Firstly, anyone who has been reading this blog knows that I have been planning a hand-drawn 3D game, using traditional animation for the characters. This game never had a proper title, but I’m giving it one now:

James – Journey of Existence

Catchy, right? No? Ok, it’s a tenative title. Anyway…

I’m also announcing my tenative plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign to help fund this project. Ok, anyone who read past posts would have seen this coming a mile away, but it feels good to finally say it. Such a Kickstarter wouldn’t be up until late in the month, but keep an eye out for it; no Kickstarter is successful without supporters!

Speaking of Kickstarter, projects tend to give out several incentives for higher pledges. I never liked this, because it makes it feel like you are just preordering something really expensive, years before it is released, when it could potentially be released for much cheaper later. But if not for these incentives, most people wouldn’t bother to pledge anyway. And if I were to start a Kickstarter, there are a number of digital and physical products I would be very interested in manufacturing for the cause (actually, I’d love to make a bunch of merchandise just to feel cool, but Kickstarter is a great excuse to give away some of it as well). Here are some ideas I had in mind…

1. drm-free copy of game for PC/MAC/LINUX (digital) (cheap to make)
2. drm-free copy of game for PC/MAC/LINUX (physical, disc) (cheap to make)
3. simple, full colour instruction booklet with game (digital and physical, comes with game) (possible to make)
4. game soundtrack (digital) (cheap to make)
5. game soundtrack on cd (physical) (cheap to make)
6. making-of documentary (digital) (possible to make)
7. making-of documentary on dvd (physical) (possible to make)
8. making-of/art book (digital) (cheap to make)
9. making-of/art book (physical) (expensive to make)
10. dialogue script/story layout, details game story from start to finish (digital) (cheap to make)
11. dialogue script/story layout, details game story from start to finish (physical) (expensive to make)
12. short-story (or short-stories) that helped inspire the story of the game (digital) (cheap to make)
13. short-story (or short-stories) that helped inspire the story of the game (physical) (expensive to make)
14. desktop-wallpapers (digital) (cheap to make)
15. postcards of select artworks (physical) (cheap to make)
16. UNITY3D PROJECT FILE of a game level and tutorial videos, to show you how to make the game and it’s animation effects from scratch using the free game engine (digital) (possible to make)
17. USB Flash Drive, containing all digital items, including drm-free copy of game (physical) (possible to make)
18. USB Flash “Card”, containing all digital items, including drm-free copy of game, but easier to fit in your wallet and with better logo of game (physical) (possible to make)
19. poster (physical) (possible to make)
20. mousepad featuring artwork image (physical) (possible to make)
21. keychain featuring image of a character (physical) (possible to make)
22. custom pencils/pens with unique logo (physical) (cheap to make)
23. TRANSPARENT CEL SHEETS with full-color character body parts as used in the game, lets you better see how the character was animated, cool collector’s item for fans of animation (physical) (possible to make)
24. original, hand-drawn artwork based on characters/settings of the game, signed by artist (physical) (possible to make)
25. special packaging to hold all physical objects (physical) (possible to make)
26. listed in game credits as individual/username/company with optional web link (digital) (cheap to make)
27. your likeness/art included in the game world (digital) (expensive to make)
28. your likeness as a side character in the game world (digital) (expensive to make)
29. internet video chats with the creators of the project (digital) (possible to make)
30. exclusive email surveys to help shape the development of the final project (digital) (possible to make)

Wow, that’s a lot of stuff… now, here’s the deal. I’m not going to make everything here. There are certain things in this list that I would personally like to make, but I’m not sure what to take out of the product list. Remember, some of these things, especially the physical products, are not cheap to make, and I can’t make some of them at all unless a minimum number of them are ordered (from professional manufacturers, of course). So I need your help.

Please comment to this blog article and let me know what type of products you would like to see from Kickstarter projects you pledge to. Your responses WILL HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT to what is ultimately made available for pledge rewards in a Kickstarter campaign for this game. You can cite any and all products listed above, or some new ideas if you have any. I don’t have images of what the products might look like, but I can add details like physical size if wanted. The responses may also be a valuable resource for other Kickstarter start-ups coming up with incentives of their own, so your input is important! If not here, message my Twitter/Facebook/Youtube outlets and let me know there!

Thank you for your time.

(if comment section below thinks you are a spammer, don’t worry, I still get your comments and will validate it shortly)