An increasing number of individuals and companies are leveraging the ready-made mechanisms of Kickstarter and Indiegogo for projects that are far removed from the grassroots spirit.

Consider Irvine-based video game company Obsidian Entertainment. The 80-employee firm is the larger of two examples cited in a Take Two report by KPCC’s Ben Bergman. Through a Kickstarter campaign that ended October 16, Obsidian raised just under $4 million for the development of Project Eternity:

At $15, where most people donate, you’re basically prepaying for the game to get a 50-percent discount. At $3,000, you get a custom designed portrait in the game.

And for $10,000 – and yes, there are four people who gave 10 grand – you get to play the game of your choice with Project Eternity‘s creators. “If you want to get your nerd on and get play a game with the people who made Project Eternity, you have the opportunity to do so,” executive producer Adam Brennecke said.

Bergman notes that Newport Beach firm Exile Entertainment showed Obsidian the way earlier this spring by rustling up an equally staggering $2,933,952 for Wasteland 2. Two projects… A total of $6,920,881 pledged… Sounds more like Quantumfinisher than Kickstarter.