They just secured the funding to actually make the game. The game is 2-3 years out. Perhaps the website wasn't a priority during the scramble to obtain finances?

Not many games have launch quality websites up years out from release.

Got to agree: I like to see a good website first. Always put off if the website is not very good.

In the case of GW, as said, they can piggy-back on the Paizo functionality eg billing/mods etc. But I think additionally part of their target market is indeed the PnP Pathfinder group - and it would be a good fit the more of these people that are interested in the mmorpg. Plenty are not, but it's a good place to start. In the KS Questions Answered vid at the end of the campaign, it was asked about redoing the website and they will eventually get around to it: Now they have ~8k backers it begins to make more sense to get that going. Probably not immediately however.

Originally posted by Havok2all
Not to mention, the people who make the game and the people who make the website are not really connected in anyway.

This is true, however it speaks to standards and quality control.

If you are in charge of something or are putting your idea out there, how you present it displays how much you care about it or how careful you are in general.

And if you aren't the one doing the legwork (aka making the website yourself) - it isn't difficult to say, "I'm sorry this isn't good enough, please do ____"

Originally posted by Silacoid
I don't understand how people get conned into investing in a game just by the description.  Their website is about as simple in terms of coding as it gets, so why would anyone expect the game to be a decent quality?

 Ginkies Op your right, I mean I sure hope The people behind Pathfinder online spend alot of the money from the kickstarter to make a good web page instead of foolishly putting it toeward making a decent game.

  Really though don't you have something better to do then troll a game in developement that you didn't help fund? Do great graphics make a great game? If so then Terra and Aion must be rolling in the caash with a ton of subscribers as their graphics are way better then say WoW's ancient and cartoony low polygon graphics. Evidently you have trouble understanding how people might enjoy a game that doesn't have cutting edge graphics but has other things lacking in many of todays MMO's

   In the end you can't tell a book by its cover., Beauty is more then skin deep, and those that demand everything generally are left with nothing.

  So pick your Playstyle, if you want cutting edge graphics and shallow vapid game play there are MMO's out there for you have fun. Will Pathfinder online turn out to be a perfect game? Doubtfull, but we can hope its better then the current crop of MMO's currently being offered. Was it a risk sure, but it was our risk not yours. What you can't understand is not up to us to teach you.

Originally posted by Silacoid
I don't understand how people get conned into investing in a game just by the description.  Their website is about as simple in terms of coding as it gets, so why would anyone expect the game to be a decent quality?

Not really a con.  Paizo is a company that has been getting my money for years.  You want to know the secret to how they keep getting my money from me?  They produce an excellent product so I don't really question whether or not something connected with paizo ill be quality.  But they have been using the paizo website and forums.  That's fine for what they are doing with it.  It keeps them connected to their customer base.  

I feel the need to point out two things...

1.  Paizo has been putting out top quality products for a long time.  Their work has always been innovative and beautifuly packaged for a reasonable price.  Not only that, but their support for the products they put out is second to none.  The company has always been remarkably open about what they are doing and why, and frequently puts out a lot of great free trial materials.  Since Goblinworks and Paizo share many key leaders at the highest level, I'm willing to put a bit of faith in their team.

2.  We're looking at a "game" that is in its pre-alpha state.  Right now it's a small collection of some trial art elements and a design document that's seeing frequent revision.  The Tech Demo that they released was constructed using a freeware verson of middleware software that they thought they might use and was intended to be nothing more than a proof of concept that their team could effectively use the engine to accomplish MMO style tasks.  That I know of, there are no companies anywhere that have been so public with such early versions of their work.  Frankly the level of information that can be learned about the processes they're going through and the milestones they've reached is unprecidented. 

Originally posted by Silacoid
I don't understand how people get conned into investing in a game just by the description.  Their website is about as simple in terms of coding as it gets, so why would anyone expect the game to be a decent quality?

Tell me more about how sending money through kickstarter makes someone an investor.

I'd be very interested to hear on the return on investment profits in particular.

Originally posted by kadepsyson

Originally posted by Silacoid
I don't understand how people get conned into investing in a game just by the description.  Their website is about as simple in terms of coding as it gets, so why would anyone expect the game to be a decent quality?

Tell me more about how sending money through kickstarter makes someone an investor.

 

I'd be very interested to hear on the return on investment profits in particular.

Not all Kickstarters do this, but they have the option to offer a % of their company for helping to fund them. Some have even offered a large %. Sure, most stuff offerd is fluff, but a small %/piece of a company is indeed the future I think.

Originally posted by Silacoid
I don't understand how people get conned into investing in a game just by the description.  Their website is about as simple in terms of coding as it gets, so why would anyone expect the game to be a decent quality?

The game is THE priority. That's what people were pledging for anyway, not the website.

I can't tell you why others invested but as someone who did invest in the Pathfinder Online kickstarter I can give you some of the reason that I did.

First though about their website:  The quality, or lack thereof, of their website is, simply put, irrelevant.  A bad website could indicate that they have no idea how to code.  It could indicate that it simply isn't a priority for them at this point.  It could indicate that they are so busy working on building us a great game that they also believe their website to be irrelevant at this time.  In short, it could mean anything, so until we know exactly what it means it might as well mean nothing.

Reasons I chose to invest in the Pathfinder Online kickstarter:

1.  I can afford it.  The amount I invested was trivial to me and allowed me to support development some game ideas that I find interesting.

2.  Even if Pathfinder Online never releases developers know that a game with these types of features is desired by a player base and are, therefore, more likely to persue this avenue of development in the future.

3.  I like the world.

4.  I like a bunch of the other ideas.

5.  I spent more buying games I hated (D3 and GW2 are on this list for me).  Worst case scenario: it comes out and I hate it.  Well then it was just another GW2 for me.

6.  Did I mention I could afford it? 

Ultimately if the game style doesn't interest you, if you're concerned about the graphics or the limitations of the engine, or simply can't afford to support a project like this then you don't have to.  People invest in projects like this because those projects interest them.  To some extent it's a kind of self directed charity.  Sure, it's possible that nothing will come of it or that something will and I'll hate it.  That's a risk I'm willing to take.

Originally posted by Nikoz78

Originally posted by kadepsyson

Originally posted by Silacoid
I don't understand how people get conned into investing in a game just by the description.  Their website is about as simple in terms of coding as it gets, so why would anyone expect the game to be a decent quality?

Tell me more about how sending money through kickstarter makes someone an investor.

 

I'd be very interested to hear on the return on investment profits in particular.

Not all Kickstarters do this, but they have the option to offer a % of their company for helping to fund them. Some have even offered a large %. Sure, most stuff offerd is fluff, but a small %/piece of a company is indeed the future I think.

Ah, interesting.

Interesting considering it is against Kickstarter rules to do so: http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics#DoBackGetOwneOrEquiInTheProjTheyFund

Originally posted by MMOGamer71
I do not buy games based off of website design.

If the kickstarter project was to fund a textbook on quality web design I could see the OP's point.  However it is for a game, not a website.