Ghost Song was a great idea when they weren't making Metroidvanias but that time has passed. One of the few I invested in that I would not have, had I known.
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Kickstarter regrets
- Thread starter alexi52
- Start date
Wow y'all throwing away money in this thread.
I've been way to cautious to back any. I was tempted for H-Hour, the tactical shooter made by the SOCOM director, but even he left that project.
I thought about Shenmue 3, but they already had the money, and I'm still not sure why they asked for people's.
I'll do Patreons for content that's actually releasing, but if I'm going to invest in a future project, I better have a share of ownership like stock.
I've been way to cautious to back any. I was tempted for H-Hour, the tactical shooter made by the SOCOM director, but even he left that project.
I thought about Shenmue 3, but they already had the money, and I'm still not sure why they asked for people's.
I'll do Patreons for content that's actually releasing, but if I'm going to invest in a future project, I better have a share of ownership like stock.
For me 2: yooka-laylee (it isn't terrible but it wasn't what I had hoped), and Formula Fusion, only since I backed the ps4 release and it seems like it will never come out.
And I was on the fence witj unsung stories.
And I was on the fence witj unsung stories.
I'm beginning to worry about backing Star Citizen. Even with weekly updates, it doesn't seem like any tangible progress is being made. Lots of work on little pieces of the game, but no real work on tying it all together into a cohesive whole.
But I also backed The Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival, which was fantastic and I don't regret that one bit. So I guess they cancel out.
But I also backed The Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival, which was fantastic and I don't regret that one bit. So I guess they cancel out.
Only game-related kickstarter I've backed was Broken Age, which I don't regret at all. The game itself was fine, if a bit uneven, but following along with the development through the documentary was amazing.
Otherwise, I didn't back it, but I just finished Hollow Knight and that was fantastic.
Otherwise, I didn't back it, but I just finished Hollow Knight and that was fantastic.
Fortunately I tend not to give kickstarters much money (only exception being maybe Shenmue 3, since I'd been wanting that game for decades), so even my regrets aren't too hurtful in the long run. More disappointed that the project didn't work out I guess.
That said, to list some
Project Phoenix - Snail pace progress with very little hope of it actually being delivered. Last I heard they only had one programmer on it, or something stupid like that.
Unsung Story - First developer kept changing their ideas and then eventually passed it onto someone else. New people have posted updates, so it's looking more hopeful but who knows what'll come out of it in the end.
The Mandate - Disappeared off the side of the planet, they were having money issues, so probably went bankrupt at some point.
I've backed a lot of kickstarters (80 odd looking at my history on kickstarter - doesn't include indiegogo or fig), and honestly the rest of them have either been delivered or they're looking like they will be delivered in the near future for the most recent backings. So overall I feel like I'm not too down over Kickstarting. If you're smart enough with what you back, it's not as big of a risk as some make out. I think sometimes you just have to accept that you're just putting your money down to help it along, and it may not pan out due to how messy programming projects can be.
There's a few which are slow in coming out like Shenmue 3 or Star Citizen, but as long as they come out eventually I'm not in a hurry. I'd rather them take their time and it be good.
That said, to list some
Project Phoenix - Snail pace progress with very little hope of it actually being delivered. Last I heard they only had one programmer on it, or something stupid like that.
Unsung Story - First developer kept changing their ideas and then eventually passed it onto someone else. New people have posted updates, so it's looking more hopeful but who knows what'll come out of it in the end.
The Mandate - Disappeared off the side of the planet, they were having money issues, so probably went bankrupt at some point.
I've backed a lot of kickstarters (80 odd looking at my history on kickstarter - doesn't include indiegogo or fig), and honestly the rest of them have either been delivered or they're looking like they will be delivered in the near future for the most recent backings. So overall I feel like I'm not too down over Kickstarting. If you're smart enough with what you back, it's not as big of a risk as some make out. I think sometimes you just have to accept that you're just putting your money down to help it along, and it may not pan out due to how messy programming projects can be.
There's a few which are slow in coming out like Shenmue 3 or Star Citizen, but as long as they come out eventually I'm not in a hurry. I'd rather them take their time and it be good.
