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I'm doing a kick starter! Any advice is appreciated!

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ThaddeusScherzo

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Good evening!

I've heard a lot of good things about Skullgirls, and since the community is familiar with crowdfunding, I was wondering if you could give me some help/advice on mine. To put things simply, I've always loved fighting games, but due to certain events, I haven't picked up a fightstick in 3 years. I miss the FGC dearly, so I decided to try to fund a channel, since I can't afford a game, let alone anything else. That being said, I want to make a channel that is fun for casual players, but also informative, while covering as many games as possible! I'm not going to bug you for money, but I'd love for this to work.

Also, I'm not much of an artist, and can't post a video, but here's the preview link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/158562405/2045741093?token=36b7ec9d
Thanks for reading!

P.S. Thaddeus Scherzo's just a pseudonym.
 
Let's not beat around the bush here--

You started out by telling me that you aren't an artist and that you can't post videos. You're profile says you're 18, the KS page says that you didn't even know what EVO was until 2012, and you haven't touched any fighting games in about 3 years. Here's what this tells me.

You have little/no experience developing, creating, or editing videos. You have little/no design experience to put towards the presentation of your channel. You have extremely little experience with fighting games in general, due to lack of time and exposure with them. You don't have any in-depth fighting game knowledge to supplement the content of your videos and you don't have access to any information outside of what the average person has access to. So, I have to ask...

Why the hell should I support this KS campaign?

Serious question. I'm not trying to be rude or mean. I honestly don't see why anyone should support this. This is the kind of thing that people do in their free time and build from the ground up. Unless you have professional experience and want to actually produce a professional FGC centric channel, I would never support a campaign such as this. If you want to do this, then just do it. You don't need people to pay you to do this.
 
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Jimbob said:
First, what portion of the money goes to what?
(After slapping self on the forehead for not making a piechart)

I'll fix this tomorrow morning on the kick starter... I have it on my computer, so I just need to post it.
From my memory, the rough numbers are:
800 for system and games
400 is kickstarters fees
1500 is supplies (better CPU, soundproofing, camera)
1300 is for the high speed internet needed to stream/run a channel.

I probably should just wait for my actual numbers, since I calculated to the cents, but I worked all day, so I'm exausted
 
Skullmageddon said:
If you want to do this, then just do it. You don't need people to pay you to do this.
b-but he said he couldn't afford a game, let alone anything else... but don't worry... He doesn't want to bug us for money. If only there was a website that didn't bug people for money but still allowed them to pay you however much they want for your content on a monthly basis... hmmmmm it's on the tip of my tongue here... starts with a "P" and rhymes with "Tron".
 
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Skullmageddon said:
Let's not beat around the bush here--

You started out by telling me that you aren't an artist and that you can't post videos. You're profile says you're 18, the KS page says that you didn't even know what EVO was until 2012, and you haven't touched any fighting games in about 3 years. Here's what this tells me.

You have little/no experience developing, creating, or editing videos. You have little/no design experience to put towards the presentation of your channel. You have extremely little experience with fighting games in general, due to lack of time and exposure with them. You don't have any in-depth fighting game knowledge to supplement the content of your videos and you don't have access to any ...
Those are good points. Admittedly, I am a pretty decent artist, but only on paper. I drew all my graphics with a mouse on gimp, since that's free. As far as myskill, yes, I haven't played in three years, but I've followed the fgc closely. That being said, I know a lot about most games out there, even this one.

EDIT:
Save Mortal Kombat, and KI, along with any spin offs of each.
 
There are plenty of free fighting games you can start your channel with, and OBS is free. Why not upload matches of you playing Third Strike or Vsav so we can see your commentary/personality?
 
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I second Skullmageddon's point. To expand on it, I get the sense that you're thinking "all I need is the equipment and I can make an awesome channel that people will flock to and it'll be great".

That's not how things work. (Unfortunately)

As someone who's dabbled in making video game content for YouTube in the past (not FG related but still relevant), I can say from personal experience that shits way harder than I think you realize. It takes a lot more than good equipment to make great videos.

