Post by seth on Aug 3, 2016 15:46:12 GMT
So, I want to write a visual novel in the ever-popular 'transfer student discovers their new school is weird' genre.
In this case, it's a school populated entirely by demons. Demons who will probably want to kill them, enslave them, or just steal their soul.
Oh, and the main character might be a serial killer.
Why I want to do a Kickstarter:
(Y'know, instead of just making the darn thing and hoping someone pays me for it, like a normal person.)
(Feel free to skip this part, & just go to the Kickstarter Info section)
End of September, I'm having surgery. I thought I was only gonna be out like, a week or so, which was fine, I have a week of vacation I could use. Suddenly at the pre-op, surgeon tells me it might be more like 4-6 weeks. Only they won't actually know which one until they do the surgery. And my job won't pay me to be off work that long. They'll give me like, half of my base pay. (Which is bs, by the way, because my standard work week is 45 hours.) And they still deduct the full amount for insurance.
Long story short, it's looking likely that I'll have the entire month of October to work on a writing project.
Best case scenario is that I'll also have enough money to pay my mortgage.
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Kickstarter Info
Project title needs to be 60 characters or less. The blurb has to be 135 characters or less.
Any title suggestions would be appreciated. Right now it has the default 'Fallen Angels' because I had to name it something, and there wasn't already a VN with that title, so far as I could google.
I have a friend who offered to help with art for the project image. Said friend is not confident they possess the necessary skill to create sprites for the game itself. I have a paperdoll program that I can make sprites with, but obviously that's not as good as actual artwork.
I was thinking one of the stretch goals might involve paying an actual artist. Any artists or friends of artists on the site who could give me an idea of how much $ one would need for this goal?
. . .yyyyyeah. I can make videos out of other ppls footage. I can't appear on camera personally. I was thinking that if I'm using, say, Ren'Py, I could make a few sample pages and take some screenshots.
Of course, in order to do that, I'd need sprites, which I don't have yet.
Funding Duration:
I think 30 days is the longest duration I could do anyway. Obviously, it's going to take me several days to actually set up the project page.
14 day window for collecting-processing pledges, then another 3-5 days to actually see funds in your bank account.
I'm going on leave September 28. Figure I need a couple days for just surgery recovery anyway. So I could officially start the project October 1 or October 3 (since that starts the week.)
Lets say Oct 1. Minus 5 days transfer is September 26. Minus 14 days processing is September 12. Therefore I'd need the funding duration to end September 12. Which means the latest I could start the project page would be August 12. (assuming I do take the whole 30 days duration.)
Today is the 3rd, which therefore gives me what, 9 days to produce the project page? Oh wait nope, Kickstarter takes up to 3 business days to review/approve your project before launching the page. Crap that only gives me 6 days. Hmm. Might be looking at a less-than-30-day duration.
Funding Goal:
I'm looking at Kickstarter, and there's only like, a dozen things that come up if you search 'visual novel.' All but one of them are 98-100+% funded. The one that isn't wants $65,000. The ones that are all want between $2500-$5000.
You probably already know, funding is all-or-nothing. If you reach the goal, you get the money, minus 5% for Kickstarter and (3%+ 20 cents per pledge) to the payment processor. If you don't, you get nothing.
So what's a reasonable amount of money to ask for? Well, currently I'm only paying me. And I need . . . somewhere between $1235 and $2080. That would make up the difference between what I normally earn, and my disability pay.
Physical items have to take shipping into consideration. I've read some horror stories about ppl who made their funding goal, but ended up not having the $ to ship the rewards.
Things I was thinking about offering for Kickstarter prizes:
I was thinking higher value pledges might get the ability to create an OC for the game. It's just a thought, though. Could get tricky.
------
Well, I need to leave for work now. Please let me know what you think!!
In this case, it's a school populated entirely by demons. Demons who will probably want to kill them, enslave them, or just steal their soul.
Oh, and the main character might be a serial killer.
