Good luck on raising your target.

I'll add a post to our forum to try and help spread the word.

J

@VRSexLab_com

Thank you!!

I was wondering if you are going to release something like a pre-release or a test version of the 2.2? Despite the fact that it could be fun playing around with new features I still can't wait to get into it

@Mundawei

Yes, we want to do a pre-release that shows the features we have build so far.

A short interview with us about the offbeatr project can be found here:

http://blog.offbeatr.com/post/622892044 ... game-a-k-a

Was looking at the offbeatr page, and it really feels like you guys set it up poorly.
This is why I think so:

1) $20 gets you 3 stories, and then $20 per extra story. Usually the goal is to offer discounts to people who pay for more up front.
2) The rewards for the $40 and $60 pledges are also listed as stretch goals.
That is, based on exactly how the page is worded, people who pledge $40 will get NOTHING a $20 pledge doesn't get, unless you reach the $70,000 stretch goal. Now, maybe you would be awesome people and refund every $40 and $60 pledge so that they only spend $20, except that then you're losing money on them (due to having to reimburse those people the Offbeatr cut, as well).
3) The stretch goals are kinda ridiculous. A base goal of $15k should have stretch goals ranging from $20k-$100k (with the easiest stuff first in the order). You have a stretch goal for $500,000. And the order of your goals seems like it was drawn out of a hat. The increments, in order, are 15k, 10k, 25k, 20k, 50k, 380k.

Having read your forums, it seems to me that you are already planning to make more than the third story, regardless of Offbeatr, as long as enough people are buying the game here on the site. So offering those as stretch goals is dishonest.
And if you aren't planning to make those stories if the Offbeatr doesn't reach the stretch goals, then the $40 and $60 pledge values are dishonest (since they won't get the promised value).

Better pledge levels and stretch goals would go a long ways towards improving how much you will earn (though I hope you still make your $15,000 at least!). The most successful Kickstarter projects (and Offbeatr) involve rewards that are not intrinsically restricted by the game development (like how all yours are simply upgrades for which stories you get access to - and then a "name in credits" option for a ton more money). For example, you could have sold a limited number of tickets that allowed someone to choose and provide a layout for an additional room (for Free Sex mode, or possibly to be used in a story line).

Another major option available to you is moving your view from crowdfunding to crowdsourcing. You have developed an amazing game engine. You are currently working to improve several key parts of it. If you haven't, read the Hongfire threads for Artificial Girl 3. This is one of the most robust modding communities for games similar to yours. None of those people make a single penny off their work. And the game didn't lend itself to easy modding like many other current games do (ie Skyrim, a great non-adult game example).
Take advantage of people like that. Give people the tools and information that they need, and let them help you make your game. Its a hell of a lot cheaper. And then put out those community driven stories for free (to anyone who has bought the base game, of course), after giving them a quick once-over for quality (and sending them back to the author if they aren't up to the Xmoon Standards). If the base game is $20 (as hinted at by the Offbeatr), and contains 3 core stories, plus all the community written free stories, you will sell a TON of the base game. Then just sell the extra stories as expansion(s).

Obviously its more complicated then that, and I could throw out a bunch more, but I don't want to make the wall of text any larger.

TLDR:
Offbeatr page made me skeptical
Game is really good though
Let the community help provide content for your game, and make your profits off the game engine.

@wyldmage & everyone

I can understand your concerns. I hope this will clarify things:


Why did we start the offbeatr project?

We started the offbeatr project because we wanted to develop XStoryPlayer at a faster pace.
We are a small team. The only way we can do that is by hiring more people for modelling, sound, programming, website etc.
And we cannot do that from the sales of XStoryPlayer alone.

When XStoryPlayer is more advanced and contains more features it will also be more successful.
But in order to get there we need resources now. So our biggest enemy is time.
The offbeatr project is sort of a time machine. It allows to retrieve the success from the future and spend it now.


How did we define the stretch goals?

The stories defined in the offbeatr stretch goals are stories we also wanted to build before the offbeatr project was started.
When starting the offbeatr project we did not want our planning to be changed, but we wanted it to be accelerated.

We could have defined the stretch goals as:

- 1 girl added
- 2 girls added
- Futanari girl added
- Large breasts
- Girl can squirt
- Girl can pee
- Foot/toe physics
- etc..

But these features will be added along with the stories.

E.g.
- 'Tentacle Dreams' girl will be able to pee (toilet scene)
- 'Tentacle Dreams' girl will squirt (when aroused by tentacle creature)
- 'Transformation Dreams' girl can have breast enlargement (player can choose what cup size)
- 'Dark Moon Voyage' girl will ask for foot massage that turns into erotic foot massage.
- etc..

So these features will be developed and the story is main driver for it. Therefore we defined the stretch goals based on the stories.
Regardless of reaching the stretch goals, these stories will be build and the supporters will be rewarded!!!


What about modding?

Same as with new features, XStoryPlayer will be opened up more and more along with the development of new stories.
Our goal is to open XStoryPlayer completely in the future, but this will require the modding tools to be developed/improved.

The more success the more resources we can spend on developing tools and the more communities can participate.
Hence we have defined the first stretch goal to allow for story building.


What it boils down to

Regardless on how the stretch goals and rewards are defined, the offbeatr project is not a shop for XStoryPlayer.
(Safest would be to wait for next release and buy it when it is available)

We have shown that we are capable of building a nice adult game. So supporting us is a matter of trust.
Will in 5 years XStoryPlayer be non-existent or will XStoryPlayer be a super adult game with a wide variety of fetishes/features supported?
We will not let our supporters down regardless the outcome of offbeatr. But it will help a lot if the offbeatr project is really successful!

Some time ago you said you are trying to release this new version as soon as possible (maybe even this year). So, considering you reach the goal on offbeatr, there is any predictable date? I don't wanna be annoying cause I know you are constantly being asked this question... A month or something just so we know how much we have to fight the patience cause personally I am having a hard time doing it

@Mundawei & everyone

We are rebuilding a lot of code, and still have a lot of work ahead, but the results are getting visible.

We do want to release a new version this year, at least a beta version showing these new features.

Its good to hear you want more, but I hope you can bare some more patience.

Understood. Thanks