
Bob's Game – for OUYA and PC - bobsgame
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bobsgame/the-legendary-bobs-game-inside-bobs-game-for-ouya
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robobro
This guy is my favorite troll in the indie game community, glad to see he's
not dead.

~~~
jabsters
I knew this game's name sounded familiar:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob's_Game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob's_Game)

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bobsgame
I am sleeping in my Sebring convertible for 5 months now, which isn't too bad
but it's getting a bit cold out. I want some money to upgrade to a van (and
rig it with solar panels, etc), and to get a high resolution laptop to code on
(my ThinkPad GPU died so I am using a crappy 2006 Macbook which is not ideal!)

I really believe in my puzzle game (better than Tetris!) and tried to do a
modest and reasonable Kickstarter, especially considering the game is already
there. Ouya will double the amount if the campaign is successful, and I think
it's a good platform for my game.

Anyway, it's in the last hours of the campaign and I am going to keep trying
to push it until the last second, I'm not giving up! All it will take is
finding one person, or getting posted on a big blog or something for a couple
of hours, since the target is so low.

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PostOnce
Man! What are you doing!

I was hoping this was "Bob's Game", the RPG, that maybe you'd started a
kickstarter to finally finish the thing and publish it for PC instead of DS,
but no, you bring us this.

It's my suspicion that if you were a bit ballsier and capitalized on the
already substantial publicity from "Bob's Game" you'd make more money faster
than with this apparently halfhearted attempt. Why would someone pay for what
appears at a moment's glance to be yet another Tetris clone?

The life of an indie dev is hard and pointed towards failure or development
hell by default, I wish you luck, but I think you're making mistakes with
regards to your use of time and existing publicity.

Maybe you wanted to do a smaller project to make quick money to fix the bigger
project, but this isn't really appealing, its just Tetris, even if that's not
true, its what everyone thinks.

I thought I might comment rather than leaving you to wonder why you're getting
pageviews and not donations.

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bobsgame
It's not really "yet another Tetris clone," it is a puzzle game builder where
the user can define custom puzzle modes, including any variation of existing
puzzle games.

I can see why people would get that impression though. I unfortunately don't
know a better way to get people to realize what it really is.

~~~
asdfs
Why not link to videos of the game? After reading the copy, I still have a
very incomplete idea of what the game is like.

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bobsgame
There is a video of some raw gameplay on the Kickstarter page. That's about
the best I can do with the resources I have at the moment, otherwise I would
just work on the game and sell it on the OUYA without bothering with the
Kickstarter.

~~~
asdfs
My mistake, I didn't see the video on mobile.

~~~
bobsgame
No problem, glad you got to see it!

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jackmaney
So, this is a Kickstarter for Bob's game, based upon Bob's game, which was
itself based upon "Bob's game"... I've never heard of any of these games, and
based upon this shitty Kickstarter, I really don't care.

Has the author considered thinking of a new name for his game?

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egypturnash
I've done a couple successful Kickstarters for my comics. Here is some
critique about your campaign, which might help explain why you're at 6% of
your goal with half the time left.

I have never heard of "bob's game". So all this stuff about it being the game
from inside the "legendary" "bob's game" just befuddles me. Big Kickstarter
tip: assume that most of the people coming to your page will have never heard
of you, or a single thing you've done, and make your pitch accordingly.

The video doesn't make this look too much fun; is it actually presented in
this tournament view with a dude wandering around trash-talking you, and
really annoying crowd audio loops over it? And occasional random green lights
drifting around the picture of a monitor on the screen? Because the game looks
kind of pretty in an abstract way, but that endless loop of a screeching crowd
and three seconds of music makes me want to throw something through my
speakers after a few minutes. It could be kinda fun to trance out to this
thing if I was just looking at the actual game screen and hearing its noises,
but given that all the screenshots match this video I'm going to assume it's
got this super obnoxious frame around it all the time.

