Double Fine seeks to cut out publishers with Kickstarter-funded adventure

Rather than trying to pitch a point-and-click adventure game to traditional publishers, and face the likely prospect of being laughed out of the office, Tim Schafer and the team at Double Fine have decided to go straight to the players.

<a href='http://meincmagazine.com/gaming/news/2012/02/double-fine-seeks-to-cut-out-publishers-with-kickstarter-funded-adventure.ars'>Read the whole story</a>

 

[K1LLTACULAR]

Playing through Psychonauts right now, found Day of the Tentacle frustratingly difficult but still awesome, loved Machinarium and wouldn't mind playing through another point and click. How exciting and the Kickstarter campaign is thus far proving crazy successful. *Gamers-unite*

 

[ShapeGSX]

More Double Fine is more double good. Keep it rolling, guys!

 

[Alfonse]

the freedom to experiment, take risks, and design without anyone else compromising their vision

Ahh, Protection from Editors. That always works

In any case, it's great that people who built a name under the publisher model are able to just pull funding out of thin air. But what about those people who didn't have a name under the publisher model? What if Schafer were born 20 years later, with all the potential development skill, only he would have to leverage it in this market?

In short, what is the chance of a modern Schafer being able to distinguish himself?

 

[Chuckaluphagus]

Tossed in some money. Obviously, I want the game to be good, but I also want to see this take off as a new path for game development. The argument that "there's no market for <X type of game>" can rapidly, publicly be put to the test.

(Volition, if you're cut loose from THQ, there's money to be made in Freespace 3.)

(Relic, same goes for Homeworld 3.)

 

[Ywg]

"Schafer, known for adventure titles like Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango"

This is the point where I started reaching out for my credit card.

 

[Francis Kuntz]

Well S&S is a click and point game and award winning. One of my favorite game on iOS

 

[Chuckaluphagus]

the freedom to experiment, take risks, and design without anyone else compromising their vision

Ahh, Protection from Editors. That always works

I think you're being disingenuous. Software publishers and editors aren't necessarily the same thing, and Schafer has publicly stated that he's tried to get a publisher to work with to make Psychonauts 2. No publisher took him up on the offer. This isn't about being free of editorial oversight, this is about an economic experiment.

In any case, it's great that people who built a name under the publisher model are able to just pull funding out of thin air. But what about those people who didn't have a name under the publisher model? What if Schafer were born 20 years later, with all the potential development skill, only he would have to leverage it in this market?

In short, what is the chance of a modern Schafer being able to distinguish himself?

Make a game and put it up for download/sale? Development and distribution costs are cheaper now than they ever have been. The glut of excellent, inexpensive independent games is evidence of this.

 

[Entegy]

Ahh, Protection from Editors. That always works

In any case, it's great that people who built a name under the publisher model are able to just pull funding out of thin air. But what about those people who didn't have a name under the publisher model? What if Schafer were born 20 years later, with all the potential development skill, only he would have to leverage it in this market?

In short, what is the chance of a modern Schafer being able to distinguish himself?

The pubic is vicious. If it's crap, this new, up-and-coming Schafer would be shot down in an insant. Anyone remember Eternity's Child? That was an indie game that built up a decent amount of hype, but got horrible reviews and the creator hasn't been in the spotlight since, although he's still around.

And Schafer's been shopping around his ideas, but publishers have turned him down. So he's building funding on his own. If these games turn out to be crap, the public will make it known.

 

[Thenameis?]

Is it me or have they already reached their goal? To early in the morning for me...

 

[Alfonse]

the freedom to experiment, take risks, and design without anyone else compromising their vision

Ahh, Protection from Editors. That always works

I think you're being disingenuous. Software publishers and editors aren't necessarily the same thing, and Schafer has publicly stated that he's tried to get a publisher to work with to make Psychonauts 2. No publisher took him up on the offer. This isn't about being free of editorial oversight, this is about an economic experiment.

The quote I, um, quoted was specifically about editorial oversight. Did you not see the "design without anyone else compromising their vision" part?

In any case, maybe there's a reason why Psychonauts 2 can't find a publisher.

In any case, it's great that people who built a name under the publisher model are able to just pull funding out of thin air. But what about those people who didn't have a name under the publisher model? What if Schafer were born 20 years later, with all the potential development skill, only he would have to leverage it in this market?

In short, what is the chance of a modern Schafer being able to distinguish himself?

Make a game and put it up for download/sale? Development and distribution costs are cheaper now than they ever have been. The glut of excellent, inexpensive independent games is evidence of this.

Development and distribution costs of "a game" is far lower than it ever has been. True. Development and distribution costs of "games I give a shit about?"

Not so much.

I like games that have production values. I like games that aren't making due with the best that they can afford. I played games in the 80s and 90s; those were fine, but I don't want more of that (necessarily. More of the design, perhaps, but not more of the production values).

Yes, I like the occasional indie low-budget title like SpaceChem. But that sort of thing isn't what fuels my interest in gaming in general. It's a nice diversion, but I want something more meaty. And that requires money.

