We're now running an IndieGoGo campaign for GameGuru MAX to expand the reach of the project to a wider audience, and help raise more development funding.


The referral program is now live, you can sign up here: GameGuru Kickbooster

We're still running our discount from our own GameGuru MAX website which matches the price on the IndieGoGo site.

TheGameCreators

Hi Rick,

some observations / suggestions:

* Tiers do not include anything interesting for current GG owners. Suggestions: Include the new DLCs in High Tier and add a super high tier with all future DLCs, that can be pricey, I know a few guys like me who would pitch in
* Communication so far went towards the existing community mainly. As stated above - wrong target group with those tiers
* Screenshots not showing off render capabilities. Suggestion: Get the wicked wired in asap, download the Kitbash Utopia kit as it is free now and post some breathtaking screenshots to the campaign
* Emphasize successful shipped games based on TGC products and stunning WIPs more. Wolf and Duke and others have cooked up some *visually* amazing stuff (yes, you do show their screens, but that could be updated) and Homegrown Games has sold more than 250.000 copies of games made with TGC products worldwide (which look ugly in comparison but that is not the point here)
* Get a leverage outside the community, kick out a press release to gaming SI press. Can offer you my mailchimp target audience for an email, covers 190 publications worldwide

@Ertlov
Agreed all sound good to me
Its missing some Umph for sure

@ertlov

Some of the new dlc's do not belong to TGC directly, so will not be possible to include them.They have only included stuff they own from what I can see.

I think that dlc is not the right answer, what the audience expects to see are the capabilities and functions that GGMax can offer, even if they are not finished and working 100%, but that users can glimpse the potential of GGMax, like a game engine.
A dlc should only be an extra and the true potential of GGMax should be the highlight. imho.

I know that between saying it and doing it there is a long way to go, but for Lee this is not his first rodeo.

Look the thing is we will be using A new engine plus it will be 64bit which means we should be able to push double the graphics quality, polygons ect.So in a way old content will not really live up to the standard required for max.So they will need to quite a bit of new content for max in the form or additional content as well as dlc's to replace content that won't be uses officially as stock content.

Previously the stock theme was desert, initially. So definitely would like to see a new theme that would best showcase the wicked engine, so this again will most likely be an outdoor theme, likely nature or some thing, with wicked in place we should get some thing graphically close to crysis.

IDK with regards to theme, but it should be some interesting and spectacular, the game industry as such have moved away from WWII in recent years, and we get very few games on that these days even content is rare, as the focus have shifted to modern day, fantasy and SciFi, which to be honest I am rather fed up with.Technology has move forward quite a bit since WWII was all the rage, it has been at least 10- 12 odd years.?

Could be really interesting, to revisit some thing like that again. ? IDK same old, same old gets boring after awhile, would really like TGC to take a different approach with max and have a fully fledged theme at the start, instead of a little bit of this and that, after the launch they can expand the library normally.

Definitely a stock or dlc that meets the new standards is more than necessary.
As is also a demonstration of what can do GGMax, with these models.
For example, a Formula 1 racing circuit with cars that show how the physics system/illumination/weather; etc will work in GGMax, would be great.

Ye right .. Like that's gonna happen

dont fly too high LOL

Not for sure, 64bit plus wicked engine can do amazing stuff. Maybe not for tomorrow but it might happen someday.

As a massive F1 fan myself, I would love to see that. Hell, I'd even have a stab at modelling some assets myself in that case (I sorta played around with an extremely basic F1 set-up myself a couple of years ago back when Amen was first developing his vehicle script - https://youtu.be/MD1OJI-j1Pg)

But no, Game Guru Max looks to be reverting a little more to its FPS routes, I think a racing game would give the wrong impression about what you can do 'off the shelf'.

For the same reason, they should probably steer clear of Medieval/Dungeon/Fantasy assets, as you won't be able to make an RPG in Max easily either.

The great thing about the Middle Eastern themed stock assets were that they lent themselves to mostly exterior levels. Game Guru was never much good at interiors in the beginning, and the big step-up from FPSC was the huge environment. We need another core theme that builds on the key features of the engine; a mostly outdoor theme to show off the terrain and weather, with talking characters, and selection of different materials to showcase PBR.

What about Africa? Beautiful trees, rusty guns, militias, zebras - basically Far Cry 2!
Or post-apocalyptic? Dilapidated buildings, vegetation sprouting from everywhere, oil cans, junk scavengers - Fall out-esque.

AE

Yeah I like the idea of a 'rainforest' type of theme explore and recover, deep in amazonian forest could be anything there to find something like Speed Tree support would also be awesome i don't know how they did it but lumberyard users get speed tree for free https://store.speedtree.com/buy-try/

I really would like something in the Uncharted series line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQmZuNn8QYM

Jurassic Period walkabout would be a good demo

@ synchro
This style ?
or
This other one ?