And what's going on in the video? I dunno. Where's some text telling me about
the cool features of this game? I'm watching some blobs get dropped in a well,
and there seem to be no consistent rules, or cues that the rules are changing.
The shapes change, the effects change, and there's no rhyme or reason. Playing
a game whose rules are constantly changing under me with no warning really
doesn't sound like fun. The text suggests that this is actually one of the
unique selling points of this game - convince me in your pitch that this is
actually a cool thing instead of something that will constantly frustrate me.

Who are you? Why do you want to make this game? How passionate about making it
are you? This is a crucial component of a good KS video: seeing the face(s)
behind the idea, hearing the enthusiasm in their voice at the idea of getting
to actually make this thing. Learning something about their credentials - what
have you delivered before, why should I be convinced you've got what it takes
to actually give me something?

Tiers: $4 for the game. $25 for beta/forum access. These tiers aren't doing
much for you. Assume that nobody will ever pledge anything more than the base
"gimme the thing" level, how many backers will you need? 1667 backers. That is
insane. If the price for actually getting the game was $25, you'd have a much
more feasible number of 265 backers.

Really, this feels like the only market for this is total ultra obsessive
Tetris fans. I play drop-stuff-in-a-well games every now and then, but I'm
honestly not moved by this pitch to even try playing a demo of it (which
doesn't seem to exist anywhere?), much less spend any money on it.

Good luck, but I don't think you're going to come anywhere near success with
this campaign. Scrap it and start again, after remaking your pitch and
workshopping the hell out of it.

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bobsgame
There are only 14 hours left, not half the time, so this is the last chance
for it to succeed. I doubt I will make another Kickstarter.

I don't have the equipment or resources to really edit a better video. I think
it's important to just let the product speak for itself. I really believe in
the game and that it is the first puzzle game that is genuinely better than
Tetris, which is perhaps the most difficult game development feat.

The tournament setting will not be there in the OUYA version, it is the final
scene from the "bob's game" RPG. I haven't had the chance to make a build
outside of that context yet.

I want to keep the game very inexpensive so that many OUYA owners will buy it
and make it more fun for everyone by having a larger tournament pool, and I
can't really offer any greater value than the game itself. I don't feel right
selling a poster or a t-shirt for more than the game, since the game itself
took so much more effort.

I appreciate your critique and I understand where you are coming from and why
your suggestions are successful, but I don't have the resources to do what
you're suggesting, which is why I'm doing the Kickstarter in the first place-
which is really in the original spirit of Kickstarter itself.

~~~
egypturnash
I shot the video for my pitches with the camera in my Mac, and edited it with
a demo copy of Final Cut. I probably could have done it with iMovie, to be
honest, except I got sick of trying to do some complex camera moves on still
images in iMovie.

Also if the tournament setting won't be there in the actual product then why
on earth is it in the video and images? IMHO it's actively driving people away
from your game. Present what you're intending to actually deliver.

Oh, and the easy higher tier to draw larger donors in: Your Name In The
Credits. Name A Game Mode. Name A Level. Etc, etc.

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bobsgame
I could probably edit video with a non-trivial degree of frustration, but I am
honestly sort of philosophically opposed to making a "proper" Kickstarter
campaign and I want to keep it as simple as I can even though it is not the
best approach.

I haven't really been able to make a build outside the context of the RPG yet.

Originally I had a "name in the credits" tier but decided to remove it,
because I didn't know how to handle it for future versions of the game.
Everyone is supposed to be able to make their own level/mode, so that's out.

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jackmaney
"I am honestly sort of philosophically opposed to making a 'proper'
Kickstarter campaign"

Then why the hell did you bother in the first place?

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bobsgame
Because I am sleeping in my car and have no resources to get new equipment,
and I would honestly like to make an OUYA version because it is a good
platform and I appreciate their stance on development. I don't like the
"infomercial" feel that most successful Kickstarters seem to have but I do
like the original spirit of Kickstarter which I feel was more intended for
situations like mine.

~~~
jackmaney
I'm sorry to hear that you're sleeping in your car, but whether or not you
want to develop for the OUYA (and you shouldn't, because it's a flop and a
piece of crap), it seems that you've put no thought whatsoever into your
Kickstarter campaign.

