Deciding amount for Kickstarter

[mlogan]

First, I've tried to read through the threads related to Kickstarter (including the entirety of seita's incredible thread), so if I missed this discussion I apologize.

Simple question with a complicated answer: If you have done a Kickstarter campaign, how did you decide how to set your goal amount?

I am considering a Kickstarter campaign within the next year. Did you fully research all you would need for custom graphics, etc, to get as close of an estimate you needed or did you just take a stab at it? Any hints or tips on how best to research how much you will need to spend for your project? Any other hints and tips for setting a goal amount would be fabulous. Thanks!

 

[Ruiran]

I'd recommend watching:

http://crowdfundingdojo.com/articles/kickstarter-funding-goal

and taking a look at this

http://www.philanthrogeek.com/crowdfunding/crowdfunding-tool-kickstarter-calculator/

annnnd this (pretty sure you already did buuuut);

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/812850535/you-are-not-the-hero

If you intend to have your whole team dedicated to a project and only that, you might want to inform yourself on the living/study fees of everyone on the team.(+baker rewards, possible commissions, taxes, new software for the whole team, and and + 5/10% just in case there are unexpected costs) 

 

[Mouser]

Calculate everything you can down to the penny (don't forget donuts and Dr. Pepper), then double it.

Nothing is as easy as it looks; everything takes longer than you expect; and if anything can go wrong, it will.

 

[Sharm]

There have been some interesting discussions about this sort of thing over at Lemma Soft, it might be worth a look to you even though it's talking about Visual Novels and not RPG Maker. One thing that I remember from the discussion that seems like a really good idea is to look through the other RM games that were put on kickstarter and look at how much was raised vs how much the goal was, both with the ones funded and the ones who didn't. That sort of thing can give you a better idea of what to expect from your campaign and what people will expect from you. Keep in mind that successful ones will have much more funded because people are more likely to back something that has already reached it's funding goals.

 

[Shaz]

I can't offer any suggestions based on experience. Just keep in mind that with Kickstarter, you only get money if the project is fully funded. So if your goal is $5000 and only $4500 gets raised, you miss out. I believe you CAN post it a second time, and while you may get more new people, I'd also be worried that some of the previous backers would fail to back it a second time, so you might still struggle.


IndieGogo, while perhaps less known, will give you ANY money that's raised, whether you meet your goal or not. So might be worth considering as well.

 

[Mouser]

I can't offer any suggestions based on experience. Just keep in mind that with Kickstarter, you only get money if the project is fully funded. So if your goal is $5000 and only $4500 gets raised, you miss out. I believe you CAN post it a second time, and while you may get more new people, I'd also be worried that some of the previous backers would fail to back it a second time, so you might still struggle.

IndieGogo, while perhaps less known, will give you ANY money that's raised, whether you meet your goal or not. So might be worth considering as well.

The problem with that is from the contributor's side, you can end up funding a 'doomed' project.

That's what makes Kickstarter so attractive. Some projects shoot themselves in the foot announcing stretch goals too early, which has the same effect - peope don't want to be stuck contributing to a project that's just good enough to suck. [see: Brad McQuaid and Pantheon].

 

[Shaz]

The problem with that is from the contributor's side, you can end up funding a 'doomed' project.

Not sure what you mean? Are you talking about using IndieGogo instead of Kickstarter, or running a second campaign on Kickstarter if the first one fails? I can see that happening - which is why I said I'd expect some previous backers to not back it again.


If the project fails, they don't lose any money - it's just the time taken to back it again, and if it didn't go well the first time AND you haven't done a major overhaul of your campaign, there may not be any reason for them to expect it'll succeed the second time.

 

[Mouser]

Not sure what you mean? Are you talking about using IndieGogo instead of Kickstarter, or running a second campaign on Kickstarter if the first one fails? I can see that happening - which is why I said I'd expect some previous backers to not back it again.

