|
Kanos posted:18 or 19, unless he skipped grades or got advance credit somehow. Yeah, he wouldn't spell things like that if he skipped grades in school.
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 14, 2024 00:52 |
|
|
Mr Underhill posted:This is my Kristalnacht goddamn it. Which makes sense, 'cause this thread's turning into a ghetto. Just quoting again this again because holy hell.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:24
|
|
|
And in Fig news, apparently they've gotten a tonne of investors queued up for The Outer Wildes, for a sum total of half a million dollars if everyone gets a share. Apparently, this is all new business, and Bailey's big book of money-givers hasn't been touched. Honestly, I think they should drop the pretense of being a crowdfunding site and admit that they're a publisher. Certainly, the number of dollars raised from the general public is decidedly unspectacular (a little under $24k, of which someone went for the $10k tier. I'll be genuinely unsurprised if said $10k backer was Tim Schafer.) Delusibeta fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Aug 20, 2015 |
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:26
|
|
|
Quest For Glory II posted:like a lot of people I still scratch my head at what The Cave was even trying to be Ron Gilbert trying to make a puzzle story game but being unable to shake the 80s design influence that says "you must extend playtime as artificially as possible." Delusibeta posted:And in Fig news, apparently they've gotten a tonne of investors queued up for The Outer Wildes, for a sum total of half a million dollars if everyone gets a share. Apparently, this is all new business, and Bailey's big book of money-givers hasn't been touched. I'm starting to feel the same, like this is Gathering of Developers or Gamecock with a veneer of crowdfunding to generate interest.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:37
|
|
|
poptart_fairy posted:Just quoting again this again because holy hell. Yeah, just an fyi, someone called toxx a hitler and I MEANT I WAS THE JEWS. Goddamnit English isnt my first language but in context I thought that was pretty clear since everyone jumped me, apparently it wasnt. I had thought I had misread that 500k since last I checked the investor sum on Outer Wilds was 50k but wow. I was kinda hoping to see that 500k in the campaign though but ok, seems like this thing is taking off nicely.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:47
|
|
|
poptart_fairy posted:Just quoting again this again because holy hell. Mr Underhill posted:Yeah, just an fyi, someone called toxx a hitler and I MEANT I WAS THE JEWS. GetWellGamers posted:Oh my God shut up you horrible spergs
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:54
|
|
|
No, no, let him keep digging, this is way more entertaining than any of Double Fine's games.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:56
|
|
|
Delusibeta posted:Honestly, I think they should drop the pretense of being a crowdfunding site and admit that they're a publisher. Certainly, the number of dollars raised from the general public is decidedly unspectacular (a little under $24k, of which someone went for the $10k tier. I'll be genuinely unsurprised if said $10k backer was Tim Schafer.) It's still very interesting as an alternative publisher outlet for indie development, however unless we know what kind of terms they are getting it's impossible to make a call how good a deal it is for either party. Also it's early days and I wouldn't put it past investors to be putting money in as an early test for Fig more than anything; it's how the projects go a year from now that will be a proper test.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:57
|
|
|
Mr Underhill posted:Yeah, just an fyi, someone called toxx a hitler and I MEANT I WAS THE JEWS.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:57
|
|
|
nvm
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2015 23:58
|
|
|
Delusibeta posted:And in Fig news, apparently they've gotten a tonne of investors queued up for The Outer Wildes, for a sum total of half a million dollars if everyone gets a share. Apparently, this is all new business, and Bailey's big book of money-givers hasn't been touched. Well, it's still crowdfunding, though, just taken up to the next level. And that "next level" aspect is what's most intriguing, since it's clear that other crowd funding sites max out at a level that's simply not sufficient to fully fund middle-tier games from established studios. Even Shenmue could only pull in $6 million, which is far below what Yu Suzuki and he team really needs to make the game they want. At the very least, it seems to be a more open process than traditional publishing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 01:17
|
|
|
Groovelord Neato posted:how does anyone defend any game company? I don't have a pony in this race, but I would like this post expounded upon please.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 02:30
|
|
|
i can't think of a single video game company that is beyond reproach. even the mostly good ones have something really dumb/lovely they've done.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 02:43
|
|
|
Groovelord Neato posted:i can't think of a single video game company that is beyond reproach. even the mostly good ones have something really dumb/lovely they've done. I think Sid Meier is pretty good. He is my Kristalnacht.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 02:51
|
|
|
I suppose. I mean, that's pretty silly and overly ideological, but technically correct? I think that applies to most people too but whatever.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 02:51
|
|
|
Groovelord Neato posted:i can't think of a single video game company that is beyond reproach. even the mostly good ones have something really dumb/lovely they've done. CD Projekt releases really cool games [then updates them for free, offers free DLC] and releases old PC games with no DRM. Other than a few people getting their knickers in a bunch over some old videos of Witcher 3 not looking quite as good as the finished product [which still looks amazing], they've got a really incredible record. Larian Studios is also made up of good people.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 03:17
|
|
|
Mr Underhill posted:Yeah, just an fyi, someone called toxx a hitler and I MEANT I WAS THE JEWS. Goddamnit English isnt my first language but in context I thought that was pretty clear since everyone jumped me, apparently it wasnt. hahahahaha anyway in non-crazy person news, I backed the bards tale 4 kickstarter a while back with the understanding I was supposed to get Wasteland 2 out of the deal. Anyone else do the same? How are we supposed to redeem?
