Monthly Archives: March 2013

How to do a Successful Kickstarter Campaign at PAX East

How to do a Successful Kickstarter Campaign at PAX East

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

As I waited in line for the Official Kickstarter panel I didn’t expect to see a campaign go from start to finish in less time than the panel took. But that was exactly what happened. Max Temkin of Cards Against Humanity fame was on hand with his next card game Werewolf. There he walked us through the behind the scenes steps on Kickstarter, and with the help of Cindy Au, Head of Community and Luke Crane, Project Specialist for Games at Kickstarter the campaign was launched. With the backing of panelist Freddie Wong and the room full of attendees the $200 goal was easily reached in just a few minutes.

 

 

The wonderful thing I learned about a Kickstarter campaign is that the hardest part is coming up with an idea. The Kickstarter site is very straight forward and customizable to fit your needs. And once the campaign has started regular updates are important. People want to know how things are going. But at the same time they don’t want to be spammed to death with every tiny bit of news.

 

 

Length of time is also important. Freddie Wong, as well as the other panelists suggested that 30 days was plenty of time for most campaigns. It gives people time to have the initial hype, for there to be a bit of a drop in the excitement, and finally to build back up again at the end.

 

 

Rewards are also a hugely important factor to consider. For the Werewolf campaign there is only one tier and one reward, the cards. Sure he could have done shirts, or coffee mugs, but the more you start adding in the more your costs go up, so the more expensive and complicated things get. The best rewards are things that would happen as a result of the creation process. Like a digital version of a coffee table book.

 

 

Stretch goals were another thing that were talked about in quite a lot of detail. Especially how stretch goals can be a bad thing. The panelists talked about how sometimes stretch goals can change what it was they originally backed and how there have been times when it has changed them into something they really didn’t want to back anymore. At the same time though, stretch goals are an awesome way to keep people excited about the project and even get them to donate more than they had originally dedicated.

 

 

So, what does all of this have to do with MMOs? Well as we all know Kickstarter is becoming an alternative source of funding for a lot of games these days. It seems like every week a new MMO is popping up. And sometimes it isn’t just a new game, sometimes it’s a documentary based in an MMO. And that brings us to Crowd Funds, a new column on OnRPG. Each week we will highlight a crowd funded MMO or MMO related campaign from sites like Kickstarter, Indigogo, GameLaunched, and Gambitious. We will talk to developers, backers, and follow campaigns through the entire process from beginning to end and bring it all to you here. So check back each week for more crowd funded fun.

AlphaBeta Soup 3/29: Post-PAX Surprise

It has been a huge week for betas! OnRPG has a ton of giveaways going for everything from the World of Warplanes Closed Beta to Orb Packs for Godsrule. If you’re looking for something new to try out this weekend Navy Field 2 and Chinese browser MMO Yitien are starting closed beta. And of course there was the shocking news that production on Grimlands has come to an end.

As ever all changes to the list below are in orange for you to find easily. Have a great Easter weekend!

OnRPG Giveaways

These are all the beta giveaways currently running on OnRPG. There’s no guarantee that we won’t run out so grab them quick.

Kartuga Closed Beta Keys
World of Warplanes Closed Beta Key Giveaway
Navy Field 2 Closed Beta Key Giveaway
Scarlet Blade Bloodbath Beauty Open Beta Pack Giveaway
Soul of Guardian II Newbie Code Giveaway
Everlight Open Beta Privilige Pack Giveaway
Scarlet Blade Item Pack Giveaway
Godsrule Open Beta Orb Pack
Everlight Open Beta Flame Wing Giveaway

Dates Announced:

Below are the MMOs who have announced upcoming beta events that haven’t started yet or are currently in progress for a limited time.

Navyfield 2 Closed Beta March 27-April 10
Yitien Closed Beta March 29
Origins of Malu Closed Beta March 30
March of War Closed Beta April 1
Tales of Laputa Closed Beta April 1
Ecol Tactics Open Beta April 3
Ragnarok 2 Open Beta Mid April
ArcheAge Chinese Beta starting May 2013
Age of Wulin: EU Closed Beta 2013

Alpha:

These games are currently in Alpha. Signups are available via the link.

Onigiri Alpha (Japanese)
The Repopulation
Xulu

Closed Beta:

MMOs which are in closed beta require application and often require approval before access can be gained.

Age of Wulin(EU, Asia) EU in Early 2013
Age of Wushu(US)
Ascension: Arenas of War
The Aurora World
Black Prophecy Tactics: Nexus Conflict
Born To Fire
Bounty Hounds Online Closed beta server closed until further notice.
Chrono Tales
City of Steam Currently between betas
Defiance
Dragon Nest EU
Dragon’s Prophet
Dust 514
Ecol Tactics
Eldevin
Everlight
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
FoxLi Rush
Grimlands CANCELED!
HeroDex
JollyGrim
Kartuga
Legend of Edda Vengeance
MechWarrior Tactics
Marvel Heroes
NavyField 2
Neverwinter Between Beta Events
Patterns
RF Online EU
Salem
The Showdown Effect
SmashMuck Champions
SMITE
Starlight Story
Strategoria
Tactical Intervention
Transformers Universe Now accepting applications.
UFO Online
The War Z
Warface
World of Warplanes

Open Beta:

Games in open beta require an application but often it is little more than signing up for an account.

