Crowdfunding and the Future of Independent Gaming

Barkley 2, gaming evolution at its finest.

Independent development has been a staple of the video game industry since its very founding. From the development of one of the first electronic games, coded by MIT students during late nights and in their spare time, to the humble beginnings of Atari in a garage, the spirit and ingenuity of indie games will seemingly never die. However, like all successful organisms, indie games and their development have had to evolve drastically in order to avoid extinction (unless you’re a creationist, then I suppose they’re just being designed more intelligently these days).

While many aspects of the indie development scene have changed wildly since the early days of the industry, some things never change. Indie developers have always pushed game design and hardware to their limits; often using radical design in gameplay and control systems, while simultaneously focusing on concepts and elements that may be unheard of, or have little-to-no mainstream appeal. These combinations sometimes pay off big, but more often than not they flop, or never find mainstream success. Occasionally elements from these revolutionary titles will find their way into future titles and games, bolstering their successor’s popularity; leaving their evolutionary mark while fading into the annals of history. Forgotten but for their singular contributions to the greater good and longevity of games on the whole.

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, a beautiful indie developed game that won't soon fade away.

While most of these titles pass into obscurity quickly, some titles hit it big and make their mark on society. With hundreds, if not thousands, of homebrew and indie games coming out every day it seems that the forces that decide whether a game becomes an indie-superstar, or simply wanders into obscurity, are nothing more than random chance. However, as with most things, there is usually a way to stack the odds in your favor. In the case of modern independent games one of the best ways to improve the odds of a game becoming a success, or even being completed, is crowdfunding. Whether it’s Kickstarter or Indiegogo, crowdfunding platforms have permanently changed the video game development landscape, for the indie and established alike. 

Mercenary Kings, another fine, yet violent, Kickstarter project.

Providing two very necessary elements of game development, money and audience, crowdfunding is changing the way that indie game development works. Many small developers struggle to find the funds to buy necessary equipment or software, and before the popularity of crowdfunding for development, many would struggle to even get the most basic “builds” of their games up and running. However with the recent exposure of popular projects blowing up across the media it is easier than ever for small studios with capable people and interesting projects to get the funds they need. 

Funding aside these platforms are also a great way to find an audience for a game. One of the most interesting dynamics of crowdfunding platforms is that while raising the funds to make a game, or anything else for that matter, the audience and exposure of the project grows. While this is certainly a good way to gain even more funding, the real benefit lies in finding an even larger audience and fanbase. Something that money simply can’t buy. 

Oh please, you knew this image was going to be in here somewhere.

While many people have heard of crowdfunding darlings such as Double Fine Adventure, Shadowrun Returns, and Wasteland 2, most crowdfunded game projects are much, much smaller. Most projects consist of small teams of game enthusiasts, or are even being developed by a single person. Large or small though, all of these projects share a common thread: the enthusiasm and dedication of their developers. Often with small projects it’s this enthusiasm and dedication, and not the developer’s skill set or experience, which sells a project to the supporters and backers; sometimes however a games style, look, or feel can sell the game all on its own. 

The video "description", literally described nothing about the project. I didn't care and threw my money at it as fast as I could reach my wallet.

While some projects have long, wordy videos describing the creator’s vision, or even working footage of the game itself, others, such as The Homestuck Adventure Game, don’t bother to describe what will be in the game at all, instead relying on an existing fanbase to bolster the popularity of the campaign, and bring in funds. While most indie developers don’t have the recognition or means for such an opportunity, some projects have gained a strong following and plenty of funding on style and looks alone. 

While crowdfunding is clearly opening up many avenues to new developers, and gamers alike, there are certainly downsides and risks as well. Lack of experience, underestimation of development cycles, and many other factors can lead to delays, postponement, rushed products, or even failure to deliver. No game studio is invulnerable to collapse, and even large studios have failed to deliver products after years of development and careful planning. Also, with many of these studios being first time developers, there is the chance the product will be poorly designed, or may just not be fun. It is for these very reasons that companies/platforms like Kickstarter have plainly stated that they are not stores, but means of funding projects and companies that the public may be interested in.

I could literally not care less that I know nothing about Radio the Universe's creator, or that it's his first project. I'm willing to risk it for this amazing looking title.

While almost every crowdfunded game or project offers the product being made as one of the rewards, it’s important to be aware that you’re not pre-ordering a video game, but actually funding its development, and that is a big difference. This is more than simply putting your money down at your local game shop or online retailer and expecting a game in six months; this is giving a stranger your money and asking them to use it wisely. Namely you’re accepting the fact you may never see this money again, and that you are putting your money down in blind faith, with only the hope of the project being completed. When backing any project you are taking on the risk of failure, and losing any money invested if a project does fall flat. But with the average pledge on Kickstarter being around $23, the risk doesn't seem too bad; especially if the game ends up exceeding expectations. 

Now, having said that, that doesn't mean as consumers you’re not protected. Every major crowdfunding site has failsafes and checks to help protect backers from fraud and failure, but there are always going to be those that try to cheat the system. So far there haven’t been any major cases of fraud or wrongdoing that haven’t been caught and given the boot, but that doesn't mean that it won’t happen.  And failure is always a possibility.

The soon to be relaunched Scroll Ninja is going to be another I'll "take the risk" on.

However with risk comes reward, and almost all projects deliver their products, and often they’re good as or better than expected. Also, considering how small most of these developers are, and the hurdles they have to bound, I’m surprised that the amount of failed or collapsed projects post-funding isn’t significantly higher. As a matter of fact I know of only one Kickstarter game project that has failed, and that really says something of the community of game developers on crowdfunding sites in general. To me that shows the dedication and work these developers put into these projects, and how much they value and respect their backers. So yes, there is a risk a project may never see the light of day, but honestly it’s a pretty small one. 

All in all it’s easy to see that crowdfunding and open support of independent game projects is changing the way games are being developed. How that may grow and change in the future is hard to say, but for now it’s giving us some great games, and is allowing the public to have a say in what is made. Hopefully we’ll continue to see this trend grow in a positive manner, and see the industry get back to its roots, directly responding to what gamers want. Here’s to hoping anyway. 

Until next time, Keep on Gaming.