@3com
Neither . Just a walkaround to show off visuals

my thing is they should not promote things that is not close to finish or have all the bells and whistles like the graphics. TGC seems to never learn their lesson from before and always ends up doing bad advertisement. eye candy is the key selling point for video games. for example look at Wolf games. his games graphically looks impressive in which it draws a crowd interest. This is why VR is not a big deal because you can't promote something you can't see so it makes it hard to advertise. you won't know it good until you try it out for yourself. but to get people want to try this engine you must get their attention and to do that you must have some type of eye candy. the new graphics should been the first implementation put into the engine. this would have let people know that TGC is serious about this engine and it would be different compare to the old game guru. Right now both engines look the same with a different GUI. yes one have VR and the other doesn't but people are not going to care about that. because the first person simulation needs better or close to realistic looking graphics. so people are seeing now as advertise is what they think they might see in VR mode.

my point is this game engine is not ready for this type of advertisement. first impression is very important and TGC lacks to do that right every time.

Lee needs to spend more time in development for the engine before trying to advertise the engine.

If there is anything I could suggest, maybe replacing that dated default grass texture terrain. It is not very visually appealing; Especially at a distance. It would be nice to see a new set of stock texture terrains. Good for presentation as well, to seperate from Classic.

I have a rather important question, when I pre-ordered GG Max I did so under the assumption that all features promised on the website were going to make it into the final product. However, with the unexpected launch of an IndieGoGo campaign, I notice it says "With your help we will develop these features:" and it proceeds to list several features promised on the GG Max page.

So, what happens to GG Max if the IndieGoGo campaign is not successful? Let's face it, it has 38 days to go and 2 backers, most people interested likely pre-ordered via the website already, and it's running during a lockdown where money is tight. There's nothing short of a biblical miracle that would save this campaign. So, are these features still making it into GG Max regardless of the campaign? Will GG Max make it at all? I would really like to know.

Looks like you need a fourth and a fifth man or woman for strictly promotional
purposes. Someone that can take the bull by the horns and charge into the big
world of internet crowds! Because it will be a very fine product- certainly.

Hope to see it work- but I see (as everyone has mentioned) the hurdle in the IndieGoGo
incentives to buy-- and that is that most people in these forums- that have any
interest in the product have probably already gotten the pre-order MAX version,\
as well as Classic and most of the DLC. So "I already got it. I can't get it again- even if
I wanted to!" would be the issue. What else can they bring that everyone hasn't already
got a copy of on their hard drives? We want to support MAX development, but essentially
already have if we pre-ordered MAX or Classic= which I have + 10 (TEN) DLC, 11 if you
count the expansion pack.
So I echo the chamber as mentioned above... All we can do is promote it- and I do.

There is no " successful " Its a flexible Goal .. whether it earns £500 or £16,000 it gets paid out.
In fact I think Indiegogo take the money as soon as you pledge unlike Kickstarter who wait till the end.
It wont effect Max either way … I think this is a Why not .. We are Making it anyway .. Nothing to lose and could generate extra funding.

How about this idea... instead of giving Mega packs 1,2, and 3 for the top tier-
they would offer them any (2) DLC of their choice. I got 11 out of what? 18 DLC?,
just a couple more I would think about.

Right now finding the the campaign is probably the biggest problem..
Unless im missing something every link I find just takes you here.
https://gamegurumax-1.kickbooster.me/boost
Unless I actually Google it .

Right, synchromesh. Glad I'm not the only one seeing that.
So indeed, a right strait link couldn't hurt!

yes.. right ..
but sincerely if i didint know gg and tgc and if i casually find it .. i shouldnt support it due to the bad project presentation..

There is something amiss with the SEO for the campaign. I think it needs to be renamed from "GameGuruMAX" to "Game Guru Max". Because having it all together in one word means it has only that as the search term. "Game Guru Max" doesn't seem to give it immediate results on search engines. I, in fact, have trouble finding it, even on Google.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gamegurumax#/

It might also help to create more backlinks.

I heard about the Indiegogo campaign from TGC newsletter #19, and joined the campaign a few days ago since I don't already own GG (only AGK). I haven't received anything yet, but that aside, I agree that the campaign needs a bit of work. Currently it reads as something current GG owners would be interested in, rather than newcomers. However, a good number of existing GG owners have probably already bought Max directly, or would have purchased directly from TGC anyway. Indiegogo doesn't really add any value for those people, so why target them?

Like I mentioned in my post, likely not the best time for a funding project. Secondly only 2 backers so far in 18 days which tells me, no one outside of steam and tgc community is aware of the project.

Looking at google search results there is nothing as well.

That said TGC has always relied on word of mouth, and they simply refused to spend money, time and again on marketing and advertising, it costs serious money, so I don't blame them. They went about this wrong again, 2 backers only, surely they could have formulated a better attack plan. There is YouTube, numerous websites dedicated to indie development ect. Unfornately this is rather sad and disappointing that they are doing the similar approach expecting a different result. Come on guys, surely we can do better then this.

I can confirm it the title name given on indiegogo that's making it difficult to search on SEO. Of course, more backlinks would help.

Search on google for "game guru max" and you won't get a result on the first page. Search "gamegurumax" and its the 3rd result on the first page. They might want to consider spreading apart the words. "gamegurumax" also does not have familarority yet to be combinding like that.

You do if you enclosed words between quotes "game guru max"