Double Fine opts to Kickstart their next game

Brian Ambrozy 8 Feb, 2012 at 10:28pm ET Article published in Gaming

Tim Schafer and his studio, Double Fine, have been in the news a bit lately, first for his recent interactions with Minecraft’s Notch, and now because he is attempting to blow the doors off of the traditional large-studio video game production process by taking his next project to Kickstarter.

Kickstarter is an innovative way to raise funds for creative projects; one puts up a creative project idea and asks for pledges. The project only gets funded (and people only pay) if the pledge goal is met by a certain date. In this case, Tim’s project is a new game from his studio Double Fine Productions with the presumably temporary title of “Double Fine Adventure”. From the Kickstarter page:

Over a six-to-eight month period, a small team under Tim Schafer’s supervision will develop Double Fine’s next game, a classic point-and-click adventure utilizing modern touch technology. Where it goes from there will unfold in real time for all the backers to see.

Schafer talks a bit about the idea that funding for video games could stand a bit of freshening up.

Keeping the scale of the project this small accomplishes two things. First and foremost, Double Fine gets to make the game they want to make, promote it in whatever manner they deem appropriate, and release the finished product on their own terms. Secondly, since they’re only accountable to themselves, there’s an unprecedented opportunity to show the public what game development of this caliber looks like from the inside. Not the sanitized commercials-posing-as-interviews that marketing teams only value for their ability to boost sales, but an honest, in-depth insight into a modern art form that will both entertain and educate gamers and non-gamers alike.

There are some harsh words for the traditional PR/Marketing model; it’s no surprise that there is a rumbling amongst gamers and developers alike that are tired of the status quo in “game journalism” and the massive marketing engine behind it.

If this project succeeds (and our magic 8-ball says “very likely”), expect to continue to see more innovative funding methods for large, AAA titles.

Comments

9 Feb 2012 ~ 2:29am Tora EEEEeeeeexcellent.
9 Feb 2012 ~ 2:53am sammaluga No linux-version? Not even a mac-version?
Uhmmmm... sorry, no.
9 Feb 2012 ~ 8:54am CB They've already exceeded their goals.
9 Feb 2012 ~ 9:37am Annes I want to pitch in, but not sure what goal tier to go for. I wish they had some snippets of the soundtrack. Goddamn I love Kickstarter.
9 Feb 2012 ~ 10:30am Cliff_Forster This is exactly the direction Tim Schafer should go. Make something smaller that appeals to that niche fan base, really connect with that audience on a personal level. A Studio giving Tim Schafer ten million dollars is like saying, okay Tim, loose eight of that for us, but make sure it's brilliant, they want to support his genius, they have tried, core gamers just won't invest in it. His fans are a small enlightened cult, the core gamer that sits around and plays Call of Duty all weekend just does not understand, and now Schafer does not have to do a single thing to cater to them. It's brilliant, I like it.
9 Feb 2012 ~ 10:52am mertesn
No linux-version? Not even a mac-version?
Uhmmmm... sorry, no.
Says the 1% of the gaming world.
Q: Will there be a Mac, or iOS version?

A: We would love to do both of those things! They are at the top of the list for things to do if we raise more funds than we are asking for.
Learn to read.
9 Feb 2012 ~ 11:10am BobbyDigi Thanks to all the attention, they are at $630,000+ this morning. Amazing.
9 Feb 2012 ~ 9:24pm primesuspect They are now over a million.
10 Feb 2012 ~ 1:44pm UPSLynx There's something about Kickstarter that bugs me. I have no clue what that thing is, and I know it's silly, but I dunno. I love Tim Schafer and his games though, and I know this is going to be awesome.

What is it about Kickstarter that bugs me?
10 Feb 2012 ~ 1:59pm midga They have broken $1.3 million. Who was that saying Double Fine sequels would never happen the other day? Was that Canti?

