KickStarter Guido Henkel's Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore - CANCELLED

[stony3k]

Also the pledges are at around 24k in about 2 days, so I'm going to assume he will get to 50k in 2 weeks. Keep in mind that there are a number of his fans in Germany who will still pitch in. At this point, I'd rather the Codex work with Guido and get some interviews, etc. so we can start influencing the game towards what we would like.

 

[Alchemist]

At this point, I'd rather the Codex work with Guido and get some interviews, etc. so we can start influencing the game towards what we would like.

Haha yeah right... I think some people here burned that bridge a while back. Notice how he never once mentioned the Codex in his updates?

 

[Lady_Error]

I admit that he will likely need to make some concessions, or probably he's counting on additional money from Steam Early access or something like that.
Whatever it is, he seems determined to pull through now - Thorvalla got buried pretty fast.
I'd still like to see the game, so I guess I might give him some money - and I'm fully aware that it might be lost along the way.

Again, he will not do Steam Early Access, but rather sell each episode there. And if the $50k funding on the website fails after 2 weeks, the money will be returned.

He can still do a second Kickstarter with a lower goal - which I think he should do in any case.

 

[stony3k]

He can still do a second Kickstarter with a lower goal - which I think he should do in any case.

I hope he does, but after the first episode. He's probably tired of how much work it is, and as evidenced by comments here, so are the potential donors

 

[Zombra]

For any who missed it, he did a whole update on why they're not doing another KS.

 

[theSavant]

Like I said, desperate.

"Hey guys, where are you going, COME BACK!!"

Those bonuses feels very... MMORPGish

Exactly my thoughts... every day he impresses with a new "wtf", unbelievable.

 

[Lady_Error]

The pledges are at 50% now: http://deathfiregame.com/

$25000 with 600 backers so far makes about $42 average pledge level, which is not bad.

 

[theSavant]

And where all pledges > 20$ bought the "full" game and not only chapter 1. Funny.

Devil painted on the wall here:

Spoiler

Day 1: 15.000 pledged
Day 2: 7.000 pledged
Day 3: 3.500 pledged
Day 4: 1.750 pledged
Day 5: 875 pledged
Day 6: 438 pledged
Day 7: 219 pledged
...
It converges to 30K

 

[mindx2]

I'm sad. First he wanted a million. Then he wanted 400K. Ended up with zero both times. Now he only wants 1/8 of his last needed amount, but he's taking no chances with a third failed campaign. Pay him straight on his website, money straight to him, no question of getting your money back if the project turns to vapor. He gets some dough right now to pay his rent and feed his team for a couple months, and then what? Maybe they can cobble together an intentionally feature-incomplete first episode release, maybe they can't. I'd love to see a good game come out of all this, but I can't put money towards it. It just seems way too unrealistic at this point. Good luck Guido.

He's already clarified that it's a two week campaign and he will return the money if they don't reach 50K. It's funny how your comment makes him out as some kind of a scammer

You do know that it's not as simple as "returning the money"? PayPal takes a cut. If he doesn't make it, somebody is going to lose money, either Guido or the backers (or both).

Actually PayPal returns their "cut" when you issue refunds, so no money lost there. Just a huge hassle to refund each person.

 

[Infinitron]

Ah, I did not know that.

 

[Infinitron]

Matt Barton speaks: http://mattchat.us/?p=449

Excerpt:

What is the secret formula for Kickstarter success? Well, I haven’t done one myself, but as you know, I’ve interviewed plenty of folks who have–and tried my best to support the ones I felt passionately about.

As you’ve probably heard by now, Guido Henkel’s Deathfire Kickstarter failed to meet its $390,000 goal, coming in at only $204,344. You probably also know that this was Guido’s second attempt at a Kickstarter; his earlier Thorvalla project raised only $47,074 of its $1,000,000 goal. Guido did much better this time, but it’s sad to see what I thought was a remarkably promising CRPG fail to raise a modest sum for such an ambitious project. He’s since gone to “Plan B,” which amounts to re-thinking the project as a series of episodes and accepting donations through PayPal (the reward structure is similar to the one on Kickstarter).

When I interviewed Guido, I specifically asked him what he had learned from his Thorvalla project and what he intended to do differently with Kickstarter. He said that this time, we’ll create “presentable material.” He felt that the earlier project didn’t have stuff to show potential supporters. This time he wanted to develop a prototype and flesh everything out with more detail on the Kickstarter page. He also stressed how committed he was to engaging with the community, blogging and giving people more insight into what they were doing: “With Kickstarter, it’s important to show people that you’re invested.” While I agree that it’s important to convince folks that you’re serious and committed to your project, and that you have some tangible evidence that what you’ve got in mind works, I don’t think that’s what is most important.

So what is? Well, that’s the area where Guido needed the most help. In the same interview, Iasked what I ask everyone doing a Kickstarter: If you were a gamer on the outside looking at this, what would you need to see before you’d pony up the money? Unfortunately, Guido had a hard time with this question, as though he had never really considered it before. I then tried asking him about other Kickstarters he’s supported, but again his answers didn’t do him justice.

 

[Alchemist]

Yeah that was an insightful post by Matt. I agree with most of his points. "Know your audience" is key. And the "one of us" factor.

