However, we have seen a lot of posts on news sites and such where people seem to be almost offended by the fact that we’re allowing people to donate. The common question is “how the hell can these guys expect me to donate money without even seeing a screenshot or in-game move?!”
The answer, simply put, is that we never expected you to. Although, many people already have. We really didn’t believe donations would take off until after we had more to show. Initially we thought that we’d offer a pre-order closer to the end of the project after releasing a trailer or something to that effect. However, over the previous months we continually received emails from fans asking for a way to donate. It occurred to us that contributions could be put to much better use early in the project and that, if fans wanted to contribute, we’d be foolish not to accept their help. So far the money we’ve collected is modest but it is still enough that we can add a few more assets to the game. Whether donations keep up as they have been or drop off to nothing, I’d already count it as a small a win for the game.
So, the option is now available. If you personally need to see more before you’re ready to commit, we totally understand. In fact, we really expect that and we’ll be releasing some early media soon. If that isn’t enough, hey, we expect that too. We expect that most of our sales will come after release. We’re not asking everyone to buy the game now. The option to donate is here for those die-hard fans who wanted to be part of the action. We’re just incredibly grateful to all those who have seen fit to help us out with development and make the final release that much better!
I take it as a good thing, it means you are doing something different and breaking new ground. It can only help others if someone forges a new path. More power to you.
Crazy to ask? Not in any way. Is a fan crazy to donate without seeing any media? No, if that fan believes it’s going to make a difference and help produce something good.
Personally, i do want to see something before i make the final decision. Despite that, i don’t believe those screenshots could turn me away from that Legendary package, you’d have to draw something in MS Paint to make that happen.
That’s the way i understood it from the get-go; nothing is forced and nothing is expected. I checked the contributions page and thought “why not.” Looks like not everyone sees it that way.
Don’t worry about it though, if you got fans emailing you about donations before you even got a page up for that, i’d say leave the doomsayers be.
Completely agree. Business models of the past cannot and will not work in the future, i see the internet itself as one big publisher and distributor for games, movies, music etc. The cartels die slowly though.
Of course you aren’t crazy to ask, I think that you guys originally structured them as Pre-orders was pretty good way to stop some of the possible complaints. I think when it does come to a small team of developers this type of model is very effective.
People are generally willing to help out in some way, so that’s what you can expect. Especially from those fan’s that just want to see you succeed.
Let them as not interred with the well deserved IL reputation for quality, be nay sayers.
I really like the idea that I can affect the production and help out, rather than sitting here saying “I wonder what I could have done differently.” As well, if without producer, then power to you all. I hope you succeed splendidly.
I pre-ordered the Legendary Edition without blinking an eye. TQ was great and “donating” (aka pre-ordering which I do all the time anyhow) to a company so they can keep their ideas and dreams internally and not have to change what they have for another investor is a great thing.
This is a great idea, it seamed to work well with Mount & Blade, and Stardock is doing a similar idea with Elemental. I think the idea of a down loadable beta or alpha for pre-order is an excellent way to get feed back as well as funding. I was a huge fan of TQ and addons and was pissed that Iron Lore was folded after release. Let’s hope with fan support this is a great product.
In the current economic climate, it’s certaily worth a punt (especially if it’s additional cashflow to make additional stuff possible, rather than necessary cashflow to make the basic stuff possible).
You guys aren’t forcing anyone to donate. I think most of the people who might be offended really have no idea of the community that has developed around the action/rpg genre in general. With so few REALLY good games of this type, I think we can be forgiven for a little rabid fanboi/grrl’ism when it comes to wanting to show support for a group of developers who have given us a game in the past that has provided us with so much enjoyment.
Since when did it become wrong or offensive to show your support for something you believe in? I thought that was a GOOD thing.
Let the haters hate. Most of the things i’ve read like that just come off as being sour grapes.
If you hung out at the Age of Decadence forum during the time Vince floated the idea of donating money (I believe to a marketing campaign, but essentially just money to a developer to work on a game you believe in), you’d have been surprised by the amount of anger, even if it was just a vocal minority.
It was wise of the devs to consider the issue, and wise of them to actually allow open donations.
