glorkian-warrior-the-trials-of-glork
Latest
Four years and $11K: Glorkian Warrior's crippling mistakes
Glorkian Warrior: The Trials of Glork took Pixeljam four years to create, first Kickstarted in 2010 with $11,200 and finally released on iOS in March 2014. An argument could be made that Pixeljam co-founder Miles Tilmann has spent enough time thinking about that little pink alien with the weird name, but he's not done yet. In a post on Tilmann's new personal blog, he outlines the mistakes Pixeljam made during those four years, presented with the perfect vision of hindsight. Before diving into the post itself, Tilmann tells Joystiq that this isn't the happy-ending success story many independent developers may dream about. "Glork hasn't really made much money at all," he says in an email. "None of our games have, actually! We had our best week of sales when we launched Glork on mobile earlier this year, but after the Apple featuring ended, sales went down to pretty much nothing. The Mac / PC release has been much less successful than the mobile version. Pixeljam doesn't actually pay its employees anymore, since it can't support itself based on our existing sales. We make money doing non-Pixeljam-related things these days."
Glorkian Warrior vs Dino Run 2: Crowdfunding before and after Double Fine
Glorkian Warrior: The Trials of Glork is a different game than the one Pixeljam promised in its Kickstarter campaign. It's not unrecognizable – the Saturday-morning-cartoon artwork is still done by graphic novelist James Kochalka and it still stars a three-eyed alien blasting baddies from the sky, but the adventure aspect Pixeljam wanted in Glorkian Warrior didn't make it to the final game. "We really wanted the Glorkian Warrior to have an epic journey, blasting aliens like Galaga, rolling around like Sonic, exploring like Metroid, making the player feel they were inside one of James' comics," Pixeljam co-founder Miles Tilmann tells Joystiq. "How we thought we could get this going with just $10K, I honestly have no idea. Somehow at the time we thought it was possible. It's interesting how the sheer excitement of starting a new project and raising money for it can make you blind to what's actually realistic." Pixeljam's Kickstarter campaign concluded on March 22, 2010, after raising $11,200, and Glorkian Warrior launched on March 13, 2014. That timeframe is relevant for two reasons: Pixeljam took to crowdfunding before Double Fine Adventure broke down the barriers for gaming Kickstarters in 2012, and four years is a long time to keep backers waiting for a game. "A couple of backers have told us that it was worth the wait, which is the best compliment we could possibly receive for the game," Tilmann says. "It reinforces the idea that the backers were simply excited to help us make something with James Kochalka, and were less picky about what the game would actually do. I think that's only the case with niche or small-budget projects, though. If something that raised $100K+ on Kickstarter took four years to deliver and didn't do everything that the original plan entailed, there would be much more of a backlash."
Pixeljam, comics artist Kochalka launch Glorkian Warrior on iOS
Glorkian Warrior: The Trials of Glork, a collaboration between Dino Run studio Pixeljam and comic book artist James Kochalka, hit the iOS App Store today for $3, no in-app purchases in sight. The launch trailer explains it all in Adult Swim-style design, but be warned: That is definitely not what we thought the main, goofy-looking character would sound like. Glorkian Warrior was Kickstarted in 2010 to the tune of $11,200, and it features cartoonish art in a Galaga-inspired endless shooter, with procedurally-generated enemy bullet patterns. If this sounds like your jam (or peanut butter, we're not picky), pick up Glorkian Warrior here. [Images: Pixeljam]
Pixeljam's Glorkian Warrior glorks all over iOS devices this year
Glorkian Warrior: The Trials of Glork was a Kickstarter project before Kickstarter projects were cool, funded with $11,200 in March 2010 – and now it's a full game. Glorkian Warrior is due out in Q1 2014 for iOS devices from Dino Run creator Pixeljam and comic book artist James Kochalka. It's a Saturday morning cartoon kind of game that mixes Galaga-style shoot-em-up mechanics and platforming to create a cheery endless shooter. Glorkian Warrior offers procedurally-generated enemy alien formations, an "arsenal" of weapons and powerups, and no in-app purchases. There's no word on the final price, but Pixeljam promises "just good old-fashioned entertainment like your great grandpa used to enjoy." Happy glorking, everyone.
