There's a problem, though. Because game development takes lots of time and effort (and money), Cloudhead needed to launch this Kickstarter early in the development process – working on The Gallery is supposed to be their full-time job, but they won't see any profits until after the game releases, and in the meantime the team needs money to eat! The trouble is, only maybe 13,000 people are currently slated to get development Rifts, and while the commercial Rift is likely to sell hundreds of thousands if not millions of units, that's a long way off. Many people who are enthusiastic about the potential of VR but not actual developers heeded Palmer's advice and didn't buy a dev kit; they probably aren't too worried about what the list of Rift 1.0 launch titles will look like, but they don't realize it's up to them to fill that list! If it's up to them and they don't know it, that means it's up to us to tell them.
Here's what I would like everyone who cares about this game to do: Get evangelical. Be tactful and respectful, always, but spread the word. Send some emails, tweet some tweets, Facebook some whatevers. Chat up your whole social network if you think they'll appreciate it, post a thread on another forum you visit if one doesn't already exist, explain to some casual VR supporters that if they want to have any built-from-the-ground-up-for-VR games to play when their Rift is ready, they need to put some money into developing those games now. Even if you only think of one friend who might have a few bucks to throw down you'll have done a great service in the name of this amazing game and in the name of VR in general. If you manage to snag a new backer, come back here and post about it for a congratulatory high five from the whole community. Major bonus points will be awarded if you bring this new backer over here to make a first ever MTBS post on top of it.
We can make this happen, people, but it's not going to be effortless. Cloudhead is building something that very well could redefine video games as we know them, but even if you understand the possibilities and have backed the project, there's more you can do. So do it. We're all a part of Cloudhead Games now, just like the people you talk to will be. They just need to find out about it – from you. So what are you standing around here for? Let's get this thing funded!