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 03:57
|
|
|
Jordan7hm posted:hahahahaha Gotta wait till they get the product specific website up and running, then you should be able to log in and select the thing you wanted and which delivery system you want to use.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 04:03
|
|
|
Great Rumbler posted:they've got a really incredible record.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 05:19
|
|
|
SelenicMartian posted:Weren't they also the ones who ported Saints Row 2 to the PC originally? Upon googling, apparently. Welp, that's one black mark against your record, CDPRED. also seconding I MEANT I WAS THE JEWS as new thread title.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 05:59
|
|
|
So Tim Schafer has founded an unlicensed investment firm soliciting investments from the general public? I wonder what the SEC has to say about this.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 06:04
|
|
|
Luigi Thirty posted:So Tim Schafer has founded an unlicensed investment firm soliciting investments from the general public? I wonder what the SEC has to say about this. apparently there was recently a law change that made this possible from what i understand that regardless of whether or not this is a bad idea (it sure does seem like it) or if this feels kinda sleazy (it does) it's, most certainly, legal
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 06:17
|
|
|
Luigi Thirty posted:So Tim Schafer has founded an unlicensed investment firm soliciting investments from the general public? I wonder what the SEC has to say about this. Also Tim Schafer didn't found it, he's just on the board. Justin Bailey is the CEO and he's been doing money management in video game business for a long time, so I'd imagine he thought of all that before starting this.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 06:36
|
|
|
Great Rumbler posted:CD Projekt releases really cool games [then updates them for free, offers free DLC] The Witcher 3 DLC is what most other publishers would include in normal patches, it is not exactly worth bragging about.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 06:48
|
|
|
mutata posted:I suppose. I mean, that's pretty silly and overly ideological, but technically correct? I think that applies to most people too but whatever. Being sceptical of an individual or organisation that seeks to make money is pretty beneficial for both parties. For you it means you're less likely to waste your money and for the organisation it helps them from falling into the trap DF did of believing that people will give them money regardless because they're so beloved. Kickstarter has shown that a heritage of good games or just being a likeable person/company is no indication of ongoing quality. Heck sometimes we've seen that publishers were completely right about developers who'd been viewed as shat on underdogs.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 06:50
|
|
|
also let's just be clear: fig isn't targeted at small indies with a twinkle in their eye and a song in their heart and a need for a couple hundred thousand dollars to make the next Braid or Fez or something, it's for mid-tier dev studios who need seven-to-eight figures to realize their game concepts Fig is the next THQ/Majesco, it's a crowdfunded publisher that is attempting to carve back out the AA niche. i personally think it's really, really stupid to try and recapture that market i mean, there's a reason no AA publishers exist any more, and it boils down to the increasing sophistication of dev tools for indies combined with the skyrocketing production values of AAA games leaving no space in the middle for AA games. They're neither fish nor fowl in today's market and please neither extreme, while costing a TON of money to make the fact that it's crowdfunded, and a johnny come lately in the already oversaturated and completely sewn up crowdfunding market that already has credibility issues (although kickstarter's the by-far most reliable one) just makes it look all the worse also i personally think the curation thing is flat-out stupid, it makes fig hugely reliant on every project being successful and attracting massive investor speculation for the next two to three years (since that's when, optimistically, the first funded projects get released and fig starts collecting royalties) just to keep the lights on until the projects, hopefully, start paying for themselves and then there's the problem that all of fig's money is tied up in royalties and equity investments, what happens when one of the tiny selection of games they're curating implodes on itself after millions and millions of dollars of funding? it's bound to happen. or, worse, what happens if a game gets released after millions and millions of dollars of funding, and fig has a huge equity stake in its success...and it's an utter flop too? because that's bound to happen as well. has fig thought through those eventualities? because the more and more projects they're personally invested in, the more and more likely this will happen, and the money they're playing with (or more accurately, lack of money) means one flop can kill the whole company; one thing goes bad, and fig's in the red and investors can and will pull out of investing immediately
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 06:56
|
|
|
They've sinced updated the investor area with "This round is closed with $50,000 of investment and $500,000 of expressed interest"! That almost souns like a "no more bids, please" - I wish they'd explain the round part a little better. Or at all.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 07:00
|
|
|
