Monkey Island Creator Ron Gilbert Is Making A New Point-And-Click Adventure Game

Quoting: Segata SanshiroThere is no denying that the number of successful video game Kickstarter projects has fallen by 20% compared to last year and the total amount of funding has dropped by 50%. The two best explanations for this would be lack of confidence and the second is lack of exposure - both of which the "bad apples" in the Kickstarter barrel hold a great deal of responsibility for.

That drop that you talk about still represents a huge increase beyond the pre-2012 funding amounts for games. I don't think it's fair to expect that there's not going to be a drop off after such an enormous spike.

It might now be harder to attract people than it was during/immediately after that initial surge, but so far as I can tell, the success/failure ratio seems to be more or less the same across all of this, so the impact of any exposure/confidence related issues can't be that large.

Quoting: Segata SanshiroWe now have a situation where the very platform which brought greater egalitarianism has been hijacked and turned into something where established players can get much lower-risk investments at no cost in ownership and where those same established players are essentially the "gatekeepers" to the small ones which could really benefit. It's moved from being a great way to bring small developers on the scene, to just pre-ordering games so that people with decades of experience don't have to talk to men in suits about investment because they don't want to "sell out", or more likely because they don't want to give up a share of their company.

The dynamics don't work like that though. Kickstarter's internal statistics analysis points and these larger figures bringing in people who will then go on to fund other projects, having an overall positive effect on funding levels for games (and other categories of projects) across the board.

Yes, it's hard to run a campaign, and yes it's hard to get noticed. It always has been. I know a number of developers who ran unsuccessful campaigns prior to the 2012 "boom", asking for very modest figures, who weren't able to get anywhere. There was a period immediately afterward where every man and his dog thought that they could get something funded easily, but that window was super small and short lived.

It feels like people are reaching out to industry figures for mentions and recommendations because they know that that is likely to help them get the numbers they need to reach the kinds of goals that are now achievable. I've got a hunch that if you hunt around, you'll find evidence of people seeking endorsement from big names pre-2012, but I imagine responses were be lacking given that crowdfunding wasn't taken seriously at that kind of level before then.

I guess the best question to ask is whether or not it's easier to get noticed by media today compared to say when Jake ran the Kentucky Route Zero campaign, or when Ryan ran the Waveform one? With sites like GOL here doing semi-regular roundups, I'm not so sure that it is.

The flipside, of course is that with Tim Schafer, Peter Molyneux, Ron Gilbert, Brian Fargo, Chris Roberts and other big names now not being as reliant on publisher funding, what is happening to those publishing budgets? Are more smaller developers getting picked up? Has the industry as a whole increased its focus on smaller scale developers? I think it has. Not as a direct result of crowdfunding growth, of course, but I have to imagine that it's had some impact.


Veering vaguely back on topic, it looks like the project has nearly reached halfway. It's interesting to see people's take on the art style. It's not the direction I would've chosen, but I can see that they specifically want to re-create the feel, style and chracter of their Maniac Mansion era games, and it seems like the right choice for that.

Well, game development is risky business, and Kickstarter is a risky business model for both the creators and supporters.

Reading up on Ron, I can't see him having lots of money to burn considering he hasn't really been involved in many games recently. He was involved in ~2 games for the entire of 2013 I think. So, fair enough he's gone to Kickstarter.

People know my views on Kickstarter by now, I simply don't fund a thing, as other developers destroyed my trust in it.

I am, however, grateful to people who do risk it for me, and if their risk pays off for me in the form of me getting a new Linux game to buy in future, then great.

I am also very sceptical like Segata, taking taxes into account that would still leave ~$315K assuming they only hit the initial goal. Split that by the amount of people working on it, and then that's more than a tidy sum to pay all of them.

Edit > Maybe all these thoughts by Cheese & Segata could be written down into two opposing editorials, would both make a mighty fun read.

Quoting: Cheeseness

Quoting: Segata SanshiroThere is no denying that the number of successful video game Kickstarter projects has fallen by 20% compared to last year and the total amount of funding has dropped by 50%. The two best explanations for this would be lack of confidence and the second is lack of exposure - both of which the "bad apples" in the Kickstarter barrel hold a great deal of responsibility for.

That drop that you talk about still represents a huge increase beyond the pre-2012 funding amounts for games. I don't think it's fair to expect that there's not going to be a drop off after such an enormous spike.

Yup there seemed to be a lot of people who jumped on board thinking that kickstarter was fundamentally a pre-order system with early-adopter discounts and firm deadlines, and it's just as well that bubble has burst. Others with more realistic opinions of crowdfunding risks and schedule uncertainties have stayed on for the long-run, though even those backers may have gotten over-enthusiastic in pledge amounts last year and have had to cut down somewhat until the economy in general improves.

Oh, another point & click adventure and great name! Eh, hehehe... no!
Still remember the hype of the DoubleFine & Tim Schafer Kickstarter campaign and what came out of it.

May check again when the final product gets released.

QuoteEdit > Maybe all these thoughts by Cheese & Segata could be written down into two opposing editorials, would both make a mighty fun read.

I would be up for that! A bit of healthy discussion on GOL would be a good thing and we both clearly hold different views, though it has to be said that Cheese is probably far more knowledgeable on this than me.

Quoting: ShmerlIs it going to be DRM-free? KS page doesn't mention it. I'd confirm that before backing the project.

And the answer there is "yes"! The most recent update also mentions that it's the #1 asked question behind "will there be a stretch goal where you tell us the Secret of Monkey Island?"

Quoting: Segata Sanshiro

QuoteEdit > Maybe all these thoughts by Cheese & Segata could be written down into two opposing editorials, would both make a mighty fun read.

I would be up for that! A bit of healthy discussion on GOL would be a good thing and we both clearly hold different views, though it has to be said that Cheese is probably far more knowledgeable on this than me.

That'd be an interesting project to try and coordinate. If I end up with enough free time, I'd be open to doing something like that.

Really, really, really .... want this to get all stretch goals voice work improves adventure games so much IMO

Hooray, it got funded! ^_^