We reported on Friday that Tim Shafer and Double Fine's Kickstarter campaign had got off to a phenomenal start, with it reaching its target of $400,000 in a matter of hours. In just a few days that figure has reached $1.6 million and it shows no sign of slowing down.
In response to the donations this was posted on the Kickstarter website: "WoooooooooOOOOoooOoOoooOOooo! We did it! 100% funded in just over eight hours. You people are amazing! But it's not over yet. The number keeps going up and now the question is just how much news do we want to make with this? We're getting a lot of attention already and it seems like this little project could have an impact beyond itself."
As more money comes in Shafer and Double Fine are already contemplating the possibilities now open to them: "Additional money means it can appear on more platforms, be translated into more languages, have more music and voice, and an original soundtrack for the documentary, and more!"
These figures have put a number of studio heads on red-alert, with a potential new revenue stream opening up almost over night. David Jaffe, who is about to leave Eat Sleep Play for his newly established studio, spoke to Gamasutra and said: "I think the real question, whether in the next month, if it hits $2 million or $8 million, does that signal a new way of funding games? Or is this kind of a one-off thing, because it was led by Tim Schafer? Is this actually moving the needle? That, we don't know."
He then added: "Now, with what's happened with Tim's Kickstarter, sure, I would consider it. There's kind of the fear that this would suddenly become, you know, a dick-measuring contest. Schafer comes out and raises a million, and Jaffe only raises $200,000."
Jaffe's male insecurities aside, this new crowdfunding initiative might turn out to be a godsend to smaller companies struggling to find publishers for more risky IPs. Tim Shafer's enduring popularity means that Kickstarter has had the best possible start, but it remains to be seen if other developers with less prestigious back-catalogues can attract significant funding. Given this early success, I think it's only a matter of time before we find out one way of the other.