How to succeed on Kickstarter if you are indie (Part 1)

Detailed analysis of a successful Exoplanet campaign: First Contact on Kickstarter

Foreword

In recent years, crowdfunding platforms have become a good help for young developers who have ambitious ideas and limited resources for their implementation. But do not think that this is an easy way to solve financial problems for your project. Just the opposite. But the path to success must lie through obstacles, right?



Project withdrawal to a popular crowdfunding platform has many positive and negative sides. For example, a good campaign will not only get the necessary amount for the realization of the idea, but also declare itself to a large number of people, rally the initial community around the game, collect and analyze the feedback of the players. However, the situation may be different, and the money spent and time will not bring the desired result.

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We hope that a detailed analysis of the Exoplanet: First Contact campaign will allow talented developers to learn the necessary lessons and avoid many mistakes on the road to success.

Training

Due to the huge amount of material we decided to split the article into several parts, the first of which describes in detail the thorough preparation of the content for entering KickStarter. But before you start the journey into the world of crowdfunding, it is worth briefly to talk about us and our project. This is the necessary information to understand the challenges and difficulties that we faced.







We are a small indie team Alersteam, leading a third-person action RPG in a space western setting where the technologies of the future intersect with the mores of the Wild West.







All members of our small international team are professional developers or modders from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and the UK. Such geography forces us to interact with each other exclusively through the network, while communicating in two languages.



However, there is a positive point. The first question that confronts many developers is usually to look for the possibility of launching a campaign from Russia. And here the presence of a United States citizen in our team played into our hands. Of course, there is another option, but do not forget that the rules of the platform prohibit intermediation, that is, “launching a project for interest”.



Then one of the most difficult moments will come: to understand and accept the fact that the development of the game will have to be postponed indefinitely. It is necessary to focus on the campaign, because otherwise a lot of little things that you lost sight of, will find themselves and make us postpone again and again: our naivety and lack of experience cost us almost a year.



Decide that you would like to show potential developments to your potential backers, and bring everything to the final result: make the last edits in the demo version and finish work on concept art. This is your game in its current state, which you should interest players. No more edits, at least major ones.



And the last thing: most likely, you will need a lot of money to prepare and run the campaign, although it was the need for money that brought you to Kickstarter. Consider it a sad remark or ridiculous - everyone decides for himself.

Content

Your main task is to create a good impression with potential backers. For example, a page consisting solely of concept art gives the impression of the absence of the game itself - it can still work if you are Brian Fargo. Otherwise, use everything to show your project as much as possible to the buyer: screenshots, GIF, small gameplay videos and much more. Let the player be able to make the most complete impression of your game.



And his acquaintance, most likely, he will start with the video . If you have several iconic AAA projects in your portfolio, then, of course, three minutes of monotonous "talking heads" of developers, diluted with a couple of seconds of gameplay, will not destroy the campaign. But for any unknown indie, this method is hardly suitable.



How to tell about the game and what to show the players - you decide. But do not forget for a minute that the main task is to sell the concept, because crowdfunding is, in fact, a platform for pre-ordering the game.



This task should be performed by pitch video. It is not for nothing that they call it this way: this is not a trailer, not a teaser or a demonstration of gameplay. Therefore, do not be surprised if among the Russian audience (well, how else?) There are "experts" who, not understanding the essence and objectives of the video, will point out the shortcomings of the "dull trailer".



You have only one chance to get the attention of the buyer. Do not forget: if the video does not cause interest, few people will want to learn more about the project - financing and other great games are waiting for the platform. So use your strengths: it can be graphics and special effects, interesting gameplay, unusual setting or humor.



Creating a video for Exoplanet: First Contact, we came to the conclusion that we need not only a bright, memorable and intriguing start, but also shooting that will show the viewer the world and gameplay of the game - this is also a great way to talk about the project without disturbing the atmosphere of the first frames . The result can be seen below, having previously included Russian subtitles:







The budget of this video was approximately $ 550: payment for the works of the animator and the voice of the main character. It is worth noting that the real cost of these four minutes is much higher - $ 3000-4000 and many sleepless nights for two team members.



The fact is that our limited budget did not allow to pay for the full animation of the scene, only the necessary movements for a certain camera angle - and all this was already created on a separate half-empty location even before we had the first storyboard. The result of this unfortunate situation was the work with the finished material: we had to optimize ideas for existing content, find the best personnel and come up with a rationale for them. All the difficulties and the scale of the work done could best reveal the “making of ...” video, but we did not have time to start it.



And yet, despite the numerous shortcomings, for the correction of which we had neither the strength nor the time, the result - judging by the feedback from the players - turned out to be decent.



The reason is simple: some of the filming, special effects, colorizing, matte paiting, screensavers, packshots and even the console at the very beginning - all this was done and became one whole thanks to our editing director, which also saved the team a huge amount. However, if you do not have such a person, do not skimp on the remuneration of competent specialists: a professionally made video will become one of the most important pillars of the campaign. And do not hesitate to hire speakers, because the Russian accent can create a negative impression on native speakers, unless you are, of course, Leonardo DiCaprio .



Note. KickStarter badly clips the video, significantly degrading its quality. Therefore, you should duplicate your video on YouTube and, if possible, distribute it, indicating the necessary information in the description and making links at the end of the video using special tools.



By the way, some campaigns ignore the platform and insert the YouTube version of the video right under the banner, where the KickStarter movie should be located. How this affects the fees is unknown, but former Bioware employees who tried to raise money for the MoonCrest project did not succeed - however, it is worth noting that they showed nothing but concepts and a musical theme.



