New Stretch Goal: Payback Time!
Smashing it up like a student in Yates’s, Yooka-Laylee backers have strawpedo’d their way through the latest stretch goal, and so now an orchestral soundtrack will be enjoyed by all. But before you stumble towards the high street intending to disseminate a large donner meat and chips – wait, because there’s more...
The entire Playtonic team would like to offer its sincere thanks to everyone who has backed the Yooka-Laylee campaign so far. Our intention from the beginning was to use Kickstarter as a means to improve our game, and by helping us reach an incredible £1.5 million you’ve shaped it into one fine specimen.
From the start of the campaign we also pledged to do best by your amazing support by only setting stretch goals that would improve the game, without negatively affecting core development.
Our next stretch goal, if reached, will be used only to further improve and polish Yooka-Laylee, and give something back for your amazing support. Namely, we’ll release our first post-release DLC pack free of charge for all backers.
When – and only when – we’ve finished and shipped the full version of Yooka-Laylee, we’ll start work on additional content that will be distributed to backers free of charge for their platform of choice. And again, all additional funding will of course go towards improving and polishing the game.
Thanks again for your support, and don’t forget to project your questions and ideas at our social channels on Twitter, Facebook and indeed this very Kickstarter page.
Danielle on
Im very proud t obe a backer, and I hope the game turns out to be everything I remember from my childhood. Banjo Kazooie was a large chunk of mine and everything about it is amazing.
Jamie Pollan on
I'm proud to be able to back you guys! Banjo Kazooie was such a big part of my childhood, it feels great to be able to support the people who gave me that! I hope this is the start of tremendous things for your team :3
Christian deLauder on
@Matthew Robert Shanahan This is true, but their goal is 2M Euros and not 2M USD. You have to take money conversion into it.
Georgi Bankov on
We did it ! Good to know the full focus will be on the game first and foremost! DLC can wait :)
Michael Bower on
I find it funny that so many people are just reading DLC and going off on it and so many people seemed to have misread or skipped this entire paragraph.
"When – and only when – we’ve finished and shipped the full version of Yooka-Laylee, we’ll start work on additional content that will be distributed to backers free of charge for their platform of choice. And again, all additional funding will of course go towards improving and polishing the game"
Hence it's not going to be day one DLC. It's not going to be split off from the rest of the game. The first game is a complete game and product. This just allows them to work for a few extra weeks/months afterwards to continue to add to the game at cost, giving it free to backers while charging anyone who chooses to pick it up afterwards (promotional bundles not withstanding)
To me this sounds sensible, fair, honest and a fine business practice.
Seriously guys XD
Kenshiago on
I thought the kickstarter has broken 2 million dollars like a month ago?
Carlo Di Donna on
I don't know how I feel about Rare / Platonic going the DLC route. So long as they deliver a fully featured game (sort of like the Mario Kart series where its always been 8 cups with like 5 tracks each, and then they introduce even more extra tracks that doesn't really affect the main game in any way, I'm all for that)
What I want is a fully featured and fully finished game at release, I mean technically something like Stop & Swop would be considered part of the fully finished game (like it was back in the day).
so really, I'm not sure how they would implement DLC in a way that would be acceptable in my eyes, but I don't know, I guess I'll just wait and find out
Christian Walker on
@Matt:
My problem with "DLC Done Right" for this type of game is not the price, but rather the implication that the game could be partially episodic. If you look at their latest video, they mention a "first final boss", which could imply that they are already at least thinking about what could go in the DLC. In order to have DLC make sense, it either needs to be natural (Mario Kart, Smash Bros, etc) or be considered in design from the beginning. I would much rather have post-release development effort go into either fixing bugs in the game, or a sequel.
@All:
A Steam release implies nothing about DRM. There are plenty of DRM-free games on Steam. SteamWORKS on the other hand, has optional unique executable generation and other 'protection' features.
Kellen Bauer on
Will the PayPal donations count towards the stretch goals?
Christian deLauder on
@Dean Weinzweig
because Conker is copywritten by Microsoft/Rareware, it's basically up to them if they want to allow Playtonics to showcase their characters. My hope is that one day (this will probably never happen) Microsoft/Rareware will give/sell the Banjo Kazooie rights to Playtonics so we can all get the Banjo Threeie we always wanted!
Joshua Schafer on
When I saw "payback time", I thought it was to do with microsoft.
cooper gelhaus on
I see you are savvy to the hate on game devs shipping day 1 DLC. Bravo.
