Th? PC gaming community ?n th? Internet ?? a ?tr?ng? beast. One second, ?t?s a sea ?f remorselessly casual piracy, ?nd th? next, Double Fine?s Tim Schafer?s ?n danger ?f suffocating, buried alive under ?n avalanche ?f generosity. And ?l?? $1.7 million (?? far). H?w?d th?t happen? Wh??d everyone suddenly ?t?rt giving l?k? th???d b??n visited b? ?n incredibly forward-thinking Christmas ghost? And, more importantly, wh?t d??? ?t mean f?r ??, th? gamers?
Th? Future Isn?t Now
H?t? t? burst ???r bubble, b?t l?t?s g?t something straight r?ght away: th?? crazy scheme m?? h??? worked f?r Tim Schafer, b?t th?t ??rt??nl? doesn?t mean ?t?ll work f?r everyone ?l??. Maybe n?t anybody ?l??. W??ll probably see a horde ?f m?-toos take th? stage, b?t th? man wh? h?l??d m?k? Monkey Island ?nd co-?r??t?d Grim Fandango, Day ?f th? Tentacle, ?nd Psychonauts ??, t? b? frank, a neigh impossible act t? follow.
Plenty ?f indies w?r? kicking ?ff Kickstarter campaigns long before Double Fine struck a thick, viscous mixture ?f gold, oil, ?nd th? next major children?s trading card game fad. Those ?r? much smaller projects (I?m talking $20,000 tops) ?nd ?nl? th? exceptional minority actually g?t anywhere near th??r funding goals.
Th? flood ?f Double Fine imitators, meanwhile, w?ll l?k?l? come fr?m roughly th? same ?l??? ?? th? funhouse th?t Tim Schafer built: a middle tier ?f developers th?t manages t? survive under th? traditional publisher model, b?t hardly thrives. Already, developers l?k? Alpha Protocol ?nd Fallout: N?w Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment h??? ?t?rt?d t? come down w?th ?Kickstarter fever?, b?t ? ?? w?th m??t things named ?ft?r illnesses ? ?t ???ld leave people ?n dire straits ?f th?? don?t ?l?w down ?nd ???l ?ff. Th? fact ??, Double Fine?s Kickstarter still h?? a month left before ?t passes g? ?nd collects far, far more th?n $200. B?t h?w much, precisely? If ?t?s $2 ?r $3 million, th?t?s a mid-sized game ?t best. F?r a major game project, ?t?d need t? pass th? $10-million m?rk.
Even ?f th?t w?r? t? happen, though, l?t?s n?t forget th? mind-boggling number ?f incredibly specific advantages Double Fine h?? going f?r ?t: 1) An exceedingly passionate hardcore gamer fanbase, 2) Nostalgia, nostalgia, ?nd more nostalgia resulting fr?m two ?f th? creators ?f Monkey Island under one roof, 3) Th? ?first!? factor, 4) An ?lm??t-flawless pedigree th?t inspires trust ?nd devotion fr?m fans, wh? feel safe ?n ?investing? a few bucks.
Th?t ???d, lightning technically ??n strike twice. It ???t doesn?t happen very ?ft?n.
Ch???? Matters
In recent years, conventional wisdom h?? d???d?d th?t hardcore gamers ?r? miserly miscreants wh??d sooner take candy fr?m a homeless baby th?n slaughter th??r fattened piggy banks. Th?t, h?w???r, ?? ?lm??t hilariously untrue. Hardcore gamers ?r? ?b??t ?? passionate ?? people come, ?? ?t?s a simply a matter ?f letting th?m ?h???? h?w much th?? pay ?nd wh?t th?? pay f?r.
Double Fine?s Kickstarter ?? th? m??t punch-???-?n-th?-face obvious example ?f th?t lately, b?t ?t?s hardly alone. Th? Humble Indie Bundle, th? Indie Royale, ?nd th??r ilk h??? found similarly mind-blowing success w?th pay-wh?t-???-want models. Sure, plenty ?f people fish out th??r grimiest, m??t possibly disease-ridden pennies ?nd call ?t a day, b?t others carefully weigh th??r options before splitting $100 ?r more between developers, th? bundle itself, ?nd charity.
W??re gamers, f?r goodness? sake. O?r favorite hobby?s ?ll ?b??t interaction ?nd empowerment. S? ? shock ?f ?ll shocks ? ??? hand ?? th? reins, ?nd w??re exponentially h?????r t? spend money. B?????? suddenly, w? ?wn th? ??r?h??? ? ?nd n?t ???t th? product. W??re n?t ???t grabbing a game ?ff th? figurative shelf; w??re m?k?ng a unique statement ?b??t ??r affection (?r lack thereof) f?r a game.
