New Project Idea - Monthly Story + Your Input!

[Ian Flynn]

Howdy folks,

I'm going to point y'all over to the main webpage - http://www.BumbleKing.com - have you read up on a new project idea and kindly vote on it.

If you have any questions, please bring them up here.

Thanks!

[AaronAnimated]

Ooh, this is really exciting. Definitely putting in a vote for option #2. I love sci-fi stories, and the premise is really original. (Plus, sci-fi stories mean the possibility of alien characters, who are always a welcome addition.) I'm wondering, though - what kind of stakes will this series have? Can the heroes actually end up ultimately failing if enough wrong choices are made? Also, will the different paths be planned out ahead of time, or will the story be created as you go?

[Ian Flynn]

Ooh, this is really exciting. Definitely putting in a vote for option #2. I love sci-fi stories, and the premise is really original. (Plus, sci-fi stories mean the possibility of alien characters, who are always a welcome addition.) I'm wondering, though - what kind of stakes will this series have? Can the heroes actually end up ultimately failing if enough wrong choices are made? Also, will the different paths be planned out ahead of time, or will the story be created as you go?

1) Can the hero fail?
Yes - but I think there'd have to be a concentrated effort on the supporters' part. I plan on writing it so that the story will go on. There's definitely a "good end" and "bad end" kind of scenario, plus a wide range of options in between.

2) How much planning?
With both story options, I've got an endgame in mind and a few key moments/characters to touch upon. But aside from those landmarks, a lot of the direction will be made by the supporters.

[SurrealBrain]

I'll take number two. It just sounds more appealing to me.

Number one also sounds good, but I prefer sci-fi for some reason.

[ChaosJam]

Went ahead and casted my vote for Story #2 as well. Looks like a cool side project for you, Ian.
Are these stories something you have been kicking around for a while? I know you always wanted to write some original work.

[The Bored]

They both sound pretty cool and the idea of having input on the path of the story sounds fun. I couldn't really decide on which one to choose though.

[Ian Flynn]

Went ahead and casted my vote for Story #2 as well. Looks like a cool side project for you, Ian.
Are these stories something you have been kicking around for a while? I know you always wanted to write some original work.

Not as much as some other ideas. It was the nature of this project that made me zero in on these two.

[SimonSays]

I love the idea of it, and both stories sound really cool. (I think I'm leaning towards #1, personally, but then the thought of awesome space gangs at war makes me doubt myself.)

Don't know how I feel about being able to buy several votes, I can see that getting really frustrating really quick, but I guess that's fair if someone wants to pay extra.

And I'd also be curious about how much we'd have to reach each month to meet the goal, but it's definitely a cool idea.

TBH, I'm a little wary of the Patreon payment system in general, subscribing to something that hasn't been made yet, especially something like this that's on-going. Personally, I'm more comfortable donating one large amount at the beginning put towards covering the entire thing, rather than several smaller amounts withdrawn automatically to cover each chapter as we go. I guess a lot of it would depend on how long each story would likely go on for? I dunno, maybe that would also ruin some of the point. I'd just prefer some of the safety of knowing all the chapters are paid for and will be completed if I put money into it, and then not having to think about anything but voting and extra stuff once its funding is complete.

I love the idea of a community Choose Your Own Adventure story, and I'd probably pay for it if you did it. Just on-going stuff like Patreon gives me the willies compared to a one-time deal like Kickstarter. IDK, you've got a better idea of how Kickstarter/Indiegogo things turn out since you already did Sylvanna, so maybe Patreon's a better way to go. But yeah, I think that's what I'd want to know, is how much we'd have to reach each month, and how long it would run.

[Ian Flynn]

All fair points.

The reason I'm looking at Patreon over Kickstarter for this is that I plan for it to be a long-term, on-going thing. This isn't a done-in-one project. This is a multi-year thing (provided there's consistent support and interest). It also gives me a deadline of sorts to work under. I'd know I'd need to complete ten pages by the end of the month. I seem to work better with those kinds of goals in mind.

I also understand how a monthly thing seems like a bit of a gamble, but keep in mind what's at stake for me if I bungle this. If I need community support in the future, and I miss deadlines on this, why would anyone trust me with more money? I very active with the online community compared to some creatives, y'all are my bread and butter, so it's in my best interest to deliver.

...that's a long way of saying, "Trust me, I'm good for this."

As for how much - that will depend somewhat on the feedback. If it looks like a small, but dedicated group is onboard, that's one thing. If it looks like a large group can support it, it's another. I dunno - its' too early to say yet. If we do move forward, though, I'll make it clear what the goal is and it will be set for the life of the project.

Also, I'm not 100% committed for the "pay for your vote" idea. I'm going with that first to encourage contributions, and my thinking is it'll all even out. If we get a situation where one person dumps a load of cash to skew everything their way, I'll change up the voting system. But I'm not expecting Mr. Moneybags to be contributing, so I think it'll be alright. We'll see how it goes!

[SimonSays]

No, it's not that I don't trust YOU to follow through- more that I don't know if I trust the steady funding a year or two years from now to still be there as much as it is at the very beginning, you know?

Like, I can see lots of support to meet and surpass the goal the first few months that it's opened, so much that we get lots of little extras and things. But if it's consistently a community funded thing and several months from now a bunch of people can't afford it anymore or something, and we don't meet the monthly goals at the same pace as at the beginning, it's gonna stink for the rest of us. I trust people more to reach one lump sum at the beginning, more than I trust them to consistently pay month after month for a very long time. I'd rather all that extra money that gets gathered at the beginning go towards bringing the story to completion (voted on and released within the same time frame), and then anything past that goes towards the extra stuff. I just don't want to see the thing trail off and basically never end if people drop out over time. And I mean, I have $X I know I can spend now, but I don't know if that's always going to be my situation, and I'd feel bad if dropping out midway through kept other people who were invested in the story from getting it on time.

I dunno, I see the merits in Patreon, but it's still so new, I haven't really seen how well it works in the long run and that puts me off a little. I wish I had more point of reference to how these things turn out. Like, I really like the idea of the project, but the group funding in increments makes me nervous, so I'd need to wait for more details before fully committing to a yes or no answer.

[Ian Flynn]

Ah-ha - I getcha. I'm assuming all the "yes" votes are folks who are sure they can give some each month. Whether that pans out in the long run is... well, frankly, impossible to predict. Hopefully, if things get up and running, it will generate more interest and thus provide a more stable support base.

[Tango the Hedgehog]

About how high are you thinking of setting the monthly monetary goal? I'm just wondering; much as I'd love to contribute to this project, I'm not sure that I could afford to give much.

[Sonicpolo]

I've voted for #1. If I still have enough money left over by the time you set it up, I would like to donated money on this!

[SurrealBrain]

Things are tight at the moment, but I'll support it when I can.

[Ian Flynn]

About how high are you thinking of setting the monthly monetary goal? I'm just wondering; much as I'd love to contribute to this project, I'm not sure that I could afford to give much.

That will depend on how many folks show interest. I'm working under the broad assumption of folks being able to spare $10 a month. Some would be willing to part with more, some wouldn't be able to do that much, but I think it's a reasonable baseline.

Once I'm satisfied with the poll results (give it a couple of weeks or so), I'll look at what kind of support is there and what would be a reasonable goal to set.