Just after Christmas, we rather unhelpfully indicated that indie tactical RPG Telepath Tactics’ Kickstarter campaign was about to fail, and that perhaps somebody ought to should do something about that. It dutifully collapsed some distance from its goal – but its creator works on.
I’m inclined to write that Telepath Tactics’ development continues ‘unabated’ – mainly because it’s the habit of the human mind to lean inexorably towards the nearest cliché, whatever the wishes of its owner. But to do so would imply that the campaign was a mistake. And to hear designer Craig Stern talk, it was nothing of the sort.
“The campaign was nothing but positive in terms of giving the game publicity, gaining hundreds of new fans, and teaching me about the aspects of Telepath Tactics that people really care about,” said Stern at Sinister Design.
People don’t really care about local multiplayer, apparently. What’s more, Stern still has access to his 840 backers via email – a tremendous coup for a one-man indie project. He intends to use that base to launch a second campaign sometime in March.
“Running a Kickstarter, I’ve learned, is basically one giant marathon of community interaction, content creation and marketing,” concluded Stern. “I’m still amazed at how much I was able to handle on my own, though my sleep definitely took a hit in the process. Hence, me taking a short break to recuperate before trying again.”
That seems entirely reasonable. In the meantime, watch Stern’s Kickstarter pitch video to find out what all this noise is about: