I've backed far too many Kickstarter projects in the past. Apparently I'm a 'superbacker' according to my profile, but the last year or so I been massively selective on what I'm willing to back and hardly touched any. Partly because I've ended up with too many games that aren't getting read or played, partly because it's expensive and, most importantly for marital harmony.
Most Kickstarters get backed by me because they excite me in some way. They sound different, or fun, or unique. The creator has offered something that has caught my attention. I'm pre-disposed to like the product.
A small number of Kickstarters have lost my interest and have ended up being sold, given away or just gathering dust. There's a common set of reasons:
Aside from one Kickstarter produced by a serial defaulter, they've all eventually arrived. There's only been a few that I've fallen out of love with completely. I've tended to see those, but the bad taste remains and means I'm unlikely to back another project from you.
There are a few on a cusp of falling from grace in my mind at the moment; City of Mist is just hanging on, as is Cartel.
In honesty, the former is doing better than the latter, as they're communicating and at least sharing PDFs. But they're late, and have admitted they launched their second Kickstarter to fund art for the first as well as cover the new book and reprinting of the core rules.
Anyway, that's what makes me lose interest in your Kickstarter and future projects.
31 December 2019
Most Kickstarters get backed by me because they excite me in some way. They sound different, or fun, or unique. The creator has offered something that has caught my attention. I'm pre-disposed to like the product.
A small number of Kickstarters have lost my interest and have ended up being sold, given away or just gathering dust. There's a common set of reasons:
1) Failure to communicate
As the Guns n Roses song 'Civil War' starts, "What we've got here is failure to communicate". If your project is running late, tell me. Tell me as much as you feel comfortable (I'm not needing a Doctor's note, I understand that stuff happens), but talk to me. Don't leave me in a void. Projects run late, I can deal with that.2) Repeated failures to do what you say you'll do
So you've talked to me, that's good. And then the next thing happens, and the next commitment is missed. And the next. And another. Now I start to feel like you're really unlucky, or you can't meet commitments, or maybe you're making this up as you go along. Or maybe you're lying to me?3) Your bad attitude
You don't bother to talk to me. Or you give ridiculous excuses. Or I can see that you're focussed on other commitments. You treat your backers with contempt. I'm especially thinking about James Wallis' Alas Vegas and Mark Rein-Hagen's boardgame, Democracy: Majority Rules, as I write this.4) Your lack of commitment
So you decide to launch another Kickstarter when you're massively behind and there's no clear conclusion to one I've backed. This makes me feel like you've lost interest, or maybe you have a cash flow issue? It doesn't feel like I'm a priority, and instead you're chasing someone new.Aside from one Kickstarter produced by a serial defaulter, they've all eventually arrived. There's only been a few that I've fallen out of love with completely. I've tended to see those, but the bad taste remains and means I'm unlikely to back another project from you.
There are a few on a cusp of falling from grace in my mind at the moment; City of Mist is just hanging on, as is Cartel.
In honesty, the former is doing better than the latter, as they're communicating and at least sharing PDFs. But they're late, and have admitted they launched their second Kickstarter to fund art for the first as well as cover the new book and reprinting of the core rules.
Anyway, that's what makes me lose interest in your Kickstarter and future projects.
31 December 2019
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