Unofficial Tex Murphy

Lindhorst wrote:While I completely understand the stance against "toys" as rewards, these things are pretty cheaply made these days. I mean you can get a bulk order of custom printed t-shirts, coffee mugs, dolls, etc... made for pennies, and most of the kickstarter pages I've seen that have these types of rewards make a note of adding more for international shipping. I mean, they obviously put the price of manufacturing these tangible goods into the donation price, and if it means that more people will fund the project, then by all means they should allow it.

I'm not interested in swag nearly as much as the game itself (though some novel rewards from Big Finish would be nice), and I think that's true with most, if not all, of the people who have contributed to DF and Wasteland 2.

I agree. I've seen some small webcomics produce plushies, there are some companies who do them for cheap. Of course on the other hand I won't be dissapointed if there are none of that kind of stuff (just getting a new game is awesome enough) but I thought I'd suggest it as there may be some who would go up to the next incentive tier for something unique or even just to get people talking about the Kickstarter. Though as I say I think some things could be tricky however. I agree things like a Tex Murphy statue would be awesome, as someone who collected figurines, but a lot more complicated to produce. But I think its better to send them more suggestions than less, they can always decide which to discard on their end. I sent my suggestions in and got a very friendly responce from one of the Big Finish Support staff:

Thank you for your email with Kickstarter incentives! You have some REALLY great and unique ideas for Tex Murphy incentives. I really like the Finger Puppet one - that would be really cute! We appreciate your support and feedback! If you have any other ideas, please feel free to email me or post it on the "Unofficial Tex Murphy" forum!

Of course this doesn't mean they'll actually make them as an incentive depending on various things. So don't take it as a confirmation - just their personal reflection, but I thought it was very nice of them to reply, made me smile. And I do think it means you can feel free to be as inventive as you like with your suggestions (whilst also re-iterating the usual common and popular incentives other Kickstarters use as a foundation to show the demand for such things). Go wild and they'll reign it in if need be. I assume Big Finish will decide whats viable.

I do completely agree things like receiving the game, soundtrack etc. (digital or physical depending on donation amount) are bread and butter incentives moreso than other extras though which is why I included them. As well as things like a Making Of documentary, outtakes etc. which are more viable. A complete PI Rule book (digital or printed depending on donation amount) would be interesting to see for verteran fans as a unique to the Tex Murphy series reward and easy to do too. But so long as it doesn't eat too much into funding the actual game (which I agree is the important thing) I think some exclusive physical goods might be a fun option to draw some in. One mans gimmick may be anothers treasure For example TruGolf stuff - I'm not into golf, but I won't mind seeing it offered as I understand others might enjoy it. Even if there were no incentives I'd still want to help the Kickstarter of course too

Having an Easter Egg in the game dedicated to donators is cool too. Though that and appearing as an extra or credit should be the only direct input I think on content of the game as it might be messy if there is too much fan content. I think overall as there will be various tiers there'll be space to satisfy.

EDIT: Some discussion on the LSL Kickstarter I thought relevant:

Yeah I agree that even some "making of" weekly blogging or Lefty´s napkins would make this really enticing. People want something tangible when they pledge in kickstarter as the LSL trinket and the box are, and of course it adds to the costs but here´s an excerpt from double fine that actually says how it was for them:
"Each time we prepared to add a new reward we ran the numbers to see how much it would cost to offer the new reward to existing backers. For each new reward, that amount was covered within hours of adding the item to the project, so this amount paid for itself and then some by enticing more of you lovely backers to sign up."

Some discussion on the LSL Kickstarter I thought relevant regarding rewards:

Yeah I agree that even some "making of" weekly blogging or Lefty´s napkins would make this really enticing. People want something tangible when they pledge in kickstarter as the LSL condom and the box are, and of course it adds to the costs but here´s an excerpt from double fine that actually says how it was for them:
"Each time we prepared to add a new reward we ran the numbers to see how much it would cost to offer the new reward to existing backers. For each new reward, that amount was covered within hours of adding the item to the project, so this amount paid for itself and then some by enticing more of you lovely backers to sign up."

The comments pages on the various Kickstarters are quite interesting for seeing what kind of responce certain reward offerings get on these things (though obviously LSL is more adult so the rewards wouldn't directly translate but I thought the DoubleFine quote etc. was interesting as a general thing).

I would like to get a Tex Murphy mouse pad! I would throw in an EXTRA $100 just for this!

I value mouse pads quite a bit because they are tangible items that are constantly being used and seen. They become part of the computer using and game playing experience. I paid $50 for my current Duke Nukem 3D mouse pad, so a Tex Murphy mouse pad is worth even more, as long as the image looks nice.

Texstarter wrote:I would like to get a Tex Murphy mouse pad! I would throw in an EXTRA $100 just for this!

I use a Trackball so a Mouse Pad would do little good for someone like me... So $100 would be a bit steep to see the Mouse Pad at considering they are so cheaply made... I would put the Mouse Pad at the $25 mark or somewhere around there... You could get a whole lot of these made at a really low cost...

But a Mouse Pad is a great idea for a reward/gift, I just disagree with the amount...

I’m not saying the mouse pad should only be given to pledges of $100 or more, I’m saying I would personally ADD that amount to the huge pledge that I’m already planning on giving.

In my longish post, I forgot to put my own ideas for incentives. The first three have already been mentioned, but I'll add a little more detail and prices.

