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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsSteel Assault - NES-Style 2D Action Platformer [KICKSTARTED+GREENLIT!]
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DavidCaruso
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« Reply #80 on: February 08, 2015, 09:39:50 PM »

Development won't stop, but it'll most likely be a lot slower, and the scope of the game will probably have to be scaled back a decent amount as well.



I'm gonna requote the "call to action" post, since it was the last post on the previous page and got hidden:



We’re currently entering the last 10 days of the Steel Assault Kickstarter campaign. Right now, we stand at almost 150 backers, with just over $3,500 in funds raised! Thanks to everyone in this thread who backed the project, and all of those who supported us in getting this far.

However, we’re still a way to our goal, and we still need all the help we can get. If you could find the time to share our Kickstarter page with others, or even just retweet our Twitter announcement/reblog our Tumblr announcement, that could go a long way in getting us the exposure we need as we head into this last stretch.

Again, thanks to everyone here who’s supported us! And let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. We’re still trying to get a polished pre-alpha demo out by the end of the campaign (and we’ve sent a more unpolished version of the game to some Youtube channels, which might help us in getting the exposure we need).
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« Reply #81 on: February 09, 2015, 12:23:53 AM »

Here are new graphs for Steel Assault. The campaign continued to skirt close to stalling out, but the campaign kept moving forward with its $10 tier. It is actually interesting that the campaign is doing better on weekends (Ignoring the PAX weekend). I wonder how well the Screenshot Saturday posts are doing. Referrals from Reddit and Twitter would be visible in the project creator dashboard.

Children of Morta (Already over 100% funded) and STRAFE (41.4% funded) will end just after Steel Assault, but your game will still be within the last 48 hour period for those two when they should be generating traffic to Kickstarter. The graphs for STRAFE aren't that healthy partially due to the initial high pricing problems and a small problem with the new $15 tier cannibalizing backers from the $25 tier (It is not as severe as other campaigns have experienced). STRAFE needs about 3,000 additional backers to reach 100%. There is the strong possibility of a massive social media surge as backers try to save that campaign.

At 02:35:26 in episode 78 of Super Best Friendcast was a mention for Steel Assault. There was also another brief mention in episode 10 of their Silent Hill 2 playthrough. Other than that and previous mentioned coverage, Steel Assault is closer to the "no press at all" start of the spectrum than to the "good amount of press" end of the spectrum. It had dropped down into the lower popularity rankings that don't get much traffic from within Kickstarter. I saw on the latest page of the NEOGaf thread that a build was sent to the Super Best Friends Play. I hope they do make a video. The chances are decent since they have already mentioned the game in their podcast.

Having a playable build for press and prepared material for project updates ready before launching avoid a lot of trouble trying to assemble them during a campaign's run. It is a piece of wisdom that more indie developers need to hear. Update #3 for Steel Assault was the best one yet. The updates continue to be of high quality.

Currently I see a 97% chance of success on SideKick, a trend to $5,242 (65%) on Kicktraq and a trend to $8,148 (102%) on KickSpy. Kicktraq does not anticipate last 48-hour surges because it is just a linear trend.

Steel Assault's campaign needs about 180 additional backers to reach 100%. It could be funded by simply achieving 20 backers per day in the last 9 days. The campaign was already able to sustain such a pace in the first few days. From my perspective this is very realistic to achieve once there is even one large press mention that bumps it up the active project rankings. I noticed you had backed Legend of Iya which is one example of what a last 48 hours rush can look like on Kickstarter when backers become motivated.



The project thumbnail also needs to be visible higher up the rankings so that regular Kickstarter users can see how close it is in the last few days. To rise up the ranks is going to require external exposure. There is hope that YouTube will bring in enough backers. It is also very acceptable to message the major blogs again now that the campaign is closer to its deadline. The biggest problem I see is lack of exposure. It is another NES-looking indie game, but a chunk of the market still buys NES-looking indie games.

One tactic is called a 48-hour-challenge. That happened with Jenny LeClue's campaign. The basic idea is that someone agrees to make a big pledge only if the campaign is able to achieve a specific milestone. The biggest problem is often finding someone willing to be the person who provides the money for the challenge. It works closer to the middle of the campaign than at the end. It doesn't make as much sense having one in the last 48 hours.

The "10 Days Left" image could become the new project thumbnail. Each new day the number would be reduced. In the final hour the final version of the project thumbnail gets uploaded before the page gets archived.