The one part I disagree with is this:

If you do this well enough, you don’t even need to show a screenshot of the game you’re working on. Indeed, you’re probably better off just showing some concept art and keeping the details vague.

Vagueness can kill a KS (see Shaker and Thorvalla). Brian Fargo and Obsidian can get away with it because they have such huge name recognition. But for anyone else, that seems like a bad idea.

 

[Maelflux]

Yeah that was an insightful post by Matt. I agree with most of his points. "Know your audience" is key. And the "one of us" factor.

The one part I disagree with is this:

If you do this well enough, you don’t even need to show a screenshot of the game you’re working on. Indeed, you’re probably better off just showing some concept art and keeping the details vague.

Vagueness can kill a KS (see Shaker and Thorvalla). Brian Fargo and Obsidian can get away with it because they have such huge name recognition. But for anyone else, that seems like a bad idea.

The problem with Shaker and Thorvalla was that they did not know their audience at all. They simply tried to wing it as they went along. Had they had great concept art that actually made sense with what they were trying to convey, it might have been lots better.

In Thorvalla you had really poorly made sketches, and wasnt it also the one where you suddenly got a sketch of a guy that belonged in FF with crazy hair?! (And clearly not in what he was trying to describe).

And Shaker was .. well.. I still have no clue what the hell that was all about.

 

[tuluse]

It's really tricky thing. You have to communicate a strong idea and get people to imagine playing it in their heads. Yet you want to be vague enough on the details to give yourself wiggle room when actually developing the game.

 

[Zombra]

In Thorvalla you had really poorly made sketches, and wasnt it also the one where you suddenly got a sketch of a guy that belonged in FF with crazy hair?! (And clearly not in what he was trying to describe).

On top of that, as I recall, they even said something to the effect that the sketches they had were just ideas and didn't necessarily have anything to do with the game.
I was like, "Huh?"

The Deathfire KS was definitely presented with a much stronger vision.

 

[set]

You definitely can't raise $1M on just an idea. You need a vision and you need to clearly communicate that vision. Obsidian and Brian Fargo can just say words like "PST" or "Fallout" over and over and maybe fill those same sentances with "another one" or "spiritual sequel" and people will start giving them money. Hell, they even gave that British hack enough money to make his shitty populous remake, even though the stuff they were showing of the game in the video was just awful. People really want their old games back, but new again.

 

[Infinitron]

Hey, guess what! Deathfire has a backer portal too! http://deathfiregame.com/2013/12/385/

 

[Lady_Error]

Now at $40k of the needed $50k and over 900 backers on the site - http://deathfiregame.com

 

[theSavant]

Why is there no option to pledge for Chapter 1 only? The minimum ("Try-out") is chapters 1-3 for 15$. By the price of this a single chapter would be 5$. But the 5$ reward does not even include the first chapter, only beta forum access. The logic behind this is questionable, or just another "wtf" in the row of "wtfs". Also it can't be that a "try-out"-edition is half of the game...

I would have made it like that:
10$ for Chpt. 1
20$ for Chpt. 1-3
30$ for Chpt. 1-6

Now the logic behind this is that the first chapter requires most effort, because all the base systems must be ready in Chpt. 1. Everything else is build on top of it. I also don't like that he currently gives the full game for 20$. That's too cheap. 30$ would be more appropriate.

 

[stony3k]

I would rather he include chapter 1 in the $5 reward. Think of it as a drug, you need to get your customer hooked on it by selling it cheaply or giving it away for free

 

[Zombra]

This just in: Guy shown to be less than adroit at consumer economics. Industry experts stunned.

In other news:

Now at $40k of the needed $50k and over 900 backers on the site

Interesting ... an average pledge of about $44. I'm not sure what that means, but it strikes me as odd since $20 is the pledge level needed to get the whole game. Looks like a large percentage of his small number of backers are going way above and beyond.

 

[Infinitron]

This just in: Guy shown to be less than adroit at consumer economics. Industry experts stunned.

Come on, be fair. You didn't expect him to get this much money. I know I didn't.

Whether or not 50k will be enough to create something worth buying is a different question of course

 

[Kz3r0]

This just in: Guy shown to be less than adroit at consumer economics. Industry experts stunned.

Come on, be fair. You didn't expect him to get this much money. I know I didn't.

Whether or not 50k will be enough to create something worth buying is a different question of course

The bare minimum for a real game is three hundred thousand dollars, he got a sixth of that, for just an episode could be enough, not half the game tho, unless he has thought of other ways to finance the project as it goes, steam early access comes to mind.

 

[Zombra]

Come on, be fair. You didn't expect him to get this much money. I know I didn't.

Ah, sure I did. He got 5x this much pledged on the KS. It would have been (hilariously) sad if he couldn't even make 50K after that, but honestly I would have been surprised if he didn't.

Whether or not 50k will be enough to create enough worth buying is a different question of course

Yeah. I've been smelling vapor ever since Thorvalla tanked. Here's hoping he can pull it together, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Lady_Error]

The bare minimum for a real game is three hundred thousand dollars, he got a sixth of that, for just an episode could be enough, not half the game tho, unless he has thought of other ways to finance the project as it goes, steam early access comes to mind.

FFS, he will not do Early Access. That's the whole point of going episodic, so he can start selling those to get the money for the rest of the game.

I've been smelling vapor ever since Thorvalla tanked.

Yeah? You should have your nose checked then.