Regardless of whether a game is developed by an indie studio or an established one, a major concern would be where the funding came from. Some may be self-funded out of the developers own pockets or some may be funded by the proceeds received from earlier games. In the case of Casey Gatti and Benjamin Cole, these two indie developers utilised the web-based and social media driven fundraising tool called Kickstarter to make it happen for their game Star Saver.
For those who are interested, here’s a chance for you to get your name in the game’s credits or even name a stage. Check out the press release below for more details:
Caldwell, New Jersey – Game designers Casey Gatti and Benjamin Cole are nostalgic for the electronic games of their youth. Ben has experience in the game industry, while Casey has toured the indie game development circuit. This time around, they are are looking to tap into the collective of the people to help finance and shape their newest iPhone/iPad game project called Star Saver during its development.
So, Gatti and Cole are trying sometime quite new. Today, they’re launching their project on a web site called Kickstarter. Most uniquely, Kickstarter allows people to “pledge” toward a creative project. A pledge equates to financial support and will help Casey and Ben get the right equipment, software, and external support to complete this project.
However, Gatti is primarily focused on getting “outside” feedback of the game during it’s development and using that collective information to strengthen the game. “We want the game to be a lot fun to play and realize that it needs to be in other’s hands to make sure we’re on the right track. Being featured on Kickstarter not only allows people to help us get the finances to finish the project, but also gives them access to pre-release beta versions of the game before anyone else.”
“This will allow our pledgers to submit feedback to us during the remaining development of Star Saver. This feedback will seriously help “shape” the game and gives incredible power to the pledger. We’ve already been sharing Star Saver with gamers at a local video game store called Digital Press (in Clifton, NJ) and the feedback has been incredibly beneficial to us,” says Gatti.
Now, of course, Cole wanted some other fun “rewards” for people that pledge. The lower pledges allow you to basically pre-order the game and receive a thank you postcard. A mid-range pledge will get you autographed posters and your name added to the game credits. However, for the higher-range pledges, Gatti will be hand-crafting animation cels, sculpting figurines, and even allowing you to “name a stage”. Talk about giving a pledger super influence into the game design recipe!
Gatti and Cole’s secondary goal for using Kickstarter is to help raise awareness of active game development in New Jersey. New Jersey has an eclectic mix of creative game designers, programmers, artists, 3d modelers and musicians. There are also a number of colleges with dedicated game development curriculums. Gatti and Cole’s goal is that New Jersey and NYC becomes a stronger hub for the next wave of game development and design.
Check out the game over at Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pxlplz/star-saver-charming-indie-game
