Hey, can you give us $15 million? Impudent as the question sounds, it’s precisely what Zero Point Software is asking of the general public. With said cash, sourced straight from the community’s pockets, the developer hopes to fund Interstellar Marines – a firstperson shooter intended to rival the likes of Halo and Killzone. That may seem like quite a long shot, but the idea of crowdfunding has been around for years, and its successes in other industries are well documented, even for budgets extending into the millions.
The concept turns the traditional transaction on its head: customers put their cash up front, and then the game gets made. In order to attract potential donors, developers post an early version of the game, or even just a video or screenshots, explaining their aims and laying out the required budget. If people donate, they get a ‘perk’ – anything from a thank-you call to an in-game appearance; the more cash, the better the perk. It’s common for beta access or at least frequent development updates to be part of the package.
To read the full, original article click on this link: The power of crowd funding - Edge Magazine
