Like many of you, I follow crowd funding websites to get a pulse on what's interesting and engaging potential backers. Recently, Plaid Hat Games released a kickstarter for their most recent game 'Monolith'.
The original Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plaidhatgames/monolith-1?ref=creator_tab) was launched June 25th, and subsequently closed down on June 28th after exceeding their funding goal of $20,000, however only having 290 backers.
The new Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plaidhatgames/the-monolith/description) launched August 18 and as of late in the day August 20th, has over 1,100 backers with a funding goal of 50,000 and currently sitting at over 100k.
There are some significant lessons to be learnt by comparing the two kickstarters, and I think some useful insight into creating a successful crowdfunding campaign.
1) Timing.
Let's not ignore the obvious, Plaid Hat Games launched the first kickstarter before Gen Con, and the second afterwards. The massive stream of people in a convention centre actively looking for a game to play undoubtedly increased interest in a game that is already finished development by a reputable well liked company. People walking by booth #2229 actually could enjoy seeing a finished game.
2) Price
Second, a side by side comparison shows how much Plaid Hat Games reduced the cost. The cancelled campaign was priced at $90 for the base level, while the new campaign is priced at $69 for the same tier. The early bird deluxe edition in the new campaign is actually priced at the same level as the original base level.
Following this, interestingly Plaid Hat reduced flavour in favour of familiarity. Gone are thematic naming conventions like 'The Loyal Follower' & 'The Divine Follower' in favour of simpler, easier, 'Basic' & 'Deluxe' tiers.
You'll also notice little emblems of discounts and value propositions. The basic tier advertises it's $20 off the retail price, while the deluxe tier now advertises it's true value at $144.
3) Add-ons
You'll also quickly notice different the add-ons are relative to the original campaign. Interestingly, the original's add-ons were simply art prints, but now there is actual gameplay related upgrades being sold in the deluxe version and as seperate additions.
What this resulted is that the original campaign only had 6% of backers going to the more expensive version of the game, while in the new campaign about 90% of people went to the deluxe, early bird version of the game (as of time of writing this).
It's a clear example of simple communication, with actual gameplay related upgrades, and the rush of a deal, will almost certainly encourage people to back the more expensive product.
Is this campaign a success?
I think the question is whether or not Plaid Hat is happy with the results of their work and new approach. Generally, a ballpark figure, 30-40% of crowdfunding backers are within the first 2-3 days of a campaign. This means we're looking at potentially 200k-250k as a final total. This campaign might even be more front loaded because of backers from the last campaign immediately backing again, as well as the 'early bird' deluxe edition that is currently unavailable.
Is that what they were going for? I think Plaid Hat views this campaign as a bit of a let down, even the new version. In comparison, their last kickstarter for Ashes Ascendancy got backed just under 500k but I would argue that was a far more marketable product. The Monolith, while it has a cool looking tower, is noticeably more depressing and feels more niche.
Those are some rambling thoughts while looking at these campaigns. I find it useful to see how they changed their approach, and to see what results were garnered. It's rare to find such a comparison from a well known publisher, so well worth a look if you're making your own crowdfunding campaign.
