My dream theme would need to be backed up by my dream team of designers and artists.

Also, no expense should be spared on the build, but it needs to be offered at a budget price point

Isn't this how everything went to crap... prepay and nothing delivered! ?

While I had to vote "Hell NO" my actual feeling is more just no, not for me. Not an emphatic "Hell NO". Figure out a way to fund your company that's not crowd funding as I believe crowd funding supports non viable business ideas. If an investor won't invest if your business idea it needs further work.

Yep. Ask anyone that ordered a Predator one of JPop's pins about crowdfunding. I might do a deposit (say $500 or $1000) to show the manufacturer I was a serious buyer and give them some security in bringing the game to market. But I'd want the deposit held by a third party (e.g. how Cointaker is now acting as distributor and middle-man on The Big Lebowski) and subject to specific terms (non-refundable unless the game fails to ship by X date, in which case it becomes refundable) so that if the game never ships I've got a better shot at getting my money back.

[EDIT: My deposit suggestion is of course not crowdfunding, since the manufacturer wouldn’t get the money until they’d completed building my game, but having locked-in sales might help them raise the money they’d need to start production]

Any money sent directly to the manufacturer you should be fully prepared to lose, since more than half of these things have failed over the years.

if it was my #1 dream theme i would risk it for the biscuit

Pretty much this. $500 max. And it would have to be being made or assisted by a reputable company, like JJP Stern or AP. For example, if a startup of known pinball dudes (who had a relatively good track record of getting shit done) and they had AP do the manufacturing as a contract job - then that's a solid case in my book.

If that person/team can demonstrate prior completed projects, maybe something in the $20-$100 range. So if the project ends, I haven't lost very much.

Otherwise, giving money to a random individual with no experience in designing, building, or completing a game has proven to be somewhat foolish, since most of those kinds of preorder projects have failed in a spectacular way. Plus, the percentage of completed projects on kickstarter is much lower than you would think.

That's not to say that first-time homebrew builders haven't built and finished interesting games--they certainly have. They just haven't typically done it on someone else's dime.

Hell no. Crowdfunding is not guaranteed. You think every KS backer is satisfied? There are tons of projects that are never completed and no one gets a dime back because of KS terms. Crowdfunding is not purchasing a product, it is investing in a company in the hopes that they make something. That is why they are called pledges and not purchases.

Besides, this has already unsuccessfully been done in pinball...see Predator or JPop

Is this you jpop?

I think you need to be more specific on terms. I know little about crowdfunding but I know that sometimes money can be returned and many times it cannot be returned. So understanding that (as well as how much money is paid when) is critical to the answer the question.

If the question is whether I would pay 100% of the value of a $5k+ game prior to it being ready to ship? Nope. Never. Any circumstance in which I am a creditor to someone who didn't have the capital to start their own company and take on the risk is not a circumstance I want to be in (unless it is for a mere deposit or minor sum of money but even then I feel that is a recipe for disaster for a number of other reasons).

If it's PTC, I'm in.

LTG : )

We have to get #LTG a PTC .... So guess I'm in ....

Finally a dream theme thread!

We should add a poll...Goonies or Jaws?!?!?!

Only if Paperflock was making it for Stern.

No. If they're an established company, they really shouldn't be doing crowdfunding. If they don't want to put up their own capital or get loans for product development, I'd be a little concerned.

Crowdfunding is generally intended for small outfits or startups.

The Matrix, and nope for a multitude of reasons.

If there is anyone willing to crowdfund left after the multitude of prepay failures and drawn out delivery times in the last 7 years, they either have been living under a rock or have money to burn.

Fucking NEVER.

Research the fuckery of all horrible maniacs who squandered the money of hobbyists. Only buy games being manufactured & sold through normal means.

Sure sure, but would you join a Kickstarter to fix the Pinside Top 100?!

I dont even know what my dream theme is

Crowd funded=prepay. I’ve lost thousands already.

Pinball makers/dreamers can shoulder the risk. I’ll only pay for a finished product, regardless of dream theme.

One of the most valuable lessons I ever learned from classic cartoon reruns at a very early age, is knowing these motherfuckers exist.

Same scenario applies here, except the money and product are reversed.

ll-gladly-pay-you-tuesday-for-a-hamburger-today-back-33842028 (resized).png

This is me.

Very strong NOPE. I've tried to back a couple crowd-funded things. I've yet to receive a single item from campaigns I supported. Never again.

No.

We've seen this movie before.

I am far too cynical at this point to ever gamble on crowdsourcing a pin!

Sorry, but if you are turning to crowdsourcing to get something as compliex as pinball manufacturing off the ground, then you probably don’t know what you don’t know and are likely woefully underprepared in other critical areas as well.

The past 6-8 years has taught me that sadly, there seems to be a disproportionately large number of scoundrels, charlatans, and other assorted assholes in this industry, and I have watched way too many folks ending up either profoundly disappointed or overtly ripped off! (I guess the silver lining is that the good guys (fortunately there are a lot of them too) stand out in even sharper relief.)

Everyone who votes yes is in luck! I have decided to make your dream theme. I will setup the gofundme soon so you can make your deposit. Don't worry it is totally safe and you will all get your games.

Crowdfunding seems like a joke to me. I couldn’t take any pinball “company” seriously if they were asking for handouts to produce a game.

The Pinball Arcade crowd funded the licensing fee portion of a couple of their titles with good success. TAF, T2 and TZ all saw Kickstarter initiatives. They got me on the first one but then I just waited for the full release for the next two. I could see saying yes to this if Stern or JJP ran this for a dream theme AND the ‘perks’ actually aligned with something I saw value in. Seeing as I don’t really have a dream theme I’m not too worried about having to cross this bridge.

Now that you mention it I did one of those - I guess it’s the principle of the thing but the stakes are somewhat lower when your entire outlay is $5.