How much money would you invest in Kickstarting the Two Guys?

[Frans]

I'm just curious I guess. It's nice just babbling about this sort of stuff.

 

When push comes to shove, I bet people will act differently anyway. But that's not the point… Right now, how much money are you willing to invest in Kickstarting the Two Guys?

 

Please note voting is anonymous.. It should be anyway, I haven't actually tested this thing.

[jocolloman]

Well, considering a new game generally is around $50 or $60 I would at least invest that much. I do plan to invest $200. Wish I could invest more.

[MusicallyInspired]

I put $110 into the Double Fine adventure. Had I known the Two Guys were going to start one later on I wouldn't have donated so much and saved it for them. I'll probably try for $100, though. If not $30-$50.

[Frede]

Somewhere within the $10-50 zone for starters, although that's just the safe option. I'd love to donate more, and chances are that I'm going to. Either way, being a student without a job on the side, my donation probably won't tip the scale too much, but I do want to help them out with what I can afford.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Frede

[Spikey]

I voted 50-100, but it all depends. We have near to zero info about SpaceVenture so far, so if they went on Kickstarter tomorrow, my pledge would be zero. It depends on:

 

1. What the game they propose looks like, and

2. What incentives they offer.

 

LSl1VGA had awesome incentives for the 100 tier, an artbook, soundtrack amongst others, so that was a bargain. If SpaceVenture can offer goodies I'd go up to 100, but without it being Space Quest, it'd have to be something special.

[pcj]

Just curious, did you pledge anything to Double Fine? We didn't seem to get much more information about the game before the funding was successful, but it did okay.

 

I'm also kind of waiting to hear on the incentives. If there's a really good incentive I might increase my investment.

[Spikey]

Nope, my wife is the Schafer fan, not me. There's a few other reasons why i'm unsure about investment, including, how sustainable beyond one game is SpaceVenture going to be, will they ever get back to SQ if this is a moderate success, but those are the main reasons.

 

I think the 2Guys would have a bad day if they released as little info as Double Fine. They are unlikely to get 500K on the whiff of an oily rag- at least, for a project that isn't SQ.

[dlgulley411]

I'd at least do $50, but I guess it depends on what's being offered. I'd have a hard time giving over $100 without upsetting the missus. I'd have to convince her the stuff would appreciate in value, like I did that boxed copy of Wasteland 2 and the Larry Laffer T-Shirt. I'm pretty sure that line of reasoning can only work so many times though...

[MusicallyInspired]

We're not going to get any more information on it than we already have until after the Kickstarter is over. That's the idea. They can't go ahead without getting paid, they don't get paid until the pledges are charged. Also, I've said it before but I'm happy they're doing something new instead of rehashing Space Quest. I'd love to see an official SQ7 someday, but for now I'm happy to see something new. This is not nostalgia this is moving forward. I'm equally glad that the DFA was something new and not DOTT 2 or Grim Fandango 2 or something.

[Monolith_Pig]

I'd happily pay closer to $150 for a big box physical edition of the game to put next to my other "Guys From Andromeda" releases :) . Then fill that box with a few novelty items in the vein of "Space Piston magazine" from Space Quest IV.

[jfrisby]

I put $110 into the Double Fine adventure. Had I known the Two Guys were going to start one later on I wouldn't have donated so much and saved it for them. I'll probably try for $100, though. If not $30-$50.

 

I feel the same way -- Double Fine hit a very narrow 'novelty/nostalgia' Kickstarter "window" with their adventure, and I'm not sure it's possible to incite that level of over-enthusiastic giving again. To me, this puts a lot of weight on their game to actually "help the genre" in some way. Sure it was "Tim Schafer & Ron Gilbert and they're amazing," but not to the extent of the giving -- I've certainly seen a lot of posts from people who backed Wasteland "just because it seemed like a great idea, but never played the games." To me, this seems like there was an extension of that "Kickstarter-enthusiasm" that bled over, bolstering it beyond fanbase donations. Who knows whether that amounts to 10%, 25%, or more of the raised amount.

 

I realized at some point that I was funding things I wouldn't have otherwise bought or played due to the addictive excitement of the pledge/campaign model -- then pulled the plug on some donations, and tried to account for this strange game-ification of the non-profit fundraising model.

 

I guess I would advise Scott & Mark that by keeping the "goal amount" as low as possible they stand to spur a lot of magical-infectious-thinking. I think this is one thing that hurt (amongst many other things) the psychology behind the LSL Kickstarter. I think it's easier to raise money when aiming at a low "Oh, that's easily achievable" goal-amount, and then easier to raise money off of the "leveling-up" of the game after that's achieved -- opposed to the opposite, a goal which initially turns off would-be backers by appearing to be "a stretch." The same psychology works similarly in non-profit telethons and fund-raising, and it is a more traditional model to spur donations -- but I don't believe there's a more predictable method of recreating any of the Kickstarter successes that relied heavily on that impossible-to-recreate enthusiasm.

 

Edit: I'll likely give between $100-$150 to Spaceventure, almost regardless of the above or revealed facts about the game -- but that's after a lot of review. I'm a sample of one, but I do trust Scott & Mark more than Tim Schafer (who I will say is incredibly likeable, high on charisma and marketing, makes broad but often confused games, and is overrated on 'trust meters').

[pcj]

We're not going to get any more information on it than we already have until after the Kickstarter is over. That's the idea. They can't go ahead without getting paid, they don't get paid until the pledges are charged. Also, I've said it before but I'm happy they're doing something new instead of rehashing Space Quest. I'd love to see an official SQ7 someday, but for now I'm happy to see something new. This is not nostalgia this is moving forward. I'm equally glad that the DFA was something new and not DOTT 2 or Grim Fandango 2 or something.

