Well, there's always a risk and nothing is certain. Like Broken Age, where Tim Schafer's $3.3 million weren't enough for him to finish the game he wanted. But consider this like if instead of a publisher is funding you (with the pros and cons of this), the gamers are doing it. If your project has a $100 000 goal and you achieve it, and if you have a plan to finish it within 12 months (full time job), you'll have $8333.33 a month! Usually, the small project games are consisted by 2-3 people, but lets say you have a team of 6 people. That means roughly $1388 per month for each one person. Also, you may surpass your goal, reaching like $120 000, with an (usually) overpriced goal. But, once your game is released, don't forget that your game (like most of those games, if not all), will went to Steam and other consoles that will earn you money. What you'll earn you may spend on your next project and so on.KeenRush wrote:
So in the end, if you're very careful with your calculations, it's a win-win process. You'll work on what you want and get paid and make profit.
Btw, here's another project that's worth looking at:
La-Mulana 2