How Did InXile Entertainment Get Over 80,000 backers to fund Torment: Tides of Numenera?
Torment: Tides of Numenera - A World Unlike Any Other
Kickstarter has given devs big and small the chances to get the purest form of their product out to the consumer.
Torment: Tides of Numenera would most likely never have been picked up by any big companies for release but using Kickstarter it became one of the most funded games because of the fans.
Over 80,000 backers wanted InXile to create their next favorite game, here's 5 reasons how it happened.
1. DRM-Free Game
Fan funding lets the developers get in depth with the demands of their fans.
InXile wanted to work with their fans to abolish any ill will towards their PC-based game so they made their game DRM-free for every operating system. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and though it was initially made with good intentions it has gotten blown out of proportion with many modern games that are requiring internet connection even for single player or even in extreme cases single install discs that only let you install your game once ever.
2. Proper Game Support
Sticking alongside the DRM idea the developers wanted their fans to have all the instructions and documentation for their game free of charge so instead of locking those with a download or only making them available on the home page the game manual is also DRM-free. This also comes with an added bonus of including English, French, German, Itlaian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish versions of documents as well as languages for in-game voices.
3. Priced To Sell
Anyone who pledged could get the game, this means that if you pledged in the Kickstarter for the minimum of 20 dollars you would get the full game on release for that amount of money. There are not many large-scale RPGs in this age that would let you have the full release for anything under 50 dollars, but InXile knew that if they had fan support hey could have an even greater game.
4. Keeping the Fans Posted
Continuous goals kept fans wanting to give more to gain a deeper and more complex game. The most notable upgrades were new cities, added story length, an expansive epilogue to learn how your decisions affected the game and even added developers. The developers kept the pledging fans in the loop and let anyone who hadn't pledged know that any contributions they made would be met with even more content and excitement.
5. Sweet Prizes
There was no shortage of awesome backing prizes like a personalized obelisk in the game, personalized plaque, or your name in the opening credits. InXile wanted the fans to feel like they were not only being heard but being appreciated for their contribution. Without the fans backing this Kickstarter the game just would not have been made or it would have been changed significantly by a 3rd party developer. With the freedom that InXile has over the game what are you most excited for when this game finally releases?
Here's a nice video of the upcoming RPG game. The gameplay looks pretty awesome!
Torment: Tides of Numenera Gameplay - First Glimpse
