Tim Schafer Is “Scared” For Publishers, Kickstarter Rules

After Double Fine raised over $3 million on Kickstarter for their new adventure title, Tim Schafer made the tongue-in-cheek comment that "there still might be a few games made by publishers after today". It would seem that it's feasible to skip the long, politically-driven, bend-over-backwards pitch to publishers and find funding from the fans for their game projects.

In a statement to GameFront, Schafer expressed how Kickstarter and other crowd-funding initiatives is the beginning of a new "game revolution" for developers:

I'm a little scared, well, for them, because I see a lot of resistance to it. 'Well, that's someone else's business – we don't want to be in a race to zero,' or something like that.

Ron Gilbert echoes this sentiment:

I think they (publishers) are going have to (change the way they interact with players) because the world is changing and small developers are getting these personal relationships with their fans and people that play the games, and I think the really big publishers need to embrace that or they're really gonna miss this whole kind of revolution that's happening right now.

Developers who have a dedicated fanbase, particularly niche third-party developers, may not need to kowtow to publishers anymore. Of course, we need to see what Double Fine creates with all that money, with our hope that they don't screw it up. It won't look very good for crowd funding if it makes cruddy titles. That said, I think we're in good hands with Double Fine.

[Source]

Upcoming Releases
Embark on an inspiring mission of human connection beyond the UCA. Sam — with companions by his side — sets out on a new journey to save humanity from extinction. Join them as they traverse a world beset by otherworldly enemies, obstacles and a haunting question: should we have connected?
Star Citizen is an upcoming space trading and combat simulator video game for Microsoft Windows. Star Citizen will consist of two main components: first person space combat and trading in a massively multiplayer persistent universe and customizable private servers (known as Star Citizen), and a branching single-player game (known as Squadron 42). The game will also feature VR support.
Atlas is an action-rpg with rogue-like elements where you use your ability to control the ground to fight the enemies and move through procedurally generated worlds.
Damnview: Built From Nothing is a simulation sandbox game about occidental culture and its different social classes. Immerse yourself into a decadent urban sprawl, all while working precarious jobs where you will either be absorbed into the system, or cast out of society’s machine. Damnview: Built From Nothing is a game about despair, the hostility of capitalism, and the need…
Reviews
X