Kickstarter Questions on Kickstarter and the Tabletop Community

[HinduReal]

I strongly agree with delericho. Yes, RPG Kickstarters (read: crowdfunded project) will be successful but only if the starter has a) a strong reputation in the community (not necessarily from Kickstarter itself I'd add, since also popular bloggers, youtuber and such would be granted that benefit imo) or b) has something already built to show AND a reasonable demand.

 

[Obryn]

I've backed two funded projects so far - Ehdrigohr and Fate Core. (And ENWorld, but it's not a product in the same sense.) How well they deliver will make a big difference in whether or not I fund anything in the future. It's more of a leap of faith than a traditional transaction, and it seems like almost every one gets delayed.

-O

 

[Dannager]

Does a low ($10 or less) contribution level encourage you to take risks on Kickstarters you might not have otherwise backed? Do immediate backer rewards (early access to specific things, for instance) encourage you to back risky products?

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Does a low ($10 or less) contribution level encourage you to take risks on Kickstarters you might not have otherwise backed?

Yes. If I have the risk of a complete loss, the amount of money to be lost is important.

Do immediate backer rewards (early access to specific things, for instance) encourage you to back risky products?

No. I have no use for some very rough drafts. The auhtoer should give me access to such material before I decide whether I want to back his project.

 

[delericho]

Bear in mind that I have backed exactly one Kickstarter ever, so take this with a huge heaping of salt...

Does a low ($10 or less) contribution level encourage you to take risks on Kickstarters you might not have otherwise backed?

I think this should probably help, for two reasons:

- A low buy-in means a much lower risk, which makes it more likely someone will take that risk. And, assuming you don't already have a strong reputation or name recognition, this may prove to be a crucial factor.

- A suitably low buy-in means that people might sign up as backers as an "impulse buy". $10 is probably low enough that you might get backers based simply on "Cool!", where $100 would demand rather more thought.

Do immediate backer rewards (early access to specific things, for instance) encourage you to back risky products?

This one's a bit less clear-cut. I think that if there is something you can meaningfully offer for immediate release, that may well act as a good sweetener.

But the key thing, there, is that it needs to be something meaningful. Really, you want your project to be selling itself, so if you're relying on a gimmicky reward to do that job for you, you're probably on a loser. And this is doubly true if the time spent sending out the immediate reward is going to significantly delay work on the real thing!

(But if, for example, you were doing a Kickstarter to fund a budget to turn your PDF RPG into a print RPG, you might consider making the PDF version and its PDF supplements available as an immediate reward.)

One other thing: if you find yourself looking for an immediate reward to try to sell a 'risky' project, you would almost certainly be better off spending a bit more time and effort trying to eliminate the risk. Both because it's an easier sell if the project is perceived as more likely to succeed, but also because if I'm right about the three phases of Kickstarter, then the last thing you want is a failed project in your history. (And bear in mind, most people won't ever know or care why a project fails, all they'll care about is whether their money is safe with you.)

 

[greyhaze]

That leads to the second phase, where people start to get disillusioned. Suddenly, it becomes nigh-impossible to fund a project unless you already have a track record - either you have successful Kickstarter experience, or you already have name recognition, or something. But for the new guy? Forget it.

I'd say we're already entering this phase.

 

[Obryn]

I'd say we're already entering this phase.

Yeah, I actually pulled my support for a Kickstarter after some of the guy's updates made me think he hasn't thought it through. That would be the Doppelganger piece - a neat idea, but the more I read, the more I figured I'd be waiting a long time for fulfillment.

On the other hand, I just got the survey for the FATE Core Kickstarter. Fred handled the whole thing with great professionalism.

I am still waiting on my Ehdrigohr survey. I knew this one was a bigger risk, but it's so dam purty I was willing to risk it.

-O

 

[Leopold]

The one thing that is keeping me from putting my work up for Kickstarter is the fact that the material isn't finished.

Having everything written and ready to go with only the 'small' parts that need to be done (art, layout, or other non-crucial items) will help you fund your kickstarter and get the ball rolling. If you say "Hey I got this GREAT idea but I haven't done anything with it yet, but give me money anyway!" people are getting more gun shy about KS with the rash of failed projects being highlighted all over the place.


Get all your writing done before hand and then goto the people and stay in constant ridiculous amounts of contact with the people. You'd be surprised at how forgiving the RPG industry is with people as long as you talk to them and update them. Don't go dark or else you will have problems, lots of problems.

 

[CAFRedblade]

Keep in mind that Kickstarters and their ilk (indiegogo is another similar system) are basically doing something that larger investment firms do, putting money up front for the promise of a payout on the otherside, whether that is recouping/improving your investment, or receiving product. Although with crowdfunding there is also an element of charity/donations involved.

Most Kickstarters could/should be looked at as if you are either making a charity donation, or gambling on a wanted outcome, with the chance of a total loss. This is how I look at the crowdfunding scene in general.

More established names in particular areas of expertise, whether Video Games, Music, Tabletop boardgames so forth have more credibility on being able to produce the work based on past successes, but there is always that chance of rolling a fumble.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Does a low ($10 or less) contribution level encourage you to take risks on Kickstarters you might not have otherwise backed? Do immediate backer rewards (early access to specific things, for instance) encourage you to back risky products?

No to the first. If I'm backing something I like to give enough money where it feels like I'm actually helping? I dont know if that came out right. So case in point I recently backed the RealmWorlds Kickstarter. I backed it for $35 so at the bare minimum I'll get the full version of the software when it's released. Even though I'll have to wait for a Mac port of the software. I feel (and this is just me here) that the $35 I gave to the project matters.

I havent really backed anything that I would consider risky so I couldn't tell you? I mean I must have thrown close to $300 at the Reaper Bones Kickstarter and $100 at the Rappan Athuk Kickstarter before that but those were two (I feel) trustworthy companies so I guess no real risk was involved. I threw $20 at Tabletop forge and they kinda went under but I was already invested in Roll20 by that time so it didn't bother me too much.