For the three-man team behind indie video game developer Pixelscopic LLC, crowdfunding is a new-age means to an end.
Hatched in a business incubator in Purdy and now gaining its foothold in Springfield, Pixelscopic is the brainpower behind “Delver’s Drop,” a 21st century take on old-school, Nintendo-era action role-playing games. The crew is seeking $75,000 via
Kickstarter.com to help fund the project.
Reminiscent of titles such as “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past,” “Delver’s Drop” promises a hack-and-slash affair from a bird’s eye view, complete with treasure, puzzles, exploration and enemies from all corners. It’s topped off with the graphical style of modern technology and game-play physics that allow more realistic character movement and object interaction.
Ryan Burrell, Pixelscopic’s director of technical design, says “Delver’s Drop” is a labor of love for the team, including founders Ryan Baker and Coby Utter. The company works largely as a subcontractor for other developers – such as Black Lantern Studios in Springfield – and has worked behind the scenes on the development of two commercial games, “Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo” and “Moshi Monsters: Moshlings Theme Park” for the Nintendo DS.
For its first fully fleshed-out, from-the-ground up endeavor, Pixelscopic showed an early build in September at Seattle video game convention Penny Arcade Expo. Burrell says PAX helped round up a fan base for the game, and he’s hoping the team’s decision to use crowdfunding – rather than a publisher – pays off.
“Kickstarter was not really a decision that we came to lightly. It was something that we talked and argued about quite a bit internally. Part of it is just sort of the general work ethic we all have, which is you don’t really want people to give you money if you haven’t done the work for it yet,” Burrell says, noting the developers decided on crowdfunding because of the amount of time they already had put into developing the game starting in early 2012.
“We want to create our own stuff, get out from under the necessity to do contract work and have the luxury of picking more projects by hand,” he says.
As of Springfield Business Journal’s print deadline Feb. 28, “Delver’s Drop” had 1,426 Kickstarter backers, pledging nearly $47,000 of the developer’s $75,000 goal. To check the progress, visit
DelversDrop.com.
(Editor's note: As of 11 a.m. March 4, "Delver's Drop" had reached nearly $72,000.)If Pixelscopic reaches its minimum, the team plans to release “Delver’s Drop” for Windows and Mac in October, followed by future releases on Linux, mobile platforms and a new-to-the-market console dubbed Ouya.
With 12 days left, Burrell is cautiously optimistic the team will gain adequate funding.
“Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing thing. You either reach your funding or you don’t get anything,” Burrell says, noting pledges are returned to backers if projects don’t meet minimums. “It has definitely changed things for the industry as a whole.”
The crowdfunding craze doesn’t stop at video games. Kickstarter and other websites, such as
Indiegogo.com, are used as a jumping off point to fund projects in a wide variety of industries, from film and video, to technology and art.
It was this foundation that led to last year’s launch of Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ Cause Momentum, a crowdfunding portal tailored toward nonprofits.
Via
CauseMomentum.org, the donation-centered crowdfunding technique was used perhaps most notably to jumpstart nonprofit art-house Moxie Cinema’s efforts to convert to digital systems from 35 mm film. According to Moxie Executive Director Mike Stevens, the theater earned $22,000 from the CFO crowdfunding solution, and with community donations and fundraising events, the nonprofit reached its $120,000 goal last week.
The SBJ newsroom has learned of an investor-led crowdfunding startup in Springfield scheduled to launch March 6. Stay tuned to the Daily Update e-newsletter.
No matter the end goal, crowdfunding is certainly an interesting phenomenon. Creating an environment where donors have a lasting impression on the final product, it could be a fundraising technique that has staying power.
Springfield Business Journal Web Editor Geoff Pickle can be reached at gpickle@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]
