17 new ideas on Kickstarter that are worth millions

Pebble is the most funded Kickstarter project of all time.

Entrepreneurs and artists can post ideas and raise money from other users on Kickstarter. No project had ever raised $1 million on the platform before 2012. But, in the last 12 months, 17 projects exceeded 9-figure fundraises on Kickstarter.

Pebble, the most funded Kickstarter project of all time, raised $10.2 million in less than one month from 67,000 people.

So what kind of ideas are people paying millions for?

The projects include everything from video games to home automation systems.

1. Amanda Palmer, a project to launch a new album, art book, and tour, raised $1.19 million from 24,883 backers.

Project Name: Amanda Palmer: The new RECORD, ART BOOK, and TOUR

Number of backers: 24,883

Original goal: $100,000

Total pledged: $1,192,793

What it is: A music album by Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra, an art book and gallery tour.

2. SmartThings, a home automation gadget, raised $1.2 million from 5,694 backers.

Project Name: SmartThings: Make Your World Smarter

Number of backers: 5,694

Original goal: $250,000

Total pledged: $1,209,423

What it is: “SmartThings makes it easy to connect the things in your physical world to the Internet. You can monitor, control, automate, and have fun with them from anywhere – at home, office, or on the go.”

3. A comic, The Order of the Stick, managed to raise $1.25 million from nearly 15,000 people.

Project Name: The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive

Number of backers: 14,952

Original goal: $57,750

Total pledged: $1,254,120

What it is: “I’ve been self-publishing my comedy-fantasy-adventure webcomic The Order of the Stick in paper format since 2005, but one of the hardest parts about doing it all on my own is keeping the older books available. This project is designed to get at least one of those books back into print.”

4. LIFX, a light bulb that you control with your iPhone, raised $1.3 million from 9,236 backers.

Project Name: LIFX: The Light Bulb Reinvented

Number of backers: 9,236

Original goal: $100,000

Total pledged: $1,314,542

What it is: “LIFX is a WiFi enabled, multi-color, energy efficient LED light bulb that you control with your iPhone or Android.”

5. The sleek Elevation Dock for iPhones raised $1.46 million from 12,521 backers.

Project Name: Elevation Dock: The Best Dock for iPhone

Number of backers: 12,521

Original goal: $75,000

Total pledged: $1,464,706

What it is: An elevated dock for iPhone that “blows away Apple’s crap options,” says The Next Web. It easily unlocks, works with any case, weighs nothing, and fits the iPhone aesthetic.

6. Video game Shadowrun Returns raised $1.8 million from 36,276 people.

Project Name: Shadowrun Returns

Number of backers: 36,276

Original goal: $400,000

Total pledged: $1,836,447

What it is: “Shadowrun Returns brings back one of our most original & cherished game settings as a 2D turn-based RPG for tablets & PC.”

7. Star Citizen, a space adventure game, raised $2.1 million from 34,397 backers.

Project Name: Star Citizen

Number of backers: 34,397

Original goal: $500,000

Total pledged: $2,134,374

What it is: “A rich universe focused on epic space adventure, trading and dogfighting in first person.”

8. Planetary Annihilation, a real time strategy game, raised $2.2 million from 44,162 backers.

Project Name: Planetary Annihilation – A Next Generation RTS

Number of backers: 44,162

Original goal: $900,000

Total pledged: $2,229,344

What it is: “Planetary Annihilation brings RTS (real time strategy) gameplay to a new generation of players in a way that’s never been seen before.”

9. Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset for video games, raised $2.4 million from 9,552 backers.

Project Name: Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game

Number of backers: 9,522

Original goal: $250,000

Total pledged: $2,437,429

What it is: A virtual reality headset for video games.

10. Homestuck, an adventure game, raised $2.5 million from 24,346 backers.

Project Name: Homestuck Adventure Game

Number of backers: 24,346

Original goal: $700,000

Total pledged: $2,485,506

What it is: An adventure game based on the illustrated, semi-animated story Homestuck.

11. Another video game, Wasteland 2, raised $2.93 million from 61,290 backers.

Project Name: Wasteland 2

Number of backers: 61,290

Original goal: $900,000

Total pledged: $2,933,252

What it is: “Wasteland 2 is the direct sequel to the first ever post-apocalyptic computer RPG. The original Wasteland was the inspiration for the FALLOUT series of games, and the first RPG to allow players to split parties for tactical considerations, to face players with moral choices, and to make them deal with the consequences of their actions… IGN named it one of the top 25 PC games of all time, Computer Gaming World named it the Adventure Game of the year in 1988, and it was short-listed for inclusion in the Smithsonian Institution’s current “Art of the Computer Game” exhibition.”

12. Form 1, an affordable 3D printer, raised $2.9 million from 2,068 backers.

Project Name: FORM 1: An affordable, professional 3D printer

Number of backers: 2,068

Original goal: $100,000

Total pledged: $2,945,885

What it is: An affordable 3D printer for professional designers and creators

13. Video game Double Fine Adventure which raised $3.34 million from 87,142 people.

Project Name: Double Fine Adventure

Number of backers: 87,142

Original goal: $400,000

Total pledged: $3,336,371

What it is: A new point-and-click video game from Double Fine Productions. “What really happens behind the closed doors of a development studio is often unknown, unappreciated, or misunderstood…. With this project, we’re taking that door off its hinges and inviting you into the world of Double Fine Productions, the first major studio to fully finance their next game with a Kickstarter campaign and develop it in the public eye.”

14. Reaper Miniatures raised $3.4 million from 17,744 backers.