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Forge  |  Project Assistance  |  General Support  |  Topic: KickStarter funding method
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Da_Duke2000
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« on: March 10, 2011, 01:44:33 PM »

Well, selmiak our web designer had linked me to KickStarter earlier this week:
https://www.kickstarter.com/

I would really like to get this setup, as it might be a fantastic system for Forge to really get some good advertising, and funding! The one difficulty, is that in order to setup the account, a valid US Bank Account and US Address are needed.

Now, I live in Canadian, and Abisso in Italy, and many of our loyal fans are overseas. So I would like to make a general request Smiley.

If we're to get this started, we would need a volunteer from the US to register an account and assist us with this process. Who knows! In the mean time, please drop me a line with any questions. Cheesy.

Thanks all!
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smasherimp
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« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2011, 10:08:41 PM »

Hi there, while I can't help you out with Kickstarter as I don't live in the US, I've found an alternative.

It's called IndieGoGo. Check it out Smiley

http://www.indiegogo.com/
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abisso
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« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2011, 09:03:29 AM »

Oh, I had completely forgotten about that!

Would you mind explaining me briefly how this works and what's needed? Duke was the one who took care of such things until recently.
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smasherimp
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« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2011, 02:42:03 PM »

Sure,

Basically you start a 'fund' for your project in which you specify how much you want raised, which you provide a picture/video to represent, and give all the info about current progress and the project in general, what the money will be used for, and any rewards contributors will get for pitching in. I've found that the most successful campaigns always have multiple options with rewards for each option. For example:

Contribute $5 - Get sent a 'Forge' sticker
Contribute $10 - Get a 'Forge' Sticker, and a Book of Patterns in .pdf format which has extra info about the game
Contribute $25 - All of the above, aswell as a concept art album in .pdf
Contribute $50 - All of the above, plus a framed piece of concept art of your choice
Contribute $100 - All of the above, plus an in-game character who is non-integral to the plot will be named after you, and can say a line of your choice
Contribute $500 - All of the above, and your name in the 'Special Thanks To' section.

This is just an example, but I imagine you get the idea. The IndieGoGo company takes 4% of the money raised, which is fair in my opinion, and we get the rest. However, some of the raised money will no doubt go back into paying for the rewards such as sticker creation, framing the concept art etc.

Anyway I hope this has been a decent run-down of the features. Any more questions about it? Have I missed something?
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abisso
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« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2011, 01:07:31 PM »

Thanks, I even checked the site myself but you've been very straightforward. I'm considering it, as we're already offering rewards for donations, even if they're mostly inexpensive in terms of money. I'm not sure I can brand something like what you suggested, since the font used for Forge is based on the Loom's original one. Moreover, I fear Lucasarts' anger and wrath for such a thing.

Surely I could send Quill O' The Wisp stuff and most of the in-game material as a reward, but not without the respective author's license, and that could prove to be a real pain in the ass.

One thing I don't get is what Indiegogo actually does for you: sponsorship? And where? Does it really help finding more contributors than our Donations' Page?

Still it's worth thinking about it. I'd rather find freeware team-members to be honest, but sadly the current backgrounds are of such a quality that I doubt I'll ever find anyone to match the style for free. And since about 50% of the bgs still need to be done, finding some money could prove useful.

P.S. The site takes 9% if you don't meet the goal (which is quite surprising, to me).
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smasherimp
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« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2011, 02:58:14 PM »

True, I see what you mean with Lucasarts getting all lawsuity. No doubt a Quill O' The Wisp sticker should do just fine instead of a 'Forge' sticker.

What IndieGoGo actually does is to display your project all on one page, with an explanation of it, and a contribute button right on the page. I also read somewhere that every project gets a front page spot at some point. I can guarantee it'll bring in more money than your donations page, as IndieGoGo is an insanely popular site, with millions of visits a month, and even people not invested in the project usually don't mind donating $5 or so, if only to get a small memento or whatnot.

I also had another idea to add in the various contribution options. HD 'Forge' wallpapers. People seem to care about them. For a $25/$50 and up contribution, a poster could even be printed.