Ghost Song, I know it's not canceled yet and he's still working on it, but jesus the estimated delivery was May 2014. The stretch goals were for a Wii U version...
https://i.imgur.com/o0g1StY.mp4
Still looks cool at least.
https://i.imgur.com/o0g1StY.mp4
Still looks cool at least.
The pain is real.
Im on that boat too. I mean, i got Mighty Number 9 and Yooka Laylee too and liked neither, but at least i got the game. Project Phoenix touched my heartstrings with promises of a Final Fantasty Tactics inspired game, which is my favorite game ever, and never delivered. Lost money and took a big hit on supporting future projects.
Drift stage was another one too...
I backed a Kanji memorisation game that sounded cool, but then I realised there was no plan to release an iOS version. T_T
Diabotical. It's supposed to be an Arena shooter akin to Unreal Tournament. There's about one or two updates a year and if you're in the official discord, the guy who makes the game is just streaming himself almost every day playing other games. Literally nothing has changed. It's been god damn years and everytime I bring it up in the Discord, die hard fans tell me to either fuck off or stfu. It's pathetic.
I have backed 36 projects(most board games) and none are of any real concern outside of 1
a dungeon crawler type game that has an estimated delivery date of October 2013
7 updates through 2017 all of which were effectively "Its christmas! here's some concept art" "it's summer! here's some concept art and also we redid the physics engine again"
a lot of the board game projects are great though. no regrets except no one ever knows how to get close to their est delivery date
a dungeon crawler type game that has an estimated delivery date of October 2013
7 updates through 2017 all of which were effectively "Its christmas! here's some concept art" "it's summer! here's some concept art and also we redid the physics engine again"
a lot of the board game projects are great though. no regrets except no one ever knows how to get close to their est delivery date
Do we seriously need this with every Kickstarter thread?
This is what happens, sometime's indie developers don't have the funds to achieve their goal and the backers (US) help them achieve that if we like their vision. Nobody forces people to do it, It's just because we saw something that was interesting and we'd love to play it.
I think about the game every once in a while- it's one of the very few games I backed, because I'm extremely picky. I love the art style.
I know youre focused on development of the game, but do you think it could be released on OSX?
Honestly, they probably don't. As I mentioned in my post, it's so busted that I can't even get past the track select consistently.
Well, it's at least a finished project that was delivered but it didnn't control very well.
I've had pretty good luck in avoiding bad video game Kickstarters. The least successful KS I backed was probably NightCry, the spiritual successor of Clock Tower. It's still sitting on my steam library unplayed. I've heard really mixed things about the game, so I'm hesitant to get around to actually play it.
My biggest problem is the time it takes for a game to get from Kickstarter concept to finished product, my interest in the game has waned:
I backed Torment: Tides of Numenera. By the time it was released, I no longer had the time/interest in playing a Baldur's Gate style RPG. I never even bothered to redeem the digital key I was entitled to. Same thing happened with the tabletop RPG; I dropped over $100 for the book + PDF of all the initial splats, but by the time it was released my RPG gaming group broke up. The core book is still sitting on my shelf unwrapped and a 2nd ed of the RPG is on its way, so I'll probably never unwrap it at this point.
Bloodstained was and will probably be the last video game Kickstarter I'll back. At this point, there really isn't any point in backing video games campaigns anymore. It's like why should I tie up $30-60 of my money for a game that won't be out for 2-3 years, might turn out horrible, and if I do want play it, I could just pay the same amount at retail release I'd have paid in the KS pledge? Kickstarter video game campaigns make no sense anymore.
My biggest problem is the time it takes for a game to get from Kickstarter concept to finished product, my interest in the game has waned:
I backed Torment: Tides of Numenera. By the time it was released, I no longer had the time/interest in playing a Baldur's Gate style RPG. I never even bothered to redeem the digital key I was entitled to. Same thing happened with the tabletop RPG; I dropped over $100 for the book + PDF of all the initial splats, but by the time it was released my RPG gaming group broke up. The core book is still sitting on my shelf unwrapped and a 2nd ed of the RPG is on its way, so I'll probably never unwrap it at this point.
