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Double Fine Raises $700,000 In 24 Hours With Crowdfunding
redletterdave writes "San Francisco-based game developer Double Fine took to Kickstarter to fund its next game project, and so far, the studio has enjoyed unprecedented success through crowdsourcing. The project, which was announced by the studio's founder Tim Schafer on Wednesday night, has already raised more than $700,000 in less than 24 hours. The funding frenzy has set new Kickstarter records for most funds raised in the first 24 hours, and highest number of backers of all-time, though both of those numbers are still growing. Schafer says he will build a 'classic point-and-click adventure game' in a six-to-eight month time frame, and will document the entire production process for fans to observe and give input on the game's development, which 'will actually affect the direction the game takes.'"
Fuck yeah!
Btw, to those who don't know who Tim Schafer is, he was the Lead Designer on Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle and Grim Fandango. Ron Gilbert, who is also on the team, is the guy who designed Monkey Island. This is the stuff of legends, people. I never thought this could ever happen.. Kickstarter really works!
There's still a possibility:
Q: What happens if you go over the goal?
A: The extra money will be put back into the game and documentary. This could result in anything from increased VO and music budgets to additional release platforms for the game.
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Actually, they stated that the extra money would be put to distribute the game on more platforms, so here's your chance to speak with your money :)
For those who cannot be bothered to actually rtfa:
The actual kickstarter page
I have to say, this strikes me as a damn fine idea. Even if people do not participate in the kickstarter itself the game will still be on sale on Steam once completed, and with a large marketing headstart. win-win.
It isn't an investment in the shares and/or dividends, you are simply pledging some money up-front in order to support the game being made. What you get, other than the game being made and you getting a copy (probably) cheaper than the price it will be release to the rest of the world at, is clearly documented on the page.
That said, this is still very cool, and I would be very surprised if this project didn't top the #1 slot for most funded
I happened to look up the most funded game project on KickStarter the other day. The top funded game (and you can question whether or not it's a "game" since it mostly seems to be about artificially intelligent creatures in a game world) came in around $56,000. So, yeah, Double Fine blew all the game projects out of the water.
http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/video%20games/most-funded
Compare this to another project also breaking records on Kickstarter at the moment - the Order of the Stick reprint.
Yes, the guy's been writing it for a while, and yes, he's built up a fan-base, but it's not been his day job, and it's not exactly "commercial" - it's a free webcomic. And yet, when he started the kickstarter to try and fund print runs of his product, he almost equalled this well-known, established, commercial player, that (I assume) has a lot more backing it than one guy drawing stick figures. The OOTS kickstarter has reached around $580,000 last time I looked, and is cruising for the 5th most successful kickstart ever.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
Keep in mind, this is before the game even goes up for sale, which I'm sure will generate additional revenue. It's already a company, they have other revenue sources through sales of their previous games, etc. This is the initial investment capitol not "ZOMG we need to feed 47 people" capitol.