Chris Avellone and David Jaffe eye up Double Fine success, ponder crowdsourcing options

It was inevitable, really: the rampant success of Tim Schafer’s Kickstarter experiment has led to other developers contemplating the crowdsourcing model.

“All of Double Fine’s success from Kickstarter has been inspiring,” said Obisidian’s Chris Avellone, writing on his personal blog. I GUESS PEOPLE LOVE THOSE CLASSIC ADVENTURE GAMES AFTER ALL.

“The idea of player-supported funding is… well, it’s proof certain genres aren’t dead and sequels may have more legs than they seem. And the idea of not having to argue that with a publisher is appealing.”

David Jaffe also seems interested in the idea, given by the responses he gave to Gamasutra, though he also appears to have more reservations:

“I think the real question, whether in the next month, if [Double Fine’s campaign] hits $2 million or $8 million, does that signal a new way of funding games? Or is this kind of a one-off thing, because it was led by [Double Fine head] Tim Schafer? Is this actually moving the needle? That, we don’t know.

“Now, with what’s happened with Tim’s Kickstarter, sure, I would consider [crowdfunding]. There’s kind of the fear that this would suddenly become, you know, a dick-measuring contest. Schafer comes out and raises a million, and Jaffe only raises $200,000.”

Dick-measuring aside, Jaffe’s other concerns stem from the fact that the developer is taking money up front.

“But joking aside, I definitely think it’s a really cool thing, so I would consider it. I think I would be really nervous because suddenly now it’s not just a publisher’s money. Suddenly you have all these peoples’ money, and you don’t want to let them down.”

Double Fine has raised $1.67m for its new point-and-click adventure game so far, and there’s still 29 days left on the funding drive.

When someone manages to raise a million dollars in less than 24 hours, it’s a given that others will at least consider following in their stead. The question is, could they do the same?

If you go back to Double Fine’s pitch, it’s almost funny how little they say about what they’re actually planning to do. There are very few developers who could get away with saying so little, and the huge success of Schafer’s gamble merely underscores the love and respect that gamers have for him and Double Fine.

Thanks to his work on Planescape: Torment and the Fallout series, Avellone has a strong fanbase. Jaffe, meanwhile, has built up a loyal following through his hardcore credentials and his open approach to talking with fans. They’d both be in a good position to follow suit… but a million dollars in 24 hours? I don’t see it happening – not least because the novelty value of Kickstarter will have already worn off for some people. They’ll want to see how Double Fine fares before they back another project.

Still, I’d love to see Avellone and Jaffe try this at some point. They’re exactly the right kind of personalities for something like this.