Correct, they only take 9% if you don't meet the goal, so if we set a realistic goal that won't be an issue. If we made the goal something very achieveable like $1000, or $1500, and set the time to the maximum of 120 days then it should sort itself out provided the project page has a good explanation and our contribution prizes are serviceable.

Moreover, I don't mind spearheading this if you're already busy with other parts of the project. Of course I'll run everything by you before I put it up. Though if you'd rather do it I understand.
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jarnik
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« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2012, 08:50:24 AM »

Another crowd-funding platform, with focus on indie games: http://8bitfunding.com/

I'd vote for giving it a shot, judging from my surroundings, there are a lot of adventure game fans waiting for projects like these.
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abisso
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« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2012, 03:04:13 PM »

Wow, 8bitfunding seems really cool! Almost identical to kickstarter but fully game-oriented and it doesn't require a bank account in the US, it seems. Though it "steals" 5% instead of 4% and offers less options (no refunding option, for example) and I suppose it's not as effective as kickstarter and indiegogo, being less renown.

Anyway, my main concern was and remains copyright issues and complaints from LucasArts. Yes, I would only give rewards (perks) that aren't covered by copyright, but still Lucas could think I'm trying to profit from their material and sue me or simply send the in-famous "cease and desist".

In conclusion, I'll consider this option again after the release of the demo, which I hope is going to help me find new team-members (that work for free) thus keeping the expenses as low as possible.

Thanks for letting me know Jarnik and for everything else. You know what I'm talking about. Wink
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Gerbel
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« Reply #8 on: April 21, 2012, 09:18:03 PM »

Well you've already got me on board for free.... Let me know when you want me to start doing rough draft recordings of dialog.
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abisso
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« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2012, 07:25:56 AM »

Yay for free-dom!

Anyway, 8bitfunding seems to be a "bit"  Grin too young and uncrowded... the effectiveness of such a service is directly proportional to the amount of visits the website has. I really hope it will grow stronger day after day, and I'll try to promote it, since its totally devoted to gaming; but for now it doesn't seem like a wise choice.

Indiegogo looks like the best compromise between visibility, cost, options and, well, effective possibility of being used, since Kickstarter requires a bank account in the U.S. thus making it pointless for the rest of the world.
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Wonkyth
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« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2012, 02:18:52 PM »

I've been overusing kickstarter for some time, and me and my back live in Australia. o.O
I mean sure, the whole Amazon Payment thing is annoying, but I didn't notice any particular are restrictions...
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abisso
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« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2012, 03:11:15 PM »

Hrmm Wonkyth... let alone the fact if all our fans were like you, I wouldn't even need to think about a funding website, and you know what I'm talking about  Wink

... well, what about this then (taken from kickstarter's website)?

Quote
Am I eligible to start a Kickstarter project?

To be eligible to start a Kickstarter project, you need to satisfy the requirements of Amazon Payments:

Be a permanent US resident and at least 18 years of age with a Social Security Number (or EIN), a US bank account, US address, US state-issued ID (driver?s license), and major US credit or debit card.
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Wonkyth
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« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2012, 03:30:43 PM »

*facepalm* starting a fund, right! >_<

If push came to shove, however, I'm sure there'd be people within the AGS community who'd be more than happy to provide a link to the US economy. And I don't just mean FSi and his creepy Mafia contacts. Tongue
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abisso
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« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2012, 03:50:15 PM »

I'm sure there are trustworthy people in the AGS community but actually when you're managing other people's money you have to be 100% sure. I can't allow myself to take the blame of a possible "accident" (for improbable as it might be) involving donors' money I've never received. I'm sure you understand.

Even if I'm no Tim Schafer (see DoubleFine funding on kickstarter), I guess a reasonable target would be the money required to pay the background artist to do all the required missing bgs, which is about 3000$; and the chance of someone stealing that must be as close to zero as possible.
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Wonkyth
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« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2012, 03:52:23 PM »

What about asking Dave Gilbert or someone like that?
I've got absolutely no idea whether he'd be up for it, and there's a fairly decent chance he wouldn't be, but he'd certainly fit the bracket.
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