BLACK: The Webseries Interview

Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today I’m joined by Frank T. Ziede creator of “BLACK.” Thank you for joining me today Frank.

It’s my pleasure James. Thanks for your interest in our project.
Can you give our readers a basic rundown of BLACK?  

Black is a high action web series that combines elements of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare video game franchise, the live action film ACT OF VALOR and the successful FOX television show 24. We tell the story of Agent Carnahan, an ex-Navy SEAL, now part of a top secret CIA team created to deal with a terrorist act on American soil that targets the CIA directly.




Why a webseries and not a TV pilot or short film?  Why Kickstarter? As an accomplished filmmaker surely you must have access to more traditional funding methods?

While I have written and directed 8 short films, completed a 30 minutes pilot and written several full length feature scripts, I have found that it is a long road to become a filmmaker. This isn’t a bad thing. Anyone who wants to be successful has to pay his or her dues. To think you can be an overnight success in any industry just isn’t realistic. So as a truly independent filmmaker, I have had to fund most all of my own films by myself. Who better to prove that they have faith in these films than myself?

I chose to branch out into a web series because of the direction the entertainment world seems to be going. The World Wide Web is becoming a solid platform for short films, web series, etc. and we thought that BLACK fit well in the web series format. We chose to go the Kickstarter community because I have had several other filmmakers find success with crowd funding on that website. I also chose them over indiegogo because I really like the all or nothing approach. What good would half of our goal really do for us? My plan is to make a great web series, then hopefully gain more awareness as a filmmaker and have my feature length scripts ready when Hollywood comes calling. As the saying goes: “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity”.  

A Story to Wear: A Documentary about Jewelry History

Welcome to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today I’m joined by Elyse Karlin who is working on a wonderful project entitled “A Story to Wear: A Documentary about Jewelry History.”  Thank you for Joining us today Elyse.  

Thank you for having me James. 

With such a fun and interesting topic why are you coming to Kickstarter to fund it?  Why not just go to PBS, or Discovery Channel or some other traditional production method?

Well, we do hope that eventually there is a possibility we might land on one of these channels. But we felt that we needed to get out film in shape to be shown to media as well as use it to further the study of jewelry history at institutes of higher learning and for the general public. We will need further sponsorship beyond kickstarter but we thought it was important to have raised some of the money on our own before we go to other potential sponsors.

Each Flavor is a Journey

Welcome to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today I’m joined by the team behind “Each Flavor is a Journey” a documentary about Jewish Cooking in Berlin as told through the lens of food.  Thank  you all for joining us today!
So I guess I’ll start with the obvious, you had a grant to get the film shot, why do you need Kickstarter now?

I need it to get to the audience, to spread the message, which is the ultimate aim of a documentary. Film festivals require fees, posting costs, quality copies in different formats. I also need DVD copies and design for the cover. So after finishing a film there is a lot more to be done, if not it will end in my hard disk for ever. But the most important is that to reach theatrical screenings, distribute DVD copies or to be screened on TV we need to pay other  music royalties, which of course are more expensive than the ones for film festivals and educational purposes.

Can you give us a quick rundown of the documentary?  How did you ever get involved?  

It is a film about migration, memories and jewish cooking, set in Berlin. Jewish immigrants with different backgrounds, sharing their passion for food as part of their cultural identity. Those are topics that have always fascinated me, and there was this possibility of presenting a grant for creative projects of Jewish women living in Germany, so I decided to go for it... and got it!

BLACK IDOL interview

Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today I’m joined by Peter Popken, the man behind BLACK IDOL, Volume 1. So Peter you’re a long time professional in the film industry why do you need to come to Kickstarter for this project?  

My graphic novel, is much more a labor of love than an attempt to break into the comic industry.  I have been following up this project in my spare-time for many years. It is a project with a personal meaning to me, not really designed for commercial success. That's why I like the idea of developing this independently.

Would you care to give us a brief overview of the story in BLACK IDOL?

The story begins in Olaygon, a tremendous city high above the deadly swamps of Farland. A city that holds all the wealth and grandeur for its owners but little for its builders. It is believed that a magic source lies hidden, deep down in the underworlds. A secret power steaming the engines of the empire. Behind the scenes, Kharon pulls the strings by spreading fear and terror among the masses. An ancient legend haunts the commoners and fuels their anxiety for an apocalypse foretold. Caught up in his power games Princess Salena struggles to break free and escape the deadly plot he had spun for her.

