Precinct - Jim Walls Kickstarter!

[Rudy]

DPX: I think the "canceled" bit is automatically added to the project title by KS, but I can ask.

[Rudy]

Today at 5pm ET (that's in a bit less than 5 hours), Jim Walls and Robert Lindsley will be doing a Reddit AMA. If you have any questions about Precinct, the new funding model, or just want to chat about all things Police Quest, please join in!

[Tawmis]

Rudy, one thing you might want to mention is to whoever is sending out emails to backers, they need to change the subject heading. The most recent one I got (which was today at 10:20 AM) had the following as the subject: "Project Update #8: Precinct - from the creators of "Police Quest" (Canceled) by Jim Walls"

It's cute that they switched away from KS, but still use it to get messages across... And it's probably a default KS setting, because the (Canceled) is still appearing (for example, today's email)...

Project Update #9: Precinct - from the creators of "Police Quest" (Canceled) by Jim Walls
Kickstarter <no-reply@kickstarter.com>

2:03 PM (18 hours ago)

to me
Project Update #9: Reddit AMA
Posted by Jim Walls Like

Hey everybody,

Wanted to let you know that our Reddit AMA is LIVE! Please check it out at http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1 ... ice_quest/

We will be around for the next hour or so to answer anything you'd like to talk about!

Thanks,
Robert.

[AndreaDraco]

It appears now that even the new crowdfunding approach has failed. Here the news.

[DeadPoolX]

It appears now that even the new crowdfunding approach has failed. Here the news.

Doesn't surprise me. The current campaign's goals were inexact at best and at worst, it all just seemed very sloppy.

[Mostly]

It appears now that even the new crowdfunding approach has failed. Here the news.

Looks like the site is dead now.

[AndreaDraco]

Looks like the site is dead now.

I can still see it.

Anyway, I agree with DPX: the crowdfunding campaign was a misstep after another and, while I certainly appreciated Rudy's attempt to adjust the aim, it was perhaps too late. Still, I'm sorry for Jim.

[Collector]

Besides the missteps, part of the problem may have been the timing. He may have had a better go at it if he had started with the first flush of Sierra alums on Kickstarter or had waited until the investors had seen a return on the first round of games. To ask for money when your target group was at least in part drained with little to show for their commitment from the earlier projects placed such a high burden on them that there was no room for any missteps. If the resurrected project had waited another year until there was more than Larry out, who knows?

[Tawmis]

Site is still up, just slow.

If they're serious about maybe later giving it a shot - they'd be foolish to shut the site down.

They should:

1. Fix their forums so people can register, even if they have not backed the project. This way, they can email from the forum to those who have signed up, if they have news about the future.

2. They should use the forum, twitter, etc - to get ideas from people. What they would LIKE to see. Get feedback.

3. Use the forums and twitter, to keep doing small things to generate interest.

So that way, when they DO give it another swing, they could have a better idea - and I'd so freaking highly recommend doing what the SpaceVenture, Pinkerton Road, etc folks did - get a "Task Force" (get it?) to go out there on the web and go onto other forums and such and talk about and promote the campaign (whether it be the funding one or Kickstarter - I'd highly recommend Kickstarter though, since many are familiar with it and may have already got accounts on there from backing other Sierra projects vs signing up for something else and having to donate some new way that may not be trusted or not worth the time).

I would personally love to see this game happen. I just didn't have faith on how it was handled from the start. And though they brought on Rudy who did make a great attempt at keeping the fire going (though by this point, it was like trying to plug the hole in the Titanic with a cork after it hit the iceberg), after his post - absolutely no news, all over again. It was just handled poorly through and through. I just got the impression that they thought since the other Sierra ones got funded this one would too - but I can tell you, having been a part of the task force for a few of these - this was not "just because we're from Sierra it got funded" - it was people BUSTING their arses off. Something I didn't feel like was coming from this campaign.

/Sigh. I have rambled enough. (Yes, DPX I see you agreeing with that statement!)

[Collector]

They should:

1. Fix their forums so people can register, even if they have not backed the project. This way, they can email from the forum to those who have signed up, if they have news about the future.

This, especially the non backers part. This is how potential backers can ask questions and get more information while deciding whether to back the project or not. Fine if you want to have a private sub forum that is just for the backers, but not open forums is just snubbing potential backers. It's like a salesman that barks at a would be customer "What do YOU want!?" expecting the show window to be all of the sales pitch he needs.

[Tawmis]

They should:

1. Fix their forums so people can register, even if they have not backed the project. This way, they can email from the forum to those who have signed up, if they have news about the future.

This, especially the non backers part. This is how potential backers can ask questions and get more information while deciding whether to back the project or not. Fine if you want to have a private sub forum that is just for the backers, but not open forums is just snubbing potential backers. It's like a salesman that barks at a would be customer "What do YOU want!?" expecting the show window to be all of the sales pitch he needs.

Exactly. It's not that difficult to set up a "hidden" forum for only specific users. Pretty sure any one of us familiar with the phpbb forums (which I assume they use, don't know since I could never get to it) could easily have assisted with that (and would have done so gladly!) I mentioned not being able to log into the forums on the 13th of this month and Rudy said he'd look into it - looks like whoever set it up never cared enough to "fix" it. (Which, that whole lack of caring vibe, just carries on from everything else of how it was handled).