Backer Surveys Released!
over 1 year ago – Mon, May 22, 2023 at 11:59:33 AM

Surveys have been sent out! You should receive an e-mail from BackerKit, so please check your inbox!

Please fill out the survey promptly so we can arrange all the necessary logistics for your rewards. You can add extra items, pay for shipping/taxes, or make any changes until July 22nd when the survey closes. Use the same survey link to make those changes!

What if I haven’t received my survey?

BackerKit is here to assist you with all things survey related! If you haven’t received your survey, there are several things you can do to troubleshoot:

• Double-check the e-mail on file with Kickstarter - Often users have old e-mails still tied to their accounts (Particularly if you authenticate through Facebook).

• Do you have an Apple ID? Did you use the 'Hide My Email" feature? Backers who use this feature will have a @privaterelay.appleid.com email address, and will need to reach out to BackerKit Support to update their email address! 

• To make sure that e-mails from us don't get caught in your spam filter, add [email protected] to your address book. Avoid marking BackerKit e-mails as spam.

• Check your spam filters/archived e-mails. Subject lines to look for: Response Needed -- Get your reward for TOUCHSTARVED or Reminder -- Response needed to deliver your reward for TOUCHSTARVED 

• Check your crowdfunding platform to ensure you backed the project - if you did back the campaign - take a screenshot that includes your pledge details and Backer ID # / Pledge Number. Send this Screenshot with your e-mail/Kickstarter Username included in the body of the e-mail to [email protected] and our support team can help you locate your unique survey link.

• As shown above, you'll also be able to find your survey through the Lost Survey page. Search for "TOUCHSTARVED" and click on 'Go To Project' button. Under the 'Lost your survey?' section, enter the email you used for the project. Press 'Get My Survey' button, and you'll receive another email with your survey link!

While our pledge manager BackerKit is here to assist you regarding your survey, if you have any other questions, as always you can contact us by DMing us here on Kickstarter or emailing us at [email protected]

Backer Survey Info: Just one week away! (+ FAQs!)
over 1 year ago – Mon, May 15, 2023 at 10:59:55 AM

Hey, backers! We've been hard at work with BackerKit curating the backer surveys. Let's go over key information about your survey again since it's been a while!

 Timeline: 

•  May 22nd ◆ Backer surveys released 

You'll receive a survey via email from BackerKit, our pledge manager partner. In this survey, you'll be able to choose your digital keys (PC, Mac, or Switch), choose designs for existing add-ons (ex. Ais charm, Leander Enamel Pin), and add any additional rewards. You'll also be providing us your shipping information, which you can update via your survey at anytime until it's locked! 

• July 22nd ◆ Backer survey closes

After July 22nd, you'll no longer be able to add or remove items from your total invoice. However, you'll be able to make changes to your shipping information by using your backer survey at this time. 

• Late July ◆ Cards charged

We'll be collecting your remaining invoice which includes any additional merchandise you've added and shipping/handling fees. With this, we'll be finalizing all physical reward inventory numbers for production! 

• Q4 2023 ◆ Shipping information locked

At this point, you'll no longer be able to use your survey to edit your shipping information. If you have extenuating circumstances that affect your shipping information after this date, please DM or email us at [email protected]

Additional Notes: 

◆ IMPORTANT AppleID Backers ◆

Backers who have pledged to the campaign using their AppleID but haven't completely set up their Apple Pay account (linking their email address to their Apple Wallet) will have issues receiving emails from BackerKit. These backers have a @privaterelay.appleid.com email address, and will need to reach out to us via email [email protected] or BackerKit Support to update their email address in BackerKit.

When you write in to Support, please provide your Name and your Kickstarter pledge number, which can be found in your Kickstarter pledge confirmation email.

Please update your Apple Pay email as soon as possible to prevent this from happening in the future. You can learn more about hiding your email when  signing in with Apple here.

◆ Digital Rewards Items ◆

Digital rewards will be fulfilled some time after backer surveys close, as it determines how many copies of each reward we need to distribute. We don't have an update on when those will go out just yet, but please stay tuned! We're working on getting you more info soon. 

FAQs

◆  What if I don't want to wait until 2026 for non-artbook rewards? ◆

Backers with the artbook reward who are excited to receive their physical merchandise early will have the option to pay for additional shipping, and receive their non-artbook physical rewards early. The first shipment will be all physical rewards without the artbook, and the second shipment will be just the artbook when it's completed in 2026. 

