The Other Brothers Kickstarter open discussion on tricks, tips and why KS can fail

Ah right, that makes sense.

 

By reposting the campaign on Indiegogo and using a video that looks like it took about 15 minutes to make recorded on a webcam, I think you are just ruining any chances you had left. Makes you guys look very desperate.

 

15 minutes should be more than enough for a video...
But not too sure on Indiegogo in general.
Just looks so generic to me. Like people look at Steam and say "that looks like where I should buy a game" but then you look at other sites and it's like bleh.

 

Maybe you can shorten up all the detailed critics into three points, a) the game isn't convincing (the title is boring already, lack of compelling game design/game play, pixel art has been done more convincing before, episodic? hell no!, it's just not a game people badly want), b) the presentation isn't either (first a awkward presentation, then focusing too much on the gfx and everything except what oldskool games are about) and c) the creator(s) aren't authentic (way too much me-too factor with an annoying attitude, i don't sense that you life pixel art, it more comes around that it's just a selling point for you, pretending to show insights by offering some details about your investments but behind the scenes mucking around with them by not telling the truth).

When i would back this project, i would have the feeling that i'll get a typical Unity game, which cares way too much about the presentation but not about the gameplay, that i supported someone for some luxury equipment they don't really need and that's it's not about the game but about business.

An example were it all was well done is FTL, they had a game people really wanted, they offered information you wanted to know and they appeared authentic.


@Izitmee
Then i hope you can enjoy the serie someday.

 

What is FTL??

 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/64409699/ftl-faster-than-light?ref=live

 

Wow that looks like a lot of fun. Not surprising that these guys got over $200000, even when they asked for only $10000.

 

+1

 

OK some comments are just not thinking straight and that's the "desperate" comment.

Sadly we are rather desperate. For a start, I can't afford to eat anything except tomatoes and random bits of frozen fish or pasta. I could afford it if I wasn't working on TOB. Probably still gonna lose my car.

I can solve this by getting a freelance gig, but then I'm not working on teleport feature or the rigid body physics for the tramp-man's shopping trolly or any other number of cool things for the game

It doesn't help that our original release deadline has exploded into a thousand little pieces.


Note: the handsome dude on the video is actually Thomas Pasieka, not me. I do not do the kickstarter or igg stuff, I just try to pass on information and tips where I can and do the frapsing!

 

I know, I have already probably pissed you off and what not. But really it is your choice to work on The Other Brothers, you could always slow down on development and keep your car/eat food, by doing free lance work and what not... what difference would it make? like an extra 6 months on development time?

 

Not pissed off with you at all, you're like the forum mascot.

The reason I can't actually quit and run off to do other things and let TOB stretch out another 6 months is because that will cause massive problems for the other 3 members of the team.... Say I took 6 months longer? That would force everyone else to stop work on it because they can't afford the risk, and the likelihood of the project becoming vapourware is suddenly placed on the table. Nobody wants that, even haters

 

I've been amazed at some of these nasty comments, and by the idea that this project is somehow doomed. Here's my two cents:
- You only failed on Kickstarter because the amount of donations was lower than the target, but still a decent amount of money nonetheless (especially if you're desperately low on cash). Decide on the lowest amount of money you can live with and use that as the target so that you at least get something.
- I think you can very quickly and cheaply make an improved video just by presenting footage of the gameplay itself, which is what I always look for. Far too many Kickstarter videos have talking heads (usually the development team) which irritates the dickens out of me. Show the game itself, not the programmers, and point out the game's features in detail (even if the explanation is given just by using overlaid text or text underneath the video). You could easily have another video and Kickstarter page posted within days.
- Emphasize the nostalgia factor, since this is your biggest draw and biggest chance to gain some decent money. As a random example of how powerful game nostalgia can be, here's a Youtube video with a piano rendition of the song "Stones" from the "Ultima" series of FRPGs, with comments from people who said they literally wept because it brought back so many memories. Here's the link (scroll through the comments underneath the video); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k26rXxiRhc8

 

I'm with Tyler on this , it would make alot more sense for you to stop and work a few paying gigs . No one will fault you for wanting to eat .

Heck, IF you put this off for a while it would give your team more time to think on the game and make it that much better .

 

@Hippo, when does the Beta testing start if I contribute ...

 

Yo... well firstly we need to get the beta demo ready, and I am working on that right now. Gsep is doing a makeshift front end. Thomas is largely in charge of level design so he is doing the layout right now. What we do is:

1. all have suggestions on what might be cool, Thomas picks a few he likes and makes the level with Bjorn suggesting a few things.
2. this is playtested so it's fun, and stuff is coded for it that won't be in any other levels (I'm a fan of one off touches and interact-able things).
3. a screenshot utility scales everything out and unity creates a massive, massive texture from this, showing the entire level neatly fitted inside a large png.
4. this is passed over to bjorn to paint over so the entire level is a painted giant PSD.
5. this is sliced and diced to some sort of megatexture but not quite series of atlased chunks which are rendered for the main playfield.
6. beauty pass, realtime lights and all that jazz

Each level should take a month but we have to get our stuff together for November so we'e working double-time. It has not helped that we threw all our existing levels in the bin after KS and this thread and said "lets do it right". Sometimes you need to, so all the levels seen so far in vids won't be used, however some of the art will be used as a base to paint off for the new levels.

Beta will first hit the backers, and they will be giving regular input and suggestions, followed by a wider one off public beta to drum up support. But the backers get the regular updates now and forever.