Bloodstained was and will probably be the last video game Kickstarter I'll back. At this point, there really isn't any point in backing video games campaigns anymore. It's like why should I tie up $30-60 of my money for a game that won't be out for 2-3 years, might turn out horrible, and if I do want play it, I could just pay the same amount at retail release I'd have paid in the KS pledge? Kickstarter video game campaigns make no sense anymore.
MN9 for me. I only pledged for the game tier so at least it was as much money as some of you paid for it.
Yikes, I was gonna back this one too but I cancelled the pledge last minute because it wasn't going to be ported to Wii U (lol). It seems I dodged a bullet.
Yikes, I was gonna back this one too but I cancelled the pledge last minute because it wasn't going to be ported to Wii U (lol). It seems I dodged a bullet.
This thread made me take a look at my backed projects and notice that (since the game was released almost a year ago) Hinterland haven't and 99% likely won't ever send me the DVD hard case for The Long Dark they promised and I also paid shipping for. There have been no updates about this at all. They've just completely ignored this obligation towards the people who helped fund their game. Which by they way, I didn't care for at all like I thought/hoped I would. Others think it's good, but I played it for like 30 minutes.
So that's my biggest regret right now.
Backers believed in their vision and ability to the point that we financially helped make their game happen. We supported and rooted for them. Why would you treat your benefactors this way? Fucking garbage behavior.
I'm pissed now.
Hopefully they'll respond to their backer email and give me a refund.
edit
After an initial quick response they went silent for a couple of days, which was worrying, but ultimately they did give me a refund.
So that's my biggest regret right now.
Backers believed in their vision and ability to the point that we financially helped make their game happen. We supported and rooted for them. Why would you treat your benefactors this way? Fucking garbage behavior.
I'm pissed now.
Hopefully they'll respond to their backer email and give me a refund.
edit
After an initial quick response they went silent for a couple of days, which was worrying, but ultimately they did give me a refund.
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Backed my share of wins:
Shovel Knight
Pillars of Eternity
Wasteland II
Shantae: 1/2 genie hero
Backed my share of Duds:
Project Pheonix
Unsung whatever
Mighty No 9
And Two that remain to be seen:
Soul Saga (I have low expectations, and I am pretty sure I don't actually have a way to play the game but I might actually get this one)
Binding of isaac Card game - It just launched. I backed it day 1, I'm expecting it to take double the amount of time they are expecting though.
Shovel Knight
Pillars of Eternity
Wasteland II
Shantae: 1/2 genie hero
Backed my share of Duds:
Project Pheonix
Unsung whatever
Mighty No 9
And Two that remain to be seen:
Soul Saga (I have low expectations, and I am pretty sure I don't actually have a way to play the game but I might actually get this one)
Binding of isaac Card game - It just launched. I backed it day 1, I'm expecting it to take double the amount of time they are expecting though.
As an old-school Ultima fan I was seriously considering backing Shroud of the Avatar at the time. So much hype, Richard Garriott's return to RPGs, blah blah blah. Glad I dodged that bullet. Game ended up being a complete clusterfuck and almost 5 years later apparently they are finally starting to ship some of the physical rewards. LOL
Probably that Rainbow Six spiritual successor, I think it was called Red Sabre or something? Played for 5 minutes and it was crap.
Put $20 into Star Citizen, don't really regret that though because I've had a few hours of fun messing around in the Alpha so far. Glad I didn't spend any more though.
Also don't understand everyone bemoaning the SS remake? They've shown lots of progress lately and the devs stream stuff regularly. I think the hiatus thing was overhyped. Sounds like the scope got away from them for a minute but seems to me that they were able to refocus, I'm sure it'll come out at some point.
Edit: Just for the hell of it I just looked at every video game project I've backed.
Wasteland 2 - Got the game, heard good things, but haven't had time/interest to play it.
Takedown - Utter crap, luckily only spend $15
Planetary Annihilation - Got the game, but lost interest after hearing the mixed reception.
Pillars of Eternity - Absolutely worth it, fantastic game.
Star Citizen - I've enjoyed the Alpha, still have faith.
Hyper Light Drifter - Fun as fuck, got exactly what I wanted.
