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[Konidias]

What's up with this 'being indie' crap anyway? I just want to make my own games and if there are ways to get money off them then it's even more awesome. Whether it's by selling it, preordering, 8bitfunding, licensing, whatever.

Well considering this is a forum for "Independent Gaming Discussion" (as displayed in the forum title image), I would assume this 'being indie' crap was sort of what the forum is about.

[Netsu]

Well considering this is a forum for "Independent Gaming Discussion" (as displayed in the forum title image), I would assume this 'being indie' crap was sort of what the forum is about.

This doesn't explain what being indie is about though. And I think applying the term to gaming is almost as pointless as applying it to music.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

It really depends upon how far a project is completed, and of course it's a grey area. It would often be irresponsible to take pre-orders when a project is less than 75% percent ready for release. Most people make their game available for pre-order when the game is at least in a presentable, playable state.

if that is true, minecraft got rich off of being irresponsible then -- when it was first put up for presale it didn't have anywhere near 25% of what it has now

but anyway i do think that giving away a % in exchange for money is still mostly indie, so long as they have no creative say over how the game is done and as long as you aren't legally obligated to finish the game. i wouldn't recommend doing it though because i don't think 'money making more money' is a good thing to encourage.

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

Paul, did you miss the "presentable, playable state" part?  Offering a game for pre-order/sale in its current state is perfectly fair and quite different to saying that you'll potentially make a product in the next twelve months or so. In most of these cases the preview build is sufficient, such as Sophie Houlden's 'Lottie's Dungeon' game.

[Zaphos]

None of the 8 Bit Funding projects state that investors (donators or pre-orders, really) get any say whatsoever in the making of the game. Sure, they'll have expectations, but there are expectations as soon as you make a product for sale.

Well, the site faq does at least say the projects have to be completed -- and if the project changes so much that it's not really the same project, does that count?  I'm curious to see what will happen if anyone ever tries to get a refund ...

(specifically the faq says:

8. What if I get my funding, but fail to complete my project?
Completing your project is not our responsibility. Should you fail to complete your project and deliver perks, we remain completely free from liability. However, should the contributors ask for it, we will provide any and all legal information to them in order to help them either get a refund of their money or proper legal compensation.

)

I guess maybe it will be impossible to fail if the project doesn't have a completion deadline ... I'm not sure how any of this holds up legally though.

It does feel a bit like people are selling a very uncertain investment as if it were a normal pre-order, which seems somewhat questionable.

[Peevish]

It does feel a bit like people are selling a very uncertain investment as if it were a normal pre-order, which seems somewhat questionable.

I suppose that depends on what they're selling. If all the perks are material things that can be sent in the mail (like T-shirts or somesuch), and the pitch is something like "let me work on the project full-time for 3 months," then even if the project fails you can get your perk. I suppose it's up to the donator to leverage the risks and rewards.