For a last 48-hour rush to work, backer apathy needs to be combated. Backers need to have morale maintained. It needs to matter to them that the project gets funded. There are already comments like "Why isn't this funded yet?" which is a good sign they already care. Solid project updates help maintain morale. There is also showing the calculation of dividing the minimum goal amount by the average pledge per backer amount for an overall target number of backers to aim for. STRAFE needs about 5,512 backers to get funded. Steen Assault needs about 332 backers in total and backers can be told to not give up because gap is so small.
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DavidCaruso
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« Reply #82 on: February 09, 2015, 02:10:17 PM »

Thanks again for the graphs and analysis, LobsterSundew.




We just posted a new Kickstarter update talking about advanced parallax backgrounds on the NES and how they were achieved! We also discuss other effects you might not have known the NES was capable of, such as movie playback and 3D engines.
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Steel Assault devlog - NES-style 2D action platformer: successfully Kickstarted!
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« Reply #83 on: February 11, 2015, 01:56:21 AM »

Congratulations on the staff pick. Steel Assault has risen to around the 12th rank in popularity for the category. This is good. The latest graphs for Steel Assault show a spike in activity for the $10, $25 and $59 tiers.

Project updates continue to be very well done. One option is taking all the discussion about late NES games and combining it into an Imgur album post.

The NEOGaf thread has continued to do well. It is interesting that many people are asking about who the protagonist is as a character. Many NES era games could go "You're a soldier, now go forth!" and that was enough story. Actual blogger coverage remains very low. There was a mention by Tower 57's dev.

I see a 98% chance of success on SideKick, a trend to $5,372 (67%) on Kicktraq and a trend to $7,680 (96%) on KickSpy. If each current backer raised his or her pledge by $21.82 Steel Assault would be funded. The Bitly Analytics page shows a surge in shortlink clicks on February 8th. It still looks like the campaign should be able to scrape by 100% in the last 48 hours. Finally getting big blog coverage could put it over 100% any time now if that happens.

Here are graphs for The Foolsh Brave To Challenge A God (It received a shout-out in an update) now that it has cancelled. Drift Stage was funded with over 190%. Moonman is over 100% and ending soon. Bandits and Bounties should really change its project thumbnail since I see it being mistaken for another one of the RPGMaker games that occasionally flood Kickstarter. That thumbnail does convey enough information about what the game really is.

For other Kickstarter-related news there are problems with Godus, famous game designer Paul Neurath has Underworld Ascendant and Strength of the Sword ULTIMATE had a good launch with some great presentation to its project page.

There was a Super Best Friend's Play STRAFE video posted. It will be interesting to see if STRAFE's backers can generate enough social media exposure before it ends.
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DavidCaruso
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« Reply #84 on: February 12, 2015, 10:48:07 AM »

Daniel just created some new box art for Steel Assault! Check it out:



We have 6 days left on our Kickstarter!
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DavidCaruso
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« Reply #85 on: February 13, 2015, 01:16:40 PM »



5 days left for Steel Assault's Kickstarter!

We also just posted a project update talking more about Steel Assault's $399 tier, where I create an 8-bit cover of a song of your choice. All covers are going to be created in Famitracker from the ground up, so they'll be fully authentic (i.e. they'll sound true to the original song and be able to run on an actual NES).

I also provided a few sample covers on the update post, from Taxi Driver, Lord of the Rings, and Raiden II respectively. Here they are:

Quote

  • Taxi Driver - Main Themes.

    A condensed version of the Taxi Driver theme. This cover uses the Namco N163 expansion for the NES, which can add up to eight additional channels of expanded sound! (Five are used here.) It also uses heavy DPCM sampling. This is part of the reason why it sounds so much more advanced than a typical "8-bit" cover, even though it can still play on an NES.
  • Lord of the Rings - Concerning Hobbits.

    This song uses the Nintendo MMC5 expansion chip, which adds 2 additional square wave channels. It also uses DPCM to sample string ensembles at several points.
  • Raiden II - Stage 2. (Original song) This song is barebones NES; it doesn't even use any DPCM. Just three melody channels and one noise channel. When you think of 8-bit music, this is probably the closest to what you're picturing (or hearing, I guess).
.
These are just some samples of what the song covers on this tier might sound like. I hope you enjoyed listening to these, and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let me know! Smiley
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« Reply #86 on: February 14, 2015, 01:45:55 AM »

The box art graphic is good. I like the blues and purples in the world art for the box art. The top left and right corners have space that could be used for future content.

Moonman was funded.

Here are the updated graphs for Steel Assault. In the "Percentage of the total number of backers by reward tier over time" graph shows the $25 tier has been surging in popularity.

Someone's blog post about CRT filters mentioned Steel Assault. NEOGaf continues to be where a lot of mentions are happening. There was a tweet from Nintendo Force. It can be difficult for small campaigns to get press, but don't give up. One big mention could get Steel Assault funded. On the last 2 days the backers may get really motivated to share the project link around which could be enough exposure to get to 100% funded. If it can get to about 75% funded before the last 24 hours then backers upgrading their pledges should be able to cover the missing gap.

