Kickstarter Picks: Kickathon

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. This next Kickstarter Pick does not in fact highlight a Kickstarter campaign. Before you call the online article police, however, at least hear me out. First and foremost, the online article police don’t even exist, so give your head a shake. Secondly, if you’re a fan of our regular crowdfunding segment, you’re going to want to pay attention. Kickathon is practically made for you.

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Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. This next Kickstarter Pick does not in fact highlight a Kickstarter campaign. Before you call the online article police, however, at least hear me out. First and foremost, the online article police don’t even exist, so give your head a shake. Secondly, if you’re a fan of our regular crowdfunding segment, you’re going to want to pay attention. Kickathon is practically made for you. 

Earlier this month, we talked to Jeff McCord about the history of Sword of Fargoal, its influence on the roguelike genre. As the Kickstarter for an attempted sequel nears its last 24 hours, McCord is looking to give back to the site’s community, and gaming fans at large with Kickathon: “a 24 hour celebration of creative projects & other geeky fun.” 

“We feel we’ve done everything we can for our project,” says McCord on a brief call with me this afternoon. With some $16,000 left to raise, he is cautiously optimistic that Fargoal 2 will see an 11th hour success, and so instead of soliciting further help from the community, McCord is looking countdown the final hours by bringing attention to the benefits of the platform as a whole. He feels it’s his way “to say thank you to the fans, and spotlight the industry as a whole.”

Beginning at 6PM EST / 3PM PST on October 12th (today), McCord play host to a series of guests ranging from journalists to current and former Kickstarter project creators in the video and board game spaces. (Full disclosure: during the closing portion of the event, I will be one of McCord’s guests, talking about my experience reviewing games and talking to the people behind them.) The roster includes an impressive range of creative minds, including Brenda Brathwaite of Kickstarter project Shaker: An Old School RPG, expert Retro game blogger Matt Barton, and many more. The full list can be found Kickathon’s website schedule

In using Youtube for the live broadcast, McCord will also be fielding fan and viewer questions to any of the featured guests, allowing you to check the schedule, and jump in to interact with anyone about whom you’re curious. Personally, I find the idea to be a compelling way for McCord to bring some much-needed attention to his project without it feeling desparate or cloying. In the increasingly crowded Kickstarter space, there’s no better way to endear yourself to people than by going the extra mile. Moreover, as a shameless fan of both videogames and boardgames, Kickathon represents the equivalent of a telethon… a wonderful, nerdy telethon! 

So if you’re in any way lost for how to spend some of your weekend, or looking for some exciting new Kickstarter projects to back, be sure to visit Kickathon’s homepage for full details on the exciting day ahead. 

Eli has loved mobile games since his dad showed him the magic of Game & Watch. He can't quite remember when he started loving puns.