It was looking pretty grim only a week ago for Peter Molyneux’s Project GODUS Kickstarter, since then, however, the project managed a last minute surge of funds, making roughly $75,000 more than the $450,000 they were looking for. I have to admit that I had my doubts that the project would reach its goal, going so far as to say that sometimes having a celebrity developer at the head of a project like this just isn’t enough. Over the past week and a half however, the 22cans team began releasing more information about their fledgling title, offering a more robust pitch in the hopes that they could make their goal. Thankfully for them it worked and the community rallied around the title as more information was released. I still believe that it’s a hopeful sign for the Kickstarter community that even someone like Molyneux has to work hard for the community’s trust.
I say this because at the beginning of the project there weren’t many details regarding the game they were planning to make, giving potential investors very little to go on. As the project began to struggle the team put more effort into the pitch itself, showing off what they hoped would be a successful game if they could raise the money.
It paid off, and the project that started out as “hey a Peter Molyneux game!” transformed into a solid idea that people could see and invest in. Since my original post on December 10th, the Kickstarter page saw 19 different updates to help sway the community in forking over cash for the upcoming project. Before that there wasn’t much to go on, but once they started giving details about multiple platforms, avatars, and the tech behind the game, the community was much more comfortable with pledging funds for the project.
This is an important lesson for future Kickstarter projects; the devil is in the details. I’ve said it before, just having a celebrity developer or a familiar face isn’t enough. The community wants real details regarding a project no matter who you are. While I’m glad to see one of the game industry’s most revered developers succeed in freeing himself from the shackles of publishing, it’s also a victory for the community which it seems needs more than just fan fare and hype to get interested in a project.