And Thanks HonoraryBob for the nice comments

 

Hey Hippo, just like to say that the only reason I haven't added any words of support is that I've been so furious at some posters comments I thought my replies might get me banned!

I'll be adding something to IndieGoGo shortly.

Cheers and Good Luck,

John A

 

Oh wow! thanks John, I'm very happy about that as for some comments, well perhaps they took the no holds barred rules a little far but I'm feeling positive with the right direction from people like you (as you guys get the ongoing beta) we'll be able to make something special!

 

I just looked at the IndieGoGo page and updated version of the Kickstarter page, and it looks like you've already made videos that are similar to my suggestions, although I think the second video on the Kickstarter page (the one partway down the page) is better than the one on IndieGoGo since it focuses almost entirely on gameplay, emphasizes the nostalgia factor, lacks any talking heads, and is more concise, coherent, humorous, and appealing (IMHO). It also shows how the game uses modern technology to create effects that the original 1980s games couldn't handle. And it shows off more of the head-jumping gameplay, which reminds me of that great C-64 game "Jack Attack" in which the player has to squash large floating heads by jumping on top of them or squeezing them between concrete blocks (borderline psychotic, but fun). You might want to add something similar to the satisfying, visceral "SCRUNSH" sound that the floating heads made when they met their fate in that game, similar to how floating heads sound in real life when they get smushed.
I guess I did like some platform games after all, now that this game has brought those memories back.
At any rate, I think it's a good project which should appeal to the over-35 set who remember 8-bit games and want to relive that magical time when they still had hair.

 

You shouldn't differ between lovers and haters when it comes to critics, you might feel insulted but you can't learn anything from it's amazing, it's awesome blabla. Honest and reasonable critics are extremely valuable and if you don't listen to them, you'll have to pay the price afterwards when the product ships. It's that simple.

 

Well when you ask for feedback, it was given. You may think I'm nit-picking but the majority of successful KS offer unique gameplay experiences. If you can't say what new you're offering, you're gonna have a bad time.

 

I feel like a broken record , but I think the big reason this KS failed is that their wasn't a clear distinction between what you needed for game dev , like paying for Unity pro , and what you wanted to pocket for your own living expenses .
Something like faster then light, where 100k was raised while the game had a modest funding goal of 10k, that dev team is perfectly justified in using the extra money to pay rent .

To be blunt theirs no reason for you to put all your eggs in this one Basket , at least I assumed you guys had normal jobs in the real world to keep your bills paid . You have no guarantee that even if your indie go raises a bit of money that The Other Brother will be economically successful . Theirs 3 of you , reasonably you'd need to make AT LEAST 3k USD each to make ends meet . So your game would have to net a profit of 10k a month , since most of the markets you're selling on take about 30% off the top you need to sell something like 15k worth of TOB a month . Hmm, 15$ a game on PC/MAC, and 5$ on IOS and Android means you have to sell between 1,000 and 3000 copies every single month to just scrape by .

This was a very rusty calculation , I didn't include taxes and such , but unless this goes viral its going to be a very hard time for you guys .

PS: Give us sometype of announcement once the beta's out , and I'll throw a bit of money in the pot .

 

Well I still have hair, so I'm doing well. I would have had to factor in at least another 10k for Regaine otherwise.

 

I'd like to point out, once again, that you've missed the mark on hyping this thing. You made a general reference to the IndieGoGo campaign, buried somewhere in the pages of this forum post. I couldn't find it, and ended up eventually seeing the link in Hippos signature and clicking that.

How are you going to get the support you're looking for when people like me (a regular on this forum, who was actively looking for the link) can't even find it when I want to?

 

I've been following this thread for a while now and if it weren't for the link in hippo's signature I would never have found the indiegogo page.

 

I had to Google it.

 

Gulp! I'm not very good at this marketing malarkey am I guys?

 

You shouldn't be the only guy hyping the game , have the other team members say something .

 

Their game is great. And they didn't make any mistake.
If you want to successfully fund a game you need to have:
- A big community
- Creat a Buzz.

They have an ok video and a good game. But honestly most successfull kickstarter project have a project of the same quality. They only succeed if they create a buzz or if they already have a big community built from previous games.

But they don't have made much mistake (they may had set the limit too high).
You may not like their type of game or their art, no one can say that's not a quality game. We can see that a lot of effort and love have been put in it.

I pledge on indigogo to participate in the the war effort

Good luck!

 

"The Other Brothers" made it into TouchArcade's 10 most anticipated upcoming games, so it can't be doing too badly:
http://toucharcade.com/2012/09/04/toucharcade-app-users-top-ten-most-anticipated-upcoming-games/

The entry reads: "A really slick-looking pixel-art-packed platformer that we've had our eyes on for quite some time now. Unfortunately, following a failed Kickstarter it's unclear what the future of The Other Brothers holds. Hopefully, it involves the App Store in one way or another."
They apparently aren't aware of the IndieGogo page....

 

Off Topic/
Thanks for that link! Lili looks like a damn nice game. Would buy that in a heart beat.

 

Touch Arcade is still looking out for you.
http://toucharcade.com/2012/09/28/t...st-anticipated-upcoming-games-september-2012/

 

A bit late, and already mentioned, but anyways:

The game looks great, the kickstarter page is fine,, but the video is really not contributing to the hype. The voice is monotonous, it's too long, it's not confident enough. A 1 minute fast paced gameplay video about the game and not it's development would have excited me much more.

I really hope the game comes out soon!

Gregzo