The Torment Kickstarter was a smashing success!

[WorstUsernameEver]

So, the Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter hit $4,188,927 by the end (not counting Paypal which is easily another $100k), so aside from saying "whoah" I thought it was time for another round-up of info from their latest updates.

The devs at inXile have put out two in-engine tests of their early mock-up screenshots, showing how they run animated in-engine together with a 3d character. It's early time and they'll be significantly polished during development (the perspective in the Seagus Cliffs area in particular looks fairly off to me), but for material coming out so early it's pretty darn promising: the Bloom and Seagus Cliffs.

Second, all the stretch goals except for the lofty $4.5 million one were reached, meaning that, aside from the player stronghold, we're theoretically getting everything the developers have outed so far. Truth of the matter is that game development is a pretty iterative process though, so there's always the chance that something gets cut or modified later on. Stretch goals right now include a new city, companion quests, increased legacies (16 in total), an expanded journal, and more.

Third (and this list is by no means comprehensive), the devs have released the first art of the male version of the player character:

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Finally, the Vision Document for the title is available for everyone to check it out. For people who have followed the campaign is mostly a round-up of the info given out during the Kickstarter, for others it's the most comprehensive outline of the vision of the title and what it's supposed to be.

 

[Stevie D]

The thought of those gaming execs, the guys who have been throttling creativity in game-making by their insistence that developers churn out the same old conservative hackneyed crap, who are now weeping at the $4m+ they could have had - now that, that is the icing on the cake for me.

Kickstarter all the way baby x

 

[Gaspard]

I've been jotting down ideas and making sketches for a very unlikely comic project, that takes place in a similar setting, for years now - I'm really looking forward to this

 

[Wr4i7h]

The thought of those gaming execs, the guys who have been throttling creativity in game-making by their insistence that developers churn out the same old conservative hackneyed crap, who are now weeping at the $4m+ they could have had - now that, that is the icing on the cake for me.

Fargo already stated in an interview that for large publishers, this sort of numbers ($4m and 70k people) is chump change. So really, they don't give a crap about this, regardless of the success of the campaign. And I'm sure that's for the best. These niche games can now be made without any interference from them.

Edit: I'm particularly glad that the stretch goals for the Lacunae and for crafting numenera were achieved. Having NPCs in the labyrinth will surely make exploring it more interesting and the ability to craft numenera implies that the PC can really understand technology, if the player is so inclined.

 

[Kyuu]

Fargo already stated in an interview that for large publishers, this sort of numbers ($4m and 70k people) is chump change. So really, they don't give a crap about this, regardless of the success of the campaign. And I'm sure that's for the best.

Yeah. 4 million wouldn't even cover the marketing costs for AAA game development. Large publishers really couldn't care less about it, I don't think. Which, as Wr4i7h says, is for the best. We don't want large publishers to care about it.

Although, we have yet to see how a Kickstarter-funded game fares after it releases commercially. I'm not thinking they are going to make a amount there that'll make publishers take notice either, though. A significant chunk of these games' market will have already put their money down on the Kickstarter campaign, I would think.

 

[68_pie]

Although, we have yet to see how a Kickstarter-funded game fares after it releases commercially. I'm not thinking they are going to make a amount there that'll make publishers take notice either, though. A significant chunk of these games' market will have already put their money down on the Kickstarter campaign, I would think.

FTL: Faster Than Light came out in September 2012. I don't know about post-kickstarter sales figures but it's for sale on Steam and GOG and it's been well received critically.

 

[Wr4i7h]

On the sales of these kickstarter-funded RPGs (Eternity, Wasteland 2 and Torment), I still bet that it'll be a slow, steady and long-lasting trickle of income for their respective companies. Given that the cost of development is covered by the people who helped fund, profit is guaranteed once the game is released.

On another note, inxile will keep the paypal donations open until the end of April, which means that it's still possible to reach $4.5m.

 

[Deleted member 64171]

Well, the good thing about those games will be the aftermath.

I mean, if nothing goes completely wrong, those games are already paid for, so everything the devs make selling the finished product is pure win (there are always cost somwhere of course) but the game itself isn't creating any new costs.

This could hopefully mean that we'll see some more self-funding in the future from those projects like Mark Jacob does with Camelot.

 

[grayx]

I hope Fargo will not burn-out with all these project that he is into right now. It would be a shame.

It's important for them to have sustainable income from old games in the future. Baldur's Gate will not last forever, so even if they are covered in terms of what they have asked for development, it's far from enough if they want to continue to make games in the future.