Drift Stage - Way overdue, but I'm still hopeful. The dev has been emphatic that he's gonna release this year.
Overload - Came out earlier this year, heard great things but haven't tried it yet.
System Shock - TBD, I'm still hopeful.
The Good Life - Who knows, but I want to support SWERY regardless
Project Wingman - Just finished up the other day, but it already had a fantastic demo so I'm not worried.
Overall I've became a lot more discerning about which Kickstarters I back, and pretty much just accept that I'm gonna get the game later than estimated. I definitely think KS as whole has been a positive thing, there's been a ton of great games to come out of it. Shovel Knight might be my favorite.
Put $20 into Star Citizen, don't really regret that though because I've had a few hours of fun messing around in the Alpha so far. Glad I didn't spend any more though.
Also don't understand everyone bemoaning the SS remake? They've shown lots of progress lately and the devs stream stuff regularly. I think the hiatus thing was overhyped. Sounds like the scope got away from them for a minute but seems to me that they were able to refocus, I'm sure it'll come out at some point.
Edit: Just for the hell of it I just looked at every video game project I've backed.
Wasteland 2 - Got the game, heard good things, but haven't had time/interest to play it.
Takedown - Utter crap, luckily only spend $15
Planetary Annihilation - Got the game, but lost interest after hearing the mixed reception.
Pillars of Eternity - Absolutely worth it, fantastic game.
Star Citizen - I've enjoyed the Alpha, still have faith.
Hyper Light Drifter - Fun as fuck, got exactly what I wanted.
Drift Stage - Way overdue, but I'm still hopeful. The dev has been emphatic that he's gonna release this year.
Overload - Came out earlier this year, heard great things but haven't tried it yet.
System Shock - TBD, I'm still hopeful.
The Good Life - Who knows, but I want to support SWERY regardless
Project Wingman - Just finished up the other day, but it already had a fantastic demo so I'm not worried.
Overall I've became a lot more discerning about which Kickstarters I back, and pretty much just accept that I'm gonna get the game later than estimated. I definitely think KS as whole has been a positive thing, there's been a ton of great games to come out of it. Shovel Knight might be my favorite.
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thank you :)
I'm developing in Unity now so a lot of things should be possible, but it's hard to say anything about platforms right now.
It was never on hiatus. That was faulty reporting/miscommunication at the time. All they did was restructure the project to more closely follow the original game as their at the time development roadmap was changing the game to the point it was no longer System Shock anymore.
Castle Story. Looked like a neat little game that was far along in development when I kickatarted in 2012.
Cut to release in late 2017 and I don't care anymore. Still haven't played it.
Cut to release in late 2017 and I don't care anymore. Still haven't played it.
YUPPPP
First and only game I've ever backed on Kickstarter. What a nightmare. Sad thing I wasn't even that big of a Mega Man fan before, I just liked the idea of a creator being able to make the kind of games they wanted to that big publishers weren't willing to make. I went into playing it with incredibly low expectations after seeing all the pre-release material, still managed to completely and utterly disappoint me. It's not better than nothing. Nothing wouldn't have taken an hour of my life I can't get back.
I was in the room at PAX when Inafune launched the MN9 Kickstarter and fell for the hype. I'm pretty sure I never bothered to redeem the code.
This reminded me to follow up on the very first Kickstarter project I backed, a documentary on the Chinatown Fair. It's been out for a couple of years now but I never got my physical DVD, and the guy only responded once stating he mailed it and then stopped responding entirely when I said I never got it. Whelp.
I did, however, dodge that Project Phoenix bullet, canceling a $120 pledge once I sat down and started reading their page more closely though once the excitement died down.
This reminded me to follow up on the very first Kickstarter project I backed, a documentary on the Chinatown Fair. It's been out for a couple of years now but I never got my physical DVD, and the guy only responded once stating he mailed it and then stopped responding entirely when I said I never got it. Whelp.
I did, however, dodge that Project Phoenix bullet, canceling a $120 pledge once I sat down and started reading their page more closely though once the excitement died down.
Off all the games I backed on Kickstarter there has been no disappointment.
Cryamore and Ghost Song have still a chance to be disappointing as they are still not done yet, years after they were supposed to but thats what happens if you have a vision and great plans and then reality hits but I will wait and judge when they release.
