In February 2012, game developer Double Fine launched a bold project by utilizing Kickstarter to gather a substantial amount of funding to create a game without the support of a publisher. While crowdfunding had previously focused on smaller projects with modest budgets, the notion of a well-known developer, whose earlier titles were backed by major companies like Electronic Arts and THQ, seeking to raise $400,000 was seen as unconventional.
Nevertheless, Double Fine ignited a new movement in the gaming industry. Their adventure game garnered an impressive $3.3 million in funding, inspiring a wave of developers to turn to Kickstarter for financing larger projects. This surge of crowdfunding success has led to numerous notable achievements, yet the true measure of success lies in the players receiving the final game products.
By the end of 2012, various outlets acknowledged the significance of these crowdfunding efforts, highlighting numerous projects anticipated for release. As the year concluded, we revisit the ten most significant Kickstarter games from 2012 to assess their current status.
Broken Age
- Backers: 87,142
- Goal: $400,000
- Raised: $3.3 million
- Funded On: March 13, 2012
- Original Estimated Release: October 2012
- Current Estimated Release: January 2014
In their initial Kickstarter campaign, Tim Schafer and Double Fine revealed limited details about the project. Now titled Broken Age, the adventure game became a victim of its own success. As Greg Rice, the producer, noted, “When we launched, all we said we wanted to do was make an adventure game with Tim writing, and to let the backers watch that unfold.”
With the initial goal set at $400,000, the studio intended to create a small-scale game with a compact team and a quick timeline. However, due to the overwhelming response from supporters, Double Fine chose to upscale their ambitions, resulting in a more elaborate game experience. As Rice commented, “The game is definitely much better than it would have been, but it means that pretty quickly the plan of shipping a game six months after the Kickstarter ended went out the window.”
Broken Age tells the story of two protagonists: a young boy aboard an AI-controlled spaceship, whose needs are entirely catered to but who finds himself growing restless, and a girl who realizes that being chosen as a human sacrifice to a monster is not the honor her village believes it to be. The narrative explores themes of self-discovery and defying societal expectations, infused with Schafer’s signature humor. Visually, the game combines modern techniques to merge the hand-drawn 2-D aesthetics of classic adventures with 3-D backgrounds.
However, the expanded scope of the project led to a later delivery timeline. Despite exceeding their initial funding goal by more than 800 percent, Double Fine faced financial challenges in completing Broken Age. Their solution involved releasing the first half of the game in January, using the revenue from those sales to finalize the project, with the complete version expected later.
Update: Since the original publication, Rice has informed us that additional development funds have been secured to finish Broken Age through sales of other projects. He clarified that while the Early Access sales would contribute to the budget, the extra funding has already been achieved without relying solely on early sales.
Image: Double Fine Productions