Kickstarter Thread. Everything Goes Here.

[Xanthir]

Two sweet recent projects I backed:

The Game Anywhere Table - sweet fold-up gaming table, with all the separator/etc bits magnetic so they stay in place.

JazzNESs: A Nintendo Classic Jazz Tribute - Jazz versions of a bunch of classic NES songs (finally, a Music project for my pie-chart!)

[francis_baud]

Hey folks! I wanted to share a thoughtful, quirky project that I think many xkcd aficionados will enjoy.

Dialect, a tabletop game about language and how it dies, recently launched on Kickstarter to a very warm reception. It's been pretty awesome to see how many humans are excited to play an RPG about emergent language.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/347698129/dialect-a-game-about-language-and-how-it-dies

(note: I am the co-designer and have poured a lot of heart into this game!)

Well that's an original project to say the least. It's cool to see that you guys are getting a nice reception on Kickstarter. I wonder if this artificial method to approach languages would help us understand how real languages evolve.

[emceng]

So I've been thinking about buying Pillars of Eternity. Looks like a good game, the type I'd like. Just looked back and found I backed it on Kickstarter, but never got my game key. Looks like I may have other things I backed and forgot about.

[JamesGoblin]

So I've been thinking about buying Pillars of Eternity. Looks like a good game, the type I'd like. Just looked back and found I backed it on Kickstarter, but never got my game key. Looks like I may have other things I backed and forgot about.

Yea, these games take time - more than enough to forget! Now, imagine backing a MMORPG... =)

[cyanyoshi]

Playtonic Games has scrapped the Wii U version of Yooka-Laylee, announces plans for a Switch release. It sucks for people who were planning to get the Wii U version, such as myself. Hopefully they could get the Switch port ready in time for the April release date or soon afterwards, but I'm not holding my breath.

[JamesGoblin]

Another cute little project, Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5. They asked for 100k, and got 8M... so far, with 23 days to go

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/po ... escription

[ConMan]

Another cute little project, Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5. They asked for 100k, and got 8M... so far, with 23 days to go

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/po ... escription

I don't think I've ever heard the word "cute" used in relation to KDM.

[JamesGoblin]

Another cute little project, Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5. They asked for 100k, and got 8M... so far, with 23 days to go

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/po ... escription

I don't think I've ever heard the word "cute" used in relation to KDM.

Let's say that it has its own charm...

[Tyndmyr]

While not a game, still crowdfunded, and essentially a toy...the Lily drone project apparently tanked. I ordered mid-2015, and the date got pushed further and further back. Their website is still promising delivery in "winter 2016" for new orders, but existing orders have no ETA.

Requested a refund, was told it would be delivered in "up to 90 days, due large number of refund requests". I am not optimistic.

[KnightExemplar]

I don't touch any Kickstarter project. I have a preference to buy things after the company proves itself. Still, I've purchased several "originally Kickstarter" things to some degree:

1. Pebble Smartwatch -- RIP, best smartwatch made so far. Unfortunately the company is now dead, even after a few successful kickstarters.

2. Nomad 883 CNC Mill -- I didn't buy it... but I influenced a purchase.

3. Shaente: Half Genie Hero -- The 'Wayforward' company was making excellent platformers. I heard of this game through an anime-convention and it looks like a good game. Its now finally released, so I'm working my way through the earlier Shaente games to catch up to the storyline. I'll probably get to this game sometime this year.

-------

Yooka-Laylee is another game I'm eyeing. Hopefully it turns out good, but we all know how Kickstarter works...

[SecondTalon]

While not a game, still crowdfunded, and essentially a toy...the Lily drone project apparently tanked. I ordered mid-2015, and the date got pushed further and further back. Their website is still promising delivery in "winter 2016" for new orders, but existing orders have no ETA.

Requested a refund, was told it would be delivered in "up to 90 days, due large number of refund requests". I am not optimistic.

They're currently under criminal investigation.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/201 ... ys-source/

[Dauric]

I've actually had a fairly good experience with Kickstarter, at least so far (*knocking on wood*).

Numenera and Monte Cook Games has been my biggest backing over multiple projects and MCG has come through every time. Monte Cook Games has become a fairly stable production house now, but even with the first Kickstarter their product was excellent quality and on a reasonable schedule.

The computer game "Torment: Tides of Numenera" has been a long time in coming (full release this month, backed in 2013), but that was kind of to be expected since the stretch goals that they kept hitting were additional content. I've backed Shadowrun Returns and Battletech by Hare Brained Schemes, Shadowrun Returns having been released pretty much on time, and having spawned two sequels.

Kotodama Heavy Industries I backed on english translations of the Japanese RPGs Tenra Bansho Zero, Ryuutama, and Shinobigami, the first two I've received, the last one's been a long time in coming, personally I think they budgeted too thin a margin on that one.

Gallant Knight Games "Tiny Frontiers" and "Tiny Frontiers: Mecha and Monsters" I've received, the second book just arrived this weekend.

I'm looking forward to Howard Taylor's "Planet Mercenary" RPG.

There's a few other games I've backed (The Veil, Coriolis) that I've gotten, I have the PDFs for both, the one I ordered the physical book I'm still waiting that, but it should be coming in the next month or so.


(You've probably detected a theme in my kickstarters by now. I couldn't say if gaming kickstarters are a safer bet than say tech or industrial design, though the bare minimum levels tend to be a lot cheaper)


My biggest single Kickstarter backing is Plumb Geek's "Spirit Rover" robot kit, which I probably wouldn't have backed if they hadn't already kickstarted and been selling other robot kits. Was supposed to be out this month, but production delays will probably push it back to next month.

