Star Command Kickstarter - $10,000 spent on tiered reward system
Indie studio War Balloon Games, which raised $37,000 for its iOS game Star Command, has said it spent around $10,000 on the project's tiered pledge system.
According to an update on the developer's Kickstarter page, the round of funding needed for the project was set at $20,000 and the promised thank you gifts to those donated was just one of the areas where the team ran into problems.
"Our kickstarter earned $36,967 after asking for $20,000 so that was incredible," read the update on the Kickstarter page. "To begin with, we didn't get all of that. We lost about $2,000 to no-shows, just people that pledged and the funds did not transfer.
"That got us down to $35k, and kickstarter and Amazon Payments take their portions, which got us down to right around $32,000.
"Now, right off the top you had $10,000 for prize fulfillment. That includes printing the posters, the shirts and shipping everything (thanks Australia). If we had to do it again, we would have probably had the price point a bit higher for the t-shirts and posters, as those turned to be a very large expense. We also would have included the cost of a 3rd party fulfillment house - we just aren't equipped or skilled in that area, and it was (still is) something that we struggle with.
"After that, we had $22,000 remaining. From there: Music - $6,000; Attorneys, startup fees, CPA - $4000; Poster art - $2000; iPads - $1000; PAX East - $3000. TOTAL: $16,000
"Leaving us with around $6000, which is income, so that was taxed (piece of advice to other Kickstarters - spend that money before the end of the year).
"So were right around $4000 remaining and even that cursory math isn't working as there are other things that weren't big tickets but sapped the coffers. There's odds and ends etc, so that goes rather quickly as you can imagine."
The firm said it "didn't fully appreciate the cost" of printing 200 posters, shirts, and the cost of shipping.
"All that said though, its been great and the game would not be where it is if it wasn't for Kickstarter," read the update. "We're extremely confident were going to hit our summer release date and that never would have happened without you guys.
"We have made a game we're really, really proud of and you guys should be too. We have always felt an obligation to make your investment worth it, and hopefully we dont disappoint."
War Balloon's story may be something to keep in mind should any of you decide to go the Kickstarter route yourselves.