Science Fiction Land Interview

In my seemingly never ending quest to seek out and discover new Kickstarter projects I came upon a seemingly timely one in the Science Fiction Land Documentary.  A documentary going into the details of the failed movie and theme park that was the cover story for the film ARGO that was theaters at the same time?  How could I not want to learn more?  

My journey lead me to Judd Ehrlich over in Brooklyn, New York.  Reaching him was a bit more difficult than my usual interviewees for the simple fact that he’s quite the busy man living with that New York lifestyle!  After some phone tag and interrupted meals on both sides we were able to have a wonderful, if a bit broken up, conversation over Skype.  

Greetings Judd it’s great to finally speak to you.

You to James. 




So you’ve brought us “Science Fiction Land: A Stranger than Fiction Documentary.”  Can you tell us a bit about it?  

Sure, this a project years in the making.  It started with a researcher doing research for Errol Morris for the documentary series “First Person” on Bravo.  They did a story about a CIA agent named Tony Mendez who had a kind of crazy story about using a science fiction script to help free hostages during the hostage crisis in Iran. Tony talked about the script that he used and the designs that formed the cover he used when going to Tehran.  Well Diane Bernard was the name of the researcher and she thought it was a really interesting story and decided to dig a little deeper.  She found this fully formed script and these incredible drawings and designs that were done not only for the film but for a science fiction theme park.  It was to be the largest theme park in the world and it was going to be called “Science Fiction Land.”

The story kept interesting her so she kept digging and discovering how the the theme park had grown out of this script called “Lord of Light.” It was based on the 1967 best selling, Hugo Award winning, novel by the same name written by Roger Zelazny.  These drawings were done by none other than Jack Kirby; known as the “King of Comics” he was co-creator for such classic super heroes as Captain America, Fantastic Four, the X-men and the Hulk.  Basically he’s the reason the comic book industry is still around.  

All her digging eventually lead her to this one guy, Barry Ira Geller.  He’s this kid from the Bronx who ended up moving to Hollywood. He bought the rights to this Zelazny book and was trying to make this blockbuster science fiction movie which was going to be the most expensive science fiction movie of all time.  Barry had gotten Kriby on board as well as John Chambers who won an academy award for Planet of the Apes, the famed Ray Bradbury, and futurist Buckminster Fuller.  So he had assembled this all-star dream team cast of characters but then everything went horribly wrong and up in flames.  

Nenetl of the Forgotten Spirits Interview

Welcome to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today I’m joined by Vera Greentea from the new, and successful,  Kickstarter Comic Project, “Nentl of the Forgotten Spirits.” Thank you Vera for joining us today.


Okay my first question has to be, is your last name really Greentea? 

Haha, if only you knew how many people ask me this question! Nope, as you might have guessed, it isn’t. My real last name is something unpronounceable and Russian.

Nothing wrong with unpronounceable names. What brings your project to Kickstarter?  

I’ve been a huge fan of the idea of Kickstarter since its conception. To be able to bring my projects straight to people who might like them, without waiting 20 years for someone to notice my work and publish me... it’s amazing. It gave me the chance to gauge the interest for my kind of work and find out really quickly if comics is something I can do successfully. 



Would you care to give us a brief overview of the story of Nenetl of the Forgotten Spirits?

Nenetl, of the Forgotten Spirits is my autumn-inspired 4-part story set in Mexico during the Day of the Dead festival. Nena, the ghost girl and title character, has been forgotten by all living beings, and she has a single day to find someone who’d care to remember her. In the meantime, she is chased by four exorcist apprentices (one per issue!) - each for a different reason. It’s a story about hope and family (and skulls!), but it’s full of creepy moments and humor.

Unbound the Awakening Interview

UPDATE : 10/29/12
As of this post going live I'm pleased to announce Unbound: The Awakening made their $1500 goal with 31 days remaining!  CONGRATULATIONS!


Welcome to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today I’m joined by Kyle Stephens, co-creator on the new Kickstarter Comic Project, “Unbound: The Awakening.” Thank you Kyle for joining us today.

Thanks for having me!  It is truly my pleasure.

So Kyle you and your co-creator Mariah Wall are both full time college students, why bring this project to Kickstarter and not, say make a webcomic or submit it to a publisher?  Wouldn’t either of those fit your busy college lives better?   

Honestly, yes, those would have been better for time management.  But we felt that neither of those avenues were the perfect fit for what we wanted.  Doing a webcomic would definitely save on printing costs, but we didn't feel that Unbound fit that type of outlet.  Webcomics are usually done in a comic strip format.  With Unbound, we wanted to stay true to the traditional 24-32 page format.  

