I don't get what the difference would be from what we currently have. The pledges are essensially the same thing as a kickstarter only that its run by them directly, not through kickstarter. All we really need is good advertising to expose people to the awesomeness that is pantheon and bring them in to pledge (like the live stream did, that brought in a lot of pledgers) :)
Rachael said:I don't get what the difference would be from what we currently have
Hype; extra visibility and at a level they are not capable of currently reaching; a substantial amount of extra funding since many refrain from pledging directly for various reasons, but would if the so common mass hysteria of a good KS campaign presented itself (and money is king, the seeding is just that, a seeding. Hence your seeing no extending of dates); a message to others that non-PvP deep MMOs are still a potential money-maker. Amongst yet more reasons :)
Simultaneously however, it admittedly has the potential of disaster. The negativity involved should they fail it yet again could be catastrophic. And it is not only a possible scenario, but a plausible one at that, considering how one of the biggest MMO news-related sites is bent against this game succeeding, and how Brad still has a partly negative reputation to overcome (always will, such is the nature of the beast). Adding to that how Brad lacks the communicative skills/charisma essential for such an undertaking and the past KS failure?.. :)
Personally speaking however, i'd risk it in their shoes. Make one more stream, in depth, with new mechanics/systems to show, and then and only then, hire a PR team that is specialised in KS campagins (believe it or not, lol, sadly such.. people exist) and launch it. No matter how well they manage with what they have, a staggered, partial launch will cost them. In retention, in first appearances, in everything. The lesser the more it's done well, sure, but cost them it will. A successful campaign would eliminate this factor.
I'd say its too great a risk. If they were at the point where they were running on fumes, maybe.
There are plenty of other ways to bring people to the site and motivating them to pledge. The new site, stream and recent contest were a great start. With crowdfunding, early visuals and polish are probably the most powerful way to communicate that you mean business. Beyond that, marketing and increasing the volume of information and specifics of the dev process inspires a lot of confidence. I think the roundtables last year were a great example of that and believe an occasional video series discussing similar details and game mechanics would go a long way. Especially getting a little face time with some of the developers.
In the past the 'development now, details later' policy was a good one, in crowdfunding, you almost have to put the cart before the horse at times and focus on hype and marketing to continue growing the game. No doubt its a tough thing to balance.
Yeah..
The only reason i posted the above is that, personally speaking obviously, i think that after all the news about Pantheon thus far (in a cumulative wall of a effect fashion if you will) and the latest streamed video, people that probably eschewed pledging the last time, myself among them, would not hesitate now. Could well be mistaken of course, but considering the cheese? Time to launch Pantheon as a full-fledged product?.. :D
Of course i was always an opportunist, lol.. no venture, no gain ^^
I think that given the drama surrounding their first attempt at the kickstarter campaign, a new one may just be asking for trouble. May do more harm than good, and may send an un-intended message.
Keep doing what they're doing. Ramp up the hype. Advertise your product. Keep giving teasers and interviews. Get some articles out there on the game, and some good quotes from Brad and the developers. Focus on the credentials that will draw people in. Above all, make it EASY for people to donate. Make it easy enough that a monkey could do it.
The other problem I see with a new kickstarter is that it would be essentially competing with the current crowdfunding done thru this site. No idea how many people or how much has been pledged, but its likely most of those people would not pledge again. That means a lot less pledge money out of the gate. Like all marketing in the digital age, its all about hype and momentum. If the kickstarter doesn't gain that early momentum from us, their core, it could cause doubt among other potential backers.
I agree with Tralyan. Lots of great ways of drawing people in. There are also so many successful campaigns that could serve as a blueprint on how to increase awareness. They have a marketing guy on the team, so these are likely the things they've considered long ago.