From your other comments, though, it's obvious that you don't intend to listen
to any criticism. So, believe whatever you want. Perhaps you can make another
game based upon bob's game (which is based upon bob's game which is based upon
"bob's game"). Maybe call this one 'bob's game'? Or how about A Game of Bobs?

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bobsgame
It's not too bad sleeping in a car, it's just getting a bit cold and I would
like to upgrade to a van and get a nice laptop to work on. It's a choice and a
matter of integrity, if I could pick any way to live it would be this.

I want to develop for OUYA because I like their stance on development and it
is a nice home console I can put my game on with real controls. Whether they
are a "flop" or not has nothing to do with that, and I think it is too early
to make that call regardless.

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archagon
Best of luck to you with this! The idea sounds interesting and the visuals
have a cool sort of Jeff Minter vibe to them. You might want to change the
name, though. I was confused at first, and I have the advantage of knowing
about Bob's Game. Many people don't even have that context.

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bobsgame
Thank you! It is confusing but by now it's a bit late to change the name,
hopefully people will eventually get the context. It gives it a cool back
story too.

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andybak
There's actually a strange and fascinating story behind this:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob's_Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob's_Game)

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keerthiko
Suggestions that you still probably have time to implement if you want to run
a smaller/different campaign for Christmas (some are concise reiterations of
what people have already said):

* Kickstarter is all about the creator. While a high production value video certainly has huge impact, it's definitely doable on low budget/equipment, especially at the reasonably small scale you're going for. Just show your darned face, and talk to the camera. Or at the very least get someone who gets your game to voice-over the video. Talk after the initial "hook clip" of the game, and then talk again at the very end asking for backer support. You have the huge advantage of being a developer with a game that's popular and well-liked. Sell yourself, the creator of that!

* The biggest reason it makes sense to show your face is because your passion is expected to shine through. All I see now is some dude whipping up a really low budget side project game, doesn't know how to pitch it, and seems too lazy to take the time to learn, and seems really just out for some free cashmonies from OUYA's FreeTheGames fund by raising a small amount of money for his side project. It feels like you don't want to show your face because you are aware how shoddy this pitch is, and don't want to actually be associated with it ever. You just want the money as easily as possible and disappear for now. I understand basically none of these things are true, and that you actually really need the money, and really care about the project and the campaign.

* You say you have a gameplay video. Please put it immediately after the explanation of the gameplay uniqueness, instead of screenshots that look like Tetris with garbled text beside it. Preferably voice over it too.

* Yes, the music/crowd cheer white noise is damn annoying. Just reduce the volume of the crowd cheer if finding a better background track is impossible. Gameplay is fine eyecandy otherwise.

* Please change the copy. This should really take like an hour of your time, and 10 minutes each from 3-4 of your friends to proofread it. Avoid superlatives (greatest game ever made) and overuse of exclamations, and somehow make your Kickstarter title start with an upper case character. Nothing looks like a teenager IM'd it to me like a lower case starting character for a page title. I know it's the official name of the game, but try rephrase the title so it can start in caps.

* I didn't even want to watch the video. I usually start playing the video to listen to the dialogue, and then skim the page contents as I do that. You assume prior knowledge from the get-go. I've lost interest. I don't even want to share this again out of sympathy for you, because it squanders my social capital sharing stuff I can't even respond to. Which makes me feel terrible, because I really want to see low-budget indies still being able to succeed (as I foresee myself being in your position, but probably with less momentum).

* Your reward tiers are pretty boring, and also super-low value. You need to offer something more interesting than forum access. There's a lack of perceived value here too. Sell the game higher, and make reward tiers with easy (and standard KS fare) things like personalized thank you notes, credits on the website, shoutout in the game credits, etc. People love that stuff, and it's pretty much no extra work for you (notes/tshirts have fulfillment companies that just take a cut of your already-profits).

My background: Coming in as a fresh indie dev, who worked heavily on the
successful kickstarter for my fulltime startup as well. I am an avid gamer
since I was 6. I primarily play PC games, and have mediocre familiarity with
console games. I have not heard of "bob's game," but I was curious enough to
look it up. That's a lot of credibility you have to ride on, don't squander it
on a really shoddy pitch.

Edited for grammer