We also thought about submitting it to a publisher, it is just that we wanted to have complete freedom over how Unbound grew and evolved as a story.  With Kickstarter we have that freedom.  We also have the ability to connect with our audience.  We can directly talk with them, answer their questions and get feedback.  These things all help Unbound become the best it can be.

Would you care to give us a brief overview of the story of Unbound: The Awakening?

Sure!  Unbound is set in 2554 in the former country of Greece.  In this future science fiction was wrong, deep space travel is not feasible.  Because of this humanity had to turn towards mining to get their resources.  Governments are a thing of the past, corporations run everything from jobs to the police.  The population is split in two, you either live in squalor or in the lap of luxury. Our main character, Liam, lives in poverty with most of the population.  Also like most of the people, he works in the mining industry.  He actually specializes in deep earth mining, one of the most dangerous specializations.  

Before the events of the story, Liam lost his wife and son to disease.  Because of this he signs up for the deepest dig in history. He will be going close to the molten layer.  Before he reaches the scheduled depth, he breaks into a unmapped cavern.  This cavern turns out to be the Underworld, home of Hades, god of the dead.  Liam's actions also awaken the god.  Hades finds that his wife is missing and he can't reach his family.  Hades, who has weakened over time, forms a deal with Liam.  Help me find my wife and family and I'll return your wife or son.

The Shadow Cabal Interview

Greetings and welcome to another exciting Kickstarter Interview!  Today I’m joined by Kynan Griffin of Arrowstorm entertainment.  He is here to talk about his full length feature film project currently on Kickstarter entitled, “The Shadow Cabal.”  Thank you for joining us today Kynan.  The Shadow Cabal is already shot and “in the can” why do you need Kickstarter?  As an experienced filmmaker couldn’t you have found funding through traditional means?

Yes, we could have found funding through traditional means (and we do - the majority of this film was financed through private equity investors). Kickstarter is a unique development though, and we want to be part of the transition from a hierarchical to a lateral economy. We look forward to the day when films can be completely financed via crowdsourcing, and independently distributed through the same means. Right now we are still reliant on traditional distribution channels (DVD, TV, VOD, etc) for the majority of our revenue. But we look forward to that changing.

Can you give us an overview of the kind of story you’re telling?  This isn’t set in an established literary world is it?

It is loosely set in a world we developed through an online game we created, SAGA (www.playsaga.com). We had done so much work fleshing out a world and a story, it seemed a shame not to explore it further, and we hope to set a bunch of stories in this same world, as it is really rich and varied, and we have created a lot of fun storylines. You’ll notice in the trailer a dwarf holding a primitive firearm... in SAGA, there are these rudimentary, almost steampunk technologies, coupled with magic and a traditional medieval setting. So it’s possible to have a steam-powered mech giant fighting a dragon and a mage.

Valiant Interview

Greetings friends!  Today I’m joined by the talented Shyam Sundar Sengupta, Producer for the Kickstarter Film Project “Valiant.”  So I guess my first question has to be why Kickstarter?  Did you already try traditional funding methods or are you doing both simultaneously?  

Kickstarter has a great feature, which many other methods do not; the ability to share your creation and work with a large base of people, who all become part of the project.  Considering there’s a lot of fans on the type of work we are doing, and we are driven ourselves by being the same kind of fans, Kickstarter seemed like a perfect place to go and share.


So “Valiant” sounds like one of those plucky labor of love kind of films where those who started it couldn’t help but want to finish it.  It seems perfectly suited for Kickstarter, how much of it is done at this point?  

It’s almost done!  That’s the most amazing part; this was a dream many said was impossible, that it was just too big or too hard, but our team has managed to already do a lot of the most difficult work.  We already have a full edit done, but now we are working on finishing the world, and doing it the right way, which is where Kickstarter came in.

The Oswald Chronicles Interview

UPDATE: 10/29/2012
CONGRATULATIONS!!! The project hit it's funding with 14 hours to go! Well done!

Welcome to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today I’m joined by JD Calderon from the Comic The Oswald Chronicles. Thank you for joining us today. As a current webcomic creator what made you decide to bring this project to Kickstarter?

Being a long time indy publisher one of the things that has always concerned me is being able to cover my cost on the printing of books. This is a major concern for many indy publishers, especially when you’re dealing with Diamond and the direct market things can get dicey quick if you don’t hit your numbers. Kickstarter allows the fans to have a direct impact on a project and give a creator the financial certainty that a project can get printed, which is pretty awesome from where I’m sitting.

