The Kickstarter Dilemma

Kickstarter is becoming a great way for fans and enthusiasts to fund indie video games, films, graphic novels... you name it. And many of these creations have become wildly successful once released. However, what happens if you don't get what you pay for?

Here's the example: there once was a Kickstarter game called Star Command that was pitched as a turn-based tactical game with spaceship combat, which got everyone way excited and consequently convinced them to open their wallets. However, once the project got funded, the developer turned around and changed the gameplay from turn-based to real-time. Instead of getting XCOM, it was like taking a half step toward making StarCraft. Needless to say, the investors were pissed.

Both are space combat games, but one is turn-based tactical and the other is real-time strategy... very different end products.

But wait – do they have the right to be? With Kickstarter, you're not really an investor nor are you a partner. You're kind of altruistically helping a cause in return for getting a little something for your trouble or the opportunity to buy a pre-release copy of the game. I can see it both ways. From the fan's point of view, it's not fair. If I see a description for a fantasy game, I'm going to be royally upset if I get a western game.

On the other hand, from the developer's point of view, their ultimate goal is to make a fun and profitable game. If they start making the game and discover that it would be more enjoyable to tweak the gameplay from the original description, it's technically their call. However, to soften the blow, here's a little advice from K, a fellow developer:

• Change the message on Kickstarter to convey "Trust us; we know what we're doing."
• Throw the fans a bone. Make mini-quests or something that are in the style of the initial plan.

Anyway, philosophical point aside, Star Command just released and is getting only so-so reviews, despite all the changes made. As with many things, looks like you win some and you lose some with Kickstarter.

Related Links:
Star Command Is Not the Game You Kickstarted

Gun Pr0n for Gamers

Sorry about the title; I didn't know how else to put it. K and I somehow just discovered this little Youtube channel called FPS Russia that has over half a billion views. And the premise is exactly like it sounds like: a Russian gun enthusiast acquires all these not-even-remotely-legal-in-the-US weapons you see in video games and demos them in real life. Oh yeah... :)

The video that we stumbled upon was titled Top 3 Weapons to Survive the Apocalypse, which has already acquired 5 million views in 1 month.


However, his most popular video would be the AA-12 Fully Automatic Shotgun!!!, which has an astonishing 30 million views in less than 2 years. I seriously had no idea those things were so powerful and hardy!


So if you have a gamer friend who's into first person shooters, share this channel and see what they think. I'm certainly impressed. O_O

Creative Ways of Fighting Piracy

Alright, I'll say the dirty phrase: Digital Rights Management (DRM). The copy protection methods companies use to prevent people from playing pirated games. The bane of poor students and morally lax gamers. :) Generally, if caught, you'll see standard and not-so-standard error messages or maybe have all your save spots disabled. However, some studios have coded in unique, little tricks to get their point across.

1) Unbeatable Enemies
In Serious Sam 3: BFE, the game developers inserted a giant pink scorpion that forever haunts the player until he dies. Not only that, but they blessed the creature with super speeds and immortality. :P (Warning: the video has lots of digital blood.)


In EarthBound, it actually lets you go through the entire game, and then crashes during the last boss fight and deletes all your saves. O_O

2) Broken Controls
This category seems to be fairly popular. In Crysis: Warhead, your weapons not only become fairly inaccurate, but also your ammunition supply magically turns into chicken.


Mirror's Edge is a game all about free running, so what happens if you lose the ability to run?

Grand Theft Auto 4 not only cuts the brakes to all your cars, but it even starts messing with the visuals so that you feel like you're playing drunk (the fun starts after minute 3:11).

Piraters of Batman: Arkham Asylum soon discovered you no longer have the ability to glide. I love this quote from the Eidos forum administrator: "It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code." :)

3) Destruction of Everything
The creators of Maniac Mansion inserted a humorous warning sign in the game, and then proceeded to destroy you and the entire mansion via a weapon of mass destruction.


Developers will always try to outwit piraters in this never-ending war, but still, it's funny to see how many clever ways they can say "we caught you." :)


Related Links:
Invincible Killer Scorpions And Other DRM Hijinks
Escapist Forum Post: Funny DRM methods for any game

Lawn Care

Most people really have no concept of what it takes to make a video game. Sure, there are the obvious, external things like the character models, soundtrack, and the esoteric "programming" that runs under the hood. But we take everything else for granted... like gravity. Or the fact that two "solid" objects have to be programmed not to go through each other (which they often do anyway).


Hmm, something looks wrong...
I think the first time I truly realized how complicated video games are was watching K play Oblivion back during our dating phase. Using his top secret special knowledge of the way a mountain’s polygons were laid out, he made his character jump to uncharacteristically high heights and scale the “you’re not supposed to climb this” peak. It was like Neo bending the rules of the Matrix! Woah...

Another example of K’s “behind the scenes” lessons included digital gardening. Ever noticed that the scenery in the distance looks fairly dull and un-textured, but as soon as you walk toward it, mounds of deliciously detailed grass blades spout in a 5 meter radius around your feet? Fill rate management, my dear. Since consoles don’t have tons of RAM and CPU power to constantly draw every single leaf and flower petal in the entire map, the extra pretty vegetation only pops up locally in your near-sighted viewpoint. Wow, I can’t even imagine how tedious it must have been to paint grass models, but somebody (::cough:: newbie artist) had to do it.


You, boy, go make lawns. I get the castle.
*All Oblivion images are property of Bethesda Softworks