By now, we all know the sad tale of Skullgirls. They had plans to make a modular game with consistent digital support. Unfortunately, the cost of publishing on the PlayStation and Xbox 360 networks, and a bit of legal trouble surrounding a Def Jam artist, has held up the game’s forward progress. So, in a last ditch effort, Lab Zero Games has decided to turn to the fans for funding, launching a crowdfunding drive on Indiegogo .
They were asking for $150,000 to finish work on their first DLC character, Squiggly. That may seem like a lot, so to explain they included a complete cost breakdown citing:
- $48,000: Staff Salaries – 8 people for 10 weeks
- $30,000: Animation and Clean-up Contracting
- $4,000: Voice recording
- $2,000: Hit-box Contracting
- $5,000: Audio Implementation Contracting
- $20,000: QA Testing
- $10,000: 1st Party Certification
- $10,500: IndieGoGo and Payment Processing Fees
- $20,500: Manufacturing and Shipping Physical Rewards
The gaming populace isn’t used to seeing actual development costs for games like this. Fans everywhere are screaming “cash grab” mostly due to a misunderstanding of the economics and scale involved with video game development. Regardless, the team has nearly reached their goal in just under 24 hours!
The project has stretch goals up to 625,000 dollars which include new stages, more DLC characters, and new music from Castlevania composter Michiru Yamane. Rewards for donating include, Steam keys for the PC version of the game, Beta access allowing you to test new characters and changes before they come out, Steam keys for Half-Minute Hero, Posters, T-Shirts, a chance to have your name in the credits, and even an opportunity to get your own fan created character featured in the background of a stage!
Should the team meet their goal, development on Squiggly will start immediately and should take about two and a half months. Squiggly will be a free download for the first three months. After that, anyone who hasn’t picked her up yet will have to pay, though her final cost has not yet been revealed.
Source: Indiegogo