Indivisible - Action RPG by Lab Zero Games

Yeah, I do think that aiming high from the beginning was a mistake for this campaign.  Starting at the minimum acceptable pledge for a bare bones product and then working your way up with stretch goals seems to be far more effective than trying for what you actually want from the beginning.  The best campaigns(including Bloodstained) manipulate their intended audience, persuading them to increase their pledges and draw in more backers to reach that goal that they're almost at.

I don't think that's a bad thing either.  If the end result is everyone getting a superior product and thus a greater level of satisfaction for their pledge, then manipulating them to that end is the correct decision.  Much better that than getting everyone emotionally invested and then falling short because you couldn't convince enough people to pledge in.

For Scars, I had to meditate on that point for a fair bit. Then I came to the realization that Crocodile came to. The danger with lowballing to snag people is that you may just end up getting the lowball or slightly higher.
Bloodstained worked because all the stretch goals were extras. Extra characters, Bigger castle, Boss Rush, 8-bit soundtrack, you name it.

Another game that might be an unfortunately example of either Scars point or Croc's point is a game that just recently succeeded after the second attempt at a kickstarter, Pixel Noir.

Their initial goal in the first one was $90,000. It had no stretch goals, had consoles already lined up as far as which get the game, and was giving you the whole product. Most likely due to the timing of the campaign, it failed. Then they came back with a much more modest goal of 30,000 with stretch goals that go up to 95,000.(This final goal was localization and was a huge step up from the mobile ports that were at 60,000)

Either they worked on it in their spare time for nothing in preparation for the second kickstarter, they re-evaluated their costs, they got a loan, or they weren't honest from the get go. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt if there's enough evidence to warrant it.

Lab Zero has an good habit of being completely transparent. That was going on with Skullgirls and it's going on now, so I don't think they are asking for this much for the sake of it.

"Moms are tough!"

I tried to make it clear that I am talking about transparency regarding the funds procured through kickstarter and where the money is actually going (not simply a breakdown of how much money before a stretchgoal is unlocked mind you since we have no idea how much of that money really goes to the goal). Game development being kept secret is standard and not what I am talking about, and funding for nonkickstarter games if irrelevant here as our money wouldn't be at stake.

I am not familiar with Star Citizen so I would have to know whether the complaints are about the game itself or about how the funds are being spent. Can you clarify this for me?



As far as the trash talking is concerned though I certainly don't see that as a real reason to keep this information a secret (regardless of what they are trash talking).
They are under no obligation to be open with us (I still backed Bloodstained for 3 hundo because I assume they will not rip me off) but the problem with kickstarter funded games is that they don't really have anyone to answer to at all. In normal development studios there is a chain of command (for lack of a better term) and legally they would be at much greater risk as their investors would tear them apart if they were screwing around with the development funds. I've seen kickstarters go under several times and very little action is taken when people do get screwed over.


The transparency Indivisible is showing is really nice to see and I don't see any way that it would have needed to be kept a secret. Anyone can chime in if they feel differently, I am curious if anyone thinks they shouldn't have broken it down for us.

So... two archers. Anyone else think of the Justice League episode where Elongated Man asks if the League needs his help, and Green Lantern replies with something like "We've already got Plastic Man. we don't need two stretchy guys,"? I mean, I know they're different types of archers, they have different backstories, and I trust Lab Zero to make them have different abilities and not end up like the clone characters in Smash Bros or the various Street Fighter shotos. But I can't help thinking about that one episode clip.

lol, that is really embarrassing. I think it is funny how he would actually just casually ask them about a game he stole from them. It is like someone stealing your car and then asking you how to operate a car's sound system not knowing that you had installed a custom one which identifies them as the thief.
I pirated Order of Ecclesia on Ouya actually (I own the game already of course, just wanted to see it on a tv) but that is a completely different game. It was the scrapped 5fps, slow motion, extreme button lag edition.

Metafogos: I always took their stretch goals to be a "If we get this money to make the game we will give you this little thing" kinda deal. In all honesty we have no idea (correct me if I'm wrong) how any of the funds are actually being spent and probably never will. That is one thing I really dislike about kickstarter funded games, there is a total lack of transparency and accountability with what is essentially investor money. Combine that with the fact publishers are now using it to cut their costs and you got one angry dude on your hands
Anyone remember the Red Ash thing where they got the publisher part way through and decided that all your money would then be for stretchgoals? I don't see how that didn't go against the kickstarter rules, I mean they changed the entire purpose of the project. Seems misleading to me. "Hey you are backing a game because you want to see it made right? Well we are going to make it regardless now but we are keeping your money to do other stuff. You didn't say that is what you wanted but it totally is, trust me". Luckily it wasn't funded. I understand you can withdraw before the kickstarter closes but there would have been plenty of people that didn't see that the entire project had changed. I mean who would expect that?
rant over

Jim Sterling posted a video about why he vocally and financially supports crowdfunding games. A good chunk of it talks about Indivisible (and Bloodstained!), how he wants it to succeed, and praising Lab Zero for their transparency.

I have a feeling that Lab Zero wanted some time to release a bunch of character designs and let the build be available on all platforms before doing any contests. But at the same time, seeing as how the campaign is more than halfway over I can't help but think that Lab Zero threw them together at the last minute. Which is kinda weird since Lab Zero been building an audience and making announcements for the Indivisible campaign months before it launched.

Not only that, I'm hoping that a good portion of the Bloodstained backers, a good portion of the 64,000+ of us, saw the news about Indivisible in the latest update and want to give it a look see.

Here!