Why I want to do a Kickstarter:
(Y'know, instead of just making the darn thing and hoping someone pays me for it, like a normal person.)
(Feel free to skip this part, & just go to the Kickstarter Info section)
End of September, I'm having surgery. I thought I was only gonna be out like, a week or so, which was fine, I have a week of vacation I could use. Suddenly at the pre-op, surgeon tells me it might be more like 4-6 weeks. Only they won't actually know which one until they do the surgery. And my job won't pay me to be off work that long. They'll give me like, half of my base pay. (Which is bs, by the way, because my standard work week is 45 hours.) And they still deduct the full amount for insurance.
Long story short, it's looking likely that I'll have the entire month of October to work on a writing project.
Best case scenario is that I'll also have enough money to pay my mortgage.
----------------------------------
Kickstarter Info
Your project title and blurb should be simple, specific, and memorable. Our search tools run through these sections of your project, so be sure to incorporate any key words here!
These words will help people find your project, so choose them wisely! Your name will be searchable too.
These words will help people find your project, so choose them wisely! Your name will be searchable too.
Any title suggestions would be appreciated. Right now it has the default 'Fallen Angels' because I had to name it something, and there wasn't already a VN with that title, so far as I could google.
Use your main project image to brand your project and make it stand out. Be sure to give it life and make it representative of you and what you're creating. People browse Kickstarter looking for unique and innovative things to support. Showing people what they'll be helping you create is inspiring and motivating! Your project image is what others will see when your project is shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Give 'em something to talk about.
While it might be tempting to add banners, badges or extra text to your project image, we recommend avoiding it. Negative space is more attractive to the eye than a cluttered image.
On the more technical side, high resolution project images will ensure that your project is presented in the best possible light for backers, no matter what device or settings they’re browsing with. This is especially important as devices and monitors are continuously using higher resolution.
A few more technical details... We recommend that you use a project image that is 1024x576 pixels (16:9 ratio) in size. We accept most major image formats, but for best results upload one of our recommended file types: JPEG, PNG, GIF, or BMP. The maximum image size is 50 MB.
While it might be tempting to add banners, badges or extra text to your project image, we recommend avoiding it. Negative space is more attractive to the eye than a cluttered image.
On the more technical side, high resolution project images will ensure that your project is presented in the best possible light for backers, no matter what device or settings they’re browsing with. This is especially important as devices and monitors are continuously using higher resolution.
A few more technical details... We recommend that you use a project image that is 1024x576 pixels (16:9 ratio) in size. We accept most major image formats, but for best results upload one of our recommended file types: JPEG, PNG, GIF, or BMP. The maximum image size is 50 MB.
I have a friend who offered to help with art for the project image. Said friend is not confident they possess the necessary skill to create sprites for the game itself. I have a paperdoll program that I can make sprites with, but obviously that's not as good as actual artwork.
I was thinking one of the stretch goals might involve paying an actual artist. Any artists or friends of artists on the site who could give me an idea of how much $ one would need for this goal?
Projects with a video have a much higher chance of success. Don't use music, images, video, or other content that you don't have the rights to. Reusing copyrighted material is almost always against the law and can lead to expensive lawsuits down the road. The easiest way to avoid copyright troubles is to create all the content yourself or use content that is free for public use.
Of course, in order to do that, I'd need sprites, which I don't have yet.
Who are you?
Introduce yourself, your team, and any similar work you’ve done (show some examples!).
What are you planning to make?
The more details, the better. Sketches, samples, prototypes — it all helps backers get as excited as you are.
Where did this project come from?
Tell people how you got the idea, and how much you’ve accomplished so far. Sharing the project’s history helps others understand the kind of work you do, and how you go about it.
What’s your plan, and what’s your schedule?
Lay out a clear, specific timeline for what backers can expect.
What’s your budget?
A simple breakdown lets people know you’ve thought things through and have a workable plan, so they can trust you to use funds wisely.
