Earlier this year, Double Fine productions released a video asking fans of their work to pledge money to fund the production of a new point-and-click adventure game. The video starred the head of Double Fine Productions, Tim Schafer, asking for $400,000 from viewers, arguing that it is a project the company had been hoping to do, but no publisher would pay to create it.$300,000 would be spent towards the game, while $100,000 would be used towards a documentary of the production of the game, filmed by Two-Player Productions. Within the month that this video was released, fans have pledged almost $2.5 million in support of the game, 612% of what was asked for.
Although the overwhelming support can be attributed to the loyal fans of the production company, their donations were fueled by by the ideology that even though point-and-click adventure games are relatively unpopular, it is a game that fans would want to fund. They start by bringing up the fact that no gaming publishers would fund their project, in the light that these games are no longer popular to consumers. This appeals to the many gamers who have fond and nostalgic memories of games such as “The Secret of Monkey Island” or “The Day of the Tentacle”, both of which Schafer was directly involved with. It makes theses gamers want to challenge these publishers, and bring these games back into popularity. At the very least, they would want one made by a some well known names in the field, including Schafer and Ron Gilbert, the “inventor of the genre”. This is reinforced with a skit involving Shafer and a “fan”, with the fan basically throwing his money at Schafer.
The video is very humorous, presenting the comedy that is present in their previous games, and that would be in the this new game once completed. At one point, Schafer attempts to take a drink out of his mug in the style of a classic point-and-click game. As he continually fails, he not only shows his sense of humor, but also demonstrates the pitfalls of previous point-and-click games. This implies that a new game, with the major advancement in technology over the years, will be a smoother and more enjoyable experience. It simultaneously creates a sense of nostalgia in the viewer, but also shows that creating this type of game now would have something new to offer.
Pop Studies and Rhetoric 