Would you care to give us a brief overview of the story of The Oswald Chronicles?

The Oswald Chronicles is about Oswald a lone mouse in a world filled with magic, wonder, adventure, and mystery. Oswald finds himself in the precarious position of being the only mouse in the world who is sentient so it drives him on a quest to find out who he is and why he’s the only one of his kind with the affliction of thought. During his many travails he discovers he is apt at sorcery and eventually becomes an accomplished sorcerer, while discovering he’s the inheritor of a great power.

Indoor Harvest Interview

Welcome!  Today I am happy to be joined by Chad Sykes from the Indoor Harvest Kickstarter.  Thank you for joining us today Chad.  

I'm glad to be here James!
So you’ve got quite the project set-up here, what makes you think Kickstarter is the place to go for this kind of project?

Well to be honest, we decided on Kickstarter mainly for the exposure it might bring us more than anything else. I actually went into this with low expectations on raising any actual money on Kickstarter. We spent some time looking at similar projects like ours on Kickstarter and the success rate was rather low.

What I don't know however is if that was due to a lack of interest by the Kickstarter community in general for these kind of projects, or if the projects themselves just didn't do a good enough job selling their idea to the Kickstarter community.

Either way, if there are people on Kickstarter passionate about Vertical Farming we would consider our campaign a 100% success if all we did was connect with them.

Right now exposure is worth more than any money we could raise because as more and more people find out about our project, the greater the chance we have of connecting with people who can really help us achieve our goals.

The King of Arcades Interview

Greetings and welcome to another exciting Kickstarter Interview!  Today I’m joined by Sean Tiedeman of The King of Arcades Kickstarter project.  How are you doing today Sean?  

I'm doing great. Thank you James. I couldn't be better. The amount of support we have received so far is very exciting. It's been a lot of work over the past year and a half to get to this point. I'm thrilled that so many others seem to share the same passion that I have for this project.
So with so much good press, contacts in the industry, and interviews with video game legends already in the can why do you need Kickstarter?  

When I first began filming this documentary in July of 2011, I had no idea how big the overall scope of the project would become. I never would have imagined I would be traveling to Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado, or Washington D.C. The story just kept growing. Purchasing licensed footage, original music, hard drives, crew costs, artwork, and the travel costs began to add up substantially. Even when doing a film on the cheap, there are still many costs that you can not avoid. Financially, I began to get out of my league. I realized I needed a producer to help me take this film to the next level.

I actually shopped the film around a bit before launching my Kickstarter campaign. Surprisingly, I had a few producers step forward. As wonderful as it would had been to put their money to work, something just didn't click. I personally feel I needed to work with someone who understands these games, respects them, and understands the direction that this film is going in. This is a very important project to me, and I do not want to lose control of it. It's not like I needed too much money in comparison to what a feature film usually costs. Kickstarter quickly became an option and just made sense to me. The people who pledge obviously love this stuff as much as me. They can also benefit the production greatly because they know these games. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. They help me finish my project, I give them perks they can enjoy. The creative community should be very grateful that Kickstarter exists. It is a wonderful opportunity for filmmakers.  Also, it is really cool as a backer to be part of a project you believe in.  I know, since I started out that way supporting other projects.

Romeo is Bleeding Interview

Greetings friends, today I am pleased to introduce Jason Zeldes the director of Romeo is Bleeding (Working title) and the Kickstarter by the same name.  Thank you for joining us today Jason.

Thank you, James, for taking such an interest in the project. I’m honored to be here.

So after viewing the trailer you have on the Kickstarter I have to ask, “Why Kickstarter?”  It looks like you have the makings of an contest winning documentary couldn’t you have funded it through normal channels?  

Well, I really think that Kickstart has become the “normal channel”, especially for younger filmmakers such as myself.  The website is really accessible, and easy to use, so its the fastest way I know to get exposure for the film while also raising funds.  

In many instances Kickstarter doesn’t replace the other channels you speak of, but it provides the opportunity to get seed funding so you can get the project pretty far down the road before you go and seek funding through other channels.  For me personally, the Kickstarter funds can pay for most of principal photography, so when I begin to approach individual investors and larger foundations, I can present them with a really polished piece.  

School for Adventurers Interview

Today it is my pleasure to be interviewing the creative force behind School for Adventurers, and now their Kickstarter, Kara Loo and Jennifer Young!  Thank you both for joining us today.

