Yes, 100% this. I’ve taken time to look at failed Kickstarters, and they mostly have either no video, or a terrible video.
Tips for kickstarter videos
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This is how I justify the dichotomy to myself. You want me to invest in your game but you couldn’t even get it together to create a three-minute video. Why should I trust that you’ll get it together to finish your game?
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Yeah, that’s basically it. It shows effort.
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I’m the same I almost never watch KS videos but if there isn’t a video I’ll always pause and possibly reconsider my pledge.
I think there are clearer ‘rules’ on what not to put in a video:
Don’t make it longer than 3 mins (pref 1.5 mins).
Don’t ‘sell’ your game by saying how it is like “just like Call of Cthulhu but better”.
Because I think that it is the missteps which will cost you sales (including the misstep of not having a vid) rather than the things you include which will gain them.
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For anyone curious to see how my video turned out, you can see it here (under 2 mins!)
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I had 0 interest in making a video…but I did one. I watched a few other videos as examples and I found them sorta boring…So to get one done, I just put together some art and pictures of my layout and maps…and umm…forced my wife to do the narration because her voice sounds better than mine (in my opinion) and talk about the adventure… The result is a sardonic narration with complete dispassion…which oddly…I thought was hilarious and I think might hold people’s attention? I have no idea. Ill let you know how it goes after August 9th…
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For my first two Kickstarters, I used PowerPOint to patch together some graphics and voiceovers. Actually, on my first one, I didn’t even own a webcam or microphone yet (this was 2012) and I used my screen reader + Audacity to record some robo text.
The result wasn’t spectacular, and there a few people who complained, but the campaigns were still ultimately successful so I’ll take it.
I think my third campaign was just a talking head video. My wife asked me a few interview questions off-camera and I answered them on-camera. I sounded uncomfortable and that’s because I was. Still, the campaign was a success. Not a huge success, but it was for a sourcebook for an existing game so I didn’t expect huge numbers anyway. I think I patched that together using Windows MovieMaker.
I’m working on my fourth KS campaign now for Survival of the Able, and this thread crossed my radar at an interesting time. I’m currently trying to decide whether to even bother with a video at all.
Third Eye Games hasn’t been doing videos for their campaigns lately, and they still hit $10k+ most of the time. I’m sure much of that is attributed to their large built-in following though.
It seems odd to me that so many of you won’t even watch a video but insist on there being one. IMO, it’s that kind of double-standard which makes tthis so difficult.
Consider that many gamers and game designers are either socially awkward or have a bonafied social anxiety. It can be difficult for them to get on camera and talk to people. That doesn’t make their game any worse and it doesn’t say anything about their ability to finish a project. Sure, they can try to patch some things together using PowerPOint and some graphics, like I did for my first campaign, but that is an entirely different skill set.
Then you have people like me, who are legally blind and don’t work well with certain types of software. I can use PowerPOint well enough because Microsoft products are generally very accessible. Adobe Premier, Final Cut, Vegas, and similar programs are typically not. Even with Windows Movie Maker, I had to ask my wife to do the edits for me because cutting video on a timeline is just a huge challenge.
So that leaves me with a dilemma. My wife is a busy person who doesn’t always have time to do things like that, and it really isn’t her skill set either. Do I wait around until she has the time to help? Do I spend money to hire someone else, which is money I have to add to the campaign’s goal so I can recoup that cost? All for a video nobody’s going to watch? Do I slap together a worthless PowerPOint because nobody’s going to watch it anyway, but everyone’s going to expect something? Or do I just not bother with the whole thing and risk having people turn away because there is no video that they wouldn’t even bother watching if there was?
I would seriously challenge everyoneto re-think theirstandards and assumptions. Don’t mistake a lack of a video for a lack of care. Like I said, Third Eye Games doesn’t always use videos and they consistently deliver on their projects. Others lack the skill set or physical ability to put together a video, and the investment in learning how or hiring help isn’t necessarily worth it. By continuing to insist on there being a video you won’t even watch, you’re perpetuating a stereotype and giving room for ablism to thrive.
I’d say 95% of the time I don’t watch the video. Really the only times I do is if I am friends with the person and just want to watch what they did. For me at least a video has never had an impact on my backing an RPG on Kickstarter.
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I think this point is Very important! In any investment, you want to see and hear from the people involved. It just feels like a more authentic investment. Without the video, I would be less inclined to Kickstart something.
That said, the only point in a Kickstarter video that gets me excited to buy is the enthusiasm and dedication shown in the video. Not the mechanics, not a dull how to video. I want to see the creator super excited. If not, the creator then a playtester that loves it.
One thing I like to suggest to folx is trying to have some fun shooting the video in a way that sets it apart from the usual “Look at camera, talk about game” ones you get most often.
For me, that usually means recording something silly, in-universe and, uh, “involved”. Obviously not everyone has access to the skills and resources to make something like, say, the Americana or Disposable Heroes videos but theOrc Stabr video got a lot of comments and helped with selling the whole charm of the project while basically just being me dressed up in $10 worth of costume makeup, grunting at my friends phone camera.
Maybe this is colored by my own tastes - a basic “look at the camera and talk about the game” video gets me turned off real quick, and I’ll make choices based on the content of the page, but a creative video with some clever hook or something that shows off the game in a fun way? Really does influence me a lot.
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I really like this approach, I completely agree that talking heads style videos are not really engaging, I find I can read a lot faster than most people talk, so I get very impatient listening to someone describe something that also has a full write-up right below it.
I think the “in game” video works as a more effective version of the intro fluff that a lot of games have. Combining some elevated reality visuals with dialog feels much more authentic to a roleplaying experience than a big wall of text with illustrations.
I don’t think it’s possible for every game, but I would love an intro akin to the video Valve produced for the first Left 4 Dead; it’s a perfect encapsulation of what happens in game and actually teaches you how to play without breaking fiction.
Welcome to the community by the way! Glad to have you here.
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Thank you thank you!
I’m very fortunate to have a little acting experience, and more importantly a bunch of actor/film people friends who have been a great help with these projects, and the talking heads approach is so much easier - I think a lot of people see that stat about 70% of successful projects having videos and read that to mean 70% of projects with videos succeed and so get a “Anything is better than nothing” mindset, which is completely understandable, KSs encourage a very symbiotic FOMO after all!
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