Grim Dawn - Kickstarter Coming

Perhaps we should rename the site to KickstarterWatch? Back in January the prospect of a Kickstarter campaign was raised on the Grim Dawn forums but the thought at the time was not enough money would be raised to be worthwhile. I followed up a tweet that suggested they had changed their mind and, indeed, a Kickstarter campaign is being developed for Crate's action/RPG. From their forums:

I'm actually working on a Kickstarter project right now. It is a fair amount of work to get set up and the biggest thing will be trying to produce a decent video. We're hoping to get it up in the next week or so.

When I initially looked at Kickstarter, my thought was that it seemed unlikely for us to be able to generate much more than a $100k or so based on what other projects were doing. However, given the level of money Double Fine and Wasteland have generated, I think it is definitely worth trying out.

What would we need to do something useful? Well, we could do amazing things with a million or more but even $300k would be enough for us to bring on 2-3 more people full-time, which would be a HUGE help.

We're basically at this point right now where we have the technology mostly finished, the core gameplay is fully functioning and actually quite fun but it is just taking a looooonnnggg time to build out content. Just as an example, we currently have a backlog of 5 monsters that are finished but waiting on animation. Our animator is working as hard as he can but he lost a few weeks crunching on that Warhammer 40k MMO. So, really, just being able to get a few more people working full-time would speed things up tremendously.

I'll share the project link with you guys before I make it live so you can provide feedback.

More information.

I wish them all the success, Grim Dawn looks very good and dark and hope that it surpasses the overhyped Diablo 3 that requires constant Internet connection.

Interesting trend. I wonder if it will hold up, and if not, how much longer it will hold up.

I see this recent wave of kickstarts as the ultimate pre-order. I think it is a very good thing. The developers get money up front, so if they get enough to finance the project, anything that comes in after the release is pure profit. I guess it could be a risk though - imagine kickstarting Duke Nukem Forever. It could take a long time to realize your investment.

Grim Dawn is looking pretty good and would definitely be something I would buy. The question is pay now if they have a kickstart or wait until the release?

It will be interesting to see what happens with this whole Kickstarter trend once a few high profile games bomb or fail to deliver a product. From what I recall hearing, in most cases, you only get your money back if the project doesn't meet its initial financial goal.

I have pledged to Minecraft movie, Double fine and Wasteland so far. Even if none of those three things come to fruition, I will be fine with it. I will be dissapointed, but fine with it. I realize that kickstarter is a bit riskier than normal purchase of a game and I pledge with that knowledge in mind. I would guess most people do.

Originally Posted by Scrav
It will be interesting to see what happens with this whole Kickstarter trend once a few high profile games bomb or fail to deliver a product. From what I recall hearing, in most cases, you only get your money back if the project doesn't meet its initial financial goal.

Yep, you'll ony get your money back when they fail to meet their financial goal. As for the money: I already consider my money spent on those projects more or less lost. I'm actually quite sure that I won't even remember on what projects I spent money on in a few weeks or months. Doesn't matter though, isn't worse than spending 50 bucks at the pub for a night.
Also there is the fact that most of the Kickstarters I supported now are done by people with years of development experience. I give them the benefit of doubt.

I'm more worried that everyone and his grandma will start a Kickstarter campaign and soon everyone will get sick of the concept.

Kickstarters are definately snowballing now, but nobody is forcing you to stump up your cash. You can look at it two ways: as an investment in a high risk venture; or as a donation to a worthy cause. I'm a supporter because I'd rather see an abundance of lower budget niche games than a big budget mediocrity.

I'm very excited about this project, and I'll definitely contribute on Kickstarter. If done right I think this game can exclipse Wasteland 2.

Is Kickstarter an investment or donation?

Already Pre-Ordered Grim Dawn (have played Titan Quest since day one) and will be happy to continue to help/support anyway I can.

The game already looks amazing and the dev team is the best group of guys you'd ever want working on a game! They're passionate and care and listen to players concerns and ideas…and they generate kick ass content.

What more could you want?

So sign me up!

@hishadow I'm not sure how Kickstarter describes it but it isn't like a regular investment because the 'shareholders' aren't in it for a profit - we just want a good game. I look at as a donation because if the project fails I'm still happy to encourage the industry to move in this direction. Yes, that's a political view.

I was surprised to see them scoffing at 100K

One more to pledge.

Originally Posted by hishadow
Is Kickstarter an investment or donation?

More of a donation it seems. You do get a discounted game at launch or whatever other "rewards" but I don't think that you get any actual return on your investment.

Originally Posted by Scrav
It will be interesting to see what happens with this whole Kickstarter trend once a few high profile games bomb or fail to deliver a product. From what I recall hearing, in most cases, you only get your money back if the project doesn't meet its initial financial goal.

"""From what I recall hearing, in most cases, you only get your money back if the project doesn't meet its initial financial goal"""

LMAO! Yup, you wait for your money back.

This is starting a trend and peeps (developers) want to get in on it before any games ship and the suckers, errr4 I mean investors realize what they will get!

Yes, I know, there is probably one or two that have the honesty and skill to get something worthwhile done but most will be "B-C" grade at best if not outright wealth re-distribution for nothing more then promises.

Mac

Originally Posted by Philistine
Kickstarters are definately snowballing now, but nobody is forcing you to stump up your cash. You can look at it two ways: as an investment in a high risk venture; or as a donation to a worthy cause. I'm a supporter because I'd rather see an abundance of lower budget niche games than a big budget mediocrity.

Very well said. This is one project that I very well might kick in a few bucks for. Have been a fan of this game for some time now.

That's why I have only contributed to projects I am actually interested in, rather than everything that comes out. On one hand, Wasteland 2 could end up a failure and I lost $15. On the other hand, it could turn out awesome, in which case I get a copy for $35 less than retail.