Will Kickstarter Launch a Gaming Renaissance? 170
jfruh writes "Most gamers probably know that legendary game designer Tim Schafer turned to Kickstarter to help raise money a new adventure game; aiming for $400,000, he managed to raise more than $3 million. But you might not know that a host of other game projects are doing well on the crowdfunding site, with creators ranging from industry famous to unknown. By bypassing corporate funding and appealing directly to their audience, these developers are sparking a renaissance in quirky, personal games that probably wouldn't be backed by a big label looking for a sure-fire hit."
Re:whats the return? (Score:5, Informative)
Who said "invest"?
From the Kickstarter FAQ: "A new form of commerce and patronage. This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project."
Re:Will it start a renaissance? (Score:1, Informative)
I've pledged for a few, but Shadowrun lost me with this:
As part of our review, we came to the conclusion that feature additions such as a Linux version, Multiplayer PvP, and Cooperative Play are beyond the scope of the project and would cause us to lose focus on the game you reacted to so positively (and the game we really want to make).
Re:No (Score:5, Informative)
Kikstarter lets people who already have a name get funding for their pet project.
Tell that to the oh-so-well-known game developers Justin Ma and Matthew Davis (not the actor), who run the Faster Than Light [kickstarter.com] Kickstarter project.
Re:Wasteland 2 (Score:4, Informative)
However my personal favorite is Al Lowe's new/remade Leisure Suit Larry, although I'm not quite sure if it'll make its goal... I have quite fond memories for that series.
But anyway, let's just see how many more old gems will get revived and how long it will take until the crappy ones start to creep in...
Re:Will it start a renaissance? (Score:3, Informative)
If this is supposed to be some gaming renaissance, why shouldn't Linux be considered? Apparently the rebirth of gaming can only be Windows/Mac?
It WAS considered. The reason why it won't be used is because it will cost more money and won't give any significant return. Also it will require either the existing programmers to learn the quirks of programming for Linux or it will require a seperate team to make the conversion later. Why throw a Renaissance if no one is going to show up?
Re:Will it start a renaissance? (Score:3, Informative)
"... Anyway, we want to let you know that we're definitely listening to your feedback and you can expect a full, considered response about Linux early this week. As a company, we are being very careful not to over-commit to ideas and features just to get more funding - everything we decide to include in Shadowurn Returns needs to be within our ability to deliver as part of a great product."
Re:Will it start a renaissance? (Score:5, Informative)
And Linux heads need to understand that porting games to Linux can be difficult. A big problem is when you start talking 3D. The 3D situation is a bit of a mess on Linux. If you want some more info on it from developers who have done work in that regard look for remarks by iD or Mozilla. Basically when you start talking more advanced features, only the nVidia binary blob drivers can reliably handle it.
Well that is a big recipe for fail if you are developing a game. You'd end up either having to spend tons more on Linux QA, or have a Linux client that was broken on a bunch of systems. You can avoid that by going 2D and using something like SDL which is pretty good at cross platform, but maybe you don't want to do that, you want 3D.
Plus there's the issue that maybe you don't want to develop the engine from the ground up. That's a lot of work, time, and potential for issues. There's a lot of game engines that can be licensed and many of the somewhat older ones can be had for not too much money. However if said engine isn't Linux, bringing it to Linux is a big undertaking.
Also all costs have to be weighed against returns. How many people are going to buy it only if a Linux port is available? You can't very well go and spend $30,000 on development and QA for Linux if you'll get $5,000 in sales for it, particularly if the project is on a small budget.
Finally for a small dev it can be a matter of who you have and what they are good at. So let's say they have no Linux programmers, or at least nobody who's got any real experience with this kind of thing. You then have to bring someone on to do that and they probably want a reasonable salary. This is on top of all the QA time and all that other shit. It isn't a case of "Just have this guy here work on Linux too," it can be bringing someone new in.