School is a huge priority for me and even though the first year is going to be pretty light ('cause I'll just be ramping up) - it still takes priority (it's my future, after all). As far as coding and developing 5 days a week at 10+ hours a day, I've done similar with coding....What I find draining though, is when you finish a 50+ hour week and then try to fit coding in as well as the rest of your life (and time for rest as well).
This is why you do things at your leisure in your free time, for better or worse. Remeber: Insanity was done in <1 year while I was still in college AND working. The point is that its supposed to be fun, and about the console in question.
Despite my.. reputation, for lack of a better word, of wanting to push the system hard beyond its limits, I just want to make a game. I'm not concerned with incredible special effects or such at this point. I just want to make something that's fun to play and feels like it came from that era. If I had a choice between crazy special effects, or much more content (hidden area, unlockable stuff, etc) - I'd choose the latter. If I had a whole year, I'd definitely make something visually spectacular, but I don't have that kind of time. That's not to say that I won't add some fluff here and there, just not overboard.
This is another thing though. Your reputation thus far is mostly just techdemos and things that aren't even finished. You don't have any previous games to demonstrate that you can get the whole thing done in a sane timeframe, let alone a few months of fevered coding. People who look into what you've done previously may notice this and be pretty much against giving you any money.
Research the Kickstarters some more. You'll see they all plan things out for a year or more. Saying your deadline is 3-6 months is going to make people think you're huffing paint thinner.
You're more op'd to get more people to contribute to the project funding that aren't directly interested in the project, as well. There's just this certain legitimacy about it that draws people in.
This doesn't exactly apply to video games. You make it sound as if there are people on Kickstarter who just thrust money at people because its Kickstarter. If people don't want a PC Engine CD game, they aren't likely to pledge, or if they do, they won't pledge much, because the prizes for high pledge amounts won't really excite them.
And again, don't forget, the prizes had better be good. They're also not free, so you will be losing pizza money to all the prizes you need to produce.
You typically need to tell them what the funding is for. If you tell them the majority of the funding is going into feeding you while you make a game for a console they've never heard of, they're going to bail. Pressing CDs (depending on the manual size) costs 1000-3000$, generally. Depending on the quantity, it may be higher.
But yeah, as far as it being PCE exclusive - not really. I mean sure, it is, but being on CD medium means it can be played on almost any PCE emulator for PC or such. I won't be putting in emulator specific blocks/protection. This is such a small project, that I'm not concerned with piracy. I wanna make this game and I want it on a pressed CD with a manual and case.
You're assuming people who aren't PCE loyalists will be cool with having to dick around with emulators just to play this game after giving you money. This includes them having to locate a Super System Card ROM, which means you'll be encouraging them to do something that isn't legal and often requires going to janked up sites.
I can definitely understand that. But from what I've read on the Kickstarter FAQ, there are legalities for project deadlines and promises (promises to backers that give specific amounts to receive rewards). Which is why I haven't just jumped into it, just yet. And which is why I haven't set anything in stone yet either. 3 solid months would bite a huge chunk of time out of the development process, but I'm not going to put the deadline as that. It's an important part of my plan no doubt, and it essential IMO, but I need to make sure I have my ass covered so that I can pull this off. Which is one of the reason why I'm proposing this here, first. I'm trying to foresee any problems that might delay.. well, anything. Internally, I want this game finished and into the final beta testing by the end of August. Something like $6k might even be too little for something this ambitious. It might be something more realistic to have a deadline of 6 months, with the first 3 months dedicated to full time development and the next three months for testing, tweaking, and pressing (seeing as how long they seem to take when they run into problems at the pressing house).
You've never completed a game before (I don't think?), so you really don't have alot of experience with gauging how much time/effort is going to go into the entire thing.
It's kinda like you built a wing suit that you've never tested before, and now you're running at the Grand Canyon with your arms spread out, hoping you won't splatter yourself all over the rocks at the bottom.... instead of jumping off a roof or something first to see if it works out.
Honestly, if you aren't in it for fun, you shouldn't really be doing it for PCE. Homebrew for a 25 year old console has no business being approached from a "professional" standpoint with fixed deadlines and funding and such. It's supposed to be fun and exciting for all who are involved.
I mean, if you aren't doing it for profit, it's not really "professional" anyways. You're just setting up senseless deadlines because you want to, and asking people to pay to feed you while you do it. To me, that kind of slaps everyone else who does this stuff in the face.
Anyway, You're going to lose alot of the funding to Kickstarter's cut that they take, your artists, whoever else you get to collaborate with you (assuming they get chiptunes/songs/whatever done within the time constraints), production costs for the CDs, and costs to make all of the rewards. And, Kickstarters with crappy rewards don't get funding. They get people who pledge 1$ to make fun of the project until its almost over and then they retract their 1$ and go troll a different project.
So, I am still leaning towards you scrapping this Kickstarter idea before you stick your neck out there and get decapitated. Just start the damn game project, give the PCE community periodic updates and such, and when the thing is good to go, tell us here and ask for some preorder funding. You'll probably get enough to cover CD pressing in <1 week.
I mean, that's worked for TWO games. Then Pyramid Plunder, we were able to front the cost up front for it...
and Revival Chase was able to just get itself pressed out with none of this foofoo Kickstarter business.
Noone else does it, because you don't need to. These games are for the fans of the system in question. Those fans will cover you when you actually need the funds. We're the ones who actually give a shit. People waited 1.21 jiggayears for MSR to come out. They'll wait for something from you.