Absolute Force Online
Auto Club Revolution (Russian)
Broken Realms
DK Online
Dominatron
Dust 514
Edge of Space
End of Nations Open Beta delayed until further notice, refunds have been issued.
Everlight
Firefall
Godsrule
GUNS and ROBOTS
Gunswords(English and Russian)
Hailan Rising
Hawken
HeroDex
Heroes & Generals
MechWarrior Online
Mutant Badlands(Formerly Radiated Wasteland)
Path of Exile
Oversoul
Raceroom Racing
Ragnarok 2
Real World Racing
Salem
Scarlet Blade
SmashMuck Champions
The Aurora World
Universal Monsters Online
War Thunder
WorldAlpha
World of Dragons (Russian)

Expansions:

These are the beta events for games which are already live and have beta events for new content. Access to these is most often limited to the current playerbase.

WildStar PAX East Coverage – As Long as I Laugh

WildStar PAX East Coverage – As Long as I Laugh

By Jonathan Doyle (Ardua), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Wildstar! Are you excited for it?

 

 

Certainly I have seen that some in the community absolutely ate up MMOHut’s Wildstar Developer Preview.

 

 

Before I really get into what went on at the panel or what I personally took from Wildstar, can everyone join me in welcoming the clear star of PAX East and the linchpin of this piece. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Demon Possessed Soda Machine.

 

 

 

Nexus and What We Saw There

I have friends who are waiting for Wildstar with baited breath. Admittedly I wasn’t one of them because I hadn’t really read up much about the game. The art style, which is very cartoony, didn’t entirely click with me when I first saw it. That’s not to say it is bad, far from it. Everything that I saw is cleanly put together and does follow a particular vision.

 

 

The Wildstar panel at PAX East was a sort of “MMO Desires: The Greatest Hits” compilation. They’re not promising you, the player, the moon and stars, just the planet Nexus. It helps though that that is more than enough for effectively anyone.

 

 

Have you longed for you own in game housing? Wildstar has that.

 

 

Do you want to have big PvP battlegrounds so you can go up against the hated Dominion/Exiles (delete as appropriate with all prejudice!)? Nexus caters for that.

 

 

Do you feel the need to wander off into the wilds? Do you want to know more about the story of the game? Do you just want to slice and dice and blast critters into tiny pieces? Of course they have that.

 

 

Had they not shown off to everyone all these systems in existence, I admit I might be more skeptical. There’s a niche for everyone and they want to make sure you know it.

 

 

Bartle Me Baby One More Time

I assume that you’ve heard of the Bartle Test. If not, the quick and dirty way of describing it is as a psychology test that works out if you are predominantly a Killer, Achiever, Socializer or Explorer in a game and what mix of the four.

 

 

Play an MMO for ten minutes and you know and recognise that there are different types of players. There’s those who only ever want a virtual town to hang out in, there’s those who want to climb the unclimbable and see everything and of course there’s the others who find the idea of a mob still being alive to be a personal insult and seek to redress that.

 

 

Wildstar has approached the same idea with the Path system. If you want to be an explorer? That’s catered for. Want to be a scientist? Go right ahead.

 

 

Between the factions, the races, the classes and the paths, if you can’t find a spot for you to enjoy your time in Wildstar, I will be impressed.

 

 

Granted that all rests on one little issue.

 

Demon Possessed Soda.

 

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of what I saw and played with. Actually experiencing the cartoony graphics made things work better for me than just watching videos or checking screenshots. The videos Wildstar have released are hilarious. The voice acting and the work put into the different races and factions shines through. All in all the design is incredible.

 

 

The problem for some people, assuming they see it like I do, will be with the glue of Wildstar. It’s funny.

 

 

Well at least I think it is funny, but humour is one of those things that is not always universal. I find Gary Larson to be hilarious. My mother and Homer Simpson don’t get the Far Side. I adore Monty Python and comedians like Billy Connolly. Others? Not so much.

 

You are a heathen if you don’t like the Python

 

Fighting a demon possessed soda machine? This was held up more than once as an example of the idea behind both Carbine Studios and Wildstar. It’s funny, it’s cute and that idea if not that particular mob is something that will be replicated throughout the world of Nexus. If the humour doesn’t sit well with you, the game likely won’t. If you think MMOs should be serious business with serious enemies….I have bad news for you.

 

 

What I Want The Most.

All in all I really enjoyed my first proper exposure to Wildstar. If I had to pick one thing that I am excited about … it’d hands down be the warplots. Housing is fine, it looks good and it will have functionality. That’s great but I’ve never really been one for housing. Warplots on the other hand? That’s housing me and all my friends built together and armed with laser cannons and raid bosses.

 

Oh hell yes

 

Ultimately I think Wildstar is definitely one to watch and certainly the game that surprised me the most in PAX. I had assumed I’d either hate it, or just be otherwise indifferent. Instead I see it even catered a place for a player like me within its expansive landscapes that build a believable chaotic world.

 

 

In conclusion though, I’m going to make a guess at the two as yet unannounced races. As a disclaimer, I don’t know anything more than anyone else. I didn’t ask the studio guys in other words.

 

Space Undead and steampunk Squats.