That kind of resulting discussion takes the focus away from the product itself. In hindsight, we would’ve liked to create a different but equally compelling reward that didn’t make any backers feel disenfranchised. We misjudged how divisive this kind of content is. What were people’s concerns with that? Is your reaction, indicating that you wish you hadn’t included it, give credence to the criticism that some have of crowdfunding games that states that a vocal group of backers can essentially take a games’ design hostage?Ĭhris Bourassa: We pretty much summed up our position in Backer Update #3. Over-funding in this case means we can supplement our team and polish the core experience till it gleams!Ĭliqist: In a recent update you addressed the concerns people had with the exclusive class you’re offering to backers of a certain pledge level. Sometimes when the constraints of time and money relax, the temptation is to go back into ‘brainstorming mode’, but because our game is so far along, we’re well past that stage and into production. This alone will help mitigate feature creep because we have a definite goal in mind. The additional funds that we are generating will allow us to bring in some extra help when need be, and we are an experienced group of developers, so I’m pretty confident in our estimates and production plan.Īlso, we’ve presented what I think is a very clear vision for what the game is, and what it isn’t. If we were to try and run to a beach somewhere, backers would find us!Ĭliqist: More realistically, are you afraid of being overfunded and stretching yourselves thin? What’s the plan to deal with that?Ĭhris Bourassa: We were careful about our stretch goals, making sure they were modular add-ons to what will be a strong core. We’ve also tried to be as transparent as possible – we’re a small team with our names all over the game. With so many projects Kickstarting nowadays, we wanted to stand out by delivering something well thought out, tangible, and driven by a clear vision. We felt that it was really important to demonstrate to our backers that a) we had invested in the game ourselves, and b)we had a solid product that was well on its way to market. We’re in the business of game development, not consumer products.Ĭliqist: How do backers know you’re not going to run off with the money? If you did, what would you do with it?Ĭhris Bourassa: Hah! Well, the team has worked for 8 months without pay before ever bringing the game to Kickstarter. In terms of the Kickstarter campaign, we tried to only offer rewards which enhanced people’s engagement with the game, avoiding ‘swag’ like coffee cups, t-shirts and key chains. I also believe in our game, and I think we have a strong product which speaks for itself. I think announcing early, and building some interest prior to launching the campaign was crucial. It’s hard to point to a single reason why a campaign does well. ![]() I really can’t thank our backers enough – with their help we are able to develop our dream game, and potentially even alleviate a little of the financial strain we’ve put ourselves under! It’s very humbling to have such a strong and generous community behind us. ![]() I actually wasn’t sure it was real, given how little sleep I’d had the night before! We got buried in emails and comments within a few hours, and actually missed our first couple stretch goal updates because we were so busy trying to get on top of outbound communication. Is that rude?Ĭhris Bourassa: A little, but we’re happy to roll with it! □Ĭliqist: Are you surprised by the success of the campaign? What do you attribute it to?Ĭhris Bourassa: We were taken aback by the initial surge, absolutely. So why are people clamoring to pledge money? Is it the unique sanity measuring affliction system that impacts nearly every aspect of the game? Is it the unique art style? Or did the team at Red Hook just do a great job of doing their Kickstarter homework? Chris Bourassa, Creative Director and Artist on Darkest Dungeon, was kind enough to give us some insight into the game, its campaign, and how to handle such significant overfunding.Ĭliqist: Normally I would start off by asking you about yourself, but I’d much rather talk about money. Since launching on Kickstarter on February 10th with a total funding target of $75,000, the creepy looking RPG has gone on to get press everywhere and is nearing $200,000 in pledges. ![]() If you haven’t heard of Darkest Dungeon from Red Hook Studios yet then you must not pay attention to crowdfunding.
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