 Make sure you use BackerKit's survey to add "SHIPPING ADD-ON: Receive Shipping in Two Batches"! You'll see that your shipping total has changed to account for your additional shipping purchase.

◆  My card errored out/declined, but I can fix that now. What do I do? ◆

If you were a backer but could not process your payment during Kickstarter's fund collections period (14 days after our campaign closed), you'll be receiving a second chance survey from BackerKit! We'll make sure everyone who was excited about backing us gets their chance! 

◆  I partially paid for shipping during the campaign, where does that go? ◆

We are aware of an unforeseen issue where some backers who purchased a charm add-on were charged $5 for shipping. We're very sorry for this inconvenience, as this was an error on our back-end!

But worry not! This shipping charge will be applied to your invoice as credit after you finish your backer survey.

◆  I received my survey early... is this legit? ◆

A very small sample of folks may receive their survey early, but don't panic! We'll be doing a survey smoke test with a smaller sample of backers to make sure the survey is nice and tidy when it fully releases next Monday. If you get one, you're one of the lucky 5% of backers who get their surveys early! If not, we hope you're as excited as we are for May 22nd! 

◆  What if I want to switch the platform I receive my game on at a later date? ◆

We understand that many things can change in 2 years! Once we get closer to our game release we will be giving backers the option to update the platform they wish to receive their game key on.

As always, thank you all so much for patience! If you have any additional comments or concerns, we have a brand spanking new support email you can reach us at:

>> [email protected]! 

Update: Switch Key Available to All Backers!
over 1 year ago – Mon, May 01, 2023 at 01:13:05 PM

After receiving great feedback from backers about the Switch port, we’re excited to finally announce a new update!

We’ll be offering the Switch Key as an option on your surveys for ALL TOUCHSTARVED game backers! Backers will be able to choose between the PC, Mac, or Switch editions of the game!

Thank you for your kindness and patience during this process. We apologize for the confusion our last update caused and will work hard to prevent future miscommunication.

⬥ When will I receive my game if I decide to get the Switch version? ⬥

The Switch edition of TOUCHSTARVED will be released after we’ve completed the PC and Mac versions. For backers who select the Switch key on their survey, your copy of the TOUCHSTARVED digital key will be held until the Switch edition is launched. Porting is a long process that will have to begin after development has completed, so we cannot provide a concrete timeline at this moment.  However, we will keep you updated as that timeline becomes more firm! 

⬥ When will I receive DLCs for the Switch version of the game? ⬥

At this time, the road map for the DLC release is still in the works. There is a chance Switch key backers may not receive their copy of the game until after the DLCs have been fully completed. Once we have a better idea of what that looks like, we’ll send out an update letting you all know as soon as possible.

⬥ What if I have the Early Access Tier and I want to get the Switch version? ⬥

Due to the nature of the Switch key’s late release, we can only offer the Early Access edition on PC/Mac. Backers who have purchased the Early Access Tier or the Early Access Add-on, and have selected the Switch edition of the game will receive a free early access key for the PC/Mac version in addition to their Switch key, should they want to test the game early.

We’ve also been asked when you can expect to receive digital rewards. Digital rewards will be fulfilled some time after backer surveys close, as it determines how many copies of each reward we need to distribute. Our backer surveys close late July, which will give ample time for folks to add additional items, like adding that sexy trailer theme to their carts if they haven't already 👀! We have a few updates planned with more detailed information, so please stay tuned in the coming weeks.

Moving forward, we want to make sure that you are confident with supporting TOUCHSTARVED and encourage any additional feedback to go to touchstarvedgame (at) gmail.com. 

Thank you again for all of your constructive feedback, kind words, and endless patience! 

Post Campaign Information for Backers
over 1 year ago – Mon, Apr 24, 2023 at 12:49:32 PM

WOW! Our campaign is over, and everyone here at Red Spring Studio is so grateful for the community’s contributions to making our little dream come true! You all helped us raise over 850% of our original funding goal! With your support we’re now able to invest in stretch goals and additional merch!

So, what does this mean going forward? We’re going to address the following topics:

•  Stretch Goals: What extra goodies are included for what tiers?
   
•  Rewards Roadmap: So what’s going to happen for the next two years?
   
•  Artbook Fulfillment
   
•  Backer Survey
   

This will be a long update, so buckle in!

