Double Fine Productions took a unique approach to funding a new adventure game by turning to Kickstarter, but it didn't take long for it to pay off. It took the company less than one day to reach its goal of $400,000.
In just eight hours, Double Fine hit that goal, co-founder Tim Shafer said on Twitter, and it continues to rack up donations, with the current total at $674,514 and counting. In, fact, each time the Kickstarter page was refreshed in the last hour, the total took a jump, and Double Fine still has 33 days left to raise money.
"Crowd-sourced fundraising sites like Kickstarter have been an incredible boon to the independent development community," Double Fine explained on its Kickstarter page. "They democratize the process by allowing consumers to support the games they want to see developed and give the developers the freedom to experiment, take risks, and design without anyone else compromising their vision. It's the kind of creative luxury that most major, established studios simply can't afford. At least, not until now."
Kickstarter provides that backers aren't actually charged the amount they pledge until the project meets its goal. Some projects never meet funding targets, but Double Fine obviously hasn't had that problem.
With a total of 16,586 backers listed, that comes down to an average of about $41 per person. However, there were likely some backers who doled out the big bucks, considering Double Fine is offering some unique rewards to people who pledge money.
Pledge $15 and you get a free game on Steam, access to the PC Beta on Steam, and access to the video series and the private discussion community. A donation of at least $30 earns supporters an HD download of the documentary series, as well as the aforementioned perks. $100 and above warrants a poster and special thanks in the game's credits. An autographed poster goes to backers who pony up $250 or more. For a $1,000 pledge, the game's artist will paint a picture of you, a $5,000 donation gets a painting of original art used in the game, and $10,000 earns the backer a lunch date at the Double Fine offices with Shafer and Ron Gilbert. The sweetest prize goes to those that pony up $50,000 or more – the backer gets to be an actual character in the game.
"We're floored by the enthusiasm and support people have shown for Tim Schafer and Double Fine on Kickstarter," Kickstarter's director of community Cindy Au said in a statement to PCMag. "Their decision to open up the process of game development to the community is no doubt a fundamental shift in how the game industry works, and we're excited to see what happens next."
The game will be a downloadable point-and-click adventure game, similar in style to Shafer's previous titles like Grim Fandango and Maniac Mansion. Double Fine said it will take six to eight months to develop.
For more on Kickstarter, see PCMag's Q&A with co-founder Yancey Strickler.
Editor's note: This story was updated Friday morning with Kickstarter's comments.