The next, no less important part of the campaign is the text . Its essence is to answer questions posed by a potential backer after watching a video. Show the game from all sides, detailing the gameplay, storyline, innovative ideas, key features and future plans - in a word, convince the player that your project is interesting, unique and thought out at least seventy percent.



If we analyze the texts of the campaigns of game projects on KickStarter, we can distinguish the main sections:

• introduction and / or brief description of the game;
• gameplay;
• plot;
• team;
• table of awards for different levels of contributions (rewards & pledges);
• list of additional goals (stretch goals);
• infographics, justifying the specified amount;
• project risks.

In other words, you have to not only tell about your game, but also explain a lot of other things: why did you choose KickStarter, what purposes the collected funds will be spent on, what kind of exclusive things the backer will receive if he wants to support you, and why you can be trusted.



Of course, this is not a clear guide - you can remove or add sections at will. So, for example, we decided to tell in detail about our own game engine Sahara, written on which Exoplanet: First Contact is created, as well as about the living and atmospheric world of the game. In other words, such a division will help emphasize the main advantages that you want to tell the backers.







However, here we made a mistake by not talking enough about the people involved in the process. The fact is that during its existence, the KickStarter community, taught by the bitter experience of some unscrupulous campaigns, has become incredulous about game projects and - as a result - less willing to support them, unless it concerns well-known titles, such as Shenmue, The Bard's Tale and others.



It is important for potential players to know who is behind the game, who is responsible from whom you can ask - this increases your confidence and, consequently, increases the chances of getting the necessary amount. Therefore, do not forget to put in the section "About the team" a general photo, separate developer cards under the general description, or simply tell about each of them.



Note. Remember the Russian accent in the video? A similar rule exists for the text of the project: native speakers should read everything that you write, because gross errors and too “Russian English” tell players that they can see similar things in the game itself. Therefore, having coordinated the Russian version, you will have to spend a considerable amount of time on the translation.



For example, the text of Exoplanet: First Contact almost completely corresponded several times, which is about thirteen A4 pages. Then, translating everything into English, we passed the baton to the native speakers. However, here you can meet the pitfalls: many editors forgot about the sci-fi component of our game (this is the cosmic western, after all), focusing on cowboy slang. Anyway, you need to read everything: from press releases to updates - this is one of the key components of future success.



Note. After the video quality is already understated by the platform, be prepared for the fact that the text editor will spend a lot of your time creating unnecessary indents, unexpected paragraphs and other unpleasant things. In addition, after the publication of the first update, you will find that you have only half an hour to eliminate all these problems - after this time they become inaccessible for editing.



By the way, about updates. If you want to sleep at night while campaigning, we highly recommend preparing everything in advance. Otherwise, you will have to frantically try to meet the optimal schedule (one update for two days of the campaign), spending time writing and translating text, processing hastily taken screenshots, shooting video and creating subtitles for it in several languages, and forget about what life exists outside the computer. The author knows firsthand about these difficulties and asks not to repeat his mistakes.



The next important milestone of the campaign will be the design . Good design not only attracts attention and makes an impression, but also emphasizes the setting of the project: “angular” sci-fi with translucent blue and green honeycombs , old scrolls and sophisticated fantasy monograms , rusty metal pieces for post-apocalypse. It is also worth mentioning Bedlam, the design of which is perfectly combined with the "drawn" style of the game itself .







Our team was not prepared for the fact that creating a design for an Exoplanet: First Contact campaign would turn out to be such an exhausting and complicated process. Trying to combine two difficultly compatible settings in the design - sci-fi and western - we went through a lot of options, but we were not completely satisfied with any of them: time was running out and it was not possible to implement all the ideas - for example, the framework for concepts and screenshots. As a result, we had to dwell on two options: one of them you can see on the campaign page, the other became our design on the forums.









And how many options were rejected for various reasons ... "No Western Spirit", "excess sci-fi", "too Gothic vignettes" ...









Another idea that has remained unfulfilled is the extended reward section for backers. This is usually done in the form of a standard table with checkmarks in front of the shooting gallery, showing what privileges the player will receive for choosing a particular contribution. However, we wanted to repeat the same thing that was done in the campaign of the famous Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey . In our opinion, such detailed pictures with drawn awards for each shooting range allow the backer to see for himself the benefit, to estimate the amount of bonuses he will receive, prompting him to choose the more expensive option. However, this is only our assumption, and we can only regret that we could not check it.







Now it remains only to put a beautiful, interesting and readable image stub for the video, which will be displayed as an icon for your project in the general search. She also should not stand out from the general style, prompting people to click and learn more about the game.



Note. Yes, again about the KickStarter editor. There are problems with pictures. If you want backers to see concept art in good quality, use your own website or, for example, imgur server, otherwise the platform editor will compress the picture and open its full-size version even in a separate window. In addition, if you copy your updates to forums with more or less responsible editors - and this is an integral part of campaign management - KickStarter pictures will still have to be reloaded, as some sites refuse to recognize them.

Epilogue

Your project is ready. But success on Kickstarter does not depend only on how good your content is - first you have to tell the world about your existence. How to do this and bring the project to as many people as possible will be discussed in the next part of the article.



Attempts to get into the big press, the most controversial and successful solutions, sites that allowed you to collect the necessary amount, as well as a lot of graphs - we hope that the analysis of these materials will allow you to learn more valuable lessons for your project and achieve impressive results.