The Banner Saga - Kickstarter Campaign
 

Stoic Studio has joined the Kickstarter brigade for The Banner Saga, which you'll recall from a week or two back. Stoic are asking for a modest $100k, and with $10k under the belt in a few hours, that looks safe. The rewards start from $5, with only $10 getting you a digital copy of the game, due in November.
Some features, to refresh your memory:
More information.

i just backed it. after i contacted them and got confirmation that it will be DRM free.

cheers

If this kind of thing ever takes off and works as one would hope, it's going to be where I spend almost my entire gaming budget.

I'm all over this, in theory.

Only, the problem with the publisher model as it is - currently - isn't so much the actual model, but how human nature mixes with it. As great as this kickstarter thing sounds, our nature remains the same.

So, I'll have to see the system work - with all the kinks removed, before I start supporting it.

Unless, of course, some ex-Looking Glass dude wants to kickstart System Shock 3.

I don't understand what you are saying.

Looks like this might be a fun game…

I love the art style - worth $10 of speculation, I think.

Then even I will open my digital wallet.

C

I'm saying that the publisher model would work very differently, if human nature wasn't what it is.

It's like capitalism. The system in itself could work very well, if it wasn't human nature to seek the shortest path to the greatest return.

We're like water, in that way. We want the path of least resistance.

There are exceptions, certainly, but those exceptions have a way of circumventing the weaknesses in any system. This is why we're seeing "art" even with the publisher model, or in the very similar Hollywood system - for instance.

This "kickstarter" system would seem to be better than the publisher model, but it's not like it can replace true passion and it's not like human nature will change.

Then again, I rarely buy the whole line of "it's all the fault of the publisher". It goes both ways - and some people just don't have the talent - regardless of the restrictions imposed upon them.

I still don't get your point, sorry. Obviously it doesn't replace "true passion" - does anything? - but neither does any finance system. I can't actually see a direct connection between any finance system and "passion".

That's ok. It's not a big deal anyway.

But you kinda got my point. There's no connection between passion and a finance system (unless, of course, finances or finance systems are your passion), which is why the only "system" I would actually advocate - is one where finances don't enter the picture.

I'm not sure I can articulate my point much better, though…

Personally, I'm still not convinced this will help us a lot in the long run. It only takes a few kickstarter projects down the drain before the concept is abandoned. If there's one thing developers are good at, especially when there's no publisher involved to enforce the dates, it's letting things go on and on until the whole thing is a complete failure.

Bottom line: I fear we'll get more Duke Nukem Forever than Planescape: Torment out of this.

Still, if the right project comes along, I'll invest. It's worth a risk.

I pledged 10. I'm a sucker for grid-based combat and viking lore. :)

Looks good. I am not big fun of Kickstarter incentives of we'll take your banner, we'll write a god based on you or we'll make a statue of you, but can live with that. In fact, better this than dumbed down, generic gameplay that in the eyes of marketing will make the whole world play a game. And definitely looks like it's worth 10$.

Probably the only project that I would fund kickstarter-wise would be Might and Magic 10 or a clone, if the name is still owned by that French company.

I'm too much of a skeptic. It's very easy to start a project, but to stay the course and not lose focus? Much harder. What happens to your donation if the project gets halted 9 months from now and your donation has went to pay some schmucks salary?

I'll pledge $25 so i can get the CE. Since i don't spend money on AAA titles like i used to, i will instead throw my money at games like this and Wasteland 2.

You'd have lost your $10.

Of course one should have a close look at the project and the people behind it before pledging. With people like Fargo or the Banner devs, that have both experience and a lot of credit to loose on a botched project, I feel the risk is probably limited. But of course, there is always a risk with any "money upfront" deal. And eventually we WILL see failed projects, and there will be much gnashing of teeth.
Still, Kickstarter is about funding something out of enthusiasm that would not likely get funding through other means. Not possible without taking risks.

I agree. I just wasn't a big enough fan of Wasteland to kickstart. Might and Magic? I might very well be one of the $10,000 donators on that one. I loves my Might and Magic series :D Of course, it'd have to be led by a reinvigorated JVC or all bets are off.

+1
Don't see the big fuss about 10$
wow, I might lose 10 bucks, compare paying kickstater 10 bucks, fueling a flame that can create something special, that influences a lot of people, with giving 10$ to buy sodas for a month, or cigarettes, or whatever you guys waste money on.

So er what sort of RPG/Strategy game will this be? I'd like more details before I commit.

In the screens they showed the combat reminded me a little of the new King's Bounty expansion. (King’s Bounty: Warriors of the North)

Daniel.

Boom. Backed it. Now if Obsidian can just get a kickstarter started I'll be happy to spend some more of my hard earned money. Take my money please and give me good games.

Me neither.. worth the risk of maybe getting a game that I'm actually interested in, rather than settling for what the current market is providing.

Ya know….I had originally discarded the idea about doing a kickstarter for Unfettered, but after all this recent success, raised awareness for the method and support on these boards for other projects ( and I do put Wasteland 2 in an entirely different category then my own ), I'm reconsidering it.

100k, wow, I'd be thrilled with 5k. That'd be enough to pay for what I've spent so far and hire an icon artist and maybe a little help with some of the modeling.

I stopped long time ago to waste my money on AAA titles. I still get them, when they are like $10; they provide me with a few hours of play, until I get too frustrated or bored (and often both). Backing up games like Double Fine, Wasteland 2, and now the Banner Saga is not only about the game per se, but about hopes that the everybody will take notice of this ‘revolution’. Gaming, nowadays, is not only about hyperactive kids; there is a significant market for people who started gaming when they were young and still do; people who wish for more refined, thoughtful, and complex game mechanisms and stories. These people are often professionals with deep money and influence, and ignoring them is utterly stupid. Think about books: would you like to only have books about romance? Right now most of the games are click-fest and movie-simulations. Giving what you can to back up a project you like, even $10, is not a risk, is a vote. I spent more backing up the above mentioned 3 projects than in my entire game budget for the previous year. I am looking forward to play those games, but more importantly, I am looking forward to the day the game industry would stop to be such a moron (and we all know that ‘corporations are people’, so they can be moron as well).

