City of Titans (The Phoenix Project) Kickstarter

[TonyV]

Hey all, so first of all, a short disclaimer.  Although I support this project personally, the Titan Network isn't officially involved with the team that's working on City of Titans (aka The Phoenix Project).  With that having been said...

Soon™ Is Now!

They have now officially kicked off their Kickstarter fundraising campaign.  All of you folks who have been dying to throw money at them can now do so with pledges.  Here is the official link to the project.  I don't think it's any great secret to say that I really, really want to see this thing fund for several reasons.

First of all, I know that it will significantly cut down on the development time of the project.  So far, they've been operating on a shoestring budget.  How shoestring?  Next to nothing.  They've been doing they best that they can with open source tools, lots of elbow grease, and volunteer effort, but there are a lot of shortcuts that having an actual budget can afford them to getting things done more quickly and in a more professional manner.

Secondly, I think this sends a clear message to the people in NCsoft management.  Though I don't know if this has made their radar yet, I'd like to think that a bunch of executives are sitting around a table having this conversation:  "Wait, let me get this straight.  This game was making money, and it has a community that's so dedicated to it a year after we killed it that it raised over $155,000 in one day for a successor project that we're not producing.  And just to make sure I have this right, we shut down the original game because it 'no longer fits within our long term goals for the company.'  Does that about sum it up?"  The truth is that I've heard that we actually had allies within NCsoft that disagreed with management's position that the game should be shut down and Paragon Studios shuttered.  I'm hoping that this funding drive gives them the ammunition to demonstrate to others that they were right, and that they should be running things in NC West, not the home office in Korea that thought we weren't worth their attention.

Thirdly, I really want to see the game industry changed from the inside out.  I feel like for a couple of decades now, we've been at the mercy of the megapublishers who are more interested in profits than the quality and integrity of their products.  That's why since City of Heroes's shutdown, I've been spending most of my time playing smaller, independent games, and thoroughly enjoying them.  Anyway, the only way that we can ensure that the people who have executive control over the games is working for us, the community, is to fund their development directly; to hand the developers the power and the tools they need and tell them, "Here, go be awesome."  Those of you who read my Facebook post earlier probably saw the PATV Extra Credits segment, Crowdfunding.  I highly recommend that you check it out, as I really do think that it is The Answer™ to how we can have AAA titles without selling our souls.  And especially when it comes to the MMO genre where you can pour thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into a game, we need confidence that our hobby is in the hands of people who really care about the hobby, not people who see it just as a bottom line on an accounting spreadsheet.

But Most Of All, I Want a Game!

But most of all, I want the spirit and community of what was City of Heroes to live on in a tangible way, and I honestly think that this is the best way to achieve that goal.  Is there risk involved in supporting this project?  Hell yes, but consider this:  Back in 2004, I took a risk in subscribing to a little MMORPG that was new on the market from a developer and publisher I'd never heard of in a genre that was at the time ruled by fantasy behemoths like Everquest, Ultima Online, and Asheron's Call.  This was a totally new sub-genre, the superhero MMORPG.  Would anyone even be interested in playing a non-fantasy themed MMORPG?  In 2005, I took a risk in paying for some hosting space and setting up a little personal project, a City of Heroes fan site based on the software that runs Wikipedia.  I thought, "Hey, it might be cool to have a reference site where you could basically look up anything."  At first, I was intimidated by other fan sites such as VidiotMaps, which had just won the Player's Choice award as favorite fan site, but I went ahead and did it anyway.  Over the years, I've taken more risks by staying subscribed to the game even when I wasn't very active in playing it, culminating in shelling out hundreds of dollars in making three trips to Mountain View, California and meeting the developers and other like-minded fans of the game.

Judged by the simple fact that the game is now gone, one could say that all of those risks didn't pay off and it was all just wasted time and money.  I respectfully disagree.  I wouldn't trade the time I've enjoyed playing the game, running the Titan Network sites, and meeting people with the same interests as me for all the money and time I spent.  It was a worthwhile investment.

So yeah, supporting this project is a risk.  But to me the payoff if it succeeds is so tantalizing that not only am I encouraging you all to throw any spare bucks you have at it, but I'm throwing my own money at it as well.  Because the only way to really fail is to not even try.

Contacting Missing Worlds Media

If you have any questions for Missing Worlds Media, the group that's developing the game, please feel free to contact them.  You can do it by:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Their forums
• Our forums (which will eventually be retired now that they're up and running on their own)

Also, it's been getting some press attention and even some love and well-wishes from former Paragon Studios staffers [ 1 2 3 ].