Also, $1300 just for internet? What are you getting that costs that much?

Look, I don't think you should be going through Kickstarter, or any kind of crowdfund anything for that matter, to get this going. Save up with whatever income source you have to get basic equipment and start the channel that way. THEN, AFTER you have at least a small following and some experience under your belt, MAYBE reconsider crowdfunding to UPGRADE.

Lastly, you want to help beginners with fighting games, so you essentially want to make something like First Attack on UltraChenTV? How do you plan to differentiate yourself from them?
 
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You just said that you need equipment and quality internet to stream. Your KS page implies that you're doing a YouTube channel. Nowhere, until now, have you mentioned streaming. Try to be clear about what you're attempting to raise funds for. It's very important to be clear about every detail of your campaign when you're asking people to just give you money.

ThaddeusScherzo said:
...I know a lot about most games out there, even this one.

But do you know enough for it to be meaningful? Do you honestly have enough knowledge and experience for me to be interested in what you might have to say regarding fighting games in general, let alone any specific game? And what kind of channel will this even be? Are you bringing me fighting game news? Are you teaching me about different games? Are you simply playing them, sharing good commentary and funny moments? What's the appeal? Why should I watch?

Also, do you have Skullgirls? Get online bro, fight me :O
 
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BlaineAC said:
I second Skullmageddon's point. To expand on it, I get the sense that you're thinking "all I need is the equipment and I can make an awesome channel that people will flock to and it'll be great".

That's not how things work. (Unfortunately)...
Again, great questions! First, my prospective internet plan was verizon's fios, and that was the price for the minimum contract for my area. Second, my general idea is to make it like a TV channel. You know how you'd tune in to ABC on xday to watch your favorite show, then on yday its on again? I intend to do something like that, thus keeping content organized, but also varied.
Skullmageddon said:
You just said that you need equipment and quality internet to stream. Your KS page implies that you're doing a YouTube channel. Nowhere, until now, have you mentioned streaming. Try to be clear about what you're attempting to raise funds for. It's very important to be clear about every detail of your campaign when you're asking people to just give you money.



But do you know enough for it to be meaningful? Do you honestly have enough knowledge and experience for me to be interested in what you might have to say regarding fighting games in general, let alone any specific game? And what kind of channel will this even be? Are you bringing me fighting game news? Are you teaching me about different games? Are you simply playing them, sharing good commentary and funny moments? What's the appeal? Why should I watch?

Also, do you have Skullgirls? Get online bro, fight me :O

I don't have it, but maybe... I think I could manage using painwheel or double, maybe parasoul. I like the dlce voice, so ps4 or pc, expect political double! Also, for what I didn't answer above,
My image is a markiplier fused with your favorite pro gamer, playing anything without pools of blood. Maybe even that new naruto game, if its competitive.

I've got to go to sleep now before I pass out lol I'll answer the rest on these in the morning, and also fix the budget info.
Thank you for the flood of help! I really appreciate it!
 
The Ultimate Ninja Storm series isn't all that competitive, but it's hella fun and a lot of the animations are pretty cool. Just throwin' that out there :P

But really, at this point you need to convince us that you're worth our time and money. The way most people do this is by simply doing exactly what you say you want to do, without asking for money first.
 
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Yeah, so on your KS page you say this is for a YouTube channel. You do NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, need the internet of the gods to upload videos to YouTube. Even if you plan on streaming on twitch you wouldn't really need insanely good internet (at least not yet).

Here's some advice I got from a teacher of mine who I was talking to about "needing" equipment to do sound design/recording work:

Don't buy anything you think you "need", it usually winds up being just a waste of money. Only buy things once a job requires you to have that thing in order to do the job.

You want to make videos on the internet about fighting games? Great. All you need right now is a game to play, a way to record it, a way to edit the recorded video, and a way to upload/share the content. You do NOT need: Insanely good internet, $1500 worth of "supplies" (whatever those are), or a Kickstarter to get started.