Carl Nelson on
I think for DLC, extra multiplayer or a challenge course set would be fun, something self contained that wouldn't require replaying but could be jumped into many times.
Miguel Vallés on
@Playtonic Have you guys thought about making a Bos Rush mode? It would be a very interesting gameplay addition (something similar to Donkey Kong 64) that shouldn't be too hard to implement and would most definitely expand replayability.
Mobius Whitetalon on
DLC done as Skyrim, or Mario Kart 8, where the extra content is meaningful and adds to the game, without making the game feel incomplete without it is fine. Day one DLC to fix bugs and to add parts of the game that were missing at launch are bad. There are plenty of examples out there of both good and bad DLC. Considering the homework Playtonics did in crafting this Kickstarter campaign, I expect they will also do homework on what works and what does not work in terms of DLC, and plan accordingly.
Craig Hull on
My issue with DLC (assuming that this will mean extra levels) is that it will make the game kind of episodic - I prefer my games to be self-contained full-features. It's the same reason that so many people binge-watch TV series': they want to enjoy the story as a whole, rather than being drip-fed the plot over a long period of time. I'm all in favour of seeing more content be created after the initial release, but I'd rather the developers focused on targeting such content for a sequel. I accept that this may mean that the game has little replay value *immediately* after playing, but wait a little while longer and they'll have a whole new follow-up game ready for us to enjoy.
DLC like extra moves / items / characters / challenges-in-existing-levels etc. would be cool though.
ryan on
@zombie socks
yeah, it was. i'm sure there was a reason for what happened with the "stop'n swap" thing. remember, they wanted to do something ala sonic 3 but didn't have enough cash to do it.
Rhys Campbell on
You know, if we all pledge just £1-5 more we make £2,000,000 easy (accounting for the people who won't see this).
Braden on
We made it!! Now what?
Purplestorm8 on
As long as the DLC isn't day 1 and it's actually built to add and extend life to the game, rather then just extra skins, items or cosmetic crap...then ok.
There's a good way to do DLC and I trust you to do it the right way.
Neo on
DRM-Free or nothing happens!
Nicholas "LB" Braden on
Kickstarter finally started converting to US Dollars for me, so when I saw that the number was above 2,000,000 I thought we had some insane backers. Then I realized it was in USD.
Zombie_Socks_96
Superbacker
on
@Ryan I disagree, we totally need a new "Stop 'N' Swap" that only becomes useful in the sequel....except this time make it actually work lol. It was awesome back then trying to figure out the secrets of the eggs and key and all the theories.
Kris Knives on
I'm glad to hear your very reasonable DLC policy. I hope by DLC you mean more like the old school Expansion Packs. I don't mind DLC in theory but these days the way it is handled is to just drops random stuff into the game which changes the pacing and flow of the game. It often ruins the original tightly designed and well tested flow of the game even if the DLC is good content.
Sam on
DLC is fine when done well. I've only ever bought it once, and that was for Mario Kart 8. It was basically a quarter-sized Mario Kart game all on its own, and is priced at about 25% of what Mario Kart 8 costs (or less? I don't remember). I really only keep up with Nintendo, so I don't know how DLC is usually done, though. I think it SHOULD be a great way to add a little something to an already-properly-finished product to tide people over to the next full, already-properly-finished product.
Masterdoctorn7 on
As long as it is not random costumes for the main characters, im all for it
Dean Weinzweig on
Will 3 million pounds warrant a Conker cameo?
Bassey Udohaya on
But yeah, I'm hype as fuck. Bring it.
Bassey Udohaya on
It's funny seeing people get all up in arms at the mere mention of DLC, Look what you've done to the people video games industry!
USM-Valor on
This stretch goal makes good sense. I approve.
ryan on
PLEASE if you are going to put stuff like keys and "shark islands" in the game, don't wait for the sequel to reveal their usefullness.
ryan on
PLEASE
Serge Bernhardt on
That's awesome! Especially since I generally don't like the idea of DLC
Miguel Vallés on
I don't mind DLC as long as they really are an interesting piece of gameplay.
I think new worlds would be a very good way of expanding the game, and I wold also be in for a game museum/vault (loved what the Retro Studios guys did with DKC Tropical Freeze's Gallery).
Charlie Handy on
Students in Yates! Bah! Good Sir, I'll have none of it! We're more like connoisseurs of the finest ales. Our glorious pints have supplied us with much knowledge and wisdom (as we all know beer activates unused parts of the brain and enhances our cognitive functions!) Be sure, we're ready for more. I suspect Yooka knows a damn good micro-brewery or two!
