Precinct, the unofficial successor to the classic adventure game series Police Quest, won’t be coming back through Kickstarter. But the project, which is led by Police Quest creator Jim Walls, will live on.
The president of Walls’ development studio, Robert Lindsley, blamed gamer anxiety about Kickstarter:
“Like other recent high-profile Kickstarters, we quickly saw that Precinct wasn’t gaining the traction it needed,” Lindsley said in a press release. “While fans are interested in backing new ideas, they’re becoming increasingly aware of the risks inherent in crowdfunding. We’re hoping that this new model will give backers more confidence in the projects they’re funding.”
It’s true that some recent prominent gaming Kickstarters have flopped. See Motorgun. See Shadow of the Eternals, though those guys have already started a new one.
The Precinct‘s Kickstarter was cancelled today, having raised less than $US86,000 of its $US500,000 goal over the last three weeks. The Kickstarter was going to need to be funded by August 16.
They’re not giving up, though, and will be seeking “staged funding” through the game’s official website. At $US25,000 they say they’ll deliver a “proof of concept”. They’ll deliver a full game if they make $US400,000.
So if you want a spiritual successor to Police Quest, you can still do something to make that happen.
To contact the author of this post, write to stephentotilo@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @stephentotilo.
Comments
2 responses to “Unofficial Police Quest Comeback Hits A Snag, Switching To Plan B”
Eh, I think Lindsley’s a bit disillusioned. I would still back an old series or developer if it was promising enough, I dont think it really is as much to do with ‘gamer anxiety’ as all that. This pitch came across too much like a bunch of guys behind on the times and not fully aware of what they were getting themselves into. If it were an actual Police Quest game I wouldve backed in a heartbeat.
Agreed. I’ve pledged towards a few kickstarters that have been successful, and this game just didnt quite grab me, despite the connection to the police quest series.
Getting word out there is a huge part of this as well. Planetary Annihilation did exceptionally well, and it certainly helped having a large active community of TA/SupCom players. 7 Days To Die I think struggled to begin with and I thought they wouldn’t make their target, but when they got several prominent youtubers to review, pledges skyrocketed and have just past their first stretch goal.
You can’t say Police Quest has an active community of players, it doesn’t have the youtube presence. I think the most it had was a community of people with rose tinted glasses. Unfortunately that isn’t enough.
I hope they do find a way to fund making the game.