The Next Kickstarter - A Request Thread

It's easy to comment from the sidelines and be an armchair quarterback but if Farsight plans on another Kickstarter, I think it would be good to hear some suggestions to make the next one more successful. Here is a list of mine and I would love anyone with additional ideas to contribute their own as well:

1. Do not consider doing a new kickstarter until at least DLC 5 has been released for the phone and console systems. This is important to allow those that contributed time to recover and will give more time to show those that were vocal in their opposition to participating that their concerns about nonexistent DLC releases and support for consoles have been rectified.

2. People respond to more updates. Looking at the spikes on your kicktraq, they coincide with your update releases. Not saying you need 30 updates but I would say no less than every 3 days you should have some sort of news, anecdote, whatever.

3. Market the kickstarter. Get attention out their by going to the various social networking sites and fansites of the pinball/videogaming community as well as the license in question with details of the start date, end date, goal and media of the licensed table. The presentation video for TZ was strong but the kickstarter was announced when it went live. Giving people time to plan and get the word out will result in a stronger opening.

4. Define stretch goals up front. I can guarantee that a huge portion of folks had no idea what excess money would be used for and that ST:TNG was the stretch goal, even with updates. Whatever the kickstarter is for should be the main emphasis but if there is a stretch goal, the details of that goal and the amount needed to achieve it must be publicized up front.

5. More incentives. Adding tiers helped getting people to increase their donations but the added tiers were too little, too late. There could also be benefits for tiers in between the gaps. Not certain that with a 10, 25 and 50 that a 20 and 40 were as necessary but perhaps a 250 tier could be very beneficial. Look for places where it could do some good to have people increase modestly.

6. Keep updating on the progress with Twilight Zone and any info that can be shared about the first kickstarter working well. People will question everything and until they see a finished TZ product being distributed, some will be negative about it actually coming out and on time.

7. My final suggestion for now is to look at the amount you are attempting to raise and try to be reasonable. People were very generous in achieving kickstarter 1. Going to the well repeatedly will not work as a long term strategy and I don't believe anyone would continue supporting more than 2 or 3 kickstarters maximum. Plus anything that can be done to reduce the amount needed by the consumers to contribute will only help make it more successful and wrap up quickly.

Just my two cents but I do want to see more of these tables with tricky license situations come to TPA and I care to see that future ventures are handled in a way that is better set up for success.

Star Trek TNG is next right? That is my all time favorite pinball table. After that one is completed, then Adams Family.

I think the $20 for 2 platform choices, $30 for 3 was good.

I know it shouldn't be about what you get merch wise in return, but I think anything that gets money in so the licenses are achieved is a good thing, and a lot of people play on multiple platforms.

That and (as stated by bowflex) wait until dlc is rolling on all platforms.

I agree with all of your points except 4. I think that the stretch goals are a terrible idea. For me the most appealing thing behind the Kickstarter model is that my money is not in jeopardy unless the project that I am supporting is fully funded. However once the all-or-nothing scenario is removed when going for the stretch goal I (and many others I assume) feel reluctant to give any more money since even if the goal is not reached you do not get your money back or anything in return. Keep it at 1 table per Kickstarter and if you do get any extra secretly use it to acquire other licenses and give the fans a surprise.

Also, it was clear from day one that excess money was going to ST:TNG, so point 4 was met during the last kickstarter.

While I would have never sought out supporting the Carmageddon Kickstarter because it was PC only, their stretch of doing a Mac version coupled with nostalgia made me pledge. And their pledge tiers drove my initial 10 pledge up to 35 or something like that.

I agree that people should pledge because they want to support the project, but the reward tiers for many people, especially those not as emotionally vested, will drive donation levels.

You know, I actually think that for incentives, less would be more in this case. That way you know people are banking more on how much they love a franchise rather than what they get out of their donation. Maybe offer X number of tables for whatever device/to give to friends, but don't make it more complex than that. I'd be more likely to, say, donate $100 if it really only netted me a 5 codes or so (or whatever) but it was more a contribution to see the table come into existence. Custom balls don't appeal to me, but the ability to share my love of the game does... far more than it's monetary value.
I hope that makes sense, typing on a phone so I can't see all of what I've written!

