Interview: Santiago Zapata, the First 8-Bit Funding Success Story

8-Bit Funding is an interesting site that crowd sources funding to give game developers a chance they may have never had before – an extra life, if you will. It’s essentially the Kickstarter of video games, and less than two weeks after the site went live, the first game has been fully funded. We talked with Santiago Zapata, the fantastically named lead developer on Expedition: The New World, about 8-Bit Funding, game development and making your dreams come true.

Piki Geek: So, Santiago, you’re the first fully funded game on 8bitfunding.com. How does that feel?

Santiago Zapata: It feels great. Just today I had frankly lost all hopes to achieve the funding goals, but thanks to some generous funders, we have made it.

PG: Would creating this game have been possible without 8-Bit Funding?

SZ: Expedition had been developed up to beta stage last year, but I don’t think I would have been able to implement the enhancements I have planned without the funding that I received via 8-Bit Funding. The changes are going to make the game much more interesting and fun!

PG: In a sense, this is the best way to determine the success of a game and a developer. The people can vote directly with their dollars. Do you think that 8-bit Funding is a practical way for independent devs to make a name for themselves and start a career in video game development?

SZ: I think so, and I hope many more developers jump into it. The hardest part is to have a clear goal and create the material needed to sell the people how good your game or idea is or may eventually be.

PG: Did you have to market yourself at all to get funding? If so, how did you do it?

SZ: I did very limited marketing, just tweeting and posting on my Facebook wall. About it, really. I think most of the success comes from the marketing made by [8-Bit Funding] themselves.

PG: Is there a challenge is communicating to would-be funders how awesome your game is ahead of time?

SZ: Yes, I think that’s one of the hardest parts. I think having a working beta and a well made gameplay video is key to success

PG: Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your game, Expedition: The New World?

SZ: Expedition is a turn based game in which you assume the role of an Spanish Explorer/Conquistador, you start in a Spanish town in 1492 and you have to assemble an expedition and equip it for a long sea trip. If you survive the weather and storms (and starvation) you’ll discover a new world where you can found new settlements and trade with the natives. Then you should return to Spain where you’ll be rewarded with gold and nobility titles.

Expedition is intended to be fun and easy to pick up; there are no complex economy systems behind, it’s all about exploration, surviving in the wild sea, and watching your food counter drop to zero just meters away from a port city.

I’d also like to credit “Oryx” and “The Roguebard” for the graphics and the music on the game.

PG: Now that you go into developing the game with fans, does that add any pressure?

SZ: It does, but I think pressure is good for this kind of projects. You can often feel nobody is interested on it and then your project stalls for weeks and months.

PG: Do you feel any more obligation to finish this game and make sure it’s polished?

SZ: I sure do!

PG: What does your future hold? Is this a huge step in the right direction for you?

SZ: It is a big step, and I hope to be able to create new versions of the game (and probably other similar games) using funds from people interested on it.