Currently I see a 98% chance of success on SideKick, a trend to $5,230 (65%) on Kicktraq and a trend to $7,671 (96%) on KickSpy. The Bitly Analytics showed more clicks on February 13th than any other individual day of the campaign.

On Reddit I've seen posts so far on /r/PixelArt, /r/IndieGaming and /r/Cyberpunk. There is a wiki list of gaming-related subreddits. At the very start of the last 48-hours many relevant subreddits allow the Kickstarter link to be posted. I did not find mentions for Steel Assault in /r/retrogaming, /r/gamingkickstarter and /r/Retrogamingmusic could potentially be good fits. There are Nintendo-related subreddits out there, but some are less receptive to crowdfunding campaigns. Some of the largest subreddits like /r/Games are a bit hostile to retro looking platformers and small Kickstarter campaigns in general.

There is the Imgur Kickstarter tag. There could be galleries about the NES and pixel art that could also apply. Imgur can sometimes bring in a few hundred views just from the community in Imgur's galleries section. If it ends up on the front of Imgur (Unlikely) it can result in a hundred thousand views.

Steel Assault needs around 150 additional backers. A few very large pledges from a few backers could bring down the number of additional backers needed very fast. Before the last 48-hours begins Steel Assault should have 25 more backers than it does now.

Project updates are very usefully for rallying backers. On the last day it is acceptable to do multiple project updates about how little funding gap remains. It is good to have some screenshots or other visual content prepared so those updates are not just about the countdown. A project creator can keep track of how many backers were gained since the previous update. Seeing that number can help motivate backers.
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DavidCaruso
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« Reply #87 on: February 16, 2015, 09:07:26 AM »

We're now featured on Kickstarter! On the front page of the Games section:


We also have less than 72 hours left in our campaign, as you can see. (In fact, right now, we have about 56 hours left.) And we're only at 64% funded! There's still hope for success, though. Here's what you can do to help:

  • share our project page on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, forums, or whichever mediums you think might be the most effective
  • if you've been considering pledging, or upgrading your pledge, then now would be an ideal time to do it
  • if you're a Let's Player or a game journalist, you can contact us and we'll be happy to supply you with a pre-alpha build of the game

Again, thanks to everyone who's supported Steel Assault!
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« Reply #88 on: February 16, 2015, 09:38:59 AM »

I shared it on Twitter and Facebook several times throughout the campaign and hope it helped in some way. Unfortunately I can't afford backing anything right now, but I wish you the best of luck, your game deserves it! Smiley

P.S.: Someone at Kickstarter seems to think the same. Wink
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« Reply #89 on: February 17, 2015, 01:04:41 AM »

Here are updated graphs for Steel Assault. It is building up some good momentum near the end.

The last 48-hour reminder e-mails have now been sent out to people who clicked the "Remind me" button. February 16th had 32 new backers. That beats the 30 backers for the first day. There is currently 259 backers pledging $5,902 (73.8%).

I like the new phased look to the red portion of the project thumbnail where the countdown is.

There is a 97% chance of success on SideKick, a trend to $6,099 (76%) on Kicktraq and a trend to $7,164 (89.6%) on KickSpy.

The per backers average pledge is currently $22.79 which is good for a $10 priced game. If each current backer upgraded his or her pledge by $8.10 then Steel Assault would be fully funded. The hope is that this number drops to around $5 or less before the last few hours.

There was a mention in a video by

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and ToughGuyver made videos. It would be good if the demo clarified that the train-car was the end of the demo. At first I thought it may have been a progression stopping bug. I can also see 5 minutes not being long enough for the majority of Let's Play channels. When there is 24-hours remaining there won't really be enough time for Let's Players to make a video, or the majority of their audience to watch it, before the campaign will have ended by then.

The project is ranked 14th "By magic" and 11th "By popularity" in the category. Steel Assault has made it this far without close to the amount of press the other campaigns sitting beside it in those rankings have achieved. It is 5th "By end date". Shadowrun: Hong Kong has 10 hours remaining. STRAFE will have its reminder e-mails going out soon.

Some of the largest gaming blogs, gaming walk-through sites and indie game stores have their own forums. A problem is that a developer needs to participate in a community ahead of launching in order to not be treated as a spammer. Suddenly appearing in forums can be a desperation tactic. There is submitting the game to sites like IndieDB or Gamamia that help catalogue new indie games, but the number of views generated might not be much. For some large blogs instead of the general press address one can attempt to single out a specific blogger who may be more sympathetic, but this too risks being treated as a spammer if done too aggressively. In a situation like this I am biased towards focussing on strong project updates with good content about what the vision of the game is. The hope is that this helps motivate backers into action.

