Hey Kemble, I'm excited to see you guys expand your reach with this new project. As a game developer (both digital and tabletop) I have to play devil's advocate, and offer some constructive criticism on your announcement post, and in the positioning of the game as "the last video game many people ever play". I understand where how you landed on this as a catchy slogan, but it immediately turned me off. It comes across as dismissive of people who have found joy and important lessons from playing games (which I certainly have, and will continue to do). Kickstarter is a platform where you are asking people to believe in your intention, expertise, and capability to pull off this project. Going on to say "I personally don’t play video games" reads as a red flag. How can you understand the art of game design and interactive storytelling when you don't play, and apparently don't want people to play games? ... I believe in your mission, and I want you guys to make an awesome homesteading game! But I'm already invested in the community, I fear many people (especially your target demographic) will be turned off by this. Best of luck on the prep for the campaign!
Alex - with your good feedback, and in an attempt to add more helpful context, I updated the article with the below snippet! I hope this make our team's approach (and my personal contributions) more clear :)
"Joe, our media director, loves to game and is leading the charge to design the HomeFree game with a talented RPG game development team we’ve partnered with. Their passion will help bring this work to life in a very real way! At this point in my life, I personally don’t play video games often. I like to garden, work my compost piles, feed my chickens, tend the pigs, and build off-grid systems in the real world. I will likely play more video games again when my sons are a bit older; and I’m sure I’ll enjoy gaming from time to time with them! My role in developing this game is to ensure the off-grid systems and methods are accurate, realistic, and truly educational. "
Alex -- all great points! Thanks for raising these discussion points :)
These Substack articles draw a smaller and more analytical crowd than our other channels, so this is the best place to iron out any potential kinks. I am way more direct here, being upfront rather than trying to have a sleek marketing pitch.
Our media director, Joe Hildreth, is leading the gaming project along with the design team. I'm very upfront about my own interests and abilities here on Substack. I am not a gamer at all, and don't spend time gaming. My contribution is accurate data and real life experience with the off-grid systems. Joe, leading the game project, has far less off-grid systems experience, but IS an avid and regular gamer. It will take both of us to make this real :)
The game's play, storyline, and experience are in GREAT hands with Joe and his game dev team. They live and breath RPG experience. I live and breathe practical systems that work in real life. Only by swirling all this together can we make HomeFree a reality.
While my hope is that the game does get people outside more, I totally appreciate your reservations about hoping the game is the last video game people play :) Point taken! It is more of a catchy thought than a realistic sentiment. If I was a more invested gamer I'm sure I'd feel the same way. I did my best to outline that video games are certainly not bad! Otherwise we wouldn't be making one. I do believe that many people are addicted to screens/ social media / games in a terribly unhealthy way, but that's a talk for another post I suppose. We're trying to DO GOOD with this medium of games.
Our marketing efforts take this into account -- y'all get a more raw look here in my articles. We wouldn't put me front and center in the kickstarter saying "I am not a gamer". The kickstarter video / etc will ave Joe and the other invested gamers speaking about their passion. I'm here to ensure the data / systems / off-grid tech is all true to form and realistic to ensure the educational aspect is accurate.
I'm also the only one who takes time to write the articles, so I'm afraid y'all are stuck with my particular view. I'm sure Joe or the game team would communicate more passion for gaming!
Thoughts? I try to be very open and transparent here for everyone!
Hey Kemble, I'm excited to see you guys expand your reach with this new project. As a game developer (both digital and tabletop) I have to play devil's advocate, and offer some constructive criticism on your announcement post, and in the positioning of the game as "the last video game many people ever play". I understand where how you landed on this as a catchy slogan, but it immediately turned me off. It comes across as dismissive of people who have found joy and important lessons from playing games (which I certainly have, and will continue to do). Kickstarter is a platform where you are asking people to believe in your intention, expertise, and capability to pull off this project. Going on to say "I personally don’t play video games" reads as a red flag. How can you understand the art of game design and interactive storytelling when you don't play, and apparently don't want people to play games? ... I believe in your mission, and I want you guys to make an awesome homesteading game! But I'm already invested in the community, I fear many people (especially your target demographic) will be turned off by this. Best of luck on the prep for the campaign!
Alex - with your good feedback, and in an attempt to add more helpful context, I updated the article with the below snippet! I hope this make our team's approach (and my personal contributions) more clear :)
"Joe, our media director, loves to game and is leading the charge to design the HomeFree game with a talented RPG game development team we’ve partnered with. Their passion will help bring this work to life in a very real way! At this point in my life, I personally don’t play video games often. I like to garden, work my compost piles, feed my chickens, tend the pigs, and build off-grid systems in the real world. I will likely play more video games again when my sons are a bit older; and I’m sure I’ll enjoy gaming from time to time with them! My role in developing this game is to ensure the off-grid systems and methods are accurate, realistic, and truly educational. "
Alex -- all great points! Thanks for raising these discussion points :)
These Substack articles draw a smaller and more analytical crowd than our other channels, so this is the best place to iron out any potential kinks. I am way more direct here, being upfront rather than trying to have a sleek marketing pitch.
Our media director, Joe Hildreth, is leading the gaming project along with the design team. I'm very upfront about my own interests and abilities here on Substack. I am not a gamer at all, and don't spend time gaming. My contribution is accurate data and real life experience with the off-grid systems. Joe, leading the game project, has far less off-grid systems experience, but IS an avid and regular gamer. It will take both of us to make this real :)
The game's play, storyline, and experience are in GREAT hands with Joe and his game dev team. They live and breath RPG experience. I live and breathe practical systems that work in real life. Only by swirling all this together can we make HomeFree a reality.
While my hope is that the game does get people outside more, I totally appreciate your reservations about hoping the game is the last video game people play :) Point taken! It is more of a catchy thought than a realistic sentiment. If I was a more invested gamer I'm sure I'd feel the same way. I did my best to outline that video games are certainly not bad! Otherwise we wouldn't be making one. I do believe that many people are addicted to screens/ social media / games in a terribly unhealthy way, but that's a talk for another post I suppose. We're trying to DO GOOD with this medium of games.
Our marketing efforts take this into account -- y'all get a more raw look here in my articles. We wouldn't put me front and center in the kickstarter saying "I am not a gamer". The kickstarter video / etc will ave Joe and the other invested gamers speaking about their passion. I'm here to ensure the data / systems / off-grid tech is all true to form and realistic to ensure the educational aspect is accurate.
I'm also the only one who takes time to write the articles, so I'm afraid y'all are stuck with my particular view. I'm sure Joe or the game team would communicate more passion for gaming!
Thoughts? I try to be very open and transparent here for everyone!
Thanks for being here Alex!
How do I add the podcast to Spotify? I am not seeing any option to do so.
I'm so excited about this!