We’re delighted to be here!

So let me start by saying that I’ve spoken to these wonderful ladies before probably way back in 2007 when they first started up School for Adventurers.  It’s great to see you are still doing what you love and working on getting your story out to more folks.  

We’re so happy to be back up as well! We had to take a break due to some tragic personal issues, but we’re back and better than ever!
So you’ve had the story online since 2007, you’ve been working on releasing it as a novel for seven years, what brings you to Kickstarter?  

Working in the gaming industry, we’d heard of Kickstarter as a place where indie games were getting launched. When we checked it out, we saw there was a contingent of novelists there as well. Inspired by their success, we decided to try Kickstarter for our novel series School for Adventurers (SFA).

While it’s true that we launched the website for SFA in 2007, we recently took a two year hiatus to deal with personal issues and while we were waiting to see if our book would get picked up by a publisher. When it didn’t get picked up, we had the option of continuing to revise and attempting another round of queries, abandoning the project, or finishing it out.

SErvice GAmes: The Rise and Fall of SEGA

Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today I’m joined by David Munoz the man behind Service Games: The Rise and Fall of SEGA - Enhanced Edition, thank you David for joining us today.

Thanks for having me. Really an unexpected honor.
 
The original version of this History of SEGA by Sam Pettus is already available online, why bring it to Kickstarter now, and why you?

I was involved in the original print and ebook versions of the history. It is very true to the great work that Sam Pettus wrote, but unfortunately has a number of flaws in style, grammar, and substance in certain subjects. That’s what this Kickstarter wants to fix. Making the most complete and well-written history of Sega available.

As someone who only had a Dreamcast why should I care about the history of SEGA?  How does this book appeal to those who are not hardcore SEGA fans?

As you probably know, the Dreamcast was the end of an era at Sega. As the last console they ever produced, it was a swan song that many people still cherish to this day. It was, however, in many ways doomed to failure before it was even released. It’s the story that got Sega from its humble beginnings, to the one-time industry juggernaut, only to practically fall off the map a decade later.  That makes this book a story worth telling.

Many younger readers may have not grown up with Sega consoles, but everyone involved with video games has been affected by some of what Sega did in the 80’s and 90’s. They were one of the first to use some of the things we take for granted today. It’s really amazing to see what they were able to do back then and how those innovations resonate still today.

Star Trek Bridge Restoration Project Interview

Greetings friends!  Today I’m happy to be interviewing Huston the main “Kickstarter guy” of the Star Trek Bridge Restoration Project Kickstarter.  A pleasure to speak with you Huston.  

You too sir!

So as always my first question is, “Why Kickstarter?”  

It’s the biggest, it’s the best, it’s the most famous, and 3 of my friends had great success with it, including director Joe Dante with his Trailers From Hell campaign and Marc Zicree with his phenomenal Space Command fundraiser, which incidentally, our main “Kickstarter” guy also worked on.

An interview with Liftport Group's Michael Laine.

When I first saw the Liftport Kickstarter project I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”  After I read more about the project I realized it was the same folks I had read about a few years earlier in Popular Mechanics.  With Kickstarter being such a unique opportunity to talk to such interesting folks directly I decided to request an interview with Michael Laine while the project was underway.  As the campaign came to a close after surpassing their goal by over $100,000 I was surprised to receive a response to my interview request.

It turned out Michael had read my request several weeks earlier but had been so swamped by the project that he wasn’t able to get to me until afterwards when things had “settled” slightly.  I was soon to discover that Michael’s idea of “settled” is an insanely busy time for normal folks.  

After a few email exchanges Michael decided we should have a phone interview as it was the only way to ensure I’d receive a timely response.  It was determined that recording the phone conversation was beyond my current capabilities so we just used Skype and recorded it from there.   

The first thing everyone notices when talking to Michael is just how dynamic and animated he is. Every conversation I’ve ever had with him seems to be done in high gear and he while doing a hundred things at once.  His energy and enthusiasm is contagious and soon becomes obvious why he has done as well as he has not just with the Kickstarter but in his career in general.  After having a side discussion about Skype and Google+ hangouts we moved onto the interview itself.  

The Wardenclyffe Horror Interview

Greetings friends! Today I am joined by one of the creative forces behind Wardenclyffe Horror graphic novel, David Winchester.  Thank you for joining us David!

Thank you so much for having me, James!

So David lets kick this interview off with our standard question, “Why Kickstarter?”  