I really do not like the idea of a stretch goal. In the TZ kickstarter, I first pledged $50.00, then when it was confirmed that Star Trek TNG was a stretch goal, I raised my pledge to $100.00. On the very last day of the pledge, when it was obvious we were not going to make the stretch goal, I pulled back to $50.00 because I would not be rewarded for my contribution to the stretch unless we me that stretch and it appeared to me in those final hours that we would not make it. So I think it should be really left at "any extra funds beyond the goal will go to a future license"

The only way to pull off a 2 table goal, is to have it as the goal from the get go and have it an all or nothing. Without a stretch. In that case, people would know up front that they are contributing to two tables and that there is double the risk. I believe this will entice people to pledge double what they would have for one table. On the flip side, if the over all goal is not reached, neither of the tables would be funded and our money would be returned. But a 2 table kickstarter would have to have two blockbusters in it or it would not succeed.

The stretch goal didn't make me change my initial pledge as I was sceptical that it would come close to reaching the stretch goal without an equal focus (and publicity) on ST:TNG. I always fully expected there to be an additional kickstarter focussed on ST:TNG... so I was saving my funds for that. I will absolutely 100% pledge at least what I pledged for TZ for ST:TNG, regardless of the fact that I have one here that I can play at any time.

I still want to see it fully emulated in all it's glory so that everyone else can enjoy it.

When i read topics like this i wonder: do people think this company is as big as EA or Ubisoft?

''Every 3 days they need to have something new, news, anecdote, whatever''

Come on!! This is a small company working there asses off. Dont expect 24/7 100% quality assistence. WHen you ask something to EA you can wait for months. And when a PA update is out, even before anybody has the chance to download it, there are already unhappy people screaming for updates and fixes.

Get real man, just have some patience. Play the other tables until MM is fixed. (or other fixes you want/need)

See, a stretch goal is fine, as long as it's not a new table for double the price. They could have stretch goals like "If we get more than $10,000 over our goal, everyone gets a blue glowing ball" or "everyone gets another download code." That's fine because it's a reasonable goal, and one that shouldn't cause people to pull back their pledges if isn't not met, like ST:TNG did. Doubling the goal with another table as the stretch goal caused so many problems.

I have to agree that a stretch goal is something I would rather not see at all. On the other hand the other funds above the goal should be defined as to where they are going. That was done in this first one (although the stretch goal wasn't actually confirmed on day 1, rather day 15 with update 5). I'd rather just see it be a slush fund for "general license acquisition". Then it coud be used for anything from Johnny Mnemonic to Addams Family without having to add pressure for a goal that may not be achieved and have people pulling donations. Just my 2 cents.

Yes, and some could think "Well, I don't like ____, so I'd rather not contribute anything more because I don't care about that table." The general license acquisition pot sounds better. Just decide what it'll be used for later.

Or, if you want to get people to contribute more, put it into a "hire more beta testers" fund

I kind of agree with a post that Rudy Yagov made regarding the ST:TNG Kickstarter. That, when they do it, they should immediately state the stretch goal as getting La Grange for The Getaway. Of course this depends on how much La Grange costs. If it's not a lot, Farsight could just list it as "all funding in excess of ? go towards the licensing of La Grange by ZZ Top for The Getaway." That way no stretch goal needs to be defined.

Nonetheless, these are two of the most popular Steve Ritchie games and, since it should be a smaller Kickstarter would, hopefully, cause less confusion and frustration that the last one did. Personally, I'd like to see the Kickstarter idea put away (after ST:TNG) until next year and focus on the plenty of great, non-licensed one's available.

With that said, here's some pure speculation on my part. If the table that Farsight was talking in the Kickstarter #8 update is Lord of the Rings I could easily see them asking for cash around the holidays when, you guessed it, The Hobbit comes out in theaters. I am unaware of how well Kickstarters do around then but I would imagine that most people are dedicating their money elsewhere. I would love to hear some thoughts on this.

dtown8532 said:

I kind of agree with a post that Rudy Yagov made regarding the ST:TNG Kickstarter. That, when they do it, they should immediately state the stretch goal as getting La Grange for The Getaway. Of course this depends on how much La Grange costs. If it's not a lot, Farsight could just list it as "all funding in excess of ? go towards the licensing of La Grange by ZZ Top for The Getaway." That way no stretch goal needs to be defined.

Nonetheless, these are two of the most popular Steve Ritchie games and, since it should be a smaller Kickstarter would, hopefully, cause less confusion and frustration that the last one did. Personally, I'd like to see the Kickstarter idea put away (after ST:TNG) until next year and focus on the plenty of great, non-licensed one's available.

