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The difference between games

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Sun, 05/31/2015 - 20:09
questccg
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Hello all,

I having been toying about a "Card game" that uses a deck of 12 cards (each player). While I believe games are about the "social experience", I feel like a 12 card game is an awesome feat in trying to lower production costs as much as possible.

It's not that I don't like my other game ideas, I just think 12 cards, so 12 pieces of artwork ($1,000) plus another grand ($1,000) for card design and there you have it: a Kickstarter for $6,500!!!

Not only is it realistic, it is feasible. Who the F- cares if only 250 people play the game?!?! What's more important is that such a game even EXISTS!

Now my peers are telling me: "Make it a Video Game moron..." That way it can attract an audience of 1 Million players. Make it FREE (Download and play) and maybe you'll get even MORE than 1 Million players.

My problem? Do I want 1 Million players? As a designer SHOULD I CARE??? Or is it better to try to develop a game played by 250 gamers?!?! Money aside, is it MORE important to DEVELOP the game or is it just an experiment to see how a Video Game COULD be developed???

Personally I'd rather see the game MADE! Who cares about the money. If I can get 500 gamers (double) interested in 12 Cards - isn't that like a MIRACLE in itself?!?! :P

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Sun, 05/31/2015 - 21:10
#1
questccg
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OH YEAH...

I almost forgot, the game comes with SEVEN (7) d12 used to track points in the game...

Take-that you mathematicians that refuse to use calculators... So DO the MATH?!?

12 cards, $25.00 = Very expensive game.

BUT if we blow through in backers like 6,000 (I AM NUTS!!!), each backer will get the ENTIRE COLLECTION of 81 cards for the SAME PRICE ($25.00)...

Does this sound remotely possible or even plausible?!?!

(You can do the math again => 6,000 x $25.00 = $150,000).

But that's COST NOT PROFIT. I make only about $10,000... That's better than a $1.00 royalty that I will never see from a run of 10,000 units of this game! So I'm happy with that!!!

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Sun, 05/31/2015 - 21:20
#2
Soulfinger
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If money were a priority then

If money were a priority then you'd be in the wrong industry to begin with.

If you want to make a video game then the question is, can you code? If not, if you have the money to contract people to code the game, score the music, and so forth all on your behalf . . . then why not do something even more lucrative with your money? Something you have more of a hand in.

If you don't care how many people play your game and just want it out there then make it a limited edition and use that to market it. For example, by next year, I'll be releasing the first of my artisan games, each one handmade and unique. It's more about the game as an art form than anything else.

The only issue is that smaller production runs mean tighter margins for you. I once printed 10k of a magazine because, in a relative sense, it worked out cheaper than doing 1k and increased my profit margins. Affordability is the impetus behind mass manufacture. If you aren't trying to sustain a business though, and it is purely a venture for your own gratification, then the only criteria that matter are those you set for yourself.

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Sun, 05/31/2015 - 21:35
#3
questccg
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ENTIRE COLLECTION

So if there are ENOUGH backers (6,000+), each backer will get the COMPLETE COLLECTION (81 cards).

If we do some MORE math, that's $25.00 - $5.00 (Shipping) / 81 = $0.25 per card!!! That sounds like an AWESOME deal, right???

@Soulfinger: I have found DriveThruCards and the charge $0.085 per card printed. I can get 1 deck made for $1.02 + shipping.

Now I realize this sounds REAL CHEAP to make. But the TRUTH is the 81 card collection will cost quite a bit to make. From $150k, I only make $10k...

But what I REALLY LIKE is that it's only a deck of 12 cards + 7 dice and a bunch of acrylic cubes... It all fits nicely into the bag.

Note: I OBVIOUSLY want to make the ENTIRE COLLECTION. But I can't afford to take a RISK on something that I could potentially LOSE MONEY on. 500 backers for 12 cards => about $1,500 profit. But I want to go for the 6,000+ backers who will get STRETCH rewards for the ENTIRE COLLECTION.

I have increments of 8 cards per 500 backers. So 1,000 backer = 20 cards!

I want to MAKE the game - NOT DREAM about having it made into a Video Game...

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Sun, 05/31/2015 - 21:59
#4
Soulfinger
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questccg wrote:I have found

questccg wrote:
I have found DriveThruCards and the charge $0.085 per card printed. I can get 1 deck made for $1.02 + shipping.

Now I realize this sounds REAL CHEAP to make.

Not really. A pack of 3 Pokemon cards (4 including the promo ad) costs $1, and considering the vendor's minimal 70% wholesale discount off the MSRP, I highly doubt most mass market cards cost more than a nickel to produce. 8 cents isn't bad at all, but it's not jaw dropping.

Do the collection in waves. Assuming that the game is playable with 12 cards, that set is wave 1 for gauging consumer interest. If the game looks viable at that point, you use the profit to fund wave 2.

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Sun, 05/31/2015 - 22:08
#5
questccg
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I could do that also...

Soulfinger wrote:
...Do the collection in waves. Assuming that the game is playable with 12 cards, that set is wave 1 for gauging consumer interest. If the game looks viable at that point, you use the profit to fund wave 2.

I could do that - but then that would lower the INTEREST in getting MORE BACKERS... See everyone who backs the game - will want the COMPLETE COLLECTION... Therefore telling as many of their friends and fellow gamers (maybe even complete strangers) to invest the $25.00 to get the game.

And the REAL GOAL is 6,000+ backers.

Your way is also good = 3,000 backers in 6 campaigns. But my worry is that maybe 1 campaign stands to generate MORE interest in the game... Or how much ever (like 1,000 backers), make another campaign with more cards (up until the 81 cards are reached)!

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