Shattered Time - Update# 6, Statistical Success

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The next update for Shattered Time talks about what the developer Daniel J Swiger has learned from a failed Kickstarter. He only managed to get $2,613 of $100,000 goal.

Looking Forward
My original plan was quite different than this current campaign.

Traditional investment models seek out "First wave funding" from individual 'angel' investors to produce a workable concept, then pitch that concept to investment firms in "second wave" funding. If successful the angel investors get paid back and the company moves forward with product development.

Second wave funding never really ends, though. If you can get more funding, you do it. A startup never stops seeking more funding.

In that sense I considered a first campaign set to get just enough funding for me to work on the project for 1-2 years. Then to run a second campaign with the purpose of getting better equipment, software, and possibly hiring on more developers and artists. The second campaign would be running on the premise that the game is already going to be made, no direct 'risk' with it not being funded.

That's never been done before. As ambitious as this project is already, I was concerned about the negative impact such a plan could have if it not explained properly. In the public eye, asking for more funding is a bad thing. Even if it's standard practice in the business of investment.

Looking Back
There are a number of things I changed in light of crowdfunding advice, though, that I think were harmful. Running the campaign for 30 days instead of 60 is one of those things. Three days into the campaign there were already comments on other sites that the project looked like a failure for having 27 days left and "only" being %1 funded. I think there would have been better reception, and a better looking outcome if I had gone with a 60 day campaign.

So I am reconsidering my starting 'overly-ambitious' plan of a smaller campaign to get the project moving, with a larger one to come later. That will require reducing the scope of the game by a considerable amount to be practical. Though I can still potentially do a lot with what I've got if I can have enough funding to just focus my energies on development.

I want this to be a community minded, community driven project. So now's the time to start looking for and building that community. I'd like to get as much feedback as I can. The current campaign, the possibility of a future one. There is a lot I want to change, but what do you think could have been done better? What convinced you to pledge? What nearly convinced you NOT to? What would you suggest for the project moving forward?​