If the project fails, they don't lose any money - it's just the time taken to back it again, and if it didn't go well the first time AND you haven't done a major overhaul of your campaign, there may not be any reason for them to expect it'll succeed the second time.

I'm talking about the IndieGoGo (or any other method where you give whether the goal is met or not - Brad's trying direct now).

Let's say the goal is 20k. You pledge $250. The funding only goes up to 10k.

You're out $250 and the game will never be finished for lack of funds: it's a 'doomed' project from the start.

 

[seita]

I'd first focus more on the reliability of anyone you're planning to have work on the game with you. If you're relying only on yourself, then you're good to go. If you need other people to make it happen, make sure they're on board 100%.

The fact is, most of the people you find on the forums here aren't as reliable as we'd like due to RM being a gateway game engine. Another thing to think about is that people on the forums here charge ridiculously low amounts of money compared to industry professionals.

So what do you have when you put those two together?

1. You estimate your costs lower than what they should be.
2. The person you rely on may pull out.

This means that you've set a low goal for a project you can't finish yourself. Because your goal is so low, now you can't find a replacement that's reliable because their prices are higher.

This has happened to me twice already. Initially, I only needed about $1,000 - 2,000 for all of the busts in game from the original artist. That cost has multiplied 6 fold. Luckily, my project raised enough (and I doubled the amount I needed) that I could afford a very reliable artist to finish the project with me. Even at the amount I raised, I'm barely breaking even.

As for the actual goal of your campaign, be conservative. Don't overpromise and assume you'll need at least twice as much like Mouser suggested.

Then again, I would say that the most important part of holding a Kickstarter campaign is to work on your marketing skills, or get someone who can do it well. Your goal is to make your game look as appealing to people as possible. We're marketing RPGs, so we're already targeting a niche market that has only been shrinking. I personally love the first tip in the second link Ruiran provided: "Validation that your product is worth something and will make money with little to no risk."

 

[amerk]

I'm talking about the IndieGoGo (or any other method where you give whether the goal is met or not - Brad's trying direct now).

Let's say the goal is 20k. You pledge $250. The funding only goes up to 10k.

You're out $250 and the game will never be finished for lack of funds: it's a 'doomed' project from the start.

Or they'll wind up having to cut corners to make it within the funds they do have, meaning those who backed the game aren't getting exactly what they thought they were backing, especially if something that's winds up being cut or changed was the reason they contributed in the first place.

Of course, I'm sure there are cases where a person over-reaches and can make their game just as easily with 10k as they could have with the goal of 20k. It helps when developers make realistic goals, but it also helps when those backing these projects do their research before giving away their money.

 

[Mouser]

The fact is, most of the people you find on the forums here aren't as reliable as we'd like due to RM being a gateway game engine. Another thing to think about is that people on the forums here charge ridiculously low amounts of money compared to industry professionals.

I've got to agree with that from what I've seen here (not that I'm complaining about the prices ). If you put out feelers on a forum like gamedev or something similar with a broader base of people, you'll start to get a better picture of what things may actually end up costing.

Underpromise and overdeliver. It's a fine line when you're trying to convince people that your project in a sea of projects is the one worth supporting.  Remember that done right, Kickstarter isn't a payday - they should all be funds that go into your project. You then need to make your project commercially successful before you start cutting yourself paychecks. If you've factored it in as your sole source of income while working on your project, that's ok - but you've then got a huge commitment to put in all the hours and work to make it happen. Forty hours a week with weekends off isn't likely to cut it.

 

[mlogan]

Thank you all for the input. (Sorry I neglected this thread a bit.)

@seita - Would you mind if I pm'ed you with some questions some time.

Also another question to all - would you be more likely to contribute towards a specific game project over a company? Would it make a difference if that company had a high-quality game already out?

 

[seita]

I don't mind.

When it comes to Kickstarting games, only two things matter.

1: Your game looks awesome and I want to play it

2: You're renowned worldwide as a great game developer.

If you can't be the 2nd, you'll just have to focus on the 1st.