Let's say I want to kickstart some bread baking. In my ideal world I'm going to bake rye, whole wheat, sourdough, etc. For all that I'd have to set the goal at $5000. If I don't meet the $5000 goal, I get $0 because that's how Kickstarter works.
So instead I'll just do whole wheat to start with and set the goal at $1500. Then I set a stretch goal of $3000 to add the rye and $5000 to add the sourdough. That way even if I only hit $1500 I can still get my bake on.
If the creator is creating a physical object then certain costs are fixed per copy. If the project is double funded and also double ordered then I would expect most of the extra funding will go to the extra production of physical objects.
In the case of digital goods stretch goals make sense because the cost of distribution of the final product is much smaller. If your project involves making a 100 minute video then extra money can go to special effects and professional level editing as a stretch goal.
I funded Wasteland 2 and I believe the stretch goals were added later in the form of more content (digital) which I am fine with because the extra digital content went to everyone who was already getting the current digital content.
I also funded Kung Fury (which did not reach its feature length stretch goal) which had few stretch goals.
I have seen physical goods projects where the stretch goals do not make economic sense because they appear to increase costs for the project.
I am funding the new Super Dungeon Explore kickstarter and I am getting concerned because the stretch goals are a mix of "free stuff we throw in" and "stuff you can pay extra for if you want it".
I am a huge fan of stretch goals in tabletop game projects where they improve the physical quality of the components. The high cost of manufacturing is why the developer is there in the first place! Ideally, they set their funding target at the ideal amount to print the board game w/ minimum quality components, just to get the game out of the door. After it's funded, they'll likely opt to split additional money between profit and component upgrade, which will help the game be a well-received product and hopefully go to a second printing, get picked up for larger distribution post-KS, etc.
I despise stretch goals that add gameplay elements. There are so many great games coming out every year that I feel we are in a position to be EXTREMELY picky. I take this hyper-ideal stance where a game designer should know what the absolute best version of his/her game is, and that is what should be sold. If you are willing to sell a compromised version of your game, or stuff it with extra gameplay features that water down or detract from the experience, it tells me that you don't have enough faith in your core game.
Have you played the original mobile frame zero? Any good?
Haha, I have no idea! I only bought it because I know the people who make it, and how can LEGO sci-fi miniatures war game be bad? One day I'll get my LEGO and be able to play. Sadly they're mostly castle LEGO, so I'll have to make medieval robots.
You should all back Mike Fitzgerald's Baseball Highlights 2045, it's $500 from some nice wooden pieces. You alternate playing short games and drafting free agents in a seven game series. Also: cyborg pitchers.
If multiple people get copies we can play a tournament at a con - you play a 'regular season' to build your deck and determine your seed in the bracket, and then it becomes a best-of-three playoff.
No need to spend a fortune on that X-Wing game. Make your own!
I know you could just use whatever crap you want to play Mobile Frame, but I'd be really curious to see a cost comparison between X-Wing and all of the LEGO pieces needed to build the ships as shown in this MF Kickstarter.
I've spent ~$250 on models so far, which includes buying everything at the best discount, and also keeping costs down by selling tournament swag (won some pre-release ships before Wave 2 came out that fetched a good price on eBay). This $250 was also split in half between a friend and I, since it gives us multiples of every ship in the game. We can put together around 90% of all builds (another $50 would bring us to 100%) for both factions, so it's more than enough for two people to play.
Shit could potentially get pricey though now that they are putting out $60 and $90 capital ships for "epic play" variant, and are including pilot and upgrade cards for the smaller ships. They seem to be doing a good job making sure those cards are fun and interesting but would never be considered in a competitive build. More geared towards the story-focused mission play that comes with the big ships, which I have much less interest in.
So more expensive than LEGOs, but waaaaaaaaay cheaper than any other miniatures wargame, and these come prepainted and sexy.
Well, OK, you could use whatever and slap things together, but if you want to make something COOL, you need to invest.
So it's essentially like every other TT-war game.
I think it's cheaper overall if you're willing to hunt around on Ebay. You can be invested for far less than, say, Warhammer.
Could probably have a good setup for maybe $100 of LEGO. Should cover enough for ~5 frames for each of 2 players, plus some terrain.
It's definitely best if you already have a collection of LEGO kicking around somewhere.
I'm fairly certain I could get two workable armies for Warhammer for about $100 from Craigslist/Ebay.
Maybe a low-points skirmish setup. I typically used 1000 points per side (which is about what it takes to get an army enough of a budget to be interesting), and you'll have a hard time finding 2000 points for under $200.
Craigslist may have better deals, though - that's highly region-dependent.
It's also been a long time since I shopped for Warhammer. I actually need to sell off my armies, because I haven't played in years.
Could probably have a good setup for maybe $100 of LEGO. Should cover enough for ~5 frames for each of 2 players, plus some terrain.
It's definitely best if you already have a collection of LEGO kicking around somewhere.
I spent $100 on lego and $20 on storage/sorting containers. This was enough for three companies of five frames plus an extra frame, with lots of great bits left over. My old childhood collection of lego is great for terrain.
I only tried a few 2-player games which were ok, but I'll get around to some 3-player games which should be a lot more interesting. Finding time is rough.