 

[cokobware]

Is it me or have they already reached their goal? To early in the morning for me...

They're going to have more than enough money to fund their game. As I just checked the Kickstarter page, they are $180k+ over their goal. Something tells me Double Fine is going to be able to do a lot more than they initially thought.

 

[NatWu]

Is it me or have they already reached their goal? To early in the morning for me...

Well, yeah. Damn, that was fast. Now I can't feel all special for helping them reach their goal! I'll probably chip some in anyway. I loved that game.

 

[bigdrew172]

There is a bit of a catch-22 with kickstarter right now. To get money you need to be able to prove you can produce a high quality game, but to be able to prove that you need money to have produced a game. Though I think this is an awesome way to fund games! Though we will always need publishers.

 

[enderandrew]

Indie devs have been getting games up on XBox Live and the PSN. Steam sells indie games. Telltale games seem to be fairly successful with point-and-click adventures. Why would he be laughed at simply for pitching a concept that is still successful today?

This is a niche market and will never bring in Halo money, but with the right budget, this could be profitable for a publisher.

 

[ucsimon]

In short, what is the chance of a modern Schafer being able to distinguish himself?

Higher than it's been in a while. You can develop with mobile with a relatively small staff. And if you want to target PCs, like a few people have mentioned, you can use Steam to get your game out. Once you establish a rep, I would think you'd be able to use that to leverage a bigger budget offer from a publisher or Kickstarter.

 

[pjleinen]

$400,000? Ppppbbbhh! They'll hit over a million easily. Make it rock, Tim!

 

[pavon]

Well that was fast. I saw the the title of the post whipped out my wallet while the article was still loading, only to find that they are already more than 50% over their goal.

 

[ohitsdom]

Thanks ars for covering this, I would've missed it otherwise. Backed it in a heartbeat.

 

[grrrrreat]

Hey, at the rate the pledges are rolling in, they might end up with enough left over to fund the Psychonauts sequel too... or I guess spend it on a giant Double Fine company blimp. Tough call.

 

[Flit]

As far as kickstarter gifts are concerned, $15 for access to the game is pretty awesome.

I don't know why more semi-established indie developers don't fund games this way.

 

[omf]

In short, what is the chance of a modern Schafer being able to distinguish himself?

Very good. There are several devs with little or no name recognition who've already been successful in raising funds for their projects on Kickstarter.

Actually, Schafer is the first dev with name recognition I've seen on Kickstarter.

 

[ppor]

The quote I, um, quoted was specifically about editorial oversight. Did you not see the "design without anyone else compromising their vision" part?

In any case, maybe there's a reason why Psychonauts 2 can't find a publisher.

Good god, you must work for a music publisher or something

It's not about escaping editorial oversight, it's about business unnecessarily butting into the creative process. The reason there aren't many female protaganists, the tacked-on multiplayer modes, the constant yearly clones of the same franchise.

Just accept this game isn't for you. The big studios will continue to push out games with huge production values to meet the broadest demographic needs, more suited to you, so why be so negative about Shafer?

 

[dragonfliet]

There is a bit of a catch-22 with kickstarter right now. To get money you need to be able to prove you can produce a high quality game, but to be able to prove that you need money to have produced a game. Though I think this is an awesome way to fund games! Though we will always need publishers.

It's actually less so. In order to make a high quality game, you have to have made a number of lower quality ones (this is how all art works--through repetition). Most kickstarter project show what HAS been done and project what CAN be done to get funding. So if a non major name were trying to fund a game (and many have), they would show the beginnings of their idea (almost always with some preproduction art, outlines, possibly some relatively early models/levels/animations/etc.) and outline where they want it to go. Depending, they would also link to past projects (from mods to flash games, etc.).

So, no, you can't get money without showing that you can do work, but at the same time you don't have to have made a major, big budget game (at all) to get funding.

 

[Stray Toaster]

It's interesting, since if you pledge over x dollars, you get the game later. So in effect you're just pre-paying/ordering a game that will be made later.

Sort of more extreme version than buying into an alpha, ala Minecraft.

Not a bad way to do it really. But I think it only works if you have the right reputation.

 

[Xavin]

In short, what is the chance of a modern Schafer being able to distinguish himself?

Good to great. Look at Minecraft for the obvious example. For others look at the indie games section on Steam, which is full of games by small developers that have managed to find a following. This is the absolute best time in history for artists (of any kind) looking to be found and become popular.

 

[M4EOzzy]

Take my money, Tim! TAKE IT!!!

 

[Swarley]

There is a bit of a catch-22 with kickstarter right now. To get money you need to be able to prove you can produce a high quality game, but to be able to prove that you need money to have produced a game. Though I think this is an awesome way to fund games! Though we will always need publishers.

The exact same is true in traditional publishing. You don't just walk into a meeting with a publisher and ask for money because your sun glasses are so cool. You have to show traditional publishers a portfolio, creative assets, collaborators, a great big chunk of game design, probably even mockups and demonstration video clips. The problem that you have to have done quite a lot of work before you can even ask someone to pay you for the work is not new, not unique to kickstarter, and certainly not unique to video games or even artistic works. Scientists go through a very similar dance with grant agencies, in some cases having already collected much of the data which they are asking for money to fund the collection of because that's how you prove that you can get the job done.