Unlocked Stretch Goals

Now that we’ve unlocked so many extra goodies, we’ve gotten quite a few questions about what exactly is now included in each backer tier. Spoiler alert: each backer starting at the base game tier will receive lots of extra rewards thanks to the community’s collective efforts! Some stretch goals covered our expenses to create and manufacture rewards, which can be purchased at a later date. Let’s go over exactly which of these rewards are included in your tiers, and which can be purchased later:

Key items to note: 

Sen and Elyon enamel pins will be available as options or to purchase as extras via your backer survey! We'll be posting mockups of those soon, hope you're excited! 

Due to the time and resources our small team needs to port to the Nintendo Switch, we can only offer a PC/Mac edition for your pledge reward! However with our current funds dedicated to porting the game, we anticipate the Switch edition to release after the base game on PC, which will be available for purchase on the Nintendo E-shop. 

Rewards Road Map

So, what exactly will you receive while you’re holding onto your excitement for the next two years? Here’s a lovely little road map that shows you how we’ll be keeping backers in the loop. 

Our goal is to provide you with regular updates here on Kickstarter every 4-6 weeks along with exclusive insider look into development for backers. We're hoping our best to give all our backers the highest level of polish our team can offer for the base game in 2025, but some additional content such as the Nintendo Switch port and the DLCs may take longer than our base game release date. We'll keep you posted on dates for those releases as we trek forward in development. 

We’re also going to keep our social media active, so please continue to send us all your positivity and kindness as we’ve got A LOT of work ahead of us.

Artbook Fulfillment

We anticipate our first round of physical rewards to begin fulfillment in early 2024. These items include the charms, enamel pins, prints, standees, and tote bags. However, the artbook will not be fully designed and printed until after all the art production for TOUCHSTARVED has been completed. This will likely be around late 2025. Makes sense, right?

We will be offering all backers who have the artbook (included in tier or as an add-on) two fulfillment options.

1. Have your shipment held until 2026, and have all physical rewards be sent in one package.
    

OR

1. For those who can’t wait and are willing to pay for additional shipping, you can have your shipment sent in two packages: the artbook sent in 2026 and all other physical rewards shipped early in 2024.
    

At this time you only need to think about your decision. You’ll make your choice when you receive your backer survey, which we’ll explain next!

Next Steps and Backer Survey

First, Kickstarter needs to transfer over the funds so we have the money to both fully develop TOUCHSTARVED and all of your additional rewards (this can take up to two weeks). If for any reason there is a charge failure, please refer to Kickstarter's page on how to fix payment for your pledge!  If you're having additional issues, please direct message us through Kickstarter, or email us at touchstarvedgame (at) gmail.com 

Secondly, we're going to be sending you a BACKER SURVEY through BackerKit. With this survey, you will be able to confirm which merchandise designs you'd like, add any extra add-ons listed above, and change your mailing information. 

For all backers with physical rewards or add-ons, shipping will be calculated through the backer survey. 

Average shipping and handling fees are as follows, dependent on weight of package:

• USA: $5-25
• Canada: $15-40
• International (excluding Canada): $20-50

International customers are responsible for all VAT and customs fees associated with your purchase.

We’ll give you a heads-up here and on social media before we send the survey so that you can watch out for it. As visualized above in our road map, we’re anticipating for this survey to go out in about 4 weeks.

You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to answer your survey! The invitation email contains a link to your personal survey. Please submit your responses as promptly as you can since we need this information to process your rewards.

If you need to change your survey responses, purchase add-on items, or update your shipping information, you can click the link in your survey email again or request your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page. (This page will only start working after we send the surveys out.)

I know that was a lot of info, but thanks for sticking around! If you have any additional questions that have not been answered in our FAQ, please feel free to message us directly on Kickstarter or email us at touchstarvedgame (at) gmail.com

Thank you all again for your support! We’ll be in touch when we have more updates!

THANK YOU! Our fundraising on Kickstarter is complete!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Apr 22, 2023 at 03:17:00 PM

Wow... These last 30 days have been a dream 😭🤍 From the entire Red Spring Studio Team, THANK YOU for supporting and cheering us on! 

We’ve received support from 13,000+ backers from more than 80 different countries around the globe. We’ve been reading all of your heartfelt messages from multiple channels, in a wide array of languages, and we’re absolutely stunned by the love we received from this campaign! 

Words cannot describe how grateful and excited we are for the road ahead, but for now, our team deserves a long nap. 

Stick around though — we still have some exciting surprises up our sleeves we’ll be updating you with in the coming days! We’re also compiling some post campaign information that we’ll be updating here to answer all of your questions! Thank you all so much for your patience 💓