Air Sloop Design Journal Entry 15 Kickstarter

Dave reminisces about the early days of Kickstarter and his excitement to launch Air Sloop with a Kickstarter campaign.

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I remember the first few projects that I backed on Kickstarter. They were for new technologies and devices like the Pebble Smartwatch which preceded the slew of new electronics we have today, like the Apple Watch or the Fit Bit. I didn’t really know what to expect at first. It seemed the platform was aimed at new tech adoptees or those that wanted to be “cutting edge.”

I didn’t think anything of it at first. “Just a platform to get ideas off the ground” I thought. Then the new wave of board games hit and it seemed like everyone and anyone was on Kickstarter to find funding for their latest table top projects. It’s where I started to get heavily involved in the process. Finding new projects; doing some cursory research and then deciding to back or not to back.

The platform was originally designed for independent creators and developers to get their projects off the ground without the need for their own capital to get their projects funded. The platform still succeeds at doing that; but the table top landscape has become more muddied recently as established publishers have turned to it as a pre-order and marketing platform for their latest games; thereby taking some of the spotlight away from original creators and independent publishers.

As I turn to the platform myself as a designer I look forward to the community reviewing and determining for themselves to “back or not to back.” For all of its faults, Kickstarter still has one becoming quality: you must bring a finished table top game for crowd funding.

Of course, the errant “half-completed” game can make a significant run with a campaign. But, unlike digital games, table top game often come to the crowd funding arena in its’ final or near-final state. The only thing that remains is the interest and the dollars of backers in order to turn a concept into a reality.

I hope that you’ll help make Air Sloop part of that new reality.

Tesseray Games Independent Publisher
Dr Dave Eng Independent Game Designer

About The Designer

Dave Eng EdD, Principal is an intellectual and creative educator, designer, and researcher who combines games, theory, and technology. Dave has played games for most of his life. As a result he studies game design, creates games, and teaches others how to use games for education and learning. Find out more at www.davengdesign.com

Fun Fact: Dave has been seasick in every time zone.

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