Backing a Kickstarter is a risk. Welcome to the world of being an investor! The reason traditional publishers get to call so many shots is because they put up the development funding up front. They take the risk that the project will run over time, over budget, or will fail to produce whatever they want to get out of it (usually their money back plus some level of profit). This happens sometimes. People are fallible and they sometimes make promises they can't keep.

Just because Kickstarter provides an alternative funding mechanism to traditional publishers doesn't make the risks inherent in project development go away. Someone has to assume them, and that someone is collectively whoever fronts the money. And guess what? In the Brave New Kickstarter World(tm), that's us. If you don't like it, don't back the project.

$10 is 2 drinks in a pub that a couple of hours later will go into the toilet…

If i can drink 2 less drinks in a month and invest in something i'll "probably" like, its worth it already, nevermind the fact that you are trying to change the industry as a whole with this kind of project funding.

My top 10 of best games in my life were all low budget, at least compared to todays' standards, if more and more projects like this are funded with teams that realy make enjoyable games than i think my $ 10 are a complete bargain.

The art style is actually the only think I don't like so far. Everything else sounds pretty good, but I need to see more actual gameplay footage, particularly combat, before I throw my name in the hat.

They had my $50 at "turn-based"….

A crowd funding project sits you on the investor's seat. Yes, there's always risk that some dev botch the game. But what drives me is the possibilities that will be able to occur in the future: Tons of brand new, old school RPGs out there with modern graphics and sounds (actually letter part isn't that important much). After considering the possibilities these projects might bring, 10 or 15 dollars is not much in my eyes.

I consider as this: After years of longing for old school RPGs and finally gave up hope for this kind of game (apart from few indies here and there), some veteran dev approaches to me and says 'Hey I'm going to make the sequel to …. (name your favourite old school RPG here), all I need you is to give me 10 dollars in advance. Do you take that risk?' Yes, I will definitely take that risk.

By the way I'm ready to empty my bank account in order to support Might&Magic 10 (or a Force&Spell project if he can't take the license from Ubisoft :P ) from John Van Caneghem. I hope he will raise his head from whatever C&C game he's making right now and see these Kickstarter projects.

Easily worth $10, if for no other reason than encouraging people to try something new (er..old?) Hell, I bought Dungeons of Dredmor just on principal.

et moi Age of wonders

Holycrap guys , this looks friggin amazing . Revenge of the PC RPGS . HHHOOOOOOO!

It…amuses…..me greatly that all these worthy projects are now coming out from the mists one after another during a time where I have pretty well no ability to jump in as deeply, or at all really, as I'd like to.

This one is also doing rather well on their total from the looks of it. would not be surprised to see it comfortably break the 100K mark by the end date.

How could anyone refuse to give money to three guys with that facial hair? In all seriousness now, this all looks pretty sweet and my fearful cynicism in regards to Kickstarter is giving way to butterflies-in-the-stomach optimism. This spring seems full of pleasant surprises.

p.s. too soon and too pretentious to call it the "Kickstarter Spring"?

I'm in.

I really would've liked to know more about the actual gameplay, but turn based + that art style = $10 from me.

I donated to both DoubleFine and Wasteland 2 as those are pretty sure bets I think. This one I'm not sure about as $100K isn't much though they have what seems to be a very talented team. Seems like that is about enough to cover one person for 1 year and they are promising all sorts of things including a multiplayer mode by November or so if I read the donation box correctly.

I'm sure if its good enough there will be actual sales above and beyond the first round of supporters. I've gone ahead and donated the minimum to get the game and will see what materializes.

Edit: There was a radio/podcast over the summer about micropayments that people gave to a school teacher in Haiti. The generous people donated the money so he could buy books and supplies for the really poor. Well he got so much money $5K or so that he decided to move up and decided to build a new schoolhouse instead. At the end, he got in over his head and only had a concrete pad at the end of it and no school books.

I fear that one or more these kickstarter projects will follow a similar trajectory just hoping they have enough management discipline to deal with it if they do get a windfall. Not saying these guys will be guilty of that but just something that pops in my mind whenever I see micropayment like projects.

I'm sure that'll happen to some. As others have said in other threads, I think you just have to enter into it with the right spirit, understanding you may lose your money. I regularly donate or, more accurately, invest at www.kiva.org. I've been pleasantly surprised with the success rate of the folks I've given micro loans to there. Think I've only had one person default out of 20 loans or so. If you think of it as a donation, the occasional default isn't a worry. But I have a lot more faith in the drive of a Haitian trying to feed his family than a former Bioware employee who just got bored with simulating gay elf sex. :p

Call me unimpressed.

I'm all in for a SRPG, but this still seems a little off. I don't like the graphical style one bit. If they had went all Anime I would have been convinced that they try to better the top of the crop of console SRPGs, but I feel they don't.

No kickstarter money from this time.

I read a bit more on it, and it does sound quite good, I decided to pledge $10 anyhow.

Apparently it's inspired by King of Dragon Pass amongst other games, I'd never heard of it, but I'd like to track it down now. :)

Daniel.

Be sure to. It's one of the best (and most unique) games ever made.

I will. :) I've emailed the owner of King of Dragon Pass, asking how is best to get hold a copy, a downloadable version would be handy, any idea if it's Win 7 compatible?

Daniel.