i mean that's literally what happened with THQ and Majesco, they tried playing as AA publishers and had one major flop that just completely loving wiped them out (uDraw for THQ, with Homefront kicking them when they were down, and Advent Rising for Majesco) and forced them into near/bankruptcy and those are companies that generated their own funds, that had their own money. Fig is 100% reliant on outside income, so they have to present themselves at all times as successful and worth investing in. one flop can kill them in a way that even the staggering failure of uDraw and Advent Rising weren't for THQ and Majesco
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 07:02
|
|
|
al-azad posted:I'm starting to feel the same, like this is Gathering of Developers or Gamecock with a veneer of crowdfunding to generate interest.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 07:11
|
|
|
Oasx posted:The Witcher 3 DLC is what most other publishers would include in normal patches, it is not exactly worth bragging about. No one releases cosmetic DLC for free these days, don't lie.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 07:13
|
|
|
devolver is an interesting inversion of what fig is trying; they tried the AA dev cycle, realized (rightly) that it was a sucker's gambit that was doomed to fail because nobody makes or really wants AA games to exist any more, and went and courted indies directly so now they're the indie publisher, alongside midnight city
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 07:17
|
|
|
Toxxupation posted:devolver is an interesting inversion of what fig is trying; they tried the AA dev cycle, realized (rightly) that it was a sucker's gambit that was doomed to fail because nobody makes or really wants AA games to exist any more, and went and courted indies directly so now they're the indie publisher, alongside midnight city
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 07:30
|
|
|
Reason posted:No one releases cosmetic DLC for free these days, don't lie. Shadow of Mordor did.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 07:33
|
|
|
The Kins posted:Midnight City is pretty much dead and its parent company Majesco is down to just five staff hoping to operate as a digital-only firm. Really? I thought they were the only really successful part of majesco nowadays. Huh, well sub in "adult swim games" for midnight city then
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 07:48
|
|
|
Toxxupation posted:i mean that's literally what happened with THQ and Majesco, they tried playing as AA publishers and had one major flop that just completely loving wiped them out (uDraw for THQ, with Homefront kicking them when they were down, and Advent Rising for Majesco) and forced them into near/bankruptcy THQ hosed up a lot of things before the uDraw. the uDraw was just the final double down on a bad idea that everyone knew was a bad idea except for Brian Farrell and his circle of failure-prone VPs.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 08:11
|
|
|
I miss the mid-tier studios because that used to be what Australia was good at and now they're all gone.  Honestly though, I thought most of these studios having a crack at Kickstarter were attempting to become self-sufficient off their own sales. If that didn't work out (and I'm guessing it didn't for all of them) then I don't know what asking for more money with less favourable terms will do. It sounds less like the future of crowdfunding and more being unwilling to adapt to the market. Above all I really hope this doesn't doom Obsidian. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 09:01
|
|
|
Delusibeta posted:And in Fig news, apparently they've gotten a tonne of investors queued up for The Outer Wildes, for a sum total of half a million dollars if everyone gets a share. Apparently, this is all new business, and Bailey's big book of money-givers hasn't been touched. Huh. I said I doubted there were loads of angel investors just waiting to invest in videogames, if only they had the mechanism. I guess I was wrong.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 10:04
|
|
|
Trapezium Dave posted:Above all I really hope this doesn't doom Obsidian. I suspect Fig is going to work out really well for Obsidian, actually. The thirst for RPGs does not abate. Larian and Harebrained would probably do well to hop on board as well.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 10:30
|
|
|
Toxxupation posted:because that's bound to happen as well. has fig thought through those eventualities? Oh man, what if none of the people involved have thought about what would happen if a game in their portfolio fails? Maybe you could write them a letter? Toxxupation posted:and those are companies that generated their own funds, that had their own money. Fig is 100% reliant on outside income, so they have to present themselves at all times as successful and worth investing in. one flop can kill them in a way that even the staggering failure of uDraw and Advent Rising weren't for THQ and Majesco This is in fact how most venture capital firms go out of business: one of their portfolio companies fails. You see it all the time; the only VCs that are still around putting together funds are those with perfect track records.  Everyone investing in small ventures through Fig or Quire or individual angel or seed rounds knows there's risk. If I lose $5K on such an investment, it's not going to send me to the torch-and-pitchfork store. That's not even a slightly bad day on the market.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 11:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 14, 2024 00:52 |
|
|
Sigma-X posted:THQ hosed up a lot of things before the uDraw. the uDraw was just the final double down on a bad idea that everyone knew was a bad idea except for Brian Farrell and his circle of failure-prone VPs. The thing is, uDraw was actually pretty successful for the Wii. But they thought they could replicate that success on PS3/Xbox360, so they poured a ton of money into producing physical hardware that it turned out people didn't want. They took a $100 million hit to their bottom line. Very few publishers, then or now, could absorb a hit like that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2015 14:12
|
|