A guide to crowdfunding games and the risks involved, the Linux edition

I was asked by a Patreon supporter to note down some thoughts on what to look for when you’re thinking about pledging to a crowdfunding campaign.

Note: These are my personal thoughts on the matter, so yours may differ. It’s okay not to agree with me on this.

First of all, to make it clear: I am not against crowdfunding at all. I think it’s a brilliant idea that has allowed some truly fantastic games to be made. The problem is that a few bad apples (hello Stainless Games) have spoiled things for a lot of Linux gamers.

The first thing to check: Have they backed anything else on that crowdfunding platform? If not it means they are a brand new user with not a single check done by the platform to check that they are who they say they are. It’s not foolproof, of course, but it’s the only starting point.

The next thing you need to think about: Do they mention Linux and/or SteamOS on the campaign page at all? If the answer is no, then the answer should be obvious. You can contact the creator through the crowdfunding platform directly or their social media channels to make sure. If they don’t answer then take the hint. Obviously give them a little bit of time to respond (2 days at least), since they may be getting lots of questions.

Now, you should look at how far along the project is. The most risky projects are those that only provide mockups (some form of art, not actual screenshots); I would personally steer clear of them, no matter who the developer is. If they cannot provide a video of something, then nothing actually exists, so the risk here is massive. You could argue they don’t want to show a video of something terribly early on, but you also can’t assume they even have anything. The first step towards losing your money is making assumptions like that. Keep in mind that projects have completely failed even when they have had plenty to show you, so if they have nothing — don’t be foolish.

If they have provided something other than mockups, you should next look to see what their actual experience is. I’m not talking about Linux directly here, but have they shipped anything before? If no then, again, the risk is quite high here. If they have shipped something, you then need to see if they have any experience with building something for Linux. It does not matter if they are using a cross-platform engine, as pushing a button to export is never as simple as it sounds. There’s plenty that can go wrong and plenty of platform-specific issues in all game engines. A demo, no matter how basic it may be, is a good indication that they’ve at least tried to make things work on their target platforms.

Leading into the above about their experience, do they mention on their campaign page where the funds will be going? You will be surprised at how many developers don’t realize the costs involved. Things like taxes which can be very complicated!

Is the project big, and if so, do you honestly think the date they say they will deliver it actually reasonable? Think on how long some massive games take to make, if their delivery date seems too soon, then it probably is.

If all of that checks out, then sit on it for a good week or so. See how communicative the developer is to the community. There is no harm in waiting to see if the developer will actually keep up communication.

If you have any more thoughts on the matter, be sure to share them in the comments. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.