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We know it seems odd - but we answered the question on our FAQ if that helps! Here it is:
Great question! We know it’s not the typical approach to run a Kickstarter for a game that’s already in Early Access, so let’s break it down.
First, we want to emphasize that Alterium Shift is a passion project for us, and we’ve been transparent with our community throughout the development process. Our journey hasn’t been without its challenges, and 2024 was particularly pivotal as we worked through a publisher transition that took time to resolve. During that process, we also reevaluated the game’s scope based on Early Access feedback.
That feedback made it clear that players wanted more: more console ports beyond the planned Nintendo Switch release, more localization for different languages, physical editions of the game, and other features that would elevate the experience. While we’ve made incredible progress as a small team, meeting these expanded goals without a publisher’s backing is a significant challenge. That’s where Kickstarter comes in—it’s our way of inviting the community to help us bring these ambitions to life.
At the same time, Early Access has been an invaluable part of our development journey. It’s given players a chance to experience the game firsthand, provide feedback, and see the project grow in real-time. In a landscape where some Kickstarter projects face scrutiny over whether they’ll ever deliver, Alterium Shift stands out. The game is real, it’s playable, and you can see the progress for yourself.
Backing our Kickstarter is less about hoping for a product someday and more about helping us expand what’s already here. For example, at certain tiers, backers will get immediate access to the Early Access version on Steam, so you can start playing right away and follow our progress as we drive toward the finish line.
We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished so far—50% of the game’s core content is already available, with a big update bringing us to 75% planned for Q1 2025. But we also know that, with your support, we can take Alterium Shift to the next level and deliver the game you deserve.
In the end, Early Access isn’t a reason not to run a Kickstarter—it’s a reason you can back this project with confidence. You’re not just supporting an idea; you’re supporting a game that’s already here, with a track record of updates, transparency, and community engagement. Together, we can make Alterium Shift the best it can be.
I was interesting in trying this game, but the fact that even when early access is done, I'll be playing what I would consider an incomplete game without that content, just puts a bad taste in my mouth. If the devs were to make exclusive content more accessible to the average player/backer, I imagine a bunch more people, me included, would be willing to throw some money at the campaign.
Hi chsr357,
We understand your frustration and are sorry that the side quest option seems out of sync with your expectations. During the reward setup process we discussed this in depth. The problem we face is that doing content right takes time, and side quests involve more effort on our part to make sure it fits within the game and structure. Because we needed to create a limit on this, we decided to put it into the highest tier, which seems to align with what we were seeing from other Kickstarters.
With that said, we did ensure there was an add-on for both naming a NPC, and putting a message into the game. We completely understand people want to put content in there to feel connected with the game, and have to juggle our time for those efforts, the development work, all of the other content, console porting, QA, and many other things.
Our decision was a way to give some balance to what we need to get done while still providing some rewards for people at lower tiers that (we hope) they will appreciate. With that said, since we are always open to feedback, I'd be curious to hear your take on what you'd pay for custom content like a side quest. I'm sure you understand it can't be free, because it takes our own time to do that effort and that can add up very quickly.
I'll make sure a question on game content is on our coming survey we'll send out to gauge what we're missing and what people would like to support. If we get enough interest in added in-game content at a lower rate, we will consider adding an add-on for to make it more accessible.
Thanks for your feedback!
And the worst is that it's buried in the details page with most people won't look at.
I have to hope this is a mistake and it's more like they need people to contribute at those levels to make said side quest happen (rather than a normal stretch goal?) but whatever it is something isn't right.
Hi Melodia,
I'm not completely sure what you're asking, so I'll clarify what the reward means and why we put it at that tier.
The side-quest is per backer at that tier, and is meant to be combined with their custom NPC and messaging. So anyone who pledges that tier gets the side quest included. Lower tiers have add-ons available to name an NPC or put a custom message in the game. When we were setting up the Kickstarter we borrowed some concepts from other Kickstarters like Forge of the Fae and Godshard Chronicles, which had some similar ideas but with different structures.
Originally we had 4 or 5 different "Game content" add-ons, but they mostly amounted to similar concepts so we reduced them to naming an NPC, and placing a message.
We have plans for stretch goals related to added overall content in the game (like whole new areas) but the individualized ones were meant for people that wanted their own personalization added to the game, and, per my explanation above, we had some reasons for why we put that specific content reward at higher tiers.
I hope that helps explain it. The effort to put in side-quests is fairly high, which is why the pledge cost is higher since it will take our time to do the work. We don't intend to have people feel excluded, which is why I noted above that we'll take a look at other options as well.
Fair point! We'll put it in the Q&A and try to make it more clear in the places it's noted.
It would be a side quest everyone would have access to who plays the game. Our initial thought/intent is that it's a side quest related to the custom NPC we make with the backer's input, though we'd likely be flexible on that requirement. Anyone playing the game would be able to experience the side quest, however.
Sorry about the confusion - it's definitely not our intent to make this difficult, unfair, or so exclusive only the person who paid for it gets to experience it.
Obviously we're going through the "school of hard knocks" in learning about this Kickstarter approach. We do appreciate your patience and willingness to give us feedback, so thank you!
Best,
Mottzy
Jacob and I also discussed an add-on last night for other people to do side-quests. If we were to have an add on for that reward, what do you feel is a reasonable charge? Keeping in mind that the effort is a bit higher since it not only requires setting up & testing a quest, but also needing to gather and collaborate with each backer on the quest content and setup.
We're totally down to do this as an add-on, we just need to balance the cost required in terms of our time to plan and implement the quest.
https://form.jotform.com/250374867572164
This should help on questions or concerns around the way the current tiers or add-ons are setup. It wasn’t our intention to make anything unfair to backers, so we hope you are willing to provide some feedback to help us ensure we hit the mark better!
If not, we understand. Thanks for the feedback you’ve already given.
Best,
Mottzy
The higher rewards are NOT going to be for everyone; these are multiple bonus rewards for people who are willing to invest a high dollar amount to support the devs. As a result, some of the rewards will require extra time/efforts/resources from the devs to fulfill the tiers. Again, all of this is.. pretty standard of other RPG kickstarter campaigns
Thanks for the note. I think the confusion was the language we used may have implied that the reward was exclusive to the backer and nobody else would experience it in-game.
When we were setting things up we looked at other Kickstarters as well and I think it's generally understood these sorts of things are meant to be higher tier rewards or limited add-ons (because it takes development effort to implement in-game rewards).
Either way, we still appreciate the feedback so we could clarify the confusion. We also had more possible rewards like this but trimmed it down after seeing other campaigns. Despite that, we're happy to make additions if there's enough demand, so we'll be providing some updates soon(ish) on this!
I know what you're saying and I agree that rewards for designing a part of the game being in a higher tier is standard. The issue was it being listed as simply "Backer-Exclusive Side Quest" with no explanation.
With the campaign FAQ being updated, I now know I misunderstood the reward. My initial thought was that the reward was for access to a side quest, as in, only backers with large wallets would ever be able to experience this bit of content. If the reward had been listed instead as "Design A Side Quest," this whole misunderstanding could have been avoided.
These devs are absolute clowns