Miscellaneous Notes

A few miscellaneous notes for the road.  ;)

The way that Kickstarter works is that you designate a funding level to donate to the project.  You won't actually be charged for the donation until November 4, after the funding drive ends.  If the project doesn't reach its target, you will not be charged.  (This also means that Missing Worlds Media gets exactly $0 from the drive, so we really hope it funds!)  You can also adjust your pledge amount up or down or cancel it altogether if circumstances change between now and then.  For example, I donated in at one level tonight, but when I get paid on the 15th, I plan on adjusting the amount up.  If you adjust your pledge level, you can select a new level-appropriate reward if there are any left at that level.  Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the Kickstarter page, because there are also "Add ons" available that aren't listed in the funding level perks at the top.

I'm not trying to guilt anyone into donating.  If you just plain don't have the money to donate, don't donate, it's fine, really.  These are tough economic times, and I know a lot of you barely scraped the money up to play the game, so no one is going to blame you for prioritizing your financial well-being over funding this project.  If you want to donate something but just don't have the funds to give, consider helping to spread the word.  Retweet Missing Worlds Media.  Share Facebook posts.  Let friends and family know that this is important to you.  Keep in contact with old CoH friends in other games who might not read these forums or know what's going on.

I'm also aware that there are competing projects; specifically Heroes and Villains and Valiance Online.  Please don't read anything in this post to take anything away from the effort that's going on in those projects.  I try to not make it a secret that I will provide any positive publicity I can to folks who are carrying forward the spirit of City of Heroes, and I will.  It's just that right here and now, Missing Worlds Media needs the publicity most during this critical time.

If you've already donated and retweeted, "Like"d, "+1"ed (is that still a thing?) and helped to spread the word to friends and family, THANK YOU!!!  When this happens, you definitely have earned some quality basking-in-the-glory time!  :)

[TonyV]

Oh, one more miscellaneous note.  In the following days, you're probably going to see a LOT of references to this fund drive everywhere: on Facebook, Twitter, here, on other fan sites, etc.  At some point, you might get to feeling like, "Will they ever shut up about this campaign?"  The answer is yes, the glut of posts and messages will eventually subside as the campaign goes on.  Then it will probably pick up again towards it end.  Then after November 4, it will disappear completely.

So please have some patience and understanding.  Keep in mind that right now, Missing Worlds Media's advertising budget is exactly $0, so word of mouth is the only way they have of communicating this fund drive out to everyone, and they're trying their best to reach everyone in the City of Heroes community as well as the gaming community in general.  If you get irritated at the glut of posts and messages, just ignore them as best as you can and know that no one is trying to deliberately annoy you and you won't have to tolerate a zillion "Donate!!!  Donate!!!!  DONATE!!!!!" messages much longer.

;D

[Tahquitz]

Thanks Tony.  Glad I logged into Titan Network this weekend, I put in my pledge.

Good luck Missing Worlds.  If there's more that can be done to help after the Kickstarter, don't be shy.

[johnrobey]

Hurrah that this is far enough along to be ready for kickstarter funding!  Yea and Thank You to those working on City of Titans (The Phoenix Project).  Thank you for working to create a spiritual successor to CoH.   While I expect to always have a special place in my heart for City of Heroes and don't truly expect any game to be able to take its place, I have every hope of enjoying any & all of the Plan Z projects that launch.  Thank you again!  This gives me hope that soon-ish there will be a game online I feel like playing other than City of Heroes.  I am also hopeful (perhaps without reason) that as City of Titans (The Phoenix Project) gets close to launching that NCSoft will re-visit the idea of selling the CoH IP and so do, if not to us, then to a company we like.  Okay, I'll admit I'm dreaming, but a fan can hope!

/em holdtorch

[Lady Arete]

I feel like you do TonyV about the megacorps and their control.

I was so angry with Ncsoft that I'm glad they did not give the message to close down coh after any eventual purchase of games they would make. Due to their treatment of us, I'm not playing any of their games.

So my money has mostly gone to crowdfunding/kickstarter projects as well.
The biggest game on my radar is Chris Roberts: Star Citizen.
Lord British and his rpg.
and now Star Titan! :)

So all we in the community has to do is spread the word when we see a game we like. :)

[Surelle]

Thank you, Tony, for such wonderful words-- as usual--  and thanks to Missing Worlds Media for making this happen!