Steam's starting summer sales, I know both USFIV and Divekick are on sale right now. Skullgirls might be as well, and it's pretty cheap even if it's not. Your computer can probably run at least 2 of those games. You're internet is already good enough to at least upload to YouTube (I know because when I was uploading stuff I had the cheapest internet money could buy and it was fine. We're talking 3mbs upload speed). Even if you wanted to stream you can get by just fine without FiOS (which I will bet you money the majority of streamers, at least the ones in similar positions to you, don't have). You can get a cheap headset mic (if you don't already have one) for, like, $20. You can get a simple video editing program for around $50-$60. That means, at the MOST, you'd need about $200 to get started. That gets you multiple games, and all the equipment you need.
 
@Skullmageddon whats with you and picking fights with people trying to do crowdfunding man?

I gotta say though, I don't think there has been a kickstarter like this that has succeeded before (to my knowledge at least). I would suggest working on and fleshing out your rewards a bit more, cause thats generally the first thing a lot of people look at. You currently don't have a $1 backer tier, doesn't really make sense to not have it. Some people just want to help out a little and see how the project is going. There doesn't necessarily have to be a reward for this tier either.

In addition, try to imagine how you're going to do some of these rewards given you've received equal to or above your goal. For example: how difficult/time consuming would it be to send 100 individualized e-mails to every backer that needs one? How are you going to organize votes and/or tournament attendance for some of the higher tiered patrons? What happens if you somehow only have one or two people that donate enough to be in a tournament, and what if they don't actually have the same game you want to run?

I know kickstarters are donations but that isn't how a lot of people look at it. To a lot of people, it's a kind of investment, so I would suggest looking at it from that perspective in relation to rewards. Ask yourself questions like "How much would I pay for this reward?" I'm not saying this is the right way to look at it though.

Also don't do anything like "I will definitely high five/hug/touch/smell you in person" because doing things like that can go very wrong if they can't be fulfilled for any reason.
 
Do you have a background in video editing or something? Doesn't sound like you do, which means it's a waste of time and potentially other's money.

Prop up a cheap webcam towards your monitor and record yourself playing games on fightcade or GGPO or whatever emulator for free and talk.
 
Super Milk Chan said:
There are plenty of free fighting games you can start your channel with, and OBS is free. Why not upload matches of you playing Third Strike or Vsav so we can see your commentary/personality?
These are not legally free, you know...

@ the original poster
Gootecks raised enough money to buy a system and games when he started becoming a broadcaster, but he was also a known(ish) player with a definite goal. I really don't understand what giving money to this would accomplish other than buying you a system and games you want. Which is really what it seems like it's for.
 
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@Fizzxwizz If someone's going to ask me to give them money, they better have a damn good reason. I ain't just gonna throw money away cuz some dude wants to play video games. Also, I really like to debate. I think constructive arguments and honest debates are really fun :)

But honestly, he shouldn't be doing a kickstarter. He should just be streaming as is. If he doesn't have the equipment and can't afford to stream, then he needs to get a fucking job. He's 18 for cripes sake. On top of that, he has no credentials or history to prove that he's worth investing in. He needs to focus some attention on building his reputation and experience if he wants to take this seriously, and that will take some time.

Also, there's much more to building and running a strong KS campaign than just having a vision. Running a good campaign has almost nothing to do with having appropriately stacked incentives or tiers. The most successful campaigns see the bulk of their investments within the first day or two. They then tend to see another rise in investor support around two-thirds of the way through, sometimes closer towards the end. The largest factor is public awareness, which is usually supplemented by strong connections with various forms of media and publication houses. On top of that, strong connections with predetermined investors makes a huge difference, as a common strategy is to align the KS launch with large monetary support from a per-arranged investor on day one. This alludes to strong support for the product, which helps convince the common people that the product is worth their investment. My experience comes from helping to run a KS campaign in the past, as well as working with an individual who has run several KS's himself. Our campaign was unsuccessful, but I learned a lot from the experience and from the individual who helped with our campaign.
 
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Fizzxwizz said:
I meant fighting them in sg tho.

Oh hahaha, that's just cuz I like to call everyone out for a fight! If they're gonna talk about fighting games, then I'm gonna challenge them to fisticuffs in the only real fighting game I'm any good at!

Also, do ya wanna play some SG at some point? :P
 
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I really don't see what this could accomplish outside of UltraChen or what Maximilian Dood already do? If you just want to get the new games, get them, and if you just want to fight ppl, then ask. God, my scrub tier face would be happy to be a learner's punching bag if necessary, especially if you're playing Double or BB or even Beowulf. Your goals also sound a bit...childish...like how my project started. Little twinkles in your eyes and all that. Thing is, I took a good hiatus from my project for a number of months till I felt ready to come back to the project and actually work on it. And even now, I sitll don't know everything I need to know regarding many things. I'd feel this out if I were you. Work with what you HAVE. If you've been keeping up with FGC you should have SOME fighting games. Start with those and build yourself up. Also, Patreon would be about a million times better than KS, just saying.
 
Not really saying anything new, but again Kickstarter isn't seen as a donation center, it's an investment. No one will donate to a project they don't plan to benefit from (through playing the game funded, watching the videos funded, etc). So here is what you need to do.

-Produce some content first. PROVE to me that you're capable of producing good content with no budget, so with money you could really make something worth funding. Don't just tell me "hey I leaned about fighting games 3 years ago and basically haven played any since then, give me $4k to make a YouTube channel!"
-Alongside that, your campaign description is quite frankly childish and does not instill any confidence in me. Make yourself sound more professional or at least change your goals.
-Distinuish yourself. The FGC has countless YouTube channels that sound exactly like what you want to do that I can watch for free. What will you do differently?
-You keep saying you're dead broke but seriously he a job or something. NO successful kickstarter asked for 100% of the project funds. Put some of your own money towards your own project.

Right now this looks like some random kid asking for strangers to pay for him to play video games. Change that.
 
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Yo OP it's pretty clear you are not ready for such a project but you can try just makin videos of you playing vidyagames and post them on youtube, like all the cool kids today do. When you get better you can reconsider doing this or alternatively keep being a scrub and fart on live like Gamegrumps do
 
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IsaVulpes said:
Since when??
Since kickstarter implement in the rules that if you don't give what you promised you can be persecuted by law, and have to give refunds to your supporters.
 
IsaVulpes said:
Since when??

I guess this is just what I've perceived from people, projects on kickstarter aren't like a cancer drive or something where a lot of people will support or give money even if a successful drive will not benefit them personally on any level, people only back projects on kickstarter if they believe they will consume and enjoy the final project they have put money towards. GoFundMe is the online donation center that I would say people actually use/see as strictly a donation center rather than an investment
 
Mike_Z said:
These are not legally free, you know...

@ the original poster
Gootecks raised enough money to buy a system and games when he started becoming a broadcaster, but he was also a known(ish) player with a definite goal. I really don't understand what giving money to this would accomplish other than buying you a system and games you want. Which is really what it seems like it's for.
My main goal is to create a channel for the genre I love, which means I need to own games of that genre, so yes. As a side note, congratulations for almost being done on Skullgirls!
North888 said:
I really don't see what this could accomplish outside of UltraChen or what Maximilian Dood already do? If you just want to get the new games, get them, and if you just want to fight ppl, then ask. God, my scrub tier face would be happy to be a learner's punching bag if necessary, especially if you're playing Double or BB or even Beowulf. Your goals also sound a bit...childish...like how my project started. Little twinkles in your eyes and all that. Thing is, I took a good hiatus from my project for a number of months till I felt ready to come back to the project and actually work on it. And even now, I sitll don't know everything I need to know regarding many things. I'd feel this out if I were you. Work with what you HAVE. If you've been keeping up with FGC you should have SOME fighting games. Start with those and build yourself up. Also, Patreon would be about a million times better than KS, just saying.
I think I'll give the Kickstarter, a shot, but if this fails, I'll look into Patreon.
chickenwithtie said:
Since kickstarter implement in the rules that if you don't give what you promised you can be persecuted by law, and have to give refunds to your supporters.
That's why I asked for the full amount. Yes, I am employed, but I get by, and that's it. I literally only have this phone, and my computer. Since I have no free income, I can't put personal funds into this without losing my house. I hesitate mostly at the internet cost, but that's the minimum contract. Also, yes, I intend to hand write every email, and have given myself until September to do so, to be safe. Even though that video mocks it, a lot of (funded) kickstarters I saw that had low budgets did the same. I cant give away t-shirts or other more desirable rewards without it costing thousands.
Pickles said:
I guess this is just what I've perceived from people, projects on kickstarter aren't like a cancer drive or something where a lot of people will support or give money even if a successful drive will not benefit them personally on any level, people only back projects on kickstarter if they believe they will consume and enjoy the final project they have put money towards. GoFundMe is the online donation center that I would say people actually use/see as strictly a donation center rather than an investment
I'll look into that as well.

