Hi, everybody! Thanks for stopping by.
Today's post will be about the recent cancellation of my Kickstarter campaign for Children of the Sun. It was a tough pill to swallow at the time, pulling the plug on a project that I'd worked so hard on. But I knew it was the right call. The campaign was destined for failure, whether I cancelled it or not. So I figured I'd better save face and be transparent about it.
I felt pretty low for a day or two. You know the feeling. Deflated.
But I quickly accepted that it was the crowdfunding campaign that had failed, not the game itself. Children of the Sun is an amazing experience, and I neglected the work of getting people to see that before launching. (Among other things . . . which I'll talk about later.)
Below is the cancellation announcement I posted on the game's campaign page. It'll give you a good idea of where I was coming from when I ended the campaign.
To put it simply, I didn't have a crowd heading into a crowdfunding campaign. That's practically a guarantee for disaster. I'm pretty sure I knew that all along too. I just didn't want to face the truth. I'd been working on Children of the Sun for a long time, and I was ready to see it finished.
So yes, I have to admit that part of the problem was my impatience. But as I stated in the announcement, I also launched because I was trying to stick to deadlines that I had made for myself. I've really been trying to run Jupiter Valley Studios like a business, even though I'm its sole employee. That means holding myself accountable to a myriad of things, including a solid timeline for getting work done. When it comes to crafting a project, that's a struggle in and of itself. But it's even more of a challenge when you throw on all the business aspects of running JVS.
Personally, as a solo designer and publisher, the hardest part of the process is PR and marketing. In fact, it's the very last thing I like to do on my list of things to do, which is why I mistakenly waited far too long to get the ball rolling. Leading up to the campaign I tried to compensate with last-minute marketing efforts, but it simply wasn't enough. I only had a handful of potential backers upon launch, and to succeed on Kickstarter, a strong first day of support is essential. Launch day came and went without so much as a whimper. And in my lowly state, I was hit with the very sudden realization that I had made a mistake and was going to fail.
It hit me like a ton of bricks. Right on the kisser. Kapow!
But instead of getting KO'd, it woke me up.
Before launch, I'd scheduled one demo event, put up a few ads online, did some social media posts, and that was that. Heck, not even the artwork for the cards, powers, rulebook, or box was done. Of course the campaign was going to fail! I had so much more work to do before the game was ready. What was I thinking?
Well, I was thinking that if I just tried hard enough I could pull it all off. If I put my heart into it and gave it my all, everything would work out in the end. Perhaps that sentiment can be true in some circumstances, but it wasn't the case with Children of the Sun. I had foolishly hurried the project along, crashing blindly over the finish line only to stumble and fall into a million pieces.
Now I have to pick up this mess, wipe that look of failure off my face, and keep moving on.
Cancelling the campaign was a bummer, that's for sure. I've worked so hard on Children of the Sun. But I'm not going to let it stop me. Failure is a part of life, after all. In fact, it's just about the best way to learn a worthwhile lesson, and I for damn well sure learned from this one. (Pardon my French there.)
This whole situation has taught me a lot about myself and a lot about Jupiter Valley Studios. I've started asking myself the right questions instead of the wrong.
Why am I doing this? Am I giving it my true heart?
What do I want to accomplish? How can I get there? Do I have to do it alone?
The answers still somewhat elude me, but I at least know that I'm on the right track. Looking ahead, I have two paths to choose from. I can license my work out, partnering with a well-established publisher to handle production, distribution, marketing and sales, while I focus solely on game design. Or I build a passionate team of business-minded creators and keep Jupiter Valley Studios independent. This would mean more work, more business to do. But it also means more freedom to create what I want to create, along with the ability to dive into any aspect of a game's production, rather than just the mechanics.
Both options have their merits, and I’m still deciding which route to take. All I know is my current workload isn't a sustainable one, and what's best for both myself and the company is to take one of these new roads. I've got to share the load with others, or else I'm gonna keep on tripping over that finish line.
I hope all this had made sense. Or at least as much sense as its made to me. This has been a difficult thing to write about, not because it's painfully emotional or even hard to put into words. It's just that I'm in strange sort of quiet place these days as I incubate my change and plan to take a new course. (Only someone in a funky headspace would write a sentence like that.)
Back to what really matters. Children of the Sun! What does the future hold for the game?
My plans are to try publishing it again next year, and in the meantime I work at polishing the game to perfection and really building a fanbase of followers. I'm going to do more public events, send off demo copies to reviewers, and strive to collect as many leads as possible.
I'm also using this happy accident as a way to really make the game shine. As far as visual design goes, I was trying to make a product much like the bog box game publishers out there. But given the truth of who I am and what I can make, this only made the game look . . . amateur. So instead I've fully embraced my own style. I'm putting a fresh coat of paint on the game's design with a brand new art direction that really speaks to what I'm trying to create.
When everything is finished, I'll keep on marketing Children of the Sun while I start work on making the game's bonus content and expansion. Then in 2025, Jupiter Valley Studios is going to publish the dang thang!
What publishing looks like . . . well . . . that's a piece of the puzzle I haven't yet put into place. The aforementioned fork in the road plays a big role in the outcome. But saying that I keep JVS independent, the obvious answer is to relaunch on Kickstarter. That's not the only option though, as I could also look for ways of raising funds more traditionally. By finding partners who are willing to invest in the game, I could raise my own capital for JVS, avoiding crowdfunding altogether. (Which is what my original goal for the company was.) If I go that route, the crowd I've built isn't all for naught. Instead of dedicated backers, I've got preorders and ready buyers.
Only time will tell which direction I go, but I know right here and now that I'm going somewhere instead of nowhere, and that's enough for me to keep my head up.
I hope all this has given you a clear picture of my current circumstances. More than anything though, I want you all to know that I'm still moving full steam ahead. And if it ever seems quiet on the JVS front, it's only because I'm hard at work making amazing things. ( . . . thus the need for some marketing help!)
Thanks for reading. The support I've received from everyone during all of this has truly helped me. I encourage you to stay tuned with the game's progress by subscribing to the JVS Newsletter. (My next Designer Diary will be about Children of the Sun's art production. It's sure to be a fun read!)
I'll be revealing the game's new artwork soon, along with posting demo events as they pop up. The imagery here on the website might get a little wonky as I develop my new marketing angle for CotS. To those of you who are actually visit here often, consider it a fun sneak peek into the process.
@jupitervalleystudios
See you next time!
Comments