Only FIVE hours left on the Catacombs Kickstarter. This is a really fun dexterity-based dungeon crawl game with really unique/cartoony artwork. This is a rerelease of the game with a new art style.
My dad is doing the voice over for a video game which has just launched a kickstarter. He told me about it for about 20mins until it became clear he didn't know how kickstarter works. He knows more now.
I don't have confidence in this one because the creator has no previous projects or presence. But my dad has very high expectations.
My dad is doing the voice over for a video game which has just launched a kickstarter. He told me about it for about 20mins until it became clear he didn't know how kickstarter works. He knows more now.
I don't have confidence in this one because the creator has no previous projects or presence. But my dad has very high expectations.
I don't know, seems like $50,000 is low for a project due to finish in a year and a half. That's wages for 1 person. The guy's bio says he's been working on it full time but I'd have more confidence if he'd instead said he has a day job.
You may notice I'm on the backer list but I'll bail if it significantly exceeds the target.
Edit: Yes, my dad is the narrator at the start (50 seconds in!) of the video.
Comments
So instead I'll just do whole wheat to start with and set the goal at $1500. Then I set a stretch goal of $3000 to add the rye and $5000 to add the sourdough. That way even if I only hit $1500 I can still get my bake on.
If the creator is creating a physical object then certain costs are fixed per copy. If the project is double funded and also double ordered then I would expect most of the extra funding will go to the extra production of physical objects.
In the case of digital goods stretch goals make sense because the cost of distribution of the final product is much smaller. If your project involves making a 100 minute video then extra money can go to special effects and professional level editing as a stretch goal.
I funded Wasteland 2 and I believe the stretch goals were added later in the form of more content (digital) which I am fine with because the extra digital content went to everyone who was already getting the current digital content.
I also funded Kung Fury (which did not reach its feature length stretch goal) which had few stretch goals.
I have seen physical goods projects where the stretch goals do not make economic sense because they appear to increase costs for the project.
I am funding the new Super Dungeon Explore kickstarter and I am getting concerned because the stretch goals are a mix of "free stuff we throw in" and "stuff you can pay extra for if you want it".
I despise stretch goals that add gameplay elements. There are so many great games coming out every year that I feel we are in a position to be EXTREMELY picky. I take this hyper-ideal stance where a game designer should know what the absolute best version of his/her game is, and that is what should be sold. If you are willing to sell a compromised version of your game, or stuff it with extra gameplay features that water down or detract from the experience, it tells me that you don't have enough faith in your core game.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/168734274/mobile-frame-zero-002-alpha-bandit
No need to spend a fortune on that X-Wing game. Make your own!
If multiple people get copies we can play a tournament at a con - you play a 'regular season' to build your deck and determine your seed in the bracket, and then it becomes a best-of-three playoff.
I've spent ~$250 on models so far, which includes buying everything at the best discount, and also keeping costs down by selling tournament swag (won some pre-release ships before Wave 2 came out that fetched a good price on eBay). This $250 was also split in half between a friend and I, since it gives us multiples of every ship in the game. We can put together around 90% of all builds (another $50 would bring us to 100%) for both factions, so it's more than enough for two people to play.
Shit could potentially get pricey though now that they are putting out $60 and $90 capital ships for "epic play" variant, and are including pilot and upgrade cards for the smaller ships. They seem to be doing a good job making sure those cards are fun and interesting but would never be considered in a competitive build. More geared towards the story-focused mission play that comes with the big ships, which I have much less interest in.
So more expensive than LEGOs, but waaaaaaaaay cheaper than any other miniatures wargame, and these come prepainted and sexy.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1206403106/chaos-reborn-from-the-creator-of-the-original-x-co
Well, OK, you could use whatever and slap things together, but if you want to make something COOL, you need to invest.
Could probably have a good setup for maybe $100 of LEGO. Should cover enough for ~5 frames for each of 2 players, plus some terrain.
It's definitely best if you already have a collection of LEGO kicking around somewhere.
Craigslist may have better deals, though - that's highly region-dependent.
It's also been a long time since I shopped for Warhammer. I actually need to sell off my armies, because I haven't played in years.
Hey, want to buy some crack minis?
Hey, if you want some Goofballs, I know a guy.
I only tried a few 2-player games which were ok, but I'll get around to some 3-player games which should be a lot more interesting. Finding time is rough.
Check it out:
https://kickstarter.com/projects/243822264/catacombs-0
LEGOs or die!
Also, trying real hard to get my brother and his crew in on some Mobile Frame Zero so I can up my LEGO game.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ylinedesign/a-goose-that-lays-golden-eggs
I don't have confidence in this one because the creator has no previous projects or presence. But my dad has very high expectations.
I don't know, seems like $50,000 is low for a project due to finish in a year and a half. That's wages for 1 person. The guy's bio says he's been working on it full time but I'd have more confidence if he'd instead said he has a day job.
You may notice I'm on the backer list but I'll bail if it significantly exceeds the target.
Edit: Yes, my dad is the narrator at the start (50 seconds in!) of the video.
Is that his natural voice, or did he do a trick with his throat?