As they approach the Kickstarter finish line the creators of sci-fi comedy adventure StarFlint has added a new reward item to the list of offerings. While not unheard of to add stuff at the last minute, it’s what is being added that has me worried. In the latest update, it was announced that as both an add-on and new reward tier and in-game item is being offered. The only problem I see with this is it’s planned to be backer only.
What’s the problem with that exactly? For starters only a handful of people will be able to see this lovingly crafted piece of whatever. In the case of StarFlint, they’re adding a special “unique spaceship”. For those who back at either the €50 reward tier and above or for an additional €30 as an add-on. It’s hard to tell if this is going to be purely cosmetic or fully functional. Either way this is a slippery slope.
This is hardly the first time a Kickstarter project has tried to offer something special for backers’ eyes only. Unfortunately, almost every time it was met with opposition. Not just from those who couldn’t back the project but also by those who did back it. The reasoning behind this was because everyone wanted everyone to experience everything.
Some, like Tex Murphy and HeXit, offered extra story content. Neither went down well. Tex ended up making all “DLC” available to everyone, and HeXit I believe just scrapped the idea entirely. Others, such as Dreamfall Chapters, offered purely cosmetic items. As far as I know, this content is still backer exclusive.
In either event, things didn’t go well for the project creators. It nearly doomed the ones that made funding and practically sunk those that didn’t make it. Will there be a backlash against StarFlint for offering something similar? Who knows. It’s too soon to tell if there will be backlash or not.
I’ve seen mixed responses to this sort of thing over the past years, but it’s been almost always seen as a bad move. Do you think offering a special in-game spaceship in StarFlint is a good idea or a bad one? Will it hurt or help its chances of actually getting funded this time? Let us know in the comments.