With that said, here's some pure speculation on my part. If the table that Farsight was talking in the Kickstarter #8 update is Lord of the Rings I could easily see them asking for cash around the holidays when, you guessed it, The Hobbit comes out in theaters. I am unaware of how well Kickstarters do around then but I would imagine that most people are dedicating their money elsewhere. I would love to hear some thoughts on this.

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After SttNG makes enough money through kickstart, having the next kickstart be LOTR would be magical. What an amazing table and a worthy succesor. Pinball Arcade keeps getting better.

FarSight can make the week of July 8th a huge week for The Pinball Arcade if they play their cards right. Coming off a holiday week for the US, FarSight should look into doing the following to make the most of a potential buzz week for The Pinball Arcade:

July 10th : Release DLC Table Packs #1, #2 and #3 for the Xbox 360 (XBLA)

July 11th : Release The Pinball Arcade on the PS3 and PS Vita in the European Market

July 12th : Release DLC Table Packs #4 on Android and iOS

July 13th : Kick off the Star Trek : The Next Generation Kickstarter Project

The huge buzz coming off of three consecutive days of big releases for The Pinball Arcade could help fund the ST:TNG Kickstarter in no time IMO. I hope FarSight takes this into consideration and plans properly for this within the next week.

PiN WiZ said:

FarSight can make the week of July 8th a huge week for The Pinball Arcade if they play their cards right. Coming off a holiday week for the US, FarSight should look into doing the following to make the most of a potential buzz week for The Pinball Arcade:

July 10th : Release DLC Table Packs #1, #2 and #3 for the Xbox 360 (XBLA)

July 11th : Release The Pinball Arcade on the PS3 and PS Vita in the European Market

July 12th : Release DLC Table Packs #4 on Android and iOS

July 13th : Kick off the Star Trek : The Next Generation Kickstarter Project

The huge buzz coming off of three consecutive days of big releases for The Pinball Arcade could help fund the ST:TNG Kickstarter in no time IMO. I hope FarSight takes this into consideration and plans properly for this within the next week.

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I will donate to the Star Trek kickstarter the same day.

Yes, just yes. And why can't FarSight have an in-game message pop up for all users that make them aware of KickStarters. If more users of TPA were aware of KickStarters they would be funded even quickly.

PiN WiZ said:

FarSight can make the week of July 8th a huge week for The Pinball Arcade if they play their cards right. Coming off a holiday week for the US, FarSight should look into doing the following to make the most of a potential buzz week for The Pinball Arcade:

July 10th : Release DLC Table Packs #1, #2 and #3 for the Xbox 360 (XBLA)

July 11th : Release The Pinball Arcade on the PS3 and PS Vita in the European Market

July 12th : Release DLC Table Packs #4 on Android and iOS

July 13th : Kick off the Star Trek : The Next Generation Kickstarter Project

The huge buzz coming off of three consecutive days of big releases for The Pinball Arcade could help fund the ST:TNG Kickstarter in no time IMO. I hope FarSight takes this into consideration and plans properly for this within the next week.

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Hi Gail Schwartz here. I don't know why they need the money to kickstart? I thought they were a big company? Do u know how much it cost to get companies to release tables to us? Confused. I have Williams phof also on reg xbox gotlied phof. I thought they had a lot of money ? Why are we paying if we want to? Anyway if I could ever find out how it works I would send money. I would like Addams family /kiss/baby pacman/ 8 ball d/Tommy/ terminator 2. Etc.

Gail r schwartz said:

Hi Gail Schwartz here. I don't know why they need the money to kickstart? I thought they were a big company? Do u know how much it cost to get companies to release tables to us? Confused. I have Williams phof also on reg xbox gotlied phof. I thought they had a lot of money ? Why are we paying if we want to? Anyway if I could ever find out how it works I would send money. I would like Addams family /kiss/baby pacman/ 8 ball d/Tommy/ terminator 2. Etc.

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An in-game message about the kickstarter program explaining what it is and that they will get their money back if the kickstarter fails is very important for future tables that are not as popular as Star Trek TNG is. If there was the promise of an exclusive special version of the table to those that contribute to the kickstarter would bring in even more people. There are lots of was to promote this and it is amazing they haven't promoted it at all other than in this forum.