Exponential effect of stretch goals a concern?

[Wide_Arc]

Hi all,

 

Sorry to start with a possibly negative thread so just by way of background, BG1 and 2 are in my top 10 all-time, I'm hanging for BG1EE and my $ are already committed to Eternity. I think it's an enormous shame BG wasn't just a bit more moddable, and a downright tragedy there was never a BG3. Suffice to say I'm massively excited.

 

That said, I'm a bit worried that each day I get an email saying something new has been added - new level, new area, new translation, etc.

 

Why I'm worried is that I would've thought the cost of these things isn't linear, but rather has some sort of exponential effect - eg making a game with 10,000 lines of dialogue might take 100 hours to translate into German, but if you add both an extra 10,000 lines AND another language, that means another 100 hours for the German one, plus a further 200 for getting 20,000 lines into the new language.

 

It might not be a good example, and I've certainly never designed a game. But I have spent a lot of time trying to patch and mod BG1 and 2, in some cases due to bugs.

 

So when I get the Kickstarter updates, rather than being excited, I picture those late night TV ads where they sell you an ab machine... and a special extra machine! ... and a mat!... but wait, there's even more! Steak knives!

 

I don't mean to be disparaging. What I'm saying is that I want to be sure that the first imperative is that Eternity comes out as a tight, polished, QA'd, thoroughly kick-ass game, and that it's highly moddable in robust fashion. I honestly don't care if the design team then take the rest of the cash and blow it on a launch party; I've got what I came for.

 

Yes, it's great if the second phase is then to extend it magnificently. But at the moment it seems like the boundaries are shifting very fast. I just hope that doesn't mean biting off more than can be chewed.

 

Would be really interested in thoughts - particularly if there's people who understand the design process better than me, and what it takes to get a fully completed game to market.

 

Cheers, Arc

 

Ps. This trend back to genuine fans getting to fund what they want is brilliant. So tired of paying good money for games which are all graphics and rubbish content.

[diablo169]

The best way to think about stretch goals is that they are mostly to garner more interest in the project, adding two classes to the game for example wont actually cost $100k. The more money that is invested in this game, we will get a better highly polished product at the end of it.

[Superdeluxe]

I'm guessing they have everything they need right now to make the game. Everything additional is to drive interest in the project and allow for additional wrinkles