I plan on running a Kickstarter campaign for the Ruma: Dawn of Empire RPG. Target dates rights now are to start Tuesday, May 2nd, and run for 35 days through Tuesday, June 6th.
Why 35 days? Because Jamie Stegmaier of Stonemaier Games says so. OK, that’s not a great reason, but it is one of them. I discovered his site a while back, but forgot about it, only to be reminded of his blog on running Kickstarter campaigns while attending the GAMA Trade Show last week. I’ve spent way too much time delving into the articles on his site over the past few days.
Launching a Kickstarter campaign is a daunting task. Sure, you could just throw up a few words and some promises, but if you want it to be successful, and I do, you have to plan. And plan well. I am working on that plan while fighting off all the doubts. Am I ready? Is my project good enough? Will my campaign succeed? You know, all the usual questions your mind asks when you create something and put it out there for the public to scrutinize.
My initial plans for the Kickstarter have already begun. Primarily with the commission of artwork for the game. I back a ton of RPG campaigns, and most of them which were highly successful had great artwork from the start. It is a bit of an up front cost, which can be detrimental to your budget, or even impossible if you are working from nothing, but from what I have seen and read it came be one of the greatest assets to a successful campaign you can have.
My other plans right now involve creating a list of venues in which to announce the campaign. I am still deliberating on whether to pre-announce the campaign. There seems to be conflicting data on whether pre-announcements are worth it (now I can’t find the article on Jamie’s blog that says this). At the very least though, it makes sense to develop some sort of following prior to the campaign, so it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Successful campaigns require a good initial push, preferably meeting the pledge goal, to pull in other backers. I am hopeful that happens with Ruma.
OK, in the next few weeks before the campaign for Ruma begins, I will post previews of the game in its current state, as well as some of the artwork. I hope you enjoy it and join me on this journey to see it become a physical book.
Until next time…