the point where many truly began to understand how badly a Kickstarter project could go.
Yogventures was launched by the Yogscast, a highly popular YouTube channel. The channel was known for uploading entertaining videos of two friends playing Minecraft. Many loved the personalities of the two, and overall the channel had millions of fans. Unexpectedly the two Yogscast friends announced they would be running a Kickstarter, looking for funding for a game they intended on making. Fans flocked to offer money, and the project quickly raised a reasonable half a million dollars.
Soon after the project was funded, however, something became very clear; the two had no idea of how to make a video game. The project quickly spiralled into chaos, with little to no actual progress being made on the game. It seemed that the two friends had drastically underestimated how big a task they had undertaken, especially given the game they had promised. The funding they had gathered soon ran out, with no game to show for it.
The Positives
And Yogventures is not the only Kickstarter project to have met such a fate. Many other projects have been funded, only to fall short of delivering the promised product. On the other hand, many hugely successful games have been delivered by Kickstarter.
Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel were both funded by Kickstarter. And, to date, the two games are rated as the best RPG experience that gamers can have on the PC. These two games are proof positive that Kickstarter is essential in the video game industry. It seems that the real trick is for gamers to be extremely discerning about who they give money to on Kickstarter. The Divinity series was a product of long-time, proven game developers. The Yogscast were simply two friends on YouTube who had big dreams and no experience to back it up.
