Defense Grid's unique Kickstarter may produce Defense Grid 2

Hidden Path Entertainment announced today that they are launching aKickstarter campaignto fund further content in theircritically acclaimedDefense Grid tower defense series.

The Kickstarter is a bit different from the norm, however. Despite being labeled as a Kickstarter campaign for Defense Grid 2, a sequel will only be made if the campaign reaches its stretch goal of $1 million, four times the funding goal of $250,000.

The project is being constructed in four different stages. If the original goal of $250,000 is reach then the team will release an 8 level expansion pack for the original game which sets up the story of the sequel. At $500,000 they'll release co-op multiplayer built in the DG2 engine. $750,000 means they'll release a level editor, and at $1 million they begin working on a sequel.

We'd be pretty psyched for the release of a Defense Grid sequel, but we worry that the Kickstarter is set up poorly. What about the users who want Defense Grid 2 but don't care about the other content? Is their money wasted if the Kickstarter only raises $500,000 or $750,000? The way this is set up sort of skirts around the protections that the Kickstarter format provides users.

Of course, a rundown of the strategy is given in the description. Nobody is being deceived about the intent of the campaign. That said, we do worry that some people may get the wrong idea when they see the Kickstarter is titled "Defense Grid 2" with a funding goal of $250,000. In every other Kickstarter we've seen, the funding goal gives you what's advertised in the title.

Watch the Defense Grid 2 video from Kickstarter below: