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Losing money and reputation to build Heavy Gear Assault
When Stompy Bot Productions kicked off its Kickstarter campaign for Heavy Gear Assault in May 2013, it was already raising money from fans on its own website. "Being an independent games publisher, we are not interested in helping the rich get richer," Producer Vince McMullin tells Joystiq – but, while crowdfunding was working, it seemed slower compared with the attention and traction that developers on Kickstarter received. So Stompy Bot took Heavy Gear Assault to Kickstarter in a campaign seeking $800,000. "We knew we could deliver the game faster to the game fans if all the funding we needed was available to us at once," McMullin says. "This was where we made a critical mistake which cost us, not only financially, but also in terms of our reputation." Stompy Bot canceled the Heavy Gear Assault Kickstarter in June 2013, about one week before it was due to end – it had raised $44,981 of its $800,000 goal. "We assumed Kickstarter would work because of its exposure," McMullin says. "We were already reaching thousands of Heavy Gear fans via our own website; therefore, we assumed, we would be able to reach many more fans using Kickstarter. Unfortunately, this never happened. And this brings me to our second mistake."
Heavy Gear Assault Kickstarter canceled, continues crowdfunding on its own
The Kickstarter campaign for mech fighter Heavy Gear Assault was recently canceled. While an update post regarding the project's cancellation is locked to those that backed the project, developer Stompy Bot Productions provided a statement via the Kickstarter comment section. The developer is "currently evaluating other strategies to raise awareness regarding Heavy Gear and looking at multiple means to get the Heavy Gear name out there." Stompy Bot is continuing its crowdfunding aspirations on the game's official site. The Kickstarter campaign began on May 20 and was scheduled to run 40 days, through June 29. Up to the point of its cancellation, the developer raised $44,981 of its $800,000 goal, thanks to 879 total backers. [Thanks, Peter!]
Heavy Gear Assault adds single-player, Oculus Rift to Kickstarter
Heavy Gear Assault has swapped out its parts and announced new goals for its fundraising project, including single-player episodes and Oculus Rift support. Stompy Bot Productions is looking to raise $800,000 on Kickstarter and has donation options on its own site. Currently the game has generated $26,000 with 33 days to go on Kickstarter. At $800,000, Heavy Gear Assault will now get episode one of an offline, single-player campaign. Episode two is a stretch goal of $900,000, episode three is at $950,000, and at $1 million, Stompy Bot will throw together a single-player/co-op mission generator. This weekend, Stompy Bot announced Heavy Gear Assault will support Oculus Rift, but has yet to divulge information regarding a development schedule or how that affects fundraising.
Heavy Gear Assault kicks off its crowdfunding campaign
Stompy Bot Productions and Mektek Studios have launched their Kickstarter project for Heavy Gear Assault, the return of the mech combat game originally introduced by Dream Pod 9, with later games published by Activision. The multiplayer e-sports-focused, Unreal Engine 4-powered game is in development for PC and will be free-to-play with premium subscriptions options available for players. The development team is seeking $800,000 by June 29, with a dozen stretch goals already planned for the funding project.
Heavy Gear Assault Kickstarter begins in April, open beta planned Q1 2014
Stompy Bot Productions and Mektek Studios' Heavy Gear Assault, being shown at GDC and revealed yesterday as an Unreal Engine 4 game, will launch its Kickstarter in two weeks. The companies are shooting for $800,000, planning the game for PC, Mac and Linux.The game will be free-to-play, but there will also be a subscription model at a "minimum price point" with dedicated servers and map editor to grow the community.Open beta is planned for the first quarter of 2014, with a closed beta "probably towards the end of the year." The pledge rewards will also grant access into the alpha. The company is still working out its reward tiers, but is talking console versions and some form of mobile integration with the game.
Heavy Gear Assault to use Unreal Engine 4, pulls trigger on new trailer
Stompy Bot Productions and Mektek Studios' Heavy Gear Assault will be powered by the Unreal Engine 4. The developer also released a new trailer for the game today and announced it's planning a Kickstarter."We will be able to bring all the gritty realities of sporting combat in the Heavy Gear Universe to life with never before imagined high-end visuals," Vince McMullin, president of MekTek Studios, told Joystiq. "Heavy Gear Assault will truly be the first next-generation mecha game."Stompy Bot has reached $100,000 in crowdfunding of a $900,000 goal. The company plans on running a Kickstarter in parallel with their own efforts. The Kickstarter date has yet to be determined.
