On Kickstarter
How it all started
Kickstarter - or more generally crowd-funding - was an important ingredient and driving factor behind the indie boom we saw really take off around 2012. I personally feel that after the financial crisis of 2007/08, the gaming industry got stuck in a bit of a rut, with publishers focusing entirely on yearly sequels to their main cash-cows, and on online multiplayer shooters - the then most profitable genre.
I never was a big fan of the publisher funding model to begin with. Publishers always liked to play it safe. To eschew any risky innovation or pushing of the envelope in favor of just sticking with the tried-and-true formula that someone else came up with, and they are just copying. Just re-release basically the same game year after year, with only slightly updated graphics, and a new number at the end of the title. Generic multiplayer online shooter 3,215.
The indie game boom was exactly the fresh wind that I felt was sorely needed. It experimented with new game ideas, and revived tons of old ideas that had been discarded by the big players, long ago. And three main ingredients made it all possible: digital distribution, quality but cheap game engines and crowd-funding. These are the things that I credit for saving my favourite hobby from stagnation. These are the things that freed indie developers from the chains of publisher control.
Why you should NOT buy games on Kickstarter
Because you generally should never buy any game before you’ve seen reviews or at least have heard some sort of independent second opinion. Don’t pre-order! It’s not pre-ordering anyway - it’s actually pre-purchasing. Pre-ordering was something you could do in brick & mortar stores, either for free or a small deposit, to have a physical copy reservered for you, so that in case the game sells out, you can still get it when you come to pick it up.
You simply should not buy blind, without knowing what you’ll actually get - and you’ll never be more blind than you are with Kickstarter - when even the devs themselves don’t yet know for sure, what the final product will look like. It’s a total gamble, and there’s no guarantees that you get anything at all - or that what you get will be indeed be what you hoped for. In most cases, the descriptions on Kickstarter could never be detailed enough to not have different backers hope for completely contradictory, mutually exclusionary things.
Do not buy games, do not buy rewards or anything on video game Kickstarter projects. Kickstarter is not a store, and backing a project is not a purchase, and you really shouldn’t treat it that way. Remember: never pay for a game, before you’ve seen reviews!
Why you totally SHOULD support indie developers on Kickstarter
Because, if there is a developer studio you love, and they are working on a title that intrigues you, and you really want them to get a shot at making that game a reality, without having to sell out to a publisher who’ll then interfere with their creative vision… then you might actually want to donate money to that cause. You know the industry is watching, and you want to send the message: “This is the kind of project I’d like to see more of. This is the kind of game that should exist.”
And your support means a lot to these indies, and there’s many great games out there, which would have never seen the light of day, if it weren’t for exactly this kind of financial support by their fans. And there’s entire genres (p.ex. roguelikes!) that would have never seen a revival, without fans proving that there is great interest in those games! Just, always be aware that you are indeed taking a risk there.
Even disregarding outright scams - the risk is huge with some projects, which are chasing unrealistic pie-in-the-sky ideas, with no real plan of how to get there. At the same time, other projects are more grounded and pose way lower risks. The more experienced the developers, the further along they are, the more challenges they have already overcome, the more aware they are of hurdles to still be overcome, the more realistic their funding plans, the more honest and open their communication… the lower the risk, and the better your chances of estimating the risk somewhat correctly. But even in the best case scenario - the risk is never going to be zero. Success is never guaranteed.
The decision about how much risk you are willing to take, and how much money you are willing to bet on your instincts about the game and it’s chances being right - that’s ultimately up to you. Nobody can decide that for you. But if you really love the developers and what they are doing… toss them $1 at least, will you? Just, to show your support - and to get in on the updates, and to be a part of it!