Interesting Kickstarter Catch-All

Eleima wrote:
Vector wrote:

It's an adventure game based around the idea that the main character only speaks one language (English) while all of the NPCs speak a different language (Japanese). It's set in Edo period Japan and we're emulating the ukiyo-e art style.

SOLD!!! You're touching on several things I love, namely ukiyo-e art and the "lost in translation" feeling (hits close to home). Hope you reach your goal.

You need to ask our benevolent overlords to mention it on the conference call.
Edit: And you should probably mention it in this thread too. :D

Be sure to drop a line to kickstartventures. It's a blog specializing in coverage for Kickstarted Adventure games. Also hit Adventure Gamers too.

garion333 wrote:
omni wrote:

Universim.

"The Universim is a next generation Planet Management God - Game in development by Crytivo Games and designed by Alex Koshelkov."

I have no idea who that guy is but I like the sound of his game.

Seems really interesting. Interesting art style too, which I really appreciate.

omni wrote:

Universim.

"The Universim is a next generation Planet Management God - Game in development by Crytivo Games and designed by Alex Koshelkov."

Thorough description on the KS page. Looks like Spore with resources (ironically not mentioned on their page). But I was hoping for more of a Sim Earth sequel. This starts you at the Stone Age.

Eleima wrote:

the "lost in translation" feeling (hits close to home).

That's probably due to living in a galaxy far, far away.

Disclaimer: I'm the coder on this project.
Hopefully you guys will find this interesting;
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1515615186/buck-a-game-about-a-real-dog

I do love good platformers (well, hopefully people think Buck is good ).

mrtomaytohead wrote:
Eleima wrote:

the "lost in translation" feeling (hits close to home).

That's probably due to living in a galaxy far, far away.

It's not canon! Not interested!

ccesarano wrote:

How about jeans that don't assume a fat man with a big waistline is also 5'10"? I need jeans that stop at the angle rather than going past my feet.

As someone with a 28" inseam, I'd love to be able to buy jeans off the rack that aren't 30" at the shortest :/

garion333 wrote:
mrtomaytohead wrote:
Eleima wrote:

the "lost in translation" feeling (hits close to home).

That's probably due to living in a galaxy far, far away.

It's not canon! Not interested!
;)

Hey, I'm just glad I don't live "a long time ago."
/derail

Oh man, completely forgot to post this and there's only 48 hours left.

Do you like to be scared? Do you like horror stories? Then help my friends fund the second edition of their horror anthology Daylight Dims.

They did some cool stuff for the first one, like putting up audio versions of the stories with proper voice acting.

They are close to their goal and hopefully the final push gets them there.

Women Destroy Science Fiction is coming soon. Looks like it will be a heck of an issue.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...

Cool idea.. but even if you are not interested the video is amazing! You couldn't create something more awful even if you tried.. the dubbed in voice overs are epic.

It's supposed to power itself from RF emitted by the phone? Is that at all viable?

Not particularly useful but better than every other case. I'd back it if it worked on my network, but it's GSM only.

Those aren't voice actors. A majority of the team is Ukrainian.

LIX - The Smallest 3D Printing Pen in the World

"Lix Kickstarter Page wrote:

Basically, Lix is a professional tool that enables you to sketch in the air without using paper.

That page wrote:

This extraordinarily professional tool will chalenge your deepest creativity

£234,000 pledged to people who didn't bother to proofread the first paragraph of their pitch. This should be good.

Mr Crinkle wrote:
That page wrote:

This extraordinarily professional tool will chalenge your deepest creativity

£234,000 pledged to people who didn't bother to proofread the first paragraph of their pitch. This should be good.

I realize that they aren't anglophone. However... It's not that much to get a translator, or even a proofreader. Hell, I'd bet they have Anglo friends. That whole campaign may honestly be the worst non-Asian-based Engrish I've ever seen/heard.

For a group that is obviously aiming for polish and style, that is such a massive oversight I'm quite frankly gobsmacked nobody thought about it. I mean, really? None of them once said, "You know, guys, we should think about having someone who actually speaks this language that we're using to ask for money to do a quick check of our promo material"? Incredible.

misplacedbravado wrote:

It's supposed to power itself from RF emitted by the phone? Is that at all viable?

The way i imagine it:

The Lunecase might stop working if you get a tinfoil gum wrapper stuck between the case and the phone.

Crystals with pure blue, red, or green auras could interfere with its energy sensitivities. However, a pink opal rod can be put in the iPhone's headphone jack. Then the Lunecase might light up when you hold the rod over a (potentially) winning lottery number on one of the paper entry forms.

An app could very easily be developed to test for interruptions in the RF feedback loop between the iPhone and the Lunecase. Those interruptions can be interpreted back into human-readable messages from the spirit realm. Ghosts dig on ultrasonic and subsonic frequencies.

A future version can be planned to sense subtle changes to the holder's hormone and pheromone levels. The notice to expect a child would naturally be free after purchasing the upgraded device and corresponding app. Since many expecting parents only care that they have a healthy child, additional details can be behind a modest ninety nine cent paywall.

