Kickstarter

Creator Flammablezeus on April 11

If you guys don't get the funding this time you should go back to your original plan. The Kickstarter was really picking up towards the end, but people didn't really know about this until it was too late.

I think by splitting the game into two smaller parts you've alienated a lot of people and it's not hard to see why. As much as I want this game to get made, I'd much rather see the original idea than the current one.

Creator Celia Clennett on April 9

Are you guys going to make another kickstarter? If you combine it with the crowd funding from your site it might increase the chance of it being made.

Creator Richard on April 9

WE CAN DO IT!

Creator Jordan York on April 3

@Joseph - they've split the original project idea into two separate games. The 250k is for a minimal version of the multiplayer version PA: Danger Room using UE3.

Creator Joseph on April 3

I noticed the new Kickstarter to try and fund the game but how come you are only asking for half the original amount from before (i.e. $250k instead of $500k)? Is it to increase the chances of a successful funding and if that's the case, will you still be able to produce a stellar game at half the budget or will this just be a considerably lesser end product by comparison?

Creator Patrick Sommer on March 23

@Richard
That sounds right, it will come out as UE3 and then down the line they will make it UE4 or well, make a project awakened 2 (in my mind) which will be in UE4

Creator Richard on March 23

@ Cas Schutte: i think what they mean is that we won't get it immediately but later down the line (i'm just guessing though so don't take my word for it)

Creator Patrick Sommer on March 23

IF YOU WANT THIS GAME TO HAPPEN! THEN SPREAD THE WORD AND GO SUPPORT IT BY PLEDGING ON THEIR WEBSITE http://www.projectawakened.com/ ALSO go follow the official group on steam right here = http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ProjectAwakened

Creator Cas Schutte on March 23

SO, if we don't hit the extreme goal, theres no UE4 or open-world?

Creator Adam Aeyne on March 23

Is it not possible for Phosphor to update anymore? That'd get more attention from previous backers than just mentioning it in the comments section.

Creator Jonathan Strachan on March 22

Going by the UE3 footage shown, I don't think PS2-era graphics are a legitimate concern anyway. $50 seems like a decent price for a sandbox, a game and beta access.

Creator Dreadjaws on March 22

The original goal was 500,000. The new one is 250,000. Of course it'll be only UE3, because it's an easier goal. In fact, one the original Kickstarter achieved and surpassed even. The idea for this new campaign is to get an achievable goal instead of aiming too high.

Besides, I don't really care. I want the game for the customization and fun it promises. It could have PS2-era graphics and I wouldn't mind.

Creator Jonathan Strachan on March 22

You can buy additional copies of Danger Room and Subject for $10 and $20 respectively, if that helps.

Creator Stephen "Stoibs" D on March 22

$25 level doesn't have Danger Room.
I feel this is a bit of a bait and switch to send out the survey asking 'would we pledge at the same level' then change the rewards of said levels.

Creator Jonathan Strachan on March 22

@Stephen Delvecchio - if you want two copies of the game for $50, why not give two $25 pledges?

Creator Jonathan Strachan on March 22

So is the game only on Unreal Engine 4 if it reaches the final milestone? It's just that most of the advertising for Project Awakened was because it was a UE4 game. I'm not too bothered myself - Star Wars 1313 looks incredible and that's UE3.

Creator Stephen "Stoibs" D on March 22

Wait so let me get this straight, 'Danger Room' is only the create a character element - and 'Subject' is the actual game/campaign/story.... and the $50 tier which originally here on Kick-starter gave us 2 copies of the "Game" now only gives us an extra copy of the initial Character creation? (The proper double game pack being jacked up into the $75 tier it seems)
Um..ok...

Creator Temet on March 22

@Jordan - I received a confirmation from Paypal, but nothing from the devs.

Creator Richard on March 22

looking good so far can't wait to see what happens next

Creator Jordan on March 22

has anyone who backed in the new campaign received a confirmation email yet?

Creator John Allabaugh on March 22

Having a bit of trouble when clicking Next Step. It's unresponsive for me after selecting my package + add ons.

Creator Temet on March 22

Ok, nevermind there is a comment area. Just have to donate first.

Creator Temet on March 22

Oh also... Am I missing it or is there no comment page on that website?

Creator Temet on March 22

Glad that a new campaign is going on, disappointed with the lack of add on digital stuff/digital bonus for normal supporters. Well, regardless, luck all.

Creator Dreadjaws on March 22

I just donated. Do you guys send me the username/password for the website later?

Creator Stephen Thompson on March 22

And it's up! Now get to donatin', people!

Creator Patrick Sommer on March 22

I sure hope this will be made very soon!

Creator Richard on March 22

ok thanks :P

Creator Richard on March 21

can you give a specific time (if you can't it's ok it would just help not having to check every five minutes)

Creator Jordan on March 21

anyone know when he new campaign is starting, as it's 23 min late now(EST)

Creator Adam Aeyne on March 20

Will whatever supposed to happen be delayed to March 21st?

Creator Jonathan Strachan on March 20

March 20th - what's happening?

Creator Greg "Scorpio" Myers on March 16

You got my vote on Steam Greenlight!

Creator Flammablezeus on March 15

So I just noticed that the PA website states that there's going to be a new funding campaign? Fantastic. Let's get ready for this, people!

Creator Marjan Klarica on March 11

@Mike

First and foremost, I’m not a game dev and I’m not going to pretend to be one here, but from time to time I do dabble in some modding (UDK, SDK, Creation Kit) and in all this time and from all the forums, sites, communities I ever visited or been part of and all the comments I read there, this is the conclusion I came to.