Well, there are a lot of ways to take that question.

If you mean why Kickstarter as opposed to other crowdfunding sites, then I would say that Kickstarter is the 'legitimate’ site. It has the highest requirements on creators, and in my experience is more likely to give backers what they are looking for.

If you mean, "why crowdfunding though," I would say that it is a marketplace of ideas. It allows someone with a great project and a lot of passion to put in some effort, make a pitch, and hopefully get enough attention and funding to give him the means to succeed. Though my partner Chris and I might eventually be able to self finance such a project - we can bring it to the audience a lot faster with a little help.



So why 1908 and why Twain and Tesla?  That’s only a few years before Twain’s death but safely in the middle of Tesla’s time was it just to get the iconic Twain look for the book?

Tesla and twain were an obvious choice for us when it came time to look for ideas on a story in this period, but 1908 has something none of the surrounding years had: an anomaly that went unexplained for decades: The Tunguska event. We've tied that in with the rest of the story, in what I think is a skillful blend of fact and fiction.

The Keep System Interview

Greetings friends and welcome to a new Kickstarter Conversation with the creator of “The Keep System” Robert.   Thanks for joining us today Robert.

Thanks for having me!

So some might not realize this, but this is your second attempt at running this very Kickstarter, why are you back for another try?  What’s different this time around?

There were some serious flaws in the first Kickstarter. We tried to do too much at once.  Basically we were asking for a lot as a new player on the block and we were completely held hostage to order minimums and molds.

What have you learned from your first Kickstarter to help this new campaign?  

We started a survey to determine the best set of trade-offs in functionality. The audience for the rugged shell just wasn’t as large as the demand for the organizers, so we found a way to get those transported without an insanely expensive mold. Order minimums for textile goods are also quite a bit lower than for injection molding, which means we don’t need to sell quite as many and thus can have a lower funding goal.

We completely revamped the Great Chamber and I’m so glad we did. It’s improved in every way and no longer requires a mold, further reducing costs - and again, with lower order minimums, we can afford to do this with less capital.

We’ve also learned more about how to run a Kickstarter and how to be more engaged with our backers.

Finally, we’ve learned that this is a new concept for a lot of people!

An Overview of Star Citizen Project

Okay, now that my nerdy glee as worn off a bit I want to take a closer look at Chris Roberts’ proposed crowdfunding project: “Star Citizen.”  

This isn’t Kickstarter and it shows.

In a bold, but predictable move, Star Citizen will NOT be funded on Kickstarter but on his own site http://starcitizen.robertsspaceindustries.com/ which cuts out the middle men of Kickstarter and Amazon and lets more money go strait to the project.  That said there are some major issues that show the difference between using Kickstarter and going this direct route.  

Going to their commercial terms page you get the usual huge amount of legalize text which most of us tend to skip over.  I would like to draw your attention to the following blocks of text though:  

“You must be a registered user to select and pay for a pledge.  Upon selection of a pledge, your payment will be collected through independent third party payment providers such as Paypal, Amazon Payments, and Stripe.”

What this means is that unlike Kickstarter which doesn’t take your money until the campaign actually succeeds and even then not until the time is complete, RSI takes your money NOW.  So none of the usual “Pledge now to get in early but don’t worry about paying until later” like you can do on Kickstarter.  Which can suck especially when there’s those limited “early bird” lower price offers.   

Nexus 2 Interview

Greetings friends!  Today I’m joined by Vincent of Most Wanted Entertainment to talk about the Nexus 2 Kickstarter.  Thank you for joining me today Vincent.

Thank you James, my pleasure. Always pleased to talk about this game that we have been wanting to make for so long.

So I guess the first question has to be “Why Kickstarter?”

That’s an easy question to answer and I think most people know the answer, publishers are just not interested in games such as Nexus. They don’t like the genre of space games and they find it all too hardcore. Apart from that, the old situation where a publisher could be convinced to fund the development for games is more or less in the past. They work with internal studio’s mostly and if they sign 3rd party games, it’s only if the developers are at least at alpha stage of development. It has always been challenging for developers to fund their own development and the risks have only gone up. This is one of the reasons why innovation in triple-A games is scarce.

That leaves only two possibilities for games like Nexus: crowd-funding or angel investors.

More on Scrumbleships

So it seems Scrumbleships is spreading the buzz with another blog picking up an article on it!  Including a reference to this blog. :)

http://blog.zorts.net/2012/10/scrumbleship-more-then-minecraft-in.html