Kickstarter is a website where people looking for funding to produce creative projects -- such as films, music, art and board games -- can connect with people willing to fund those undertakings.
In late 2010, Nicholas Vitek of Living Worlds Games hoped that the strategy board game 1955: The War of Espionage, designed by Kevin G. Nunn (VeloCity, Nobody But Us Chickens, Duck! Duck! Go!), will join the list of successful Kickstarter projects.
He got off to a good start. In relatively short order, 75 backers contributed more than $4,500 through 1955's Kickstarter page, more than halfway to the goal of $7,500. The fund-raising effort ended successfully on January 5, 2011, with 148 backers and more than $9,000 pledged.
Those who pledged at least $30 get a copy of the game and acrylic spy meeples; those who pledged $35 or more get a copy of the game, the spy meeples, promo cards and a mini-expansion.
While the Kickstarter project was still underway, Vitek took some time to answer a few questions about 1955: The War on Espionage, his Kickstarter experience, and more.
Why did you choose 1955: The War of Espionage to be the first game published by Living Worlds Games?
1955 was originally called CounterSpy. I played it at a board game meetup group meeting and completely enjoyed getting slaughtered at the game. The various card combos available and multiple methods of achieving the end goal interested me.
I was an avid Magic: the Gathering player but disliked the constant upkeep the game required. CounterSpy, now 1955, scratched the card combo itch thoroughly.
So, after dozens of plays, I inquired about the rights to produce the game only to find out another company was reviewing it. Luckily for me, the other publisher decided to focus on even smaller games and returned CounterSpy to the designer so I snapped it right up.
The covert ops world has always interested me -- though I mainly focus on near-future cyberpunk-style operations -- but deep down inside everyone is the secret desire to be James Bond or the femme fatale. Because of this, and because other games from the era are popular, I decided to retain the theme and move forward even further, thus the art style.
Why did you decide to use Kickstarter, rather than a more traditional funding model?
I first started looking at Kickstarter when a friend sent me a link for an art project. I started thinking about it being used for board games. Then Travis Worthington put Triumvirate on Kickstarter and it clicked.
While I have a day job as a professional (quality systems analyst), it doesn't provide the luxury of spending $15,000-plus per year on a project. In 2009 and 2010, I worked 80- to 90-hour work weeks in order to put aside the money that would be the base payment for the game. The soon-to-be successful Kickstarter campaign will provide the remainder of the money needed to print the game at a large enough print run to be profitable through normal distribution methods.
Kickstarter also has the broader market appeal to reach non-hardcore board gamers that can enable our hobby to branch further out.
What has your experience with Kickstarter been like?
Kickstarter has been easy to deal with at all stages, even setting up the Amazon payments section. While I would prefer a slightly lower fee from Kickstarter (And currently have plans for a multi-publisher website for pre-orders), I can't complain. The vast number of projects that are mentioned in the news media (Wired, CNN, etc) brings a lot of eyes to the site and then people browsing can stumble upon my game.
When do you expect 1955: The War of Espionage to be available?
Our Kickstarter campaign ends the first week of January. I foresee the artist and graphic designer, Haley Ross, completing the entire art package by the end of January.
Once that is done, it will be six to eight weeks for manufacturing and three to four weeks for delivery due to the decision to use a high-end German manufacturer. That's two to three months total, meaning April 1 to May 1 for the game to arrive in my city and another week for it to be mailed out.
My goal is for all pre-order copies to be out by the third week of May. We are co-publishing the game with APE Games to take advantage of the preexisting distribution network they have set up and to streamline overhead costs. This will allow 1955 to reach game stores without distributors having another entity to deal with.
What compelled you to start a game publishing company?
I originally had the idea to move into board games after hearing about a Houston-based company that was making a living doing something they enjoyed. The company produced a party game called Pimps and Hos and I heard about it on the local radio station.
As I work in the Quality Assurance department at work, I felt that I could design a game system that worked and was enjoyable. I started attending board game meetup groups and eventually realized the error of my original path.
The profit margins in publishing games is razor thin, so I removed the concept of making large amounts of money from the equation and decided that breaking even and enjoying another part of life would be just fine.
I also feel that with my skill set I can provide games to the board game community that are fun, interesting and thematic while still having solid rule systems. I play a lot of board games and want to share my vision with others.
No comments:
Post a Comment