 

[Hellheart]

I like games that have production values. I like games that aren't making due with the best that they can afford. I played games in the 80s and 90s; those were fine, but I don't want more of that (necessarily. More of the design, perhaps, but not more of the production values).

Yes, I like the occasional indie low-budget title like SpaceChem. But that sort of thing isn't what fuels my interest in gaming in general. It's a nice diversion, but I want something more meaty. And that requires money.

I'm sure a huge percentage of even the PC gaming community share your mindset. For some genres, I even have to agree with you - it's simply not possible for an indie game to reach the level of Mass Effect 2 or Skyrim, for example. No indie game will ever come close to the draw of the Total War series, or Starcraft 2, or Battlefield 3; there are genres of games where attention to detail and the sheer amount of coding and balance have to combine with slick graphical presentation to really have any lasting appeal.

However, there are some genres that right now are frankly dominated by indie games. Some of the best recent platformers are indie to at least some extent (Super Meat Boy, 'Splosion Man, Dustforce), pretty much every decent shoot-em-up lately is Indie, a bunch of recent adventure games are indie (although admittedly partly because they may not be able to find a publisher).

You could claim that these indie games are succeeding because most publishers are apparently ignoring those genres, but I would disagree - I feel that even if publishers focused on those genres, the games they sponsored wouldn't really set themselves apart from the best of the indie games. I love Rayman Origins, and I loved NSMB Wii, but I feel that Super Meat Boy from a gameplay standpoint is superior to both.

So yeah, there are "big-budget" genres where games backed by publishers will probably always be king, but there's a pretty large array of genres where indie games have clearly taken over, and I don't think that's ever likely to change at this point.

 

[rtrefz]

This is sweet! I'll have to chip in.

I see this as a potential stepping stone to the big publishers, if that is what the developer wants. Being able to show with a previous game that you were able to raise the money shows that you have a built-in audience. I'd think that would make it easier for the publishers to support your next game.

 

[ManWithHat]

I loved Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, and yet somehow managed to miss Psychonauts.

When I get home tonight I'm thinking I need to both contribute to this campaign and get a copy of Psychonauts.

 

[Deleted member 1]

He should do a kickstart for Psychonauts, that sucker was the best platformer ever made, and I would kick in to see a sequel done.

 

[Fentras]

The rate that people are pledging raises the question of what happens when they can't sell it because everyone who wanted it payed up front.

 

[ucsimon]

The rate that people are pledging raises the question of what happens when they can't sell it because everyone who wanted it payed up front.

They'll have covered their costs at the very least. So, rinse and repeat?

 

[ManWithHat]

The rate that people are pledging raises the question of what happens when they can't sell it because everyone who wanted it payed up front.

Um, they kind of are already selling it. A $15+ pledge gets you the game.

 

[jsd]

I loved Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, and yet somehow managed to miss Psychonauts.

When I get home tonight I'm thinking I need to both contribute to this campaign and get a copy of Psychonauts.

Psychonauts is a 3d platformer, not a point-n-click adventure, but it's probably one of the greatest 3d platformers ever.

I gave Tim & co my money for the new game and I'm not even a huge fan of point-n-click. But with Double Fine involved I'm sure it will be worthwhile.

 

[typhoidtimmy]

$782,000 in less than 48 hours....

My god, this may actually beat the kickstarter of 'Jump Bobby Kotick and beat him with a heavy sackful of brass doorknobs' record.

 

[ManWithHat]

I loved Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, and yet somehow managed to miss Psychonauts.

When I get home tonight I'm thinking I need to both contribute to this campaign and get a copy of Psychonauts.

Psychonauts is a 3d platformer, not a point-n-click adventure, but it's probably one of the greatest 3d platformers ever.

I gave Tim & co my money for the new game and I'm not even a huge fan of point-n-click. But with Double Fine involved I'm sure it will be worthwhile.

Yeah, I know about Psychonauts not being a point and click adventure. The link to the Milkman Conspiracy from Tuesday's article about a possible sequel is mainly what made me want to get it. I watched all five videos yesterday. I really liked the sense of humor in those games, whether they are point and click or platformers is somewhat irrelevant for me. These games are fortified with what the world wants. What the world deserves.

I like Ars gaming coverage because I sometimes find out about great games that I missed. This is kind of like how I didn't know about Beyond Good and Evil until Ben Kuchera covered the xbla release. I downloaded that game and had a blast.

 

[Xavin]

The rate that people are pledging raises the question of what happens when they can't sell it because everyone who wanted it payed up front.

Absolute worst case, they stick it in a Steam sale for $5 and sell thousands. If the costs are covered then everything is good, and anything more is just profit. Publicly traded companies need to show unsustainable profit growth, but small private companies where people are doing what they love just need to keep the bills paid and the paychecks going out.

 

[Clovis42]

Clearly, Adventure Games are dead.