It would take three days like Feb 16th for Steel Assault to get funded. It needs at least one of these last two days to do much better than Feb 16th. Over the next 41 hours the project needs to cover $2,098. It needs to get to about 350 backers overall, which is 91 backers away. The campaign is getting very close to the existing backers being able to cover the funding gap. I think you'll make it through pledge upgrades on the last day.
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« Reply #90 on: February 17, 2015, 11:45:19 AM »

Backed! Good luck, I am looking forward to playing it one way or another!
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DavidCaruso
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« Reply #91 on: February 17, 2015, 09:09:14 PM »


Less than 24 hours left on our Kickstarter!

We're 85% funded with just 19 hours left to go! We're so close I can taste it. If you're still considering whether to upgrade your pledge or not, or whether to pledge or not... just an extra $5 or $10 could make a real difference, if enough people do it.

If you like Steel Assault, please consider sharing our project page with others! Send it to anyone you know or anywhere you know that might be into this type of game. Anything that can help push us over our goal is welcome.

That's all I have to say for now. If you have any last-minute questions, comments, or concerns about Steel Assault, or about this campaign, feel free to let me know!
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« Reply #92 on: February 18, 2015, 08:03:06 AM »

< $300 left!

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« Reply #93 on: February 18, 2015, 09:55:40 AM »

It's funded! Congrats guys!
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« Reply #94 on: February 18, 2015, 10:09:45 AM »

Huge congrats, guys!

Also, for anyone else trying to drum up views on Tumblr, this is a good post that got a lot of hits in the final hours of funding:

http://steelassault.tumblr.com/post/111251628344/retronator-steel-assault-by-sri-kankanahalli

I was going to suggest doing something similar until I saw it. Tumblr likes lots of images, and you want each post to be extremely rebloggable. Spreading five screens across five posts is not nearly as effective as putting all five in one post. And animated is obviously better.

The problem with posts like this one:

http://steelassault.tumblr.com/post/110935633384/5-days-left-more-about-the-8-bit-song-cover-tier

Is that it's not very rebloggable/likeable. Tumblr blogs and likes are like curated art museums - people don't want to reblog/like ads or transient posts.

Anyway, just some final food for thought. Congrats again! Beer!
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« Reply #95 on: February 18, 2015, 10:42:53 AM »

Congrats on the funding. Im not big on this genre, but you've nailed the nostalgia beautifully so was happy to back. Really glad to see it reach it's goal. Looking forward to seeing how you progress this game further!
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DavidCaruso
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« Reply #96 on: February 18, 2015, 11:30:32 AM »

Thanks everyone! This has been a really intense month.

I'm going to write up a full postmortem on our campaign later and post it around, but here's a quick thank you post for now!

I was going to suggest doing something similar until I saw it. Tumblr likes lots of images, and you want each post to be extremely rebloggable. Spreading five screens across five posts is not nearly as effective as putting all five in one post. And animated is obviously better.

The problem with posts like this one:

http://steelassault.tumblr.com/post/110935633384/5-days-left-more-about-the-8-bit-song-cover-tier

Is that it's not very rebloggable/likeable. Tumblr blogs and likes are like curated art museums - people don't want to reblog/like ads or transient posts.

Anyway, just some final food for thought. Congrats again! Beer!

Thanks man! Yeah, I'm still figuring out how to Twitter and Tumblr (I never had either before this game). Tumblr does seem really GIF heavy, I thought that post could maybe get a decent amount of exposure because of the LotR cover but it didn't end up that way. (Actually, I kind of wish a few more people backed at the $399/$499 tiers. I was looking forward to people sending me cool stuff to cover... and also the $499 backer is my dad lol.)
« Last Edit: February 18, 2015, 08:25:43 PM by DavidCaruso » Logged

Steel Assault devlog - NES-style 2D action platformer: successfully Kickstarted!
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« Reply #97 on: February 18, 2015, 11:18:31 PM »

CONGRATS DUDES,
I was gonna be annoyed if u didn't get funded considering how little money you were asking for but yeah wooooo!
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DavidCaruso
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« Reply #98 on: March 04, 2015, 12:23:10 PM »

We just got Greenlit! Grin



In addition, if you backed our Kickstarter at the $39 beta access tier or higher, we sent out e-mails to you yesterday with a link to the game's development forum! You can register there and starting posting around/giving feedback.
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« Reply #99 on: March 04, 2015, 12:30:11 PM »

Just saw the KS update. Congrats!
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