Hero-U Funds Running Out, New KS Campaign Planned

According to the latest post-funding Kickstarter update for Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption, the scope and direction changes the project underwent since the original launch of the Kickstarter campaign led to bigger expenses that simply can’t be covered by the money raised through Kickstarter. While the team has considered searching for venture capital funding or a publisher deal, they ultimately decided that going back to the Kickstarter well for additional funding is the best solution, and are planning another campaign to be launched between April and May:

We are still on target for release on Oct. 15 thanks to our talented new programming team members (see Update 60). They are rapidly filling out the game and keeping Lori and me on our toes trying to write game text fast enough to keep up with them. We still have a long way to go on development, but the light in the tunnel is no longer an oncoming train.

We plan to release a playable combat test and an updated version of the break-in house playable prototype late next month. These will lead up to a supplemental funding campaign in April-May.

When we originally ran the Kickstarter, we planned to make a much smaller and simpler game. As the campaign proceeded, it became clear that our backers wanted much more, and we promised to deliver it. Unfortunately, this is taking far more time and expense than that small game.

Even with several of our team members (including Lori and me) delaying compensation until after the game makes a profit, we have stretched our personal finances to the breaking point. We think it makes more sense to return to Kickstarter now that we have much more art and real development progress to show, rather than making a publisher deal or looking for venture funding. We also think a new Kickstarter campaign will give us a chance to reach many players who did not see the first one.

In the comments for the update Corey Cole offered some additional information on the game’s budget, and why the team intends to ask for more:

As I have posted on www.hero-u.net, the full project budget has always been $650,000. We’ve raised about $400,000 after expenses from the original Kickstarter and the web site. The rest is coming from a combination of home equity loan (we’re literally betting our house on this project) and deferred payments to contractors. Much of the reason for the project delay has been due to the project being short-staffed because we did not have the full budget.

The supplementary goal will give us breathing room on the loan so that we don’t have to get high-interest credit card financing. If we bring in enough, we may also be able to add voice acting and foreign language versions after the initial game release.

Why didn’t we ask for $650,000 up front? Because Kickstarter is all-or-nothing funding, and our research showed us that the project would likely fail if we asked for that much. After all, we had only a concept to present at that stage, no real art resources. By bringing in $350K (after expenses), we were able to commit to the project, purchase Unity licenses, buy custom 3D character art, and pay some of our contractors. We knew we would have to supplement the Kickstarter funds with other forms of financing to complete the game. As comparison, using the established SCI engine (which took Sierra about $2 million and several years to develop), Quest for Glory IV cost about $750,000 to develop. Sierra developed a custom engine for Quest for Glory V, driving that project up to 3.5 years and over $4 million development cost. The team had over 50 developers by the end of the project.

Exploding kittens are far easier than adventure games. 🙂 But Hero-U will be much prettier than a card game, and it will have a lot more story.

The original Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded in November 2012, and just slightly exceeded its $400,000 funding goal.