I didn't believe to the last half hour they will achieve 4.2mil. I was really pleasantly surprised. But, don't forget, a lot of that money is B. Fargo's and that another guy who muched Brian's backings... Without that, total backing would be significantly lower.

/edit: I just reread the last kickstarter update. I'm not sure are those pledges included in this total sum or are they added later. But, whatever, it would be good if that 4.5mil would be achieved. The Stronghold (whatever that means ingame) sounds good

And that streamed "party" - it was not a party...

 

[egalor]

But, don't forget, a lot of that money is B. Fargo's and that another guy who muched Brian's backings...

I'm not sure I'm getting this. Fargo did not participate in the creation of PST franchise at all, if I'm not mistaken.

And that streamed "party" - it was not a party...

Why not?? )

 

[grayx]

I'm not sure I'm getting this. Fargo did not participate in the creation of PST franchise at all, if I'm not mistaken.

I meant money contribution.

We don’t have the final PayPal numbers yet, but we expect to be far short of the $4.5M Stretch Goal. (While Torment’s budget will be bolstered by the generous $200K total in contributions from Brian Fargo and Steve Dengler (@dracogen), these aren’t included in the Stretch Goal calculations. The Stretch Goals were set with these contributions already considered – that is, the $200K sum didn’t apply to determining whether or not we reached any given Stretch Goal. But all of it will be applied to creating a better game and help counterbalance the impact of fees and dropped pledges.)

It's my understanding that Brian (and Steve) contributed at least 200k, but rest of the explanation where those money go, and how it's counted is a little foggy to me. "The Stretch Goals were set with these contributions already considered" - are those 200k already in the kickstarter basket or it would be added later as a separate addition? Not quite clear to me. But, frankly, that's important only in the context of The Stronghold - those money are going into development anyway.

And that streamed "party" - it was not a party...

Why not?? )

Eh, I might be too harsh on those poor souls, probably it's a cultural thing and that kind of stuff, but those people (i.e. at 2:10h mark in that streaming clip) are having fun as those happy people at the bus station while waiting to buy a ticket or to board a bus. I didn't expect some kind of spectacle and I'm aware it was supposed to be some kind of internet hangout (hehe, nice clip you should see it), but come on, as a party - it sucked.

To be fair I was following it from time to time so maybe I missed something (although sound was on all the time), but aside interviews (which were mostly great but not strictly the "party" part) there should have been some more interaction between devs and the rest of the folk there (I haven't saw that much).

Another thing, next time (if there will be one), someone should be appointed to mingle among the crowd with a camera and include the rest of us in some of those informal conversations that they are having. Something like that. The video was, almost always, as we are watching 2 static surveillance CCD cameras at some dinner.

I dunno, maybe I'm missing something, but then again, it's just a stupid party, who cares, right?

 

[egalor]

Damn straight, I don't care a rat's arse about them kickstarter parties. I only care getting a good game, preceded by regular and meaningful development updates.

As for their 200$ contributions, I get it that this sum is not considered for the purposes of the stretch goals. Pity that the "Player Stronghold" thing was left out, though. It sounded nice.

 

[Stevie D]

for large publishers, this sort of numbers ($4m and 70k people) is chump change.

Sometimes I think I fell asleep and missed the last ten-fifteen years. Need to get my head out of the Populous/Worms/Elite era

 

[Buxbaum666]

I didn't believe to the last half hour they will achieve 4.2mil. I was really pleasantly surprised. But, don't forget, a lot of that money is B. Fargo's and that another guy who muched Brian's backings... Without that, total backing would be significantly lower.

No, it would not. The 200K aren't included in the Kickstarter numbers.

 

[Jebus]

Fargo's only going to spend it on beer and fancy hotels anyways

 

[egalor]

Fargo's only going to spend it on beer and fancy hotels anyways

As long as good games get done on time, I have no problem with that whatsoever. Do you?

 

[woo1108]

Fargo's only going to spend it on beer and fancy hotels anyways

As long as good games get done on time, I have no problem with that whatsoever. Do you?

And I don't think fancy hotel and beer cost that much .

 

[Hassknecht]

Fargo's only going to spend it on beer and fancy hotels anyways

As long as good games get done on time, I have no problem with that whatsoever. Do you?

And I don't think fancy hotel and beer cost that much .

It depends on the fancyness

 

[alec]

Love the engine tests. Sweet stuff.

 

[Kyuu]

FTL: Faster Than Light came out in September 2012. I don't know about post-kickstarter sales figures but it's for sale on Steam and GOG and it's been well received critically.

Oh that's true, I had forgotten about that game. I guess I should say we haven't seen a release of game from the larger Kickstarter dev studios, like Double Fine or inXile, yet.