Too many Kickstarter projects

Something I've been noticing recently, is the increasing number of successfully-kickstarted indie projects.  Lol, why am I complaining?  It's all good, right?

Well, it sets a dangerous precedent, where people can expect to pay you based on a promise rather than a final product.  Why should I support people who haven't yet created a prototype, instead of the already completed game of some person who quit their day job, took out a massive loan, finished a game but it's not selling so they're thousands of dollars in debt?

The positive aspect of crowdfunding is that you can already see which projects and concepts are popular, so if you're a developer, you can decide to abandon a project if it doesn't have enough fans, thereby saving yourself time and headache.  By keeping on top of the kickstarter scene you've also done your market research.

But the negative aspect is that this is eerily similar to two things:

The first is network television.  I gave up on network television ten years ago because I realized they were only broadcasting shows which had enough ratings.  The unpopular gems which I wanted to watch were no longer offered, that's why I moved to cable, and later pulled the plug entirely and subsisted on DVD rentals and now streaming.

The second is the shady business practice of many businessmen in asia... where they take up risky projects without putting up their own money.  Unlike the west there's less of a venture capital spirit, so what they end up risking is the money of wealthy families who don't have the expertise in the current business landscape whether it's outsourcing or something else.  In other words, if the investment is a success, the businessman wins.  If it's a failure, the people who lose money are those who were gullible to listen to his business proposal.  Have enough of those failures occurring, and what ends up happening is people who have the capital to get things moving are even tighter with their purse strings then ever before.

If many of these Kickstarted projects are completed to above average satisfaction, that is not a problem.  But what if most of these projects are completed, but the end result is a disappointment?  This will increase the number of jaded former supporters who would then be even less likely to support the indie scene.

Okay, now here is the part of the blogpost where I go "Oh hey, I'm not like these groups, I'm awesome and responsible!"  Well for starters...
* I pay my artists in full based on agreed rates.  I don't promise them royalties which may never materialize.  It means that I respect the amount of time they contributed towards various assets.  The only people who are going on royalties basis will be the writer and battle engine programmer, since the game is designed around the structure they create -- without them, this game won't exist because it won't have a backbone.  If for the small chance this game achieves success, I will want them to share in its success.  In the meantime, they are contributing from their own free time which they generously give towards various projects.
* I have not, and will not accept donations.  Everything is coming from my own pocket from my day job and family savings.  I will want to say "All the risk is mine".

I don't go posting pretty concept art, because the way I have always done projects, is to start with the core structure, the blood and guts, not the hype.

Then again, perhaps it's me who is doing things wrong.  After all, with a hyped project, you attract the best artists who want to be associated with a popular project!  So it's even more likely that you get to finish the project because of all the willing people ready to either join your team or throw you money!  That's another way of looking at things.  Why choose to slave away when no one gives a shit about your sacrifice when you can have a win-win scenario?

Probably that's a lesson I can take for my next project.  After all, all it takes is one popular piece of concept art by Huke and bam, you get an anime and video game franchise.

But, no.  No, no, no.  I will not succumb to that.  I'm not out to make the next K-on!, I'm out to make the next Haibane Renmei.  We're talking about entirely different genres here.  For the latter, almost ten years later and the work still affects me.  No second, third, fourth, fifth seasons needed.  Over and done.  The only thing that mattered was that enough people cared to fund the project to completion, so it existed.  For Elspeth's Garden, the only thing that matters is whether I still care, then it will get made.  Once finished, whether I recover my capital or not, it will be out on the internet, and I hope people will be thankful that a work like that exists and was made.

Evolution of Influences

The main seed for this project is hard to pin down.  There were a lot of factors that led the way and eventually found themselves integrated in some form -- the concept of natural-magic wielders called geomancers (a theme I tried to explore in my very first kinetic novel from 2006 but which I never proceeded beyond Chapter/Episode I).  An anime-style RPG with yuri elements which I'd been wanting to collaborate with Christine Love about two years ago.  And about a year and a half ago discussing elements of dieselpunk with IceD (from whom I got introduced to his sister's character design skills and subsequently recruited the first artist for this project).  I still give credit for the small influences that come and go and help shape the project to what it is today, even if the people currently on board may be different.  No creator lives in a vacuum.  I had a vague inkling of what I wanted to do but it wasn't until I decided "Ah fuck my finances, I'm gonna get some expert skills on board." that I became confident about the world of Elspeth's Garden as it became the more or less final form today.  Yeah, at face value it's a world of girls! monkeys! airships!  but it goes deeper than that.  In fact, the very first time I opened a production notebook for this game... around May 2010... the first notes I jotted down were conflicts experienced by real-life people (my relatives, basically).  I passed the mantle of writing responsibility to Taleweaver because I wanted to see what influences he could bring to the table and I wanted to be pleasantly surprised (even if it's supposed to be my game, lol).  It's strange, but I like this light approach - see what people come up with, and run with it.  I've read that the second season of Gunslinger Girls sucked compared to the first because the original author had more sway in its production.  If this had been a solo project, it would have been boring, since my list of references is pretty short compared to people who had done their research through training in their various fields.

Wanting to Make a Classic

I've been thinking about what makes a work a classic.  Lord of the Rings - before there had been no mention of orcs, elves, and treants.  Similarly, Frankenstein.  Dracula.  Anything that comes afterwards are just second-generation ideas.  It's really hard to come up with the original, first-generation idea.  Some people have been pushing for the definitive steampunk work, but I don't see it happening.  Steampunk is essentially Victorian era + 1930s machinery.  And there have been plenty of writing from both time periods.  Not to mention Jules Verne.  The conflicts present in steampunk works are, as expected, mainly about ever-evolving technology and the disruption it causes to traditional societal structures, whether its mechanization of labor, pollution, etc. all cooked into the main theme of adventure.

Maybe the definitive work today should actually be based on present realities?  Thinking about the Great Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird -- they all explored the main societal conflicts of the time periods they portray... the excess of the 20s, the Great Depression, pre-Civil Rights.  I have a big hunch if there's going to be a breakthrough work today (regardless of particular media format), it will have to be about Globalization.  Or Rising China.  Or both.  Something done Tom Clancy style or maybe inject a bit of sci-fi near-future and make it Michael Crichton.  The problem is that whoever is going to make that modern day definitive work will have to do shittons of research, otherwise the political analysts and experts will be calling for a lynching.  Regardless, a Masamune Shirow style near-future China cyberpunk thriller is a theme I want to explore eventually (but first things are first and let's get this steampunk project over and done with).  I know it's ambitious, but there's no way not to go big, since otherwise your project will fade into obscurity.  Making the equivalent of taking your Lego models and making a stop-motion story is not going to cut it anymore.  If no one has played your visual novel, does it even exist?  That's my biggest fear since there is so much media nowadays competing for everyone's attention.  Add to that ever increasing family obligations, and it's hard to justify spending a lot of effort on something unless it were the creator's swan song.  Maybe that's why most of the old guard are either retiring or going pro.  Will Elspeth's Garden be my swan song?  Maybe.  But I'll still be pitching in with other people's projects.  Besides Taleweaver, I've been talking to Komitsuku about an idea which we won't have time to work on until next year.  But this is really a pivotal moment since the results of tis project will determine whether I'll still be making stuff next year, or quietly disappearing (I'll most likely be playing Fire Emblem on 3DS) since consuming content as opposed to producing them is a lot more cheaper, more convenient, and in many cases a wiser use of one's time.

Okay, this has been the most brain-farted blogpost I've ever written.  I just hope when I reread this later it isn't a mess of BS.  Take what you will.