I’ve heard a lot of cynical complaints that Kickstarter is being overrun by the big guys (as opposed to the little guys that “Kickstarter was supposed to help”). This is nonsense.

In my younger years I was a huge Ultima Online (UO) fan, so I was excited when I saw Lord British was making a new game, Shroud of the Avatar. Lord British, a.k.a. Richard Garriott, put the game up on Kickstarter (a crowdfunding platform where creators offer rewards for support). I gladly pledged for Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues.

Kickstarter is a great way to find out what people want! Would you have paid to back a Star Wars with JarJar Binks? Would you have pledged for E.T. on the Atari? How about Microwave Cooking for One? Kickstarter can help people fail fast and find their target market then give the people what they want.

Luckily, we all benefit because Kickstarter is a platform. By using Kickstarter, Shroud of the Avatar did not take money from other projects–it proved a new idea and got people excited. The more people supporting projects on Kickstarter, the better off the community is. Because I’m now familiar with the site, I am more likely to pledge again in the future–the only barrier is me pressing the “Back This Project” button.

Shroud of the Avatar probably could have been funded outside Kickstarter, but we should be glad that another project succeeded and more people now know about an amazing platform. I look forward to countless successes to come.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.