Right. I completely misunderstood what kind of "energy field" the Lunecase people were talking about.

Still, though, I think duct-taping a quartz crystal to my phone would be more cost-effective.

When I see the word "lix" I think of Clive Barker's Weave World where a "lix" was a construct made from some not-so-pleasant material

I would think a case like that could greatly reduce the range and reliability of your phone.

I wish people would stop thinking of themselves as "investors" when they back a kickstarter...

Having said that, I think this is a little scary, knowing next to nothing about this particular kickstarter. Did the creator just disappear? Did he try to create the project and fail? Did he communicate anything with the backers? I hate to speculate, but this decision has me torn.

JillSammich wrote:

I wish people would stop thinking of themselves as "investors" when they back a kickstarter...

Having said that, I think this is a little scary, knowing next to nothing about this particular kickstarter. Did the creator just disappear? Did he try to create the project and fail? Did he communicate anything with the backers? I hate to speculate, but this decision has me torn.

Apparently the creator hasn't communicated with the backers since mid-2013 (4.16), so there's some justification for dinging him on that count.

Gremlin wrote:

Apparently the creator hasn't communicated with the backers since mid-2013 (4.16), so there's some justification for dinging him on that count.

Eesh, yeah that's a sticky one... I definitely think it's a complicated issue. I just think that litigation can be a slippery slope.

(<---law student)

The problems--which I am glad they are there--with that language Kickstarter requires of project creators are that (1) they set two standards, and (2) liability doesn't equal recovery.

Kickstarter's Terms of Use require creators to fulfill all rewards of their project or refund any backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill. (This is what creators see before they launch.) This information can serve as a basis for legal recourse if a creator doesn't fulfill their promises. We hope that backers will consider using this provision only in cases where they feel that a creator has not made a good faith effort to complete the project and fulfill.

...

A failure to do so could result in damage to your reputation or even legal action on behalf of your backers."

Are backers supposed to fulfill or refund all rewards, or are creators excused if they demonstrate good-faith efforts to complete and fulfill? This distinction is why real investment (stocks, LLC shares, etc.) is considered risky and subject to the business-judgement rule, which precludes liability for poor performance in most circumstances. If that standard is not going to apply similarly to Kickstarter projects, then we're in a strange world where products intended to be developed by corporations are allowed to fail (free market economy) whereas failed Kickstarters are liable (stifle innovation). Clearly, we don't want Kickstarter to become awash with fraud and con artists, but the good-faith language is there, arguably, to allow legitimate business failures. Where courts will find good faith or not for Kickstarters compared to where good faith is for other ventures is hard to predict because of the almost exclusive use of consumer funds.

As for the results of lawsuits, it would not make sense to subject most failed Kickstarter projects, even the worst and most deceptively managed, to civil liability, because civil liability means collecting money. If the project creators had money, they probably would have continued developing the project. That's not to say there aren't project creators who have been unjustly enriched and still have the funds. Criminal liability, on the other hand, is probably more appropriate. If a creator has acted so badly as to have violated the many laws on soliciting funds fraudulently and can be shown beyond a reasonable doubt to have done so with malicious intent, that seems a pretty easy justification. The question on that front is whether either courts or legislators have written or would construe those laws such that project creation would actually fall into them. Even if so, we're back to the good-faith argument above.

(Now going to return to studying for my exam tomorrow.)

Not a kickstarter project, however I didn't want to open a thread for this. Hopefully some of you TLJ and DF fans may be able to lend a helping hand

Sarah Hamilton, voice actor from The Longest Journey, needs your help

On the one hand, the project really isn't clear why a fairly big-name studio like Harmonix needs Kickstarter.

On the other hand, it's Amplitude, you guys. I LOVE Amplitude.

Demyx wrote:

On the one hand, the project really isn't clear why a fairly big-name studio like Harmonix needs Kickstarter.

On the other hand, it's Amplitude, you guys. I LOVE Amplitude.

Do they really need more than 3/4 of a million dollars to update Amplitude? That strikes me as way unnecessary, says the guy who has no idea what it costs to make a video game.

Feegle wrote:
Demyx wrote:

On the one hand, the project really isn't clear why a fairly big-name studio like Harmonix needs Kickstarter.

On the other hand, it's Amplitude, you guys. I LOVE Amplitude.

Do they really need more than 3/4 of a million dollars to update Amplitude? That strikes me as way unnecessary, says the guy who has no idea what it costs to make a video game.

Well, to put it in perspective, Double Fine got over 10x what they wanted for Broken Age and still had money problems during development (though one can argue that was due to bad scope management.) When you're running a studio of people with high salaries (senior developers get paid pretty well) that you have to dedicate to the game, plus redoing all the art and the engine for new systems, plus all the music they have to pay to license, plus buying/licensing the Amplitude name back from Sony who owns it, honestly I think $750,000 is cheap. They've kind of hinted from the articles that I've read that this won't nearly fund the development, this is just to show there's enough interest for them to take the risk of assigning people to the project. Even downloadable games of a decent size cost a couple million dollars to make now, especially when you don't have a publisher.