Why do you care?
Tell people why you’re passionate about your project and committed to making it happen.
Introduce yourself, your team, and any similar work you’ve done (show some examples!).
What are you planning to make?
The more details, the better. Sketches, samples, prototypes — it all helps backers get as excited as you are.
Where did this project come from?
Tell people how you got the idea, and how much you’ve accomplished so far. Sharing the project’s history helps others understand the kind of work you do, and how you go about it.
What’s your plan, and what’s your schedule?
Lay out a clear, specific timeline for what backers can expect.
What’s your budget?
A simple breakdown lets people know you’ve thought things through and have a workable plan, so they can trust you to use funds wisely.
Why do you care?
Tell people why you’re passionate about your project and committed to making it happen.
We recommend setting a funding duration of 30 days or less. Shorter durations tend to have higher success rates. Once your project has launched, it won’t be possible to change your funding duration.
Your funding goal should be the minimum amount needed to complete the project and fulfill (and ship!) all rewards. Because funding is all-or-nothing, you can always raise more than your goal but never less. Once your project has launched, it will not be possible to change your funding goal.
Your funding goal should be the minimum amount needed to complete the project and fulfill (and ship!) all rewards. Because funding is all-or-nothing, you can always raise more than your goal but never less. Once your project has launched, it will not be possible to change your funding goal.
I think 30 days is the longest duration I could do anyway. Obviously, it's going to take me several days to actually set up the project page.
14 day window for collecting-processing pledges, then another 3-5 days to actually see funds in your bank account.
I'm going on leave September 28. Figure I need a couple days for just surgery recovery anyway. So I could officially start the project October 1 or October 3 (since that starts the week.)
Lets say Oct 1. Minus 5 days transfer is September 26. Minus 14 days processing is September 12. Therefore I'd need the funding duration to end September 12. Which means the latest I could start the project page would be August 12. (assuming I do take the whole 30 days duration.)
Today is the 3rd, which therefore gives me what, 9 days to produce the project page? Oh wait nope, Kickstarter takes up to 3 business days to review/approve your project before launching the page. Crap that only gives me 6 days. Hmm. Might be looking at a less-than-30-day duration.
Funding Goal:
I'm looking at Kickstarter, and there's only like, a dozen things that come up if you search 'visual novel.' All but one of them are 98-100+% funded. The one that isn't wants $65,000. The ones that are all want between $2500-$5000.
You probably already know, funding is all-or-nothing. If you reach the goal, you get the money, minus 5% for Kickstarter and (3%+ 20 cents per pledge) to the payment processor. If you don't, you get nothing.
So what's a reasonable amount of money to ask for? Well, currently I'm only paying me. And I need . . . somewhere between $1235 and $2080. That would make up the difference between what I normally earn, and my disability pay.
What to Offer:
Copies of what you're making, unique experiences, and limited editions work great.
How to price:
Price fairly, and offer a good value. What would you consider a fair exchange?
Most popular pledge amount: $25
Something fun for $10 or less is always a good idea.
What's prohibited:
Rewards not directly produced by the creator or the project itself
Financial incentives
Raffles, lotteries, and sweepstakes
Coupons, discounts, and cash-value gift cards
Copies of what you're making, unique experiences, and limited editions work great.
How to price:
Price fairly, and offer a good value. What would you consider a fair exchange?
Most popular pledge amount: $25
Something fun for $10 or less is always a good idea.
What's prohibited:
Rewards not directly produced by the creator or the project itself
Financial incentives
Raffles, lotteries, and sweepstakes
Coupons, discounts, and cash-value gift cards
Physical items have to take shipping into consideration. I've read some horror stories about ppl who made their funding goal, but ended up not having the $ to ship the rewards.
Things I was thinking about offering for Kickstarter prizes:
I was thinking higher value pledges might get the ability to create an OC for the game. It's just a thought, though. Could get tricky.
------
Well, I need to leave for work now. Please let me know what you think!!
