Hi guys
How is it going? This is the quiet week for me before the Comic Con storm, but in the meanwhile I've been investigating www.kickstarter.com to see what all the fuss is about. For those who know... well you know. For those who don't, well, it's a brand new concept that is taking the world by storm. Kickstarter is one of a few organisations whereby people raise money for projects by a fascinating new medium called crowd funding. This is where people are asked to pledge to a project and in return get a vested interest in it. Often they have levels of pledges which allow people to choose how much they want to pay (within reason) and often start from a couple of coins right up to notes and sometimes large cheques! The companies and individuals behind it are often contactable and they often place updates on the site to keep you informed.
When the project goes live there is a time frame and an aimed target of money that the project goes for. If it reaches that amount in that time frame then it's classed as "successfully funded" and the money is debited out of your account and goes to the project. You also avail of any perks you may get as a result of pledging. If it doesn't reach its target by the time the clock expires, then it is unsuccessfully funded and you pay nothing. I have to say that a few years back I did pledge on another site (I cannot remember which) and these took the money regardless - so please check with the specific site if you are not pledging with Kickstarter.
My position on crowd funding has changed over the last few years as originally, although I thought it would be a fab idea, it was seemingly done by a certain set of people looking to do random things but couldn't afford to. I was seeing stuff like "take Hortense to Comic-Con" and "pay for my college fees" but nowadays it's getting more serious. There's some seriously interesting stuff coming about - and all because of the crowd funding. Big companies get behind this on occasion - only yesterday I got a message from Square Enix about a Kickstarter project they are trying to fund.
Some of the Kickstarter projects exceed their requested amount. Some absolutely blast it out of the water. Some are real success stories. If this is the case sometimes, the project will release extra perks (stretch goals) to represent the total value of the investment.
There are a load of things all going on at the same time and here are some of the success stories of crowd funding:
> Elite Dangerous - surpassed it's funding goal and was successfully funded and now you can buy it from http://www.elitedangerous.com/ and there is talk of an Xbox One version. It was an idea to make the next Elite game (from the amazingly popular game from the 80's) and obviously there are still some fans out there to make the update. Games are a very popular Kickstarter project and vary wildly with the types and genres. I most recently was involved in the successful funding of Shadowrun: Hong Kong which was also on Kickstarter and smashed it's goals (as you will see if you click the link) but also had a number of great perks with it regardless of how much you pledged.
> Ouya Games Console - sticking with gaming, but hardware this time - this gaming console smashed it's funding goals out of the water. It's readily available now, but the perks with the original funding might also be worthy of mention. And you got the console before anyone else.
> Scanadu Scout - it's not only games and hardware that is crowd funded but also inventions too. This one blew me away and was featured on another crowd funding site www.indiegogo.com. It smashed it's required amount and is still in development. I only donated a few bucks, but wished I'd have had the money to pay enough to get one. This device could be a game changer in the world - and I've helped be a part of it. Nice!
> Pebble - when you ask for $100,000 and get over $10million I think that's a great idea for a project. The Pebble watch was successfully funded a few years ago - and is available to buy now. Not only that but they are trying it again with their latest Pebble Time - which is still open now(as of 12/03/2015). This time they wanted $500,000 and are currently over $17million and there's still 15 days to go. That's impressive. And that's the power of crowd funding.
These are just some of the success stories that happen. There's inventions, tv shows, movies (the even crowd funded a Veronica Mars film), computer games, board games - literally everything you can think of. I think it's a great idea, and, if you have some spare currency to pledge you can get some pretty cool stuff. What do you think about Kickstarter and all of the others? Have you pledged? What was your best deal?
To finish I just want to show you a few I've been looking at and have pledged to, and of course, feel free to send some coin their way too if you think it's worthy of backing:
Still looking:
> Edge of Eternity - JRPG style computer game across all formats looking for funding - but it has surpassed it's target amount so it will be funded - it's still looking for backers and looks an awesome game. Of course looks aren't everything but it's a good start. I have backed it where I get two copies of the game. The project owners have directly confirmed with me that if I back and get two copies of the game I can ask for it on two different formats if I want. So I'm going to get it on Xbox One and PC and will, of course, give you guys my full review when I get it.
> Dungeons & Drafts - someone somewhere is wanting to set up a game/geek tavern so people can role play, play games and do some serious table top war gaming. And they are looking for backing. This idea is so cool I think I might be getting frost bite. As you are probably aware, I am from the UK but this is in the US. However they are catering for an international audience so I've plopped my coin into this project. It's going to be funded too - so it's nice to know, if I'm ever over in the US, I can pop by and see the work I've helped to produce.
Recently done:
> Goodnight Lad: Augmented Reality book: I have fallen in love with this project and think it is brilliant. I am so looking forward to this and I reckon it's the future of children's books. Check out the link and see what you think. I think it's awesome.
> Storyline: Not every Kickstarter project is from America and this is a British film maker trying to make a series. This was a really good one as you get the chance to audition to be in it and can get involved too.
> Token: This comedy series, that the makers want to try and create as a TV series, was just -a-say funded on the final day. Some of the perks were immense and I'm looking forward to see the final show. However, when it comes to games and creative endeavours such at TV series, if you pay enough you can get your name in the credits - sometimes even as a producer if you pay for it. I guess that's one way of getting you officially on imdb.
I just want to add that although I think crowd funding is getting more and more commonplace - only pledge what you can afford and don't forget - not all might be funded. Check with the relevant crowd funding sites for terms and conditions too - as they may vary. There's so much to look at and invest in but it's quite exciting that there's stuff there that the big companies over look and the small companies and creative individuals now have a channel to promote their wares - or get help to do so.
Also, if you have an idea, you can set up your own project too. So ANYONE can do it. If you do, let me know and I'll promote you here.
Anyway that's all for now, some movie reviews coming soon - and the massive week for comic cons and pics soon too. As always - let me know what you think and keep on keeping in touch.
Until next time
Paul
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