And since I'm quoting too many people as is, I won't do it again, but I mentioned streaming in my rewards, but I want to do charity streaming, also. The reason it isn't prominent is that Kick starter won't let you fund charity, so they rejected it when I mentioned it. But now that I think about it, voting for the lineup would probably be better as a fully available option to subscribers, not as a reward. And weekly, not set in stone.

EDIT: I have officially gone live! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/158562405/lets-create-an-awesome-channel-for-next-gen-fighti
Thank you for your advice, and here's hoping this works! I'll be checking in on Skulheart, but I suppose the Kickstarter's now my media central. and Twitter, I guess. (@MrScherzo) Thanks again!
 
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I hadn't seen that video before but it really is pretty much the same thing as you have, except he at least had a (relatively) professional looking video. $4k is a ridiculous amount, you don't need soundproofing or a new computer to stream and 1.3k is a LOT of money to pay for Internet. Like the video said do more research about what the project will ACTUALLY cost.

The other difference between you and the guy in the video is that he was presumably an established streamer so people would know what to expect (I could be wrong I don't know any context), you have put out NO content even though it would be trivial for you to play some games on your computer and commentate with a $50 headset.

It's funny to me that I write a whole post about what you need to change and the thing of mine you quote is my reply to Isa about my opinions on the nature of kickstarter that don't really have much to do with your project. Everyone is saying the same thing: put out some content (for free like literally MILLIONS of established gaming channels already do), establish yourself as a creator of quality content, and THEN ask for money. If you can't even afford the spare change for a mic (webcam is less important) then manage your money better, don't ask random internet people who have never heard of you to give you $4000 to play video games.
 
Well, since this topic asked for advice - probably the only practical one people can give you is to re-examine what you're able to do with what you have now, re-examine your priorities in life and in fighting games and then adjust your goals, create content first, and then re-visit the crowdfunding avenue via kickstarter or patreon.

Lots of these things, you can already do without the cost - PCs capable of playing games and recording footage via OBS, Dxtory, or other software capture devices are a lot cheaper than what you're asking for, assuming that you don't have a PC already capable of these things. People don't need to fund you a PS4 or XboxOne or whatever console if they're not even sure they're going to appreciate the content you are able to put out, especially since they can get a preview of that content through many PC fighting games (Skullgirls, Fightcade/GGPO, Melty Blood, KoF, SF4, etc) or PC Games in general (many of which there are low graphics requirement that people can still enjoy). Additionally, if you do pursue this, it'd probably be best to detail your cost breakdown further - I don't necessarily see why you would need soundproofing, or know how much you're putting in for the camera, or how much you're putting in for the computer, etc.

Second - I'm still worried about this internet cost. You mention it's a contract, but where do you live in that case? I know high speed providers in the US vary, but I believe most that are not on Fiber Optic allow you to pay monthly, and even if it's a contract, 1300 still seems quite high unless we're also covering costs for equipment if it's a one year contract (and that's assuming I would like to help provide for one year of content from you). My monthly internet for like 100 down/25 up is not even $100 a month.

Third - your introductory story leaves room for doubt considering you're asking fighting game players to help fund you. You say you were more or less introduced to Evo in summer 2012, and then you go on to say that you hadn't touched an arcade stick in 3 years. We're just now entering summer of 2015, 3 years after Evo 2012...

It's just overall, what you say you want to do for the community, what you say your situation is, and what the community expects are not aligned at all. If money is that tight that you're going to lose your home if you put down more money for this stuff, then maybe you should take a step back and say "I should focus on life priorities." If money is that tight that whatever job(s) you're working is barely making ends meet, then how is the community to expect quality content outside of what is already provided for free by others considering you should be spending that extra time going to university/vocational school/whatever to further your personal marketability to get higher income or you should be working additional jobs for more income.
 
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ThaddeusScherzo said:
1300 is for the high speed internet needed to stream/run a channel

Hi, I have never needed this much money to run a stream or run a channel.

Reevaluate your numbers pls.
At most, you're going to need 200 if you live by yourself. If you live with other people and share internet, then yeah, maybe $450 at most.

Stop making it look like streamers need obtuse amounts of money.
I'm tired of people saying they need money just to run OBS (a free service) and play a video game. That's some bullshit.
 
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ThaddeusScherzo said:
1500 is supplies (better CPU, soundproofing, camera)
wtf you're not trying to transform your home to a porn studio/making enough noise to disturb the neighbors, so the hell is 1.5k and the hell do you need soundproofing and an SLR for?

20 bucks web cam, 20 bucks headset with microphone.
 
Thank you all again for the excellent advice. I think it would certainly be great if this works, but if not, I will look into other ways to do it. Either way, I'm determined to make this happen!
(I have added some questions I've been getting here and elsewhere to my FAQ, also)

@Skullmageddon As a side note, I don't mind your way of asking questions, I don't know if I said that or not. You've been a great help, too!

EDIT: Another question, for anyone who cares. How do you suppose I should go about getting pros for the channel? Should I just say, "Hey, Flocker! Can we talk?", or do collaborations usually require a money transfer?
 
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ThaddeusScherzo said:
I don't have it, but maybe... I think I could manage using painwheel or double, maybe parasoul.

Okay. I didn't want to do this, but literally no one has said it yet.

Like, you're asking for us to give you money when you admit that you do not own this game. Why should I give money or listen to someone who doesn't even play the game I am watching?

Do you not understand how super incredibly entitled you sound right now?

You want collabs? You want to become a big name? You want people to give you stuff?
w o r k f o r i t.

Streaming is a hobby that can turn into a job. I started off dedicating my nights everyday for a month straight to streaming and then I grew from there. DO THAT.

ThaddeusScherzo said:
How do you suppose I should go about getting pros for the channel? Should I just say, "Hey, Flocker! Can we talk?", or do collaborations usually require a money transfer?

Go to tournaments. Network with people. Get to know the people you're trying to market. Then (and here's a crazy concept) try your best to give them what they want/need.

No one in this community is super unobtainable. All you have to do is just get to know people and people will help you out. You don't know a single one of us. Stop asking for us to give you stuff when you don't even know who we are.

I'm done.
 
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Sharpie's right. For this sorta thing to ever work you just got to work hard and for a good period of time, consistently too i might add. Don't expect to get a ton of stuff in just the three weeks or something like that. You have to build up a foundation that you can then later on use to help you go even further and what Sharpie said is what you have to do to build that foundation. You can't just jump into something with little or no knowledge about and expect people to just throw you cash. It just never happens...so yeah, give us something to show and maybe, juuuuust maybe you might get someone.
 
"I don´t want to work, give me money to play my videogames in a brand new PC"

That´s what i think looking your KS campain, no offense, but this plataforms crowfunding are suppose to be to help projects that have something planned, and reading all you information looks like you don´t


Just look at this "cover for get backers interesed"

photo-original.png
 
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