But there was a big fat disappointment with the GCW Zero, this was a real struggle to first get this thing and when I got my hands on my unit a year late it was of course (even more) out of date hardware and the promised support was nowhere to be seen, I think even to this day the HDMI out doesn't work because of missing drivers - and there are at least 30 people still waiting on their kickstarter units. (the project should have been done in 2014)
Cryamore and Ghost Song have still a chance to be disappointing as they are still not done yet, years after they were supposed to but thats what happens if you have a vision and great plans and then reality hits but I will wait and judge when they release.
But there was a big fat disappointment with the GCW Zero, this was a real struggle to first get this thing and when I got my hands on my unit a year late it was of course (even more) out of date hardware and the promised support was nowhere to be seen, I think even to this day the HDMI out doesn't work because of missing drivers - and there are at least 30 people still waiting on their kickstarter units. (the project should have been done in 2014)
Because there seems to be a ton of misinformation here...
Read this:
They never went on hiatus and it was never canceled. They've been posting updates monthly or bimonthly regularly the entire time the project has been in development. The last update was 2 days ago:
Read this:
They never went on hiatus and it was never canceled. They've been posting updates monthly or bimonthly regularly the entire time the project has been in development. The last update was 2 days ago:
Powerdrive 2000- I think I only paid like $15 towards this game, but yeah...it's never coming. The creator went silent a few years back and disappeared last time I checked.
GCW Zero- I received this, so no loss in the Kickstarter rip off and run sense, but found the hardware crappy, with shitty controls. Taught me to never back hardware, although I might make an exception for the next GPD WIN.
GCW Zero- I received this, so no loss in the Kickstarter rip off and run sense, but found the hardware crappy, with shitty controls. Taught me to never back hardware, although I might make an exception for the next GPD WIN.
Only ever backed Yooka-Laylee, and Shenmue 3, two games I was convinced from the start would not live up to expectations. However, I do not regret back either. I loved the past work of those people enough to let them try. I'd still back a new Playtonic project now.
I mean, none, I never funded anything for a quality end product, only my belief in its opportunity to be made.
Not like buying from a storefront for me.
Not like buying from a storefront for me.
So, consider this article:
https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/16/17016744/system-shock-reboot-hiatus-nightdive-interview
Or even this quote:
This is them announcing that they fucked up, which is all I said (other than they implication that they had to restart). This obviously set them back a lot.
pa22word said:
It looks kinda like they did go on hiatus, however briefly. Emphasis is mine.
They later came out and said that article was a misinterpretation of what he actually meant (ie a restructure) and Polygon used a bs source who was someone they fired and had a bone to pick.
The project itself was never put on hiatus, the /team/ was while they figured out what they had to do to restructure the game.
I've had a fair bit of luck with Kickstarter. The only really high profile failure I've been part of was the Ouya. And I'm glad that it existed -- it lit a fire under the other console makers to make Indie games a priority; I think that it lead directly the things like the really wonderful Indie situation on the Switch. And I did get some really excellent Towerfall sessions out of it while I had it hooked up.
I think that it's usually a mistake to back something based on a high profile creator from a big studio being involved. If you back, you want to either go with someone like Double Fine, who have a track record of delivering independent games (it can take a while, but that's just expected -- Murphy's Law of Business states that everything takes longer and costs more), or back a small team with a really solid prototype or demo. The game doesn't always turn out to be exactly to your taste, but you have a much better chance of having backed something that gets released as a polished, finished game that way. Someone who is used to a lot of corporate infrastructure around them to take care of the little details isn't necessarily going to be as successful when striking out with a smaller team, no matter how good their past games were. At the very least, you want them to demonstrate that they can make a convincing prototype before you send money their way.
I would never put important money into Kickstarter. But it can be a great way of throwing a bit of mad money toward making something happen that wouldn't otherwise happen. Plus the backer rewards can be fun.
I think that it's usually a mistake to back something based on a high profile creator from a big studio being involved. If you back, you want to either go with someone like Double Fine, who have a track record of delivering independent games (it can take a while, but that's just expected -- