Kickstarter Video Script - VERSION 2

hengineer

I’m Henry, and I want to start a revolution in the way video games are funded.

Last year I made the game Spaceteam and released it for free.

I want to see more games that are freely accessible to everyone, that explore new ideas, and that don’t compromise their design in order to appeal to the mass market. But those games can be hard to sell.

One way to promote this kind of creative freedom is through patronage. So I’m asking for your help with an experiment.

The Spaceteam Admiral’s Club is not about one specific game. It’s a community of friends and fans, supporting me directly as a developer, working on free games for a whole year.

You’ll be giving me the freedom to make smart decisions about what I work on because game development can be unpredictable, and, full of surprising opportunities. By joining the club you'll be allowing me to pursue these opportunities and see where they lead.

That’s what the Spaceteam Admiral’s Club means to me.
So what’s in it for you?

First of all, you'll be supporting Spaceteam itself. I have a few more upgrades planned, including: the Spaceteam Lexicogulator, which lets you put your own words in the game and share them with others; accessibility features allowing younger kids to play; and the ability to play the game in different languages.

Second, you'll be helping me bring two brand new games into existence: Blabyrinth and Shipshape, which you can learn more about below. I'm hoping to finish Blabyrinth and make good progress on Shipshape before the year is up, and you can follow all my work as it happens in my Developer Diary.

Finally, you’ll be joining a special community with a Discussion Forum where we can share stories and experiences. You can even get membership perks like embroidered patches, 3d membership cards, and a secret handshake.

So, I’m inviting you to join the Spaceteam Admiral's Club. To cast a vote for alternative funding models. To directly support an indie developer. And to be part of a community that believes that artists should be paid for their work.

If you help the Admiral’s Club succeed then I think this model could work sustainably for other indies as well. I think it could bring more innovation and diversity to the industry, and create meaningful relationships between people who play games and people who make them.
I really hope it makes sense to you too and that together we can make it work…

…as a spaceteam!

hengineer

This one comes out to 2:30 when I'm just talking, so probably ~3 min with titles, etc.

MichaelCox

Blabyrinth and Shipshape, needs to mention that they are going to be free like spaceteam was.

Manveer

You've probably already checked, but does KickStarter allow for "patronage" the way you describe? I know people are starting to try Patreon.com which is getting bigger, but doesn't have the install base KS has. No idea the deal with IndieGoGo

Most of my concerns are with the concept of paying to support you instead of one specific thing, but since that's the ENTIRE point of this experiment it's hard to make that giant negative. I hope it works out and I'm sure we'll all find out together.

1) In the trailer maybe find a way to throw in a few of the accolades Spaceteam has received so people understand that it's a loved game, in case they don't know it personally. Don't restrict your audience to only people who know Spaceteam already.

2) "The Spaceteam Admiral’s Club is not about one specific game. It’s a community of friends and fans, supporting me directly as a developer, working on free games for a whole year." - this buries the lead. I'd word it more like "The Spaceteam Admiral's Club is about me getting to release more free games to the world, by you all helping directly support me as a developer etc etc". Tell people you are making free games and releasing free games over and over.

3) Play up your background (BioWare) here or in the text of the project at least.

4) Show some WIP of the other games if they are showable over you talking.

5) Reinforce free games at the end maybe.

hengineer

I've spoken to the head of games at Kickstarter and was told that as long as I focus on making games and that specific games will result from the project then I should be fine.
But on the off-chance they reject it, I can go with IndieGoGo who don't have the same restrictions and have in fact contacted me specifically and would love to run my campaign (and help promote it).
Patreon is still too unknown and seems tailored for short-form works like poetry, micro-games, etc. Also you don't get the money until AFTER the thing is produced, which doesn't work for me.

JenWhitson

You're keeping the camera direction and subtitles from the first version, right? (I liked those).
You may want to add a few more subtitles - for example, including people's reviews of the games, links to where people can find spaceteam (and exhortations to play it now), names of the award's you've won. That way, you can promo stuff without adding more time.

hengineer

Yes, I need something to spice it up besides me just talking to the camera. I'll splice in some shots of people playing Spaceteam, and have diagrams/lists/icons overlaid at appropriate times.

icotom

This blog post makes me think they would be fine with Patronage: http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-before-kickstarter

This is also not unlike the Penny Arcade KS. Makes me think you will be fine.

doougle

I like this script and direction! Though hard to say for sure based on script alone, of course.

I agree with Manveer it would be worth mentioning your BioWare background, even if briefly.