[FILLED] Looking for artist(s) to develop new style for A Valley Without Wind.

[Hearteater]

I'd probably go with having in-game things named after (named by) top contributors.  That way you don't have "separate" DLC or anything else, but it still feels good to the contributor.

[TechSY730]

Game licenses seem like a pretty logical reward for those who don't have the game already. One potential problem is those of us who do have the game already would then have to give ours away, and that might be to someone else who would have bought the game.

I'm pretty sure that Kickstarter supports "ORing" of rewards per tier for this very sort of reason, which the donator can select which reward on that tier they want. Also, a donator can opt-out of a reward tier and instead get a lower tier reward, or even opt-out of any sort of reward.

[Dizzard]

It's probably been mentioned before but for a kickstarter reward you could always have your other two games A.i War and Tidalis as rewards....for people who have AVWW but not the other two of your games.

It would make for a good incentive.

Maybe you could also include soundtracks too?

[Brise Bonbons]

I've also noticed that in past kickstarters, certain in-game rewards (i.e. custom spells) seem to be frowned on. As has been mentioned, it seems they appear too similar to pre-order exclusive DLC in AAA games, which bear the weight of much internet kvetching these days.

I'm not sure how I feel about it. For me, helping to kickstart a project is an inherently communal action, and I'm doing it in order to let a project exist for everyone to enjoy. Thus the idea that I'm paying for access to something which much of the community won't have is actually counter-productive to my desires. If anything I'd rather it be like a stretch goal, where me upping my contribution means that everyone gets better stuff.

Hypothetically:

$50 - Design a room for the game with your own tombstone inside!

Sounds much more exciting to me than:

$50 - Get 3 unique character sprites only kickstarters get!

Now, the problem here is that it's probably cheaper to design a handful of unique character sprites that can then be duplicated and sent to players than it is to process and integrated dozens of room ideas from excited fans.

For me, I want getting cool and unique stuff to be a thing that happens inside the game as a natural outgrowth of the game logic; if I know I got a sprite or a spell because I paid extra money outside the game, it cheapens the experience.

Anyway, I know myself to be an oddball in this respect, so my opinion is of limited value. Just one more perspective.

[mrhanman]

All you have to do to make the Kickstarter an overwhelming success is to have exclusive TF2 hats as a reward.  Just offer up a floating glyph "hat", and the droves of hat-crazed TF2 players will fill your coffers to overflowing!

[keith.lamothe]

Just offer up a floating glyph "hat", and the droves of hat-crazed TF2 players will fill your coffers to overflowing!

Hmm, but what would we use for the hat itself?

"Fool those pesky Blu Team buffoons by disguising yourself with this ultra-clever Sapphire Vein hat!  It's a favorite of mine!"

[Aklyon]

Sapphire Hat, Ruby hat.

Or Glyph and (damage indicator) Glyph.

[keith.lamothe]

Or Glyph and (damage indicator) Glyph.

Ooh, now there you might be on to something

[zebramatt]

Given that this is about the new art style, I'd definitely be interested in getting cosmetic arty things for my $$. Kickstarter-exclusive character sprites and enemy variant sprites; one-of-a-kind character sprites; collaborate on the aesthetic of a new character for everyone; or a new type of enemy; or a new chunk type.

Although that's starting to sound expensive! 

[Tobias]

Potential point about the kickstarter idea

Most people who like the game have bought it

Most people who don't like the game probably aren't going to give you money to make the artstyle better

Also I might suggest a site like indiegogo rather then kickstarter. Kickstarter is full of hipsters and assholes.

[Hearteater]

If I recall correctly, with Indiegogo, you get the money even if you don't meet your goal.  With Kickstarted, you only get the money if you meet the goal.  For this project, Kickstarter is more appropriate.  So Kickstarter protects the contributor more and that could be a powerful factor in people deciding to donate, especially initially.

[Aklyon]

Most people who don't like it, is because of the artstyle. If Arcen is planning to change said artstyle, they can put their money where their mouth is and have it be better for everyone (more or less) involved. If they don't, then the art isn't as big as it seems, and it can cool off for awhile again.

I think, except for the large graphical discussion, that sums up the point here.

[x4000]

Indiegogo raises very little money compared to kickstarter.  And if you're thinking that we've hit our market cap on the number of people who already have bought the game, then you know a lot more than I do.  I personally think we are ridiculously below our potential market cap for this game, based on past performance with other games and so forth (our own and other studios').  Many people who would buy the game did not yet do so because either it hasn't gone on sale, they couldn't get past the art or some other aspect that we've been working on improving, or -- in the vast majority of cases -- they've simply never even heard of it.

[keith.lamothe]

Most people who don't like the game probably aren't going to give you money to make the artstyle better

And if it's not funded, we're totally fine with that, and it will be a major point in our responses to further "this art style stinks!" feedback

[Teal_Blue]

fairly simple, and perhaps easiest might be to start with the assets you already have, and 'remove' the 'painterly' effect?
this might be just taking what you have (if they still exist non-processed) and working up a test build with the unprocessed art and seeing what you think of it?

Also, if models or pieces are different from one another in their unprocessed state, then perhaps a method similar to your painterly style could be overlaid on all of the art?  Not painstakingly by hand, but by running all the art through some new 'filter'? Like the basic colors in a Mario game, or contrasting colors like in Metroid ?

Just some thoughts

-Teal