Byron Atkinson-Jones who has previously worked at the likes of Sega Sports Interactive as well as on titles such as Darwinia+ for XBLA has decided to offer up the source code of his game Cyberstream Fugitive to those who pledge enough cash.
Not only a way of distinguishing his game from other Kickstarter projects, Atkinson-Jones claims said approach will also enable him to truly give back to his backers.
Show me the source
"I didn't want to just launch into a campaign without having something tangible in place - something I know that I could complete," Atkinson-Jones, who heads up Xiotex Studios, told us via email.
"My worst fear was setting up a Kickstarter campaign and promising something I couldn't deliver.
"So I got the game to an advanced state and then still not convinced about Kickstarter I released a video of the game onto YouTube to gauge the reaction."
Atkinson-Jones said the response he received to the videos blew his mind, and he was "immediately approached by publishers."
"Although my friends have told me the game is good, I am never really sure if they are just being nice to me, so being approached by publishers told me that there is something in this game, something that people want to play," he added.
"There was one thing in my mind about doing a campaign though, I wanted to give away more than just t-shirts and posters as rewards for backing the project, I wanted to give something of immense value to me as a reward for putting trust in me and the one thing I have of immense value is the source code to the game."
Those who can, teach
The source code to Cyberstream Fugitive will, of course, be issued with conditions.
Devs will need to sign a non-disclosure to state they won't distribute any games that result, and for standard backers, they'll need to pledge £250 or more in order to access it.
Students, however, are being offered a special dispensation. If they can prove their student status, they can pick up the code for a £100 pledge.
"I get an immense kick out of helping other people to make games and my vision is that they can use Cyberstream Fugitive to learn from it, to learn how to make a game or learn how not to make a game," added Atkinson-Jones.
"I have no illusions that mine is the best code but it is an example of a complete game rather than just some tech demo.
"This is not some cynical ploy on my behalf - I really want to reward those who invest in me with something of great value to me. They really will get a copy of the source code to the game."
Eye on iOS
Atkinson-Jones' timing is interesting, coming after notable Kickstarter failures resulted in many questioning the legitimacy of crowdfunding for the majority of developers.
Kickstarter which was once viewed as something of a testbed itself is increasingly being seen for what it is: a marketplace that's flooded with almost as much competition as the platforms the games themselves eventually launch on.
Indeed, it speak volumes that Atkinson-Jones chose to take to YouTube to gauge opinion of consumers before launching on the platform.
For those looking to back Cyberstream Fugitive, the Kickstarter is itself limited to the Windows and Mac versions, though Atkinson-Jones tells us the game is also bound for iOS, potentially launching on Apple's platform first.
