ImagiNation Update and Open FAQ

See how it’s going HERE

I’ll limit myself to one post a day on this after today but as I’m writing this I’m already over 50% to target. This FAQ will be a living post that I’ll add to as people ask things about the project. I’ll let you know when I update it.

Q: Didn’t you say you didn’t like these crowdfunding things?

A: I still don’t really. A lot of these projects seem to ask for a shitload more money than I think they actually need, I’m not comfortable with ‘begging’ and I’ve done OK without chugging up to this point. I changed my mind purely because I’ve seen the success elsewhere that people have had and because this is, in effect, a ‘charity’ project. I still don’t think I’d be comfortable using this method for a straightforward project – though I may give it a go later on.

Q: Why IndieGoGo and not Kickstarter?

A: KS is America only. I’m British. It sucks and I know KS has a higher profile and many people are more comfortable with it, but I don’t have a choice. IGG is the 2nd best of these services IMO and the second most popular… so that’s why.

Q: What if you go over target?

A: I didn’t think I had a chance of hitting my target, let alone exceeding it. Now I don’t really know. As much as possible I will put money into the project and into other creatives – artists, layout people – who suffer from these problems as they contribute.

Q: Why are you taking money for yourself if it’s a Charity project?

A: This was going to be a commercial project originally, but I would rather it not be. Working is hard when you have depression and the truth is that I simply cannot afford to spend the time on it if I’m not going to be paid. I’m sacrificing the ‘Long Tail’ money for an up-front lump sum. I’ve already spent around $300 of my own money on the project already, so really I’ll just be recouping my loss and paying other creatives – with issues similar to my own – taking some pressure off all of us to get this done.

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Ask questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them in this FAQ.

ImagiNation and IndieGoGo

I’ve decided to try this crowdsourced funding thing for the first time and to that end I’ve signed up with IndieGoGo and have created a campaign for my game ImagiNation.

ImagiNation tackles the subjects of creativity and mental illness and their co-mingling in a near-future and post-apocalyptic Britain, ravaged by a psychic virus, a world-changing disruption that causes dreams and nightmares to become reality.

People with pre-existing mental illness issues or the creatively ‘unhinged’ are somewhat immune and able to manipulate this newly fluid reality via their own perceptions of reality.

It will be derived from the system used in Neverwhere, which uses descriptive texts and paragraphs in place of character sheets and statistics. Characters will be able to manipulate the world – and the descriptions – through their mental issues or their creativity. For example, a writer might be able to change adjectives in a description while an artist may be able to draw something and make it ‘real’.

I want to give this game away for free, and to sell the hardcopy at cost (via PoD). I want it to help people in the way that gaming has helped me. I want this to be a vehicle to be open with others who have these issues and to let them know they’re not alone. I also want it, hopefully, to be useful as a way for people to broach this topic with their friends and family and help understanding.