The only real disappointment in my Kickstarter list was "The Mandate" a space-trader computer game with some interesting features regarding ship design and crew management. THe developers have had a complete reorganization and the end game has changed radically from their initial designs, but as much as I liked the idea of the game, I had a bad feeling about it so I went with the $20 "just the basic digital stuff" level, so I'm not really out that much even if they implode and produce nothing.

[rmsgrey]

Looking at my Kickstarter history, I have 2 projects that failed to fund, 29 checked off as received, 7 with projected delivery dates from March this year, 7 with projected delivery dates in the past, and 2 that aren't checked off, because they've only partly been delivered.

My 7 lates are 6 videogames (including both Toment and Mandate) and the new edition of Paranoia. My 7 pending are all board games. My history is a mix of board- and video-games, and, looking through, I don't think any of the video-games have delivered on time, while most of the boardgames have. Of course, that's probably mostly due to videogames fundraising for development while boardgames fundraise for production, with the former being a much more uncertain proposition than the latter (though any time a project has stretch goals that require additional design work, that pretty much guarantees delays for that work to be done).

Kickstarter game-develpment projects remind me a lot of Peter Molyneux, notorious in the 90s and 00s for being ridiculously enthusiastic in public about all the fantastic features his current project was going to have - until they ended up being cut so the game could be run on something that fit in peoples homes rather than needing its own dedicated building...

[emceng]

I've backed at least two video games that straight up failed(one buggy, horrible graphics, poor gameplay mess) and the other never finished. Backed a few that did complete(Pillars and Torment). Backed a gaming miniatures, and that was a waste of money. Got a few figures that were of very poor quality. Did a few board games, but not much. Many seem overpriced.

[Tyndmyr]

While not a game, still crowdfunded, and essentially a toy...the Lily drone project apparently tanked. I ordered mid-2015, and the date got pushed further and further back. Their website is still promising delivery in "winter 2016" for new orders, but existing orders have no ETA.

Requested a refund, was told it would be delivered in "up to 90 days, due large number of refund requests". I am not optimistic.

They're currently under criminal investigation.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/201 ... ys-source/

Yeah. Looks they went into bankruptcy, and what not. I did the refund before then, but I'm not sure if it'll matter. I do wonder how they went through a pile of money that large, given the venture capital as well, without even finishing the design, apparently.

[Jorpho]

Remember how excited everyone was about Armikrog? I guess it's something that it resulted in a finished product, at least. I never did get around to playing that.

Otherwise, the only gaming products I've backed have been Torment and The Bard's Tale IV – the latter mostly because it came with Wasteland 2. (Of course I haven't gotten around to playing that either. Ugh.) Seems I've backed quite a few comic and video projects, all of which have come to fruition.

A shame, what happened to the Order of the Stick. It's dragged on so long and so very, very slowly at this point that I fully expect the author will completely give up before the story reaches its conclusion.

[SecondTalon]

Dude's got some vague health issues, so you're probably right.

Then again, that mirrors what a lot of D&D games actually do (just kinda trail off with no real resolution, even if one was planned) so, that's kinda appropriate.

[bessie]

While not a game, still crowdfunded, and essentially a toy...the Lily drone project apparently tanked. I ordered mid-2015, and the date got pushed further and further back. Their website is still promising delivery in "winter 2016" for new orders, but existing orders have no ETA.

Requested a refund, was told it would be delivered in "up to 90 days, due large number of refund requests". I am not optimistic.

Tyndmyr, if you don't mind the question, when did you request a refund? Was it before their announcement? I too had one on order. I never requested a refund. I received the email saying I would be receiving a refund. I'm not really expecting a refund but am still hopeful.

They're currently under criminal investigation.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/201 ... ys-source/

Ok, I'm a little less hopeful.

[Tyndmyr]

Jan 4th is when I got confirmation from them regarding the refund, though I initially emailed about it sooner. I've definitely not received it yet, and frankly, am not counting on doing so. Odds seem...not great.

[Jorpho]

Have you heard about this spectacular sh!tstorm?
http://www.criticalhit.net/tabletop/tra ... e-backers/

[Dauric]

Have you heard about this spectacular sh!tstorm?
http://www.criticalhit.net/tabletop/tra ... e-backers/

... Wow... I was vaguely aware that Robotech Tactics was kickstarted, but I never really followed it, and I picked up a copy at my FLGS sometime last year I think, had expansion packs there too (Picked up the Destroid and Heavy Battlepod expansions). Never knew there were kickstarter backers that were still waiting on their copies.

For an established gaming company like Palladium to fuck that up... mind blown.

[pseudoidiot]

One of my very favorite tabletop rpgs of all-time, Misspent Youth, is Kickstarting a new edition along with an awesome new supplement.

Keep an eye on Geek & Sundry's Youtube channel for the Tabletop episode from this season where they play it. The video went up on Alpha a couple months and should go up on Youtube July 5th.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ro ... ut-with-me

[rmsgrey]

An interesting one with 17 hours to go: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/87 ... l-computer

Solo puzzle game where you have to complete mechanical computers with a limited supply of pieces.

[Grop]

Anyone played Winter Voices? That would be the sequel.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cl ... f-the-pyre

[techblogger911]

Anyone played Winter Voices? That would be the sequel.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cl ... f-the-pyre

I have heard of the winter voices but can't remember anything about it. What would your review about it be? I may contribute but will play it first, it's on steam right?

[Grop]

Winter Voices is an RPG with turn-based combats that are only "defensive". That is, you can't really harm your opponents, and are supposed to reach goals such as reaching an escape zone or survive for N turns.

In this game you play a young woman who has just lost her father and has to deal with that and her mental illness.

It has really nice art, music, story and is quite original, but the gameplay isn't great and can be frustrating. I hope they will improve that part.

[Grop]

This kickstarter project failed. As a result the company behind Winter Voices is closing and this game is now free on Steam.