I didn’t even make this article up. It’s like, 90% factual.
Man, it’s been in the news a lot recently hasn’t it? Kickstarter…a year ago it was just for hipsters to make black-and-white films, now people make actual money off it! In fact, since September 2012, no games have been released or companies founded which did not first go through Kickstarter in some way or other, which is why it’s with genuine shock that we read the announcement by Sawfly Studios that they have both consolidated themselves as a studio and intend to release games in the coming months without using a single incentivised funding drive.
It certainly helps that, rather than a seventeen-year-old who just learned VisualBasic in his IT class, the studio is run by actual developers with a proven track record, comprising of developers laid off from the old Sony Liverpool studio. In fact, the studio seems to go against all current trends and logic in the industry, having both opened in a period which has seen the collapse and closure of various studios such as THQ or Sony Liverpool, and having plans to create actual games – albeit for smartphones and tablets.
The success of the studio still remains to be seen, with them having not actually put out any games yet, thereby leaving time for them to potentially drink from the font of sweet, sweet indie cred, either by doing a Kickstarter, or doing as every other indie developer does and give their game away in a Humble Bundle.
If you look at the Onion’s successful articles you’ll see that they take something normal and just make it absurd enough to make it feel like it could actually be true. Many articles here go too far in coming up with “funny” names and completely made up random stuff making them, sadly, not very funny at all, because what you are writing about is not relatable anymore. There is wisdom in the saying: “It’s funny because it’s true.”
This article here is more like a normal article written in cynical tone which works better than obvious fabrications. Proper satire is really damn hard, even the Onion’s articles are mostly only mildly funny, but when they get it right, it’s always because they describe a very plausible alternate reality.
I applaud you guys for keeping the site up given the little feedback, please continue and refine your skills. My only request would be to go for fewer gags and more humour.