Modern games ?r? ?ll ?b??t m?k?ng ?? feel l?k? w? matter. It?s h?n??tl? somewhat shocking th?t ?t?s taken th? industry th?? long t? figure out th?t w? want t? feel exactly th? same way outside ??r favorite virtual worlds.
Power t? th? Players
Kickstarter ?l?? tends t? inspire a natural extension ?f m? previous point: Giving players wh??ve chosen t? pay ??m? influence over wh?t sort ?f direction th? resultant game takes. Or ?t l???t keeping th?m ?n th? loop ?f game development?s inevitable twists ?nd turns. I mean, ??? spent th? money upfront, ?? ??? ?t l???t deserve t? know wh?t ?t?s being used f?r, r?ght?
S?m? indie developers ? l?k? ex-Cryptic Studios collective Mob Rules ? h??? based th??r entire development philosophy around th? former ???r???h, going ?? far ?? t? l?t fans vote a game ?nt? full-scale development. Int?r??t?ngl?, Kickstarter?s n?t-??-magic lamp failed t? spit out Mob Rules? three wishes (money, money, a pony ? m?d? ?f money), b?t th?? still l?t fans pick th??r game. (Regardless, h?w???r, th?t doesn?t exactly bode well f?r innovative, ?ff-th?-wall ?d??? funded w?th th?? model. Mob Rules h?d triple-A name recognition, b?t th? mob ruled ?t unworthy ?f even a passing glance.)
And wh?l? fans m?? offer perspective ?nd blunt feedback, th?r??s ?l?? Obnoxious Side t? th?? particular Force: entitlement. Or, ?n short, ?I spent money, ?? I ?h??ld b? ?bl? t? call th? shots. Now wh?r??s m? ice level w?th ?n extensive mine cart section controlled entirely via q???k-time events??
Double Fine, especially, walks a precarious line here, ?? many gamers saw ?Double Fine Adventure,? ignored th? rest, ?nd immediately b?g?n looking up Monkey Island quotes ?n th? Internet. And b? ?many gamers,? I mean m?. B?t th?r??s n? doubting th?t ? ?n large ??rt ? nostalgia drove Double Fine?s Kickstarter t? such gr??t heights, ?nd th?t means th? equally gr??t weight ?f expectation ???ld easily 300-?l?w-mo-kick ?t r?ght out ?f gamers? g??d graces.
Sad t? ???, th?? won?t b? th? Second Coming ?f Monkey Island. It?s b??n two decades ??n?? Schafer ?nd Gilbert birthed th?t classic. W?ll th??r n?w project benefit fr?m humorous sensibilities th?t h??? aged l?k? a fine wine (?nd fewer jokes whose punchline ?? ?Dur-hur, b?d breath?)? Very possibly. B?t one thing?s f?r sure: It?ll d?f?n?t?l? b? different.
Give U? Wh?t W? Want
If I didn?t know ?n? better, I?d ??? th? gaming industry w?? a schmaltzy weekday afternoon soap opera. It seems l?k? a n?w genre ?dies? ???r? ?th?r day, ?nl? t? come back ?n ??m? wild, gasp-inducing fashion. Point-?nd-click adventures? If ??? ??k m??t major game publishers, th???re six feet under ?nd n?t even worthy ?f ?n implausible twin-cousin subplot. B?t hey, PC gaming h?? b??n declared ?dead? b? console makers ???r? year f?r th? past 15 years, ??t oddly enough, here w? ?r? ?n a website devoted exclusively t? PC gaming. W??rd, huh?
Double Fine?s success shows th?t th?r??s demand f?r th??? things ? ???t ?n much smaller, b?t far more fervent scale. N?, Double Fine?s adventure won?t knock Call ?f Duty ?ff ?t? throne ?nd force ?t? head under th? guillotine, b?t ?t?s reasonable t? expect ?t?ll d? reasonably well ?? long ?? Double Fine stays mindful ?f ?t? budget.
S?, ?? long ?? expectations ?r? kept ?n check, th?? offers a n?w avenue f?r catering t? niches. It?s n?t really anything revolutionary ? ???t simple supply ?nd demand, except th?t w?, th? demanders, ?r? ponying up ?n advance ?? th?t developers ??n ?r??t? ??r supply. B?t f?r now, th?? crowd-sourced funding model ?? ?nl? th?t: a niche-filler. An? ordinary developer expecting t? ??? ?t t? g?t a major game ?ff th? ground ?? l?k?l? t? crash ?nd burn.
Source: http://spotgames.info/what-double-fines-kickstarter-win-means-for-gamers/
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