-At $2,500 you have the option of being an extra in the game. You will have to make your own travel and hotel accommodations, of course, and be available on their schedule, not yours. Disclosure: $2,500 is the amount I'm planning on raising and donating.

-At $5,000 you have the option of being an extra with a speaking part. That is, maybe one line or two that is clearly heard, but not in any way essential to the story. If the person donating has a son or daughter who loves the game, perhaps they could do the bit. I say not essential, as not everyone is an actor, and one to two lines would be very hard to screw up.

-At $10,000 you have the option of playing a minor supporting cast member. Now, for this option, the person donating would obviously need to have some acting chops, so as not to be a glaring, cringe-worthy moment in the game. I suppose you could send in a small demo from a script provided by Big Finish.

These incentives are unique to this type of game (FMV), and I think would sell very quickly, as the person would actually have themselves (in comparison to other kickstarter incentives such as a monument or sculpture) in the game forever.

EDIT: I had one more, somewhat outlandish, idea.

-At the $1,000+ mark, you have the option (if you want it), to receive an old-school cd box set of the game. This would be purely for the nostalgia factor, but it might be a neat and inexpensive way to appeal to people's nostalgia for the entire experience of the old FMV games. I'm talking about getting hard copy of the game, in a box with the manual and other miscellaneous items, but instead of a dvd, you get a sleeved collection of cd's with the game on them. There would be an option for this, as I imagine most people would rather have the dvd (or even more likely, just a digital copy), but I think there would be enough interest in this to add it to the incentives. I know I would go for it.

This was done in a different way with a recent movie: The House of the Devil, directed by Ti West. It was a horror movie that was both an homage and set in the 1980's. When the film came out on DVD, there was a special offer to buy the film on an actual VHS tape, and this was after VHS tapes were still being produced. It came in a classic, big clam shell case and looked amazing. I know many people snatched it up for just that reason.

So, in the PC gaming realm, I could an analogous option in the form of getting the game in CD-ROM format. It would be fun, nostalgic, and just one more way to show that Big Finish can offer a special "thank you" to the loyal fans who used to have to switch disc after disc after disc and not caring at all.

and again, that will come in handy...

my voice just wrote:and again, that will come in handy...

Hahahahaha! That's great! Thanks for sharing.

Oddly enough, I did enjoy disc swapping back in the day. Changing CDs in Pandora gave me a constant reminder that this game was huge, epic, and awesome. I liked switching CDs and looking at the cool printed labels.

Jane Jensen is giving those that donate at least $250 to her fund an invitation to a party and concert at her house in Pennsylvania.

It would be cool if $250 to the Tex fund gave you an invitation to attend TexCon 2013. TexCon could be a convention for Tex fans! It could take place on one of the beaches or parks on Great Salt Lake. For $250 it would be worth it just to hang out with other Tex fans. And if they wanted to, Chris, Aaron, and other Big Finish staff and cast members could show up!

How about, have a photo of yourself hanging up in a room in the game.

Have an item of your choice be somewhere in Tex's office.

Tex mentions your name somewhere in the game

Graffiti saying your name somewhere in Chandler Ave.

Your name randomly popping up in an "ask about" list with the character giving a description of you.

Just a couple in game ideas. Ofcourse these would have to be "limited" rewards.

- Chris

not bad "fan placement"...

+ $15,000 - free shipping* upon purchase of game





* Game is for digital release only

What about this idea...

At the $250 mark, you have the option of submitting a demo video of you acting so as to be cast in the game in some capacity. Of course, this by no means guarantees you anything, and you'll most likely have to pay your own way there plus room and board, but I don't think that will hinder too many people that REALLY want to be a part of the game.

I can see two possible downsides to this. One, too many videos. Of course, having the donation of $250 might be worth the five minutes it would take to watch one demo video. I have no idea, really. Maybe there could be a screening process where a small group of people screen out the less-talented material from the more-talented, and only those get submitted to the casting director or C&A.

Two, too many people would take it personally if not invited to join the cast. There would a very limited amount of roles, even for extras (and some of those spots could be sold for $1,000+ donations as I put in a post earlier in this thread), and those that are not chosen might get their feelings hurt. Or maybe not. I would guess 95% of the people who will be donating at $250 or above will be grown adults who can hopefully cope with not being chosen to be an actor.

The upsides, however, would be great. I think it could pull in A LOT of higher end donations, with a minimum amount of work from the production crew. The backer would be putting together the video and submitting it. Chris and Aaron or whoever would only have to write a couple of demo scripts for people to use and the five minutes it would take to watch each entry. It would also be very much in the spirit of interaction with the community and backers.

So, what do you guys think? Do the pro's outweigh the possible cons? Is $250 enough? Is it asking too much?

Anyways, just another idea. Cheers!

I think, like you say, many would be highly dissapointed if they put money down just to get rejected. But it has been suggested a few times and used on other Kickstarters to have a "appear as an extra" or somesuch thing as a high amount reward. As for the amount, I think it would need to be high or have a limited number so as to not have more people than can realistically be included. According to other Kickstarters, you can limit the number of people who can claim a certain reward e.g. 400 out of 460 remaining etc.

I think $1000 for a part as an non-speaking extra is fair, assuming you are willing to pay your way there. Being in the background shouldn't effect quality and save the company money, since they would usually pay for extras. Hopefully there are no issues regarding the screen actors guild

If the person happens to be a decent actor, they could always be given a small speaking part.

They could limit it to 5 or so. I don't remember that many non-speaking extras in previous games. It would be risky promising a speaking part unless it's a line that is really hard to mess up.



TrueG