Lance on
oh basically the nintendo way of doing DLC! nice!!!
Cullen Gilchrist
Superbacker
on
Looking foward to the free dlc.
To all of those whiners out there, think of it as an expansion pack, instead of, without thinking for even half a second, as something for you to whinge and moan without pulling your head out...
Sweet zombie jesus, people, its not coming out on day one. they arent touching it until AFTER the game is entirely completed. Its not like itl be released a month later. Itl be lots later. You. Fools.
Ryan Lindsley on
Great stretch goal. I appreciate the focus to get the core game done and shipped before turning attention to additional content. Some games do DLC right, other don't. I'm confident you guys know what you're doing.
Sebastian Feder on
Although I understand that nowadays DLCs are an important part to generate a certain cash flow for a company after release of the initial game, I would have much rather liked the feeling of a complete game without having to worry to pay for much too expensive DLCs that feel like they could have easily been included in the game itself. Just a word of advise from me: I think most of your backers are kinda retro kind of guys in the age of 27-35, that played your games back then as a child/adolescent, and in this peer group, DLCs are not very popular, which you can see with so many other games/publishers. So please try to find a good balance for the pricing of your DLCs.
Amin Zaid on
Hey! Love the idea of Free DLC for Backers. Thank you! (but please NO day-one DLC... i have no problem with it.. but people on the internet will freak out..)
<3
Samuel Workman on
I swear, I see so many people overreact to the idea of DLC being in a game at all (even if it's free), that it's almost as if the "DLC" term itself has become an unofficial curse-word...
Xi The 11th Weapon
Superbacker
on
.. Meh, depends on what you guys got planned, but since it's free for us if we hit that goal I'm all good with it.
Jason DeSante on
also since the scope of the game was smaller and asking for much less than what youre gonna get, please dont over plan and have it turn out like Broken Age, because I didn't like the way that game turned out at all, but also I'm sure you're more skilled at making games than Double Fine so there's no worries but if you don't spend all the money making the game and still have some left over don't just blow it all because you feel like you have to.
Thomas Wisniewski on
Oh boy, this makes me even more excited, what will we see new areas, new transformations, new enemies? The list could go on for ever. As does the whining, jeez people stop making a big deal out of the fact there is DLC. It's a good thing, it keeps the game alive and gives Playtonic more time to demonstrate their creativity. If you're worried about anything watch their game reveal, they clearly point out that they plan to do stuff like this in an intelligent way and not just for more money.
Marcus Lane on
Why is everyone having a bitch fit about this? As a business they need to forecast development of content so they actually stay a float as a business.
The DLC will not start development n until after development, and with the transparency that Playtonic are already showing with their stretch goals. us players will probably have some sort of say in the the DLC content!
Chris Cain on
Planned DLC that comes out some time after the game is great but if I hear the phrase 'season pass' I will not be a happy bunny. Playtonic need to think back to those N64 days and concentrate all efforts on producing a single, finished game.
Julian Schuetze on
Dear lord, what's wrong with DLC? If it's proper, fully fledged content made after the official release of a game because the devs wanted to make more, then why not?
"When, and only when, we've finished and released the final game, we'll proceed to make some additional content"
Chris Bingham on
Uh oh.... no please... don't be forcing people to purchase DLC... this is making me worried about the game now and I don't know whether I should support you guys or not.. I'm sorry but that's not cool..
krayzkrok on
The reason DLC has a bad rep is because it's often seen as content that's removed from the main game and then added in later for extra cost. That's clearly not what Playtonic are suggesting. They're saying that instead of adding an extra 6-12 months of development to produce more content to meet stretch goal demands, hence delaying the game, they're going to give us the game first - on time - and then produce additional content afterwards to give to backers for free. So we get the same content, only we get the extra stuff later. Technically this is called DLC, but don't confuse this with the way EA or Ubisoft define DLC.
Playtonic, perhaps you should call it an expansion pack? ;)
CnEY on
This is gonna come out real tongue-in-cheek, but... I'd rather pay you *not* to do DLC.
Copping to DLC from the get-go lumps you in the same category as games like Evolve (not that I expect you guys would do it nearly as terribly as they did). In this day and age where savvy (and wary) gamers are sick to death of being nickel-and-dimed and disrespected, a promise of *no* DLC would be the real differentiator, IMO.
Like someone else already said in the comments, gear for a sequel, not DLC. After all, this is supposed to be a shout-out to an era where DLC wasn't a thing, right?