OTHER Big Ant Studios Lacrosse - PlayStation3, Xbox360, PC

[HBK619]

Yeah: I've been following that for a while: looks nice.

I'm always delighted to see a thought-out budget in a Kickstarter (I won't back one without one) but I challenge whether "Marketing and PR" should be included.
For me the crowdfunding goal should be set at what you need to provide the project to your backers: Marketing and PR is irrelevant for that. You're asking people to fund your profits then, not just pay to help make the game.

When you consider that it's 30% of the budget (meaning that you could scratch ?7500 from their target) it would have put them a lot closer to their goal without it.

I might be wrong (and it doesn't help with the colouring) but I believe the Marketing and PR is 5% and the Coding is 30%. Which makes sense from a dev point of view too.

 

[Chief]

I might be wrong (and it doesn't help with the colouring) but I believe the Marketing and PR is 5% and the Coding is 30%. Which makes sense from a dev point of view too.

You're quite right - those are reversed. My misread. Actually creates another hole if anything: I mean, if they think such a token marketing spend can get them anywhere... ;-)

 

[Rowdoss]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/305787134/pixel-soccer Here's a kickstarter i'd love to see funded, throwback to the old sensible soccer days. Looks like it'll fall well short which is a real shame

Yeah I chucked a pledge at this last week, such a shame it's falling short when you look at some of the garbage that easily surpass their goals.
I grew up on kick off and sensible soccer, would've loved this.

 

[Chief]

Whoosh! Just checked again and Lacrosse have leaped up past the next gen goal! That's now more than the previous Kickstarter campaign as well.
Shame that Kickstarter makes it easy to change to a higher tier but Indiegogo doesn't - from the comments it seems like a lot of people would have switched up to next-gen now the goal is reached if they could work out how!

Interesting note - 1400 backers are paying an average of about $95 each. If handled right, this is the future: people paying for the content they want, direct to the content-makers.

 

[Deleted member 9102]

Yeah I chucked a pledge at this last week, such a shame it's falling short when you look at some of the garbage that easily surpass their goals.
I grew up on kick off and sensible soccer, would've loved this.

These 'pixel-art' 8-bit style games seem to be ten a penny at the minute although perhaps if done right this Pixel Soccer game could be fun.

 

[Rabin]

I am glad you're getting funding for this, but when I saw the topic title pop up on this forum today. I checked it wasn't an old post from April 1st. Really, I did.

I've seen Lacrosse, but doubt I'd play it as a game as I can't even cope with soccer games. My brain is too slow to control more than one player these days.

I love Madden because I can be the QB, throw the ball and forget about it. Similarly I enjoy Golf, Baseball and Cricket games where I'm just hitting or throwing one ball.

I just can't wrap my head round the constant passing and watching where the other players are that normal 'team' games require. I wish I could, I'm sure I'd enjoy them.

Good luck with the project, BigAnts!

 

[Chief]

Yeah I chucked a pledge at this last week, such a shame it's falling short when you look at some of the garbage that easily surpass their goals.

Look at this one: https://www.kickstarter.com/project...tech-physics-based-vehicle-construction-and-c

Already has a not just a prototype but playable demo, loads of great marketing videos, great coverage from a number of top tier sites, realistic timeline and budget... even already has Steam Greenlight...
... And can't raise ?35k.

Most of the ones that reach their goals do so by over-promising. And loads of those are starting to fall over, supported by more mainstream people who don't really do their research into what they are backing: just think it's a pre-order and guaranteed. And as every high-profile one fails, the people who *might* have supported the ones that really deserve it start to mistrust it. It's a real shame.

If you crowd-fund something, you are a like an old-fashioned patron: You do it to support the project and help try to make it happen, and that's enough for you. That's why they are called "rewards" or "perks" and not pre-orders: even if they raise the funds, a lot won't come to fruition and no refunds are possible because the money is already spent. Not because there was anything fraudulent going on, but because things can go wrong and there is rarely any backup plan possible.

Also, of course, sometimes people are just idiots. See "Kickstarter Potato Salad"

 

[grkrama]

See "Kickstarter Potato Salad"

wow...just wow..

Apart from poatato salad. the biggest problem for games on crowdfunding/marketplace is the cloners out there for games that's literally destroying/flooding not only crowd-funding but all the market places.
like this
check this out https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/soundguy/flappy-potato-salad....
im sick of this flappy phenomenon

 

[Chief]

wow...just wow..

Apart from poatato salad. the biggest problem for games on crowdfunding/marketplace is the cloners out there for games that's literally destroying/flooding not only crowd-funding but all the market places.
like this
check this out https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/soundguy/flappy-potato-salad....
im sick of this flappy phenomenon

I don't think those are a problem - like Flappy very few of the clones succeed (not in the same way as, say, Threes vs 2048) and go on to raise anything like that money. And it's only idiots that are backing the original one, so only BIGGER idiots backing the clones.

Also there was a nice moment in the Potato Salad Kickstarter where after reaching $50k a big appeal went out to people to stop being morons, that it DIDN'T make them ironic, funny and individual, and provided a list of worthy causes that would be better off with their contributions instead: and $20k of pledges were withdrawn. So there's some hope for the human race.

 

[YouBears]

Ross, have you done any work with kinect v2? You probably don't suffer the same thing in Oz, but here in the UK we suffer with rain most of the year! It makes trying to do family stuff a bit crappy...

I had the idea the other weeks of making a fun family game, a bit like the original kinect sports, but more garden games. Frisbee, swing ball, down on one knee etc. Would be good for when the kids are off school and it's raining again!!

Don't think it'd be a huge seller, but families might go for it... But I'm not a game developer...

 

[BigAntStudios]

Ross, have you done any work with kinect v2? You probably don't suffer the same thing in Oz, but here in the UK we suffer with rain most of the year! It makes trying to do family stuff a bit crappy...

I had the idea the other weeks of making a fun family game, a bit like the original kinect sports, but more garden games. Frisbee, swing ball, down on one knee etc. Would be good for when the kids are off school and it's raining again!!

Don't think it'd be a huge seller, but families might go for it... But I'm not a game developer...

We do have Kinect work underway however as it's been dropped to being optional with Xbox One rather than mandatory we have to review this development as I think it's numbers in the market will dwindle.

 

[Stoneyhawk]

I can't wait for this...should be fun. I contributed $85 and i am looking forward to the beta testing.

Hopefully Big Ants involvement in this game doesn't stop the progress of DBC on PS4....! Fingers crossed.

 

[AtOmX]

The man who wants to make lacrosse a FIFA beater

Lacrosse is older than football (on both sides of the Atlantic). The sport, in which two teams of ten players pass a ball using a lacrosse stick (a pole of varying lengths with a netted pouch fixed to the top end) and attempt to heft it into the opponent's goal was reputedly originated by Native Americans almost a thousand years ago. By the 17th century lacrosse was widely played across America. For a time the sport featured in the Olympics. And yet it remains a niche interest compared to the younger team games played around the world. Some even poke fun. Perhaps it's the word itself, both Gallic and feminine in its formation. Or maybe it's the fact that, on the field, lacrosse appears less physical than American Football, less plainly elegant than soccer, less brutal than hockey (whose unadorned sticks seem somehow more honest), and more complicated than all of the above.

 

[Chief]

Hilarious to read the comments on the Eurogamer piece. Almost the EXACT mirror image as when a US site runs a piece on Cricket! "BORING!" "Lol Sports" Why not just do Badger Wrestling games" etc etc.

 

[Chief]

Is there an updated release plan for this? I've not seen an update and it was supposed to be out around about now?