About ue3 and ue4 you have a good point, as I’m not sure how much the license for the ue4 costs (actually no one besides game dev’s and epic knows that) and how much work, money and time would go into porting the game to ue4 and another great point is the inevitable “bugs” that plague every new engine/game.

But you have to understand that although the engine being new and [very] possibly having a few bugs, it’s still a better choice for a game dev for various reasons.

One of them actually being, that in fact this is a new engine, what I mean by this is the mindset of people as many might think, and do think/expect that with ue4 will see something utterly amazing and to a point they are right as there are various things you can do with ue4 that you couldn’t [even imagine] with the previous engine.

Another reason is the final release date (not the beta) which at best would be sometime in 2015 or even 2016 or later, depending on the outcome of this crowdfuding.

And by that time the next gen consoles and games [PC/consoles] will be pushing visuals, physic, AI etc. more than they [ever] did before (if you’ve seen any of the games announced for the ps4 you will understand what I’m talking about) and the new engines will be utilized to tap Into the “power” of the new consoles and of course the ever increasing power of the PC and its gaming community.

After all, the new consoles were developed in tandem with Epic, Crytek, CD Projekt Red, Bethesda and (many) others who pushed for more power in the new console so they would be able to utilize their respective new engines and off course make the life of a developer [a lot] easier.

http://www.destructoid.com/phosphor-unreal-engine-4-the-best-engine-available--243983.phtml

A really good quote from Tim Sweeney Epics founder and the main guy behind the unreal engine

“Call of Duty was a game that a team of a few dozen could develop on PlayStation 2. Now Activision has hundreds of people working on Call of Duty for the current-gen consoles. What’s supposed to happen in the next generation? Are they going to have 4,000 people?”

You can read the rest here: http://babysoftmurderhands.com/2012/05/unreal-engine-4-plans-game-production-easier/

And another good read

http://kotaku.com/5916859/how-unreal-engine-4-will-change-the-next-games-you-play

@Phosphor

Whatever you decide, I will still support you in any way I can.

Creator MikeHumphreys on March 10

@Phosphor Games Studios

"So, with that in mind, would you have us do with the game you want: try to rethink the vision of the game a bit based on feedback over the past 5 weeks, and then relaunch with a modified campaign while there was still attention and interest in the publics eye, or put it on the back burner with no real fixed plans as to when that will change?"

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again but expecting a different outcome.

If you relaunch right away with the same exact marketing, PR, and "samples" (concept art, demos, etc) as your first Kickstarter then I don't like your chances of hitting the $500K minimum funding goal. If you take the time to plan strategically and then launch a correctly positioned marketing/PR campaign, especially if you bring in a marketing/PR pro, then it should do in excess of $1 million in funding.

Here's my suggestion course of action instead:

1. I'd suggest focusing on making the game in UE3, not UE4. You will be able to use all of your existing demo materials. It's a proven stable engine (vs the "going to released any day UE4) that will probably cost less to use than UE4. Lower cost might also mean you could offer a lower minimum funding level for your relaunch as well. Keep in mind, UE4 might have some initial bugs as well... that's not an unusual occurrence with a brand new piece of software.

2. By focusing on using UE3, you're using what you already know works and your team already knows how to use well. That's less time to ramp up on creation.

3. Take the time to craft a STORY for the single player campaign. The game title "Awakened" opens up a lot of possibilities for a story campaign.

Here's one off the top of my head as an example:

"What if the main character had been kidnapped in the present moment and brought into the future? What if their DNA was going to be harvested while they slept in a perma cryo-chamber? What if someone unplugged them from the cryo chamber machine (Awakened them)? What if your character, aka the hero, is now they're fighting through levels of bad guys to get to where the time machine is? All because they want to get back home?

That's off the top of my head... if you have an in-house story writer or bring in a veteran game story writer, then they can come up with something much more compelling than that.

4. Sorry to say it but "Create a character" is not a marketing hook or angle. It's a feature found in every RPG and almost every FPS. Most of your potential backers aren't interested in mod tools either... they're interested in gaming.

5. With a proper launch sequence of 6-8 weeks, you can get all of your marketing and PR lined up. 6287 people backed your first Kickstarter attempt despite the lack of a clear story, lack of PR/exposure, etc.

If you execute it properly, especially if you bring in someone who is a marketing/PR person and not a game designer then far more than 6287 people will back the relaunch. Let me explain this last sentence a bit more in the next point.

6. Why a marketing/PR specialist? Quite simply, it's too important for your company's future -- the goal to be able to self-publish your own games and keep the lion's shares of the profits -- to delegate to an employee who isn't a strong marketing/PR person. As for the cost of hiring a pro... you could tie most/all of their compensation to the level of success or a fixed percentage of your Kickstarter campaign they generate for you.

7. A longer launch sequence means you have more time to line it up so the conclusion of a successful funding happens when existing members of your team wrap up work on other titles. You also have the option of bringing in new team members if needed. You also have the option of bringing in specialists as stretch goals for the relaunch... see what Project Eternity, Wasteland 2, and now Torment have done in this regard.

8. Rather than retype the long post I made under Update #16, I'd strongly encourage you to read it and put it into action.

If any of my suggestions aren't clear or you have any more questions, drop me an email (mike AT michaelhumphreys DOT com) and I'll be happy to help.

Hope that helps,

Mike

Creator Celia Clennett on March 10

@Phosphor Games Studio: I like the idea of splitting the campaign into two parts, one on Kickstarter, and the other on the Project Awakened site. It solves the problem of people reluctant to donate a non-Kickstarter project, and also helps allow people who can only pay with Paypal to donate to the project.