Pro Level Kickstarters

I find crowd-funding fascinating, especially when game industry legends are involved in the project.  It seems that ever since Tim Schafer (Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango) raised $3,336,371 through Kickstarter for a new adventure game, more and more gaming veterans are seeking the support of their fans to continue their work.  In most cases, they are making spiritual successors to the franchises that they made legendary.  

Aside from Tim, Mega Man legend Keiji Inafune serves as a prime example.  According to both Kickstarter and the homepage for Inafune's project Mighty No. 9, $3,845,170 was raised - just over 4 times the original $900,000 goal.  Two more recent examples are Yooka-Laylee, in development by the minds who brought you Banjo Kazooie, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, from Castlevania legend Koji Igarashi (Symphony of the Night).  Both projects met and surpassed their Kickstarter goals in one day, and both are spiritual successors to the games I mentioned from the developers' histories.

So, what is it that makes these projects so successful?  Is it, like with Hollywood blockbusters, the names associated with the projects?  Is it the promise of a new, albeit spiritual, entry into beloved franchises that have either been forgotten or altered beyond recognition by the big publishers?  Both perhaps?  Or is it a mix of nostalgia and the human willingness to stick to things they already know (again, like Hollywood blockbusters)?  No matter the answer, crowd-funding has certainly made a lot of people's dreams come true.  This is an exciting time to be a gamer, I hope these projects do well and that they deliver the experience their backers were looking for.   

For those interested, the Yooka-Laylee and Bloodstained Kickstarters are still going (as of today - 05/14/2015) so if you are interested check them out.  There are only stretch goals left to reach, but why not?  Feel free to leave your thoughts on pro level Kickstarters in the comments below, especially why you think they have been so successful, and as always - thanks for visiting.

Active Kickstarters

Yooka-Laylee: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtonic/yooka-laylee-a-3d-platformer-rare-vival

Bloodstained: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night

Historical Kickstarters

Double Fine Adventure (Tim Schafer): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/double-fine-adventure/video_share

Mighty No. 9: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/mighty-no-9/description

Mighty No. 9 Homepage: http://www.mightyno9.com/