I'm excited for this project, and proud to be a part of this never-say-die CoH/CoT community.   ;D

And I hope everyone realizes what a great gaming resume starter it would be to donate time to a project like this.  Between that and all the networking you would do over the next couple/few years, all the donated time could easily pay off if you were trying to break into the gaming industry.  I'm just sayin'. 

[MaidMercury]

After a year of NCsoft's antics, I'm resigned to CoH purposely kept shelved...I got the message loud and clear. :-\

Beginning to think Titan may be the best shot at restoring our gaming community. Least I could put some trust into a game again seeing it's to be built by fellow experiencers of  CoH.
May not be so bad, even with a different neighborhood, as long as familiar costumes show up,
we might be able to break in the new 'hood  :roll: ...and feel at home again.

I just wonder how they plan to get servers without selling out to some large company....unless things have changed, maybe it's not as hard as it was 8 yrs ago...I don't know.

[r00tb0ySlim]

My pledge is in...good luck TPP!!!

[Harlequin565]

I too wish them all the best.

In terms of publicity, is it worth a mailshot out to the Titan Network subscribers (forum members) to let them know about the KS? I occasionally get emails from forums I'm not participating in any more with updates etc.

Some of us have a poke about here every day, but maybe some don't...

Either way, thanks to you and MWM for giving me hope. Titan City has been formed from the ex-CoX community and any and all associated with it (and the other projects) deserves my full support.

Thanks again.

-H

[grumpyguy]

 ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D
FUNDED!
;D  ;D  ;D  ;D

[pewlagon]

Congrats to City of Titans. Congrats to us, the CoH Community. History has been made and now on to the Stretch goals!

[Thunder Glove]

Congrats!  And there's still nearly four weeks left to go!  Time to start thinking about stretch goals!  ;D

[madvyking]

Congrats on succeeding and exceeding goals

now to show the naysayers of COH fans it can be done

[JWBullfrog]

And the ball keeps rolling.

Now that they have enough funds (including a bit from me) to push forward, we'll get closer to this becoming a reality. Not that there won't be difficulties and the possibility that things won't happen at all, but things are moving.

As Mr. Darwin alluded, change, grow, adapt, or die. We'll we're not quite dead yet.

[Angel Phoenix77]

this is just pure awesome sause. they got their funding in 4 days. This alone is the most important thing as that it sends a shockwave through the gaming community.  soon I will be able to help out aw well. I want my phoenix travel power.


Soon the Phoenix will rise again

[Floride]

No one knows for certain what our money will actually buy us. And the promo video has a lot of just concept art. But I think people are using their dollars as votes, saying "I want THIS kind of game".
What makes an MMO is motivation and dedication. Paragon Studios had both. And although City of Titans (CoT :D) is comprised of all volunteers, I don't see that as an indication of possible failure. The only way this venture can fail is if it loses motivation and dedication. I see the "votes" for CoT as not only a demand for a game that makes community-building tools a priority, but as a push to change the way publishers value their MMOs.

We've started something here. There's a chance CoT may fail, and if it does, that doesn't mean there isn't a market. Example: GTA5 went online a couple days ago. It allows up to 12 players to game together. And already the rockstar.com forums are ablaze with people forming "clubs" to game with, and recruiting members with similar gameplay styles. The need for community has always been there, and soon publishers and devs will realize this is the secret to a successful game.
The game is there for us, we're not there for it.
Since no game is there for us, we are going to make our own.
We are heroes. This is what we do.

[Aggelakis]

No one knows for certain what our money will actually buy us.

Uh, yeah we do. They have it all laid out in the Kickstarter. ;)

[Floride]

Uh, yeah we do. They have it all laid out in the Kickstarter. ;)

I meant the look and feel and mechanics and such. If we knew exactly how the game would turn out, we could already be posting bug reports. Guess I coulda worded that better.

[JaguarX]

this is just pure awesome sause. they got their funding in 4 days. This alone is the most important thing as that it sends a shockwave through the gaming community.  soon I will be able to help out aw well. I want my phoenix travel power.


Soon the Phoenix will rise again

Through the cox community at least. Not sure about gaming community as a whole.

[Aggelakis]

I meant the look and feel and mechanics and such. If we knew exactly how the game would turn out, we could already be posting bug reports. Guess I coulda worded that better.

They don't even have the look and feel and mechanics nailed down, so how would they be able to communicate that? We're not kickstarting the *game*, we're kickstarting the *developers*.