@UPSLynx: Is it possibly because it's very likely to either get you nothing, or get you waaaaay more than you're asking for? Or maybe because it's such an unorthodox way to get investors? The lack of accountability, perhaps? I dunno, but I've had good experiences so far as an investor, and I'll absolutely use it if I ever need to fund an interesting project.
10 Feb 2012 ~ 2:00pm Thrax Because it's reminiscent of begging?
10 Feb 2012 ~ 2:20pm Annes But it's really not. You're just pre-selling the rewards.
10 Feb 2012 ~ 2:20pm Cliff_Forster @UPSLynx - At first something was nagging me about the Schafer / Kickstarter relationship. Maybe it's that Kickstarter, at least as I saw it was for the "little guy" to fund a project, and that somehow a bigger venture like Double Fine infringed on their space. Thinking more on it though, I can see this as the wave of the future for art. This could be huge.

Getting the suits out of the way of an artist could result in magic, not to mention a product that is true to the artists vision. No compromises have to be made for one giant investor that has way too much skin in the game. I'm keeping an open mind. I can't wait to see what they produce.

I quote Rush

"For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall
Concert hall
And echoes with the sound of salesmen
Of salesmen, of salesmen"
10 Feb 2012 ~ 2:30pm Thrax
But it's really not. You're just pre-selling the rewards.
"Reminiscent."
10 Feb 2012 ~ 2:48pm Tushon
They have broken $1.3 million. Who was that saying Double Fine sequels would never happen the other day? Was that Canti?

@UPSLynx: Is it possibly because it's very likely to either get you nothing, or get you waaaaay more than you're asking for? Or maybe because it's such an unorthodox way to get investors? The lack of accountability, perhaps? I dunno, but I've had good experiences so far as an investor, and I'll absolutely use it if I ever need to fund an interesting project.
From the two that I have participated in, you get either nothing (and pay nothing) or you get a semi-contractual agreement (I have no idea what the actual level of contract is, if extant at all), trading your cash for a level of service rendered (i.e. getting collector's editions or additional merchandise for paying more upfront). I see this as a more direct funding process and like it a lot. I don't care if it is the guy designing the next AAA title or a total indie job. Minecraft did it similarly, in that you got early access to beta versions and paid less for it!
10 Feb 2012 ~ 5:42pm primesuspect
Because it's reminiscent of begging?
Begging is asking for money with no return on investment. Giving money to someone based on the idea that they are going to create a solid product is not charity.
10 Feb 2012 ~ 6:05pm Thrax Evidently I need to be more detailed. And I'm quite aware of what the definition of begging is.

Why do people beg? Because they can't get some resource in any other way, or the "other ways" defy practicality. Kickstarter runs on the same premise: people asking for money because they have no other way of getting their project complete without it.

It also works on trust. I give party XYZ money, and they promise to do something, and kickstarter turns that into products. Begging turns your money, hopefully at any rate, into something positive: food, clothing, shelter, whatever.

As in begging, this is an arrangement that may or may not pan out as anticipated.

I'm not saying Kickstarter is begging. I'm saying that there enough similarities in my book to understand why it may be a reason some people feel weird about the site and its projects.
10 Feb 2012 ~ 7:51pm mertesn Or it's a way to gauge interest in your project. You figure out how much your project will cost, set that (perhaps with a bit of a buffer) as your Kickstarter goal. Get the money? Enough people were interested. Don't meet it? Might not have worked anyway.

Take, for example, the band Five Iron Frenzy. They decided to re-form after eight years and produce an album. They needed $30,000 to pay for the costs. I guess a lot of people wanted this to happen; they reached their goal in 55 minutes. They held the record for the fastest project to reach its goal at the time (Nov 22, 2011). They hold the record for the most funded music project.

Five Iron Frenzy is doing their project without the benefit of a record label. Double Fine is doing their project without a publisher. The people that do the hard work reap the rewards, not some assholes who had little to nothing to do with the project. Kickstarter keeps 5% of funds raised (and they've probably covered expenses for the year thanks to Double Fine).

Welcome to the future. The middleman has just become an endangered species.

Edit: I also sincerely hope everyone involved with Double Fine's project gets a huge raise. Would be really cool to hear the project's success benefited everyone there in a huge way.
13 Feb 2012 ~ 11:21am sammaluga Hello mertesn,

welcome to the Internet!

This text wasn't there when I wrote the comment.

Now it even says, there might be Android or Linux-ports.