topic : Indie game crowdfunding know-how and follow-up strategy Speaker: Minsu Kim – Smilegate / Manager Field : crowdfunding hour : 2022.11.18 (Fri) 14:00 ~ 14:50 summary : An explanation of crowdfunding, which has become an essential system for indie game production, operational know-how to reduce failure, and introduction of post-funding and pre-launch strategies
■ Loktar Ogar! Features of Crowdfunding You Should Know
Crowdfunding is a compound word of crowd, which means the public, and funding, which means fundraising. Crowdfunding refers to the realization of content or services that have not yet been released to the world through public fundraising. Crowdfunding is also used well in game development. Game planning or games that are still under development are sometimes launched through public fundraising.
There are many platforms that support crowdfunding. Most recently, Kickstarter has received attention, and Korean game makers are familiar with Tumblr. In addition, there are crowd funding Pigna, Indie Gogo, and Wadiz, which specialize in games.
The biggest feature of crowdfunding can be easily expressed in the language of Orc, the character of World of Warcraft. Loktar Ogar means ‘Victory or death’. So is crowdfunding. Success in fundraising results in victory, or failure in fundraising results in nothing. Creators will lose their fundraising funds, and sponsors will not be able to receive the rewards promised by creators.
Crowdfunding is not just a way to raise money. Crowdfunding is the way to find a fandom for a game project I develop. Fisk, who established the popular culture theory, summarized that “fandom is related to the cultural taste of subordinate people.” If this sentence is applied to the game industry, ‘subordinate person’ refers to a user who will spare no support for my game development, and ‘cultural taste’ refers to a genre that such users prefer.
According to data from Kickstarter, the largest platform for game-related crowdfunding, the proportion of game projects is ranked third with 11% of the total. In addition, among the contents that successfully raised money, it was also the game that recorded the highest success rate (28%, 1st place). If you look at the data of Fig, another crowdfunding platform specializing in games, the target amount achievement rate is 75%. In addition, looking at data such as Tumblbug and Wadiz, game-related crowdfunding continues to grow.
■ Crowdfunding, who will sponsor it?
Who is backing crowdfunding? Crowdfunding backers usually behave differently than people who buy games. Crowdfunding is the purchase of intangible products that have not yet been produced. Therefore, it has the advantage of being able to check sponsored products faster than regular buyers. On the other hand, without confirming the reality, the value of the product must be judged only by planning, drawing, or writing, and deciding on sponsorship.
Crowdfunding sponsors can be broadly classified into two categories. First, there are users who are familiar with the funding platform. They have experienced both the advantages and disadvantages of funding, and they don’t hesitate to support their favorite projects. They also prefer rewards with high value and scarcity. Some potential backers are unfamiliar with crowdfunding. These mainly exist in external communities, game platforms, and SNS.
Keywords are the best way to reach users. Both fandom users who are familiar with the funding platform and potential supporters who are unfamiliar with it can respond to keywords. Keywords such as users who like ‘martial arts’, users who like ‘fantasy’, ‘soul like’, ‘beautiful girl’, and ‘subculture’ are important elements that move users’ minds. And keywords should be precise and specific. If it’s vague or broad, it won’t get attention. Before attempting crowdfunding, it is essential to organize keywords for the game you are developing.
■ Characteristics of a successful crowdfunding page
A well-successful crowdfunding page is easy to see and clear. And the beginning and the end are connected like flowing water. In the introduction, you need something that will grab the attention of your patrons. That something gives me the strength to read all the way down the funding page. After the introduction, there is an introduction to the game. He conveys the key material to express his game project in one sentence, and introduces the system of how the game was made.
The second key to a crowdfunding page is ‘trust’. A funding project should look like a well-built castle. The development schedule should be shared, the development team should be introduced, and the schedule of future projects should be expressed in detail. Only then can you gain the trust of your sponsors. If you’ve been looking at the crowdfunding page often, you’ve probably seen a page that says ‘three team members, who is the representative’. It is difficult for such a project page to gain users’ trust.
The schedule related to development should also be well organized. If you look at the schedule page, you will find that the development schedule and the delivery schedule are mixed up. In this case, you may feel that the description of ‘reward delivery’, which is the most curious part of the sponsor, is insufficient. Also, it is difficult to draw an accurate blueprint of how development is taking place. Even in this case, it is difficult to give trust to the sponsor.
Rewards to attract backers are also important. Reward has six characteristics. Rewards should be special. And it should only be possible through funding. The quantity is limited, so it must be rare, and the people who sponsored it must be recorded. The reward should be noticed by many people and should be recognized for its value by many people.
There is an essential element that cannot be left out of crowdfunding. ‘Scratch goal’, often expressed as a pledge. It is a pledge to add something to the project when the fundraising of the project exceeds 100% and reaches 200% or 300%. The ‘scratch goal’ is a part that can improve the perfection that I mightn’t capture in my project. In addition, it becomes the power to add new values that did not exist before. ‘Scratch Goal’ also motivates the fandom that supports them to find more supporters.
Videos and demo versions of directly driving the game have become essential. Driving videos or demo versions help backers get a sense of the game right away. In addition, the largest number of supporters decides to sponsor following watching a driving video or demo version.
Crowdfunding is open, and you can know the results in two days. If the fundraising does not exceed 100% within two days, there is a high possibility that the project will not succeed. Conversely, funding that exceeds 100% within two days is highly likely to succeed by the target period.
■ Dog and wolf time
At dusk, when the silhouette of an animal coming with its back to the sun is unknown whether it is a dog or a wolf, it is called ‘the time of dogs and wolves’. In the time following funding is over, indistinguishable opportunities and crises come. Whether the approaching animal is a dog or a wolf, you need to lay the groundwork to deal with it.
Game development is, of course, the number one task. And as much as that, follow-up linkage activities are absolutely necessary. Funding is not just regarding raising money. It is necessary to continue publicity so that the effort does not fade, and to secure funds so that the project can proceed until the end of the launch.
You need to find a community or SNS suitable for the game you are developing, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and expose the game consistently. According to Smilegate’s own research, the channels through which people who want to sponsor are inflow have become very diverse. Also, it is important to figure out the time when people flock to each platform and promote the article.
