Proposals and prototypes: What can we learn from Kickstarter?
In Transmedia Narratives today we had a discussion about what a transmedia prototype should do. Two different approaches were identified:
1. Prototyping as a tool to test a concept to see if it works, how it can be improved and how an audience/user will engage with it.
2. Prototyping as proof of concept to demonstrate how a concept will work and to showcase the idea.
Silas pointed out that Kickstarter is a good place to see examples of projects that are conceptual, but have prototypes that demonstrate their potential.
A good example of this in the Transmedia world is The Age of Turing.
This Kickstarter campaign offers a teaser trailer that gives a clear overview of the storyworld, characters, gameplay and objects. This is supported by a very clear proposal, lots of images and regular updates from the creators that link to additional content. This project hasn’t been produced yet, but after seeing the Kickstarter campaign I wanted to experience it.
Here’s a useful exercise: Look at this list of the 10 Most Funding Kickstarter Campaigns Ever
How have these campaigns been able to raise millions of dollars for projects based (mostly) on a concept and prototype?
Exploding Kittens leads with a very clear explanation of how the game works, which also gives you a good idea of what the game looks like.
Torment: Tides of Numenera has screen shots, Unity tests, music samples and this Vision Document, which might be good inspiration for your final proposal (particularly for those of you focused on storyworld).
While searching for good examples of Kickstarter prototypes I came across AppSeed, an app that turns your sketches into prototypes that was funded on Kickstarter. This could be useful for those of you who are prototyping mobile or tablet apps.