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Can't wait untill the post Kickstarter era kicks in, there'll be a hell of a lot of NPCs called Dave!

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TFT
WHOA wow wow. two tails? that is a sexy idea...
445
i would like to actually hear your input on relevant perks to give fans and contributors.
Well TFT I'm going to try to make this as reverent to you as I possibly can because I'm assuming that Rainbow Nightmare isn't going to come with free T-shirts or limited edition Action figures. (It would be really cool though :D)

I do agree with your sentiment about supporting projects because you want to help them out, but there are major potenial problems that I can see cropping up with reward teirs from an developers point of view when a backer actually qualifies for one.

Lets say that one of your backers gave x amount of money to your campaign and the reward he qualified for had something to do with designing a character or a side quest, but he happens to come up with a ridiculous idea that would jeopardize your vision and would never ever work for practical purposes.

Hypothetical this guy contributed a lot to get where your game is at and you can't really turn around to him and tell him it's a bad idea. I don't really know, I just feel that those kind of rewards could potentially ruin the overall quality of your game and at best you'll have to reach a compromise.
Crass as this may sound but having exclusive in game content only for backers would be a far more better reward tier than "Pay to write my game for me" I'm not sure if it would have to be an bonus mode, extra difficulty setting or a extra character but I feel that this is the best way for any game to maintain it's integrity whilst pleasing your backers at the same time.

What really turns me off from supporting some projects, is that they only give me a vague description on where the money is going or no description at all. Because that to me personally screams cash grab, hell I even watch some videos closely and study their body language to see if their is any indication that they might be bullshitting.

It's basically like ordering at a sub par restaurant where the menu boasts fancy shiny food pictures and descriptions that's not too specific but not too vague either and you end getting something that's thrown together in thirty seconds or less, making you feel like you've been cheated. And honestly that's where a lot of the problems lie is the fact that is no clear communication between the two parties.

The best methods that will satisfie both the developer and their fanbase is probably introducing an private forum for them to beta test the game early on so that they can bounce ideas around, give feedback and point out any glitches. With the pay off being that the backers would feel like they were a part of the creation process and therefore feeling just as passionate about your game just as you are.

Strange as this may sound, it's not your supporters who'll be the paying customers (presuming you gave them an free copy for $10) instead they'll be your small cult following who will do most of the leg work by tweeting, facebooking and pushing the game down peoples throats. Even if an Kickstarter was to fail you'll still have all the support that you would of gained, like it or not Kickstarter is the perfect cost free marketing strategy on the internet today.

Oh man I do ramble a lot =o=
TFT
WHOA wow wow. two tails? that is a sexy idea...
445
well, that is a good rant, and i agree, but i would like to hear in terms of things you would like to see as perks that are note worthy.

if people do like t-shirts, that is a viable option. as a person would that sway you to contribute? it would be really helpful to understand. do you think it should be a requirement for a developer to be in front of a camera and talk about things or simply show the "goods"?

like, it's pretty obvious from research that it's like the percentage is really less about the game(which really makes me sad) and more about the swag and who you know.

Well for the introductory video featuring the developer, I always find the ones that I'm most drawn to are ones showing a montage of different things, featuring gameplay videos, concept art and some face time with the developer discussing his vision and his goal with Kickstarter. (although you have to pace it really well not to get people too bored) half the time I do end up stopping the video half way through only because it was either too cringe worthy or really uninteresting. I do think it is important to identify with the person that you'll be giving your money to but at the same time I would rather see more gameplay footage to get a clear understanding on what the finished product would be like. I wish people would just let their game do all the talking.

As for rewards, there should be good mixture of physical stuff and game related perks too. Like having a free game at the basic $10 would be cool but having a poster and a free game at $20 would be even better.

Anywhere over $30 should start to feature some exclusive in game content along with physical rewards, and have it gradually increase in magnitude. I can kind of see why the higher rewards feature T-shirts and plush toys as they do cost some cash to put together. Other than that I'm not too sure about other rewards, it really is case by case.

I hope this helps.

Edit: Oh yeah! Real life replicas of in game stuff are totally awesome physical reward perks to have as well.
It doesn't even have to be too sophisticated either, like take for a example a game may have a diabolical tobacco company who sell really shitty cigarettes. And as a reward tier you could have a custom ciggerate boxes reflecting the games unique style and humor. Not only would they be cheap to make but the fact that you've given the backer something unique other than the typical poster would be really appealing to their inner geek and would serve a practical purpose at the same time.



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