A general plot overview or something wouldn't hurt, though. If it's good it would probably generate more excitement.

[MusicallyInspired]

I've got all the plot overview I need. It's a sci-fi adventure comedy made by the Two Guys. Will it be as good as Space Quest was(/seemed) back in the day? Maybe not. But I don't care. Expectations will almost certainly not be met as much as we'd like, even if it WAS a Space Quest. But it WILL be good and I just want them to keep making games. They're bound to find their stride even if they don't right away.

[jfrisby]

I'm sort of glad it's not a Space Quest (though I'd prefer some utopian scenario that returned the rights to them)... Why get muddled in all that politicking and corporate nonsense out-of-the-gate, when it's likely not essential to making an amazing game. Not really sure what amount of increased fundraising it would take to head in that direction, but it sounds 'less cool.'

[Frans]

We're not going to get any more information on it than we already have until after the Kickstarter is over. That's the idea. They can't go ahead without getting paid, they don't get paid until the pledges are charged.

 

That sounds like an naive argument to me! If your business wants to get funding for something, you better damn well have a good plan before you approach anybody. Or you'll be laughed at. Hell, try getting any money - what so ever - of third parties these days. Even if your portfolio looks like a throbbing totem pole...

 

It's all too easy assuming people will invest money on your good name or your previous endeavours. But that doesn't tell much about your current project and its potential. I think that's why Kickstart works for so many initiatives. People expect presents and signed bits in return. And that's fine considering the average amount of money pledged.

 

The problem with Kickstart is that it's just plain stupid to "invest" over €500. Sentiments and emotions set aside, of course. Because I think they are valid reasons of their own. Let's say the total project requires €500.000. And I put in €15.000. I would be expecting a piece of the revenues or the company at the very least. That's 3% of the total investment! For a dinner with the designers, two signed T-shirts, an old hockey puck and two sketches, I can get better returns than that.

 

My blunt point (as usual) is... Kickstart is just for fans who are emotionally attached and can go without a few bucks. It has a nice ring to it: Pledging money. And "investing in a project", "making stuff happen"... But really though, who'd invest in my company that actually has a steady revenue for the past couple of years. Other than my boyfriend and my dad of course? ... Do I hear €10.000? Do I hear 11.000? No? €500 then! I throw in this signed T-shirt! No? Aaaw!!

 

... Now, Two Guys, take my €1000, ja! :)

[MusicallyInspired]

All true. I'm forgetting that Jane Jensen's Kickstarter had three separate and outlined game design propositions with characters and plot already conceived. I'm sure we'll get something at like that by pledge-time.

[Spikey]

Great post, Frans. Spot on. And I also agree with what people are saying. I would love SQ, but I guess a new franchise or stand alone, whatever, with the Two Guys, with Gary Owens- I can't complain. But what do I get for my money and what do I know about the game. But as MI said we'll know more soon. Hopefully.

[Troels Pleimert]

Frans makes a good point, but that is precisely why the Kickstarters are so fundamentally different than what we perceive as "classic investment." It does play into the emotional attachments, far beyond "logical" thinking. Kickstarters ask us to give something extra for rewards that they're hoping we can't really put a price on. I mean, what would dinner with The Two Guys be worth to you, monetarily? It's apples and oranges in my book.

 

If I were asked to invest in just any project, I would weight the pros and cons like Frans does. And I would make rational decisions about how much I could reasonably part with. Kickstarters play up to our emotions precisely because they want us to part with more than what we'd normally, rationally part with -- but, in turn, they're giving us unique rewards for doing so. And that sounds perfectly harmless and beneficial for both parties, unless someone starts selling his house and kidneys for it. ;)

[Troels Pleimert]

Frans, why don't you throw up a Kickstarter and see what happens? You could offer prizes like "I'll do your laundry for a week," or "I'll call your mom for you." :)

[mjomble]

:D

 

[drdrslashvohaul]

I do agree, though, that it is in the Guys' best interests to give out more information than they have now - but that's the point of this sort of "pre-amble" and "consultation" process that's going on. I'd like to know a little more before "investing", but I think it will be a question of degrees. If I like what I hear, I'm willing to put in much more than at the moment, where I'd probably only give what the market value of the game would be in the UK market right now.

 

In my line of work, though, my "investment" comes from funding bodies who basically want to know EXACTLY what you're going to do before you even know yourself. Can be mighty frustrating.

[billybob476]

The more info and interaction potential supporters have, the better. Supporting a Kickstarter is not an investment since you won't be making any money from it, you're just helping a project you are interested in to get off the ground.

 

I'd love to see as much concept work as there is to see. I'll be giving something one way or another, but if the creators show a large degree of commitment and investment in the project then supporters will as well.

[Troels Pleimert]

All right, so it's not "investing." But it's not "donating," either. What's a good word, then? The word "pledging" gets thrown around.

[jocolloman]

All right, so it's not "investing." But it's not "donating," either. What's a good word, then? The word "pledging" gets thrown around.

 

I think the term kickstarter.com uses describes it best. "Backing" a project.

[Troels Pleimert]

"Backing" still doesn't imply what you're getting back in exchange. I'm sorry, this is just me being pedantic. :) I'm looking for a word where you get that there's an immediate reward and a future reward, which come to fruition if a common goal is met. Haven't found that word yet.