Tell us a bit about yourself and DinoGenics.

I’m Richard Keene and I have been working on DinoGenics for about three years now. I’m a web/graphic designer by trade so designing a board game didn’t feel like much of a stretch, but in the beginning it was just a casual hobby. As time went on though, I started showing the early prototypes to more and more people and the feedback was really positive. Eventually, I committed myself to fully developing the idea and started to get it out to a larger audience for playtesting.

As for DinoGenics itself, it’s a worker placement game with a focus on building dinosaur parks. Players take turns deploying workers to the mainland board to collect various resources, such as DNA, fences and facilities. Afterwards, they take these items back home to their personal island boards and use them to build the type of Dinosaur Park they want.

I’ve always loved the idea of building things in games; some of my earliest gaming memories are actually from playing the Sim City series on PC. For DinoGenics, I wanted to embrace that so that each park felt unique but more importantly, alive. It has always been a design goal that a player’s park should not be a stagnant point generator. In that way, dinosaurs are very much a danger to a player if they are improperly maintained. Carnivores, for example, will attempt to escape if they are not fed an allotment of meat each season. This is more than a point penalty as a rampaging dinosaur can destroy fences, facilities and even eat your visitors. All in all, it makes for a much more thematic and interactive experience than the point puzzle that many worker placement games become.

The first Kickstarter campaign for DinoGenics failed. What happened?

No matter how much you read about Kickstarter, or prepare in advance, there is a lot that you don’t know until you push the launch button. We had started promoting the game on social media months before launching the campaign but we really had no idea what size our audience would be, which made planning for shipping almost impossible. On top of that, we had no idea how limiting the backend of Kickstarter actually was, so when we tried to correct our shortcomings, we discovered we couldn’t. On the day I shut down the campaign, there was still a chance that we might fund but I decided it was better to come back with a stronger campaign than to limp across the finish line; a decision that has proven to be a good one.

What kind of feedback did you get from the backers?

Most of the feedback we received was positive with an amazing number of our original backers signing up to be notified of our relaunch. I would say about 90% of our original backers returned.

Now you have relaunched the campaign and it funded almost immediately. What did you do differently now?

Two big things. In the time between the Kickstarter, we went back and invested some additional money into cleaning up our artwork. This really gave us a stronger first impression for new backers. The second thing we did was cut back slightly on some of our heavier components. This in turn allowed us to reduce the physical weight of the game and significantly reduce the cost of shipping to most parts of the world.

What the biggest thing you learned from the failed campaign?

Shipping costs can make or break your campaign.

What did you do to build up a following before you launched both campaigns?

We started posting little previews on BoardGameGeek months before we arrived on Kickstarter. Ultimately though, things stayed pretty low key for us until the first Kickstarter. When you are a new developer trying to break into the scene it is very difficult to get noticed.

When did you launch the new version of DinoGenics and why did you choose that exact moment?

We relaunched on October 3rd. Basically we had given ourselves time to regroup, our new art was coming in, reduced shipping costs had been calculated and it gave us a small window of opportunity before the winter holiday shopping season would begin.

Did you expect to get so many backers on your second attempt?

Not at all! When I went to sleep the night of the relaunch, we were a little less than half funded, which felt good but didn’t come as a huge shock since that was about the same number of backers we had from our first campaign. When I woke up the next day though, I noticed my phone was blinking. Everyone had sent text messages congratulating me; we funded overnight. I spent the next couple hours in happiness induced shock.

What do you think was the main reason for the success of the relaunch?

An existing following, better timing, better prices, better artwork. Basically everything we learned from the first campaign was put into practice.

If there was one thing you wish you knew before you launched DinoGenics, what would it be?

How important it is to get the global market onboard for your game, be it through translation options or shipping concerns. We assumed that most of our backers would come from the US, and we weren’t wrong, but the number of people from all around the world that contacted us during our first campaign was remarkable. I can’t overstate how incredible it feels to have people all around the world care about something you have made.

What is your best marketing tip during the campaign?

If you are a small or first time developer, make sure you interact with people on the personal level. One on one interactions are worth more than marketing dollars. If someone has a question, answer it. If someone has criticism, try to learn from what they don’t like and if possible, make your product better.

I see you will charge the shipping after the campaign ends. How has the response been to that?

Mostly good. Charging shipping after the campaign ends allows us to make sure that we can give people the cheapest rates possible and also simplifies some of the backend problem we ran into with the first campaign.

Early bird pledging is a hot topic that a lot of people have different opinions on. Why did you choose to have that?

The early backer pledges were really a twofold benefit. First of all, I wanted to show some appreciation towards our original backers, many of whom had requested to be notified when the second campaign would start. The second reason is that the influx of day one traffic can really help get the word around when you are a small developer.

One thing I was adamant on, however, is that the early backer rewards would not be set to a fixed amount of backers. As a regular Kickstarter backer myself, it always annoys me when early backer slots fill up in a matter of hours. I really wanted our backers, regardless of time zone or prior commitments to have the chance to benefit from the reward tier.

What’s the best Kickstarter advice you ever received?

“Most Kickstarter projects fail their first time out. Don’t let that deter you from trying again.”

What´s your thoughts regarding stretch goals?

As a rule, I think stretch goals should improve the component quality of the game more than add new content into the game. With a couple small exceptions, we are keeping to that model for our stretch goals. I also generally dislike the idea of exclusive stretch goals because it forces people into a position where they feel like they NEED to back a product to get everything the game.

What do you think is the most important element of a Kickstarter page?

The top banner image. You don’t get to make a second first impression.

What is your favourite board game at the moment and why?

I don’t really have a favorite right now but I have been playing a lot of Scythe, Mechs Vs Minions and Conan. I enjoy keeping gameplay experiences fresh so I generally don’t become fixed on one game at a time.

Do you have any role models in the board gaming industry?

Not exactly, although I have read almost every blog on game design that Jamey Stegmaier has written on game design, so that is probably pretty close.

Anything else you want to add?

I would just like to extend my thanks to all of the backers who have helped bring this project to life. It’s really a dream come true to make DinoGenics a reality.

Where can people reach you?

You can find DinoGenics on Kickstarter.

You can also follow us on social media at:

https://twitter.com/NinthHavenGames

https://www.facebook.com/Dinogenics/