First off I think most of your analysis is coming from the assumption that I am outsourcing most of the work on this game, which is incorrect. We don't really have a "team of 4" so much as me getting some freelance help from everyone else on board. I have done and will continue to do the bulk of work on the project myself - including ALL programming, ALL animations, ALL rigging, ALL sound effects, ALL game testing (along with backers), and most of the modeling.
30k - Base goal
I'll share that I am currently in a situation where I am staying with family for support and the cost of living for myself is MINIMAL. Most of the early goals are to pay for other people's work (music licenses/production, 2D art/concepts, some 3D modeling), at rates that they have already agreed to. 5 of the 8 base characters are already modeled, animated, playable and thoroughly tested (but not perfect I'm sure).
From my perspective, the Kickstarter only covers a fraction of my own worth/salary, and I'm hoping for it to payoff on the actual game launch. I've worked for 2 years full-time on the project already with NO income and fully intend to complete it, regardless of the Kickstarter outcome (although it will be shifted to part time and delay development time)
45k Arena Fund - Again, I am doing most of this modeling work MYSELF. Jordan (other 3D artist) will be HELPING me and the cost was calculated based on his estimate. Also consider that a lot of the basic coding framework is DONE at this point and I can shift more of my focus on art assets going forward.
Rob is VERY skilled with environment art (he's doing the bulk of 2D environment work on Cryamore, btw) and agreed to help with arena concepts (and concepts for visual improvements on the VR themed stages) if the goal is met. So, basically all he will need to do is produce 8 arena concept drawings, and me and Jordan will take it from there to make it into a 3D set. Also, Rob is only assisting on game design - he is only giving his input and feedback on my ideas and and I tweak them accordingly.
60k Extra Characters - I'll take the guesswork out for you. The 5 current characters took roughly 3-4 weeks to get to a near-complete stage (modeling, animation, attacks, voice) with ZERO modeling help, so it's not unreasonable to produce 7 more over 7 months with an extra modeler on board. Again- I am the animator, rigger, designer (mechanics), and tester for all of these characters. This estimate is based on my OWN speed in which I have already completed 5 characters + a custom character editor.
80k Extra Modes - A lot of these modes are new rules that can be added to the existing framework in a reasonable time without needing to create new art assets. Again- I am the coder! I made everything in the game right now in less than 2 years from scratch and set it up to be flexible with these things.
90k Console Ports - This number is not based off the 10k difference from the previous goal, but is considered more "programming work" (from me) past the previous character goal, so it is more accurate to compare it to a 30k difference. I don't know where you're getting your numbers, but according to the Nintendo Dev Portal and the ordering form for dev kits, it is considerably LESS than $5k to get a CAT-DEV kit for Wii U. (I don't think Nintendo wants the actual price public), and Microsoft provides dev kits for FREE to qualified developers. There are other fees such as foreign licensing and insurance but it's not a gigantic sum - see this article for a breakdown
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...-to-Make-5-000
The game is developed in Unity so the game literally builds to another platform with 1 click. Most of the work will be optimizing the performance and adjusting the UI to meet the publishing guidelines for each respective platform.
100k Story Mode - We're not producing a 60-hour RPG here. I can't imagine the dialogue for each character surpassing 5-10 minutes, and again the people involved (the voice actors and casting director) have already given the rates needed for their services. Not that it needs to be mentioned, but I won't be hiring a writer either. The story ideas will be developed by core team members.
Team Size - If you're concerned with the team size please consider that the current build is essentially the work of 1 person (Jordan did 2 characters models) . With the Kickstarter it will essentially be increased to 2 (Jordan will be helping a lot), with Rob only handling 2D concepts in which he is incredibly adept in producing quickly, and also giving feedback on game design, and not so much building the design itself. Chris's work (voice director) has also been very quick (our current 5 character's voicework was ALL completed in less than 1 week).
Admittedly, Q1 2016 is an aggressive date but not unreasonable based on what I've achieved so far. And alpha backers will continue to receive new builds and updates during the entire development process. If you are expecting the game to make a huge leap into AAA quality visuals then you're simply overvisualizing what we are aiming for.
TLDR; The kickstarter covers the cost of everyone ELSE on the project. I'm underpaying MYSELF because I can afford to. I'm not going to "burn out"- it's a passion project and I've already done this for almost 2 years non-stop, but I've run out of savings to pay for ramen noodles and energy drinks. Anything past the base goal for Kickstarter is basically my making life easier, not harder.
