[Iron Tower Studio] Винс Веллер о «торговле мечтой» (страница 1)

m00n1ight: There have been many accusations recently that you talk too much and do too little. In fact, during the development of the Age of Decadence many projects funded by Kickstarter were released. And their developers have also been accused that they 'all talk and no action'. Some of them started the development process much later than you. Shadowrun Returns, for example. So it turns out that some people have more trust in Kickstarter than in you and your game and it leads to:

— Vince says…
— I don't care what he's saying! He must release the game already.

Vince: Not quite. First, very few KS projects were released and they had a lot done before they went to KS. Like FTL or Conquistadors which had a playable demo before KS. Shadowrun is an exception, but:

— Shadowrun got 2 million bucks and a proper team working full time, so asking why we aren't working as fast is kinda… silly?

— Shadowrun is an awful fucking iphone game that was released on PC for some strange reasons. It has pretty backgrounds and that's about it. It's linear and painfully simple. I couldn't even finish it. Not saying that AoD is better, as such things are a matter of taste, but it's a lot more complex and this complexity is the reason it's taking so long.

I'm not asking for their trust. We released two demos. They can play and see for themselves. If after playing the demos, they still have trust issues, it's their business. If they think that KS is the answer to all their prayers, I'm happy for them.

m00n1ight: There is the same situation with Dead State now. I remember the first time I wrote about this game was very, very long ago, and almost nothing has changed since then, except the fact that they write about Dead State not as much as about AoD. You know, such impressions are not fast-formed and not made out of nowhere. I'm sure that the longer Brian will hang a leg, the more people will get angry. Especially those who have already paid for the game on Kickstarter.

Vince: He wants to release a quality RPG. As does Brian Fargo - in case you didn't notice, WL2 wasn't released in October. The promised beta wasn't released either. Project Eternity won't be released on time either. Why? Quality RPGs take time.

m00n1ight: As for the demos, I should say that many people do not consider release of the demos, arts or videos as something of importance — they wait for the game and nothing less. You might have noticed that even those full of enthusiasm avoid playing the demo and prefer to wait for the full version. And sooner or later their desire will just 'burn out'.

Vince: Demos are a proof of concept, ability, design, etc. It's the line that separates people who talk good talk from people who can deliver what they promised. I daresay we did and it is a big deal for us.

While some people prefer to wait, I'd say that most people who were interested in the game did try the demos. We cater to them, obviously.

Not sure I understand. If one truly likes RPGs, why wouldn't he want to play one, even if it was in development for 10 year? Purely out of spite?

m00n1ight: You said that some of the projects was almost completed before they went to Kickstarter. What's stopping you to do the same, with the example of Dead State that has already gone this route? Much of your game is completed. There are a lot of votes in Steam - so ask for some money required to complete the game as soon as possible, take more people. You won't be the first to do so, after all. Isn't it the right way? Even if you won't gather enough money, more people would know about your game. I think that you have some kind of a prejudice.

Vince: At this stage, bringing in 4-5 people to help us finish the game will be a mistake. It simply is too late for that and we'd have to waste a lot of time training people and sharing all we know, all we've done, etc. Besides, Nick and Oscar have obligations to Dead State. We're 6 months away from the release. It's not a promise, it's a simple fact based on where we are. At worst, we'll be able to start the final beta-test in 6 months. Going to KS to cut that time down to 4 months doesn't make much sense.

More awareness? I don't think we need it at this stage either. And yes, I do dislike KS and never made a secret out of it.

m00n1ight: KS is only a tool. You're the one to decide how to use it.

Vince: Each tool is designed for something. You can't cut paper with a hammer. Same here. Going on KS and using it the 'wrong way' would be counter-productive. Better not to use it at all.

m00n1ight: You don't have to do it the same way as others do. In the end, the early access in Steam is not so very different from the entering KS with the almost finished game.

Vince: Huge difference. KS is about hyping and enticing people to pledge and pay more/convert their pledges into higher ones, offering rewards, promising more awesome stuff via stretch goals, etc.

Early access is about merely allowing people to play a chunk of game if they preorder. Straight-forward and honest. No hype, no tiers, no stretch goals, no loot bags. Just the game.

m00n1ight: There are many ways to create the awareness, as it seems, and maybe there's nothing wrong with that.

I do not tend to over-dramatize, so I see Kickstarter as a bad tool only for one reason: there are too many obscure projects which have nothing except the concepts.

We have collected $1,000 for Project Eternity, but some people told me later that they have done it not because they like the Project Eternity, but because of the Obsidian name. Some of them were really disappointed in the game when the first details began to emerge. Now the game looks more and more like the tracing of D&D in the setting of a generic fantasy.

Vince: It's not about creating awareness, it's about how the platform works. Kickstarter is about selling dreams not presenting your visions. It's about selling and then upselling and creating a frenzy of pledges. I quit my job to go away from that. If I have to sell for a living, I'd rather do it as a VP of Sales.

Not to mention that asking for thousands of dollars for some artefact or an inn or a statue with the likeness of the pledger is a fucked up way to do business.

m00n1ight: However, you have funded Project Eternity, supporting this business model in some way.

Vince: I dislike the model, but don't hate it enough to deny others money. I encouraged Avellone to go to KS and said that I would pledge $500 if he does so.

A company like Obsidian has no other choice. They are too big and go through 1 mil a month. We're a small company, so we can do without it.

m00n1ight: What are you going to write on a memorial stone?

Vince: Not doing it. I gave the money to support the studio, not to leave my own scribbling somewhere in the game.

m00n1ight: They campaign did turn out a bit strange, so to say. They didn't even have a plan of development. They turned a famous name and merits of the past to they account.

Vince: That's how Kickstarter works. The amount of money you get is directly proportionate to your name/license.

As for their campaign, yes and no. I didn't expect them to pour a lot of resources to develop the concepts and ideas for a game that may not get funded or get the min. The rule of KS - ask for a third of what you need. They asked for a mil, but a mil is nothing for a studio like Obsidian that's used to 'modest' 10-25 mil budgets. 3-4 mil is the bare minimum for them.

So, they got 1 mil in a day and then started fleshing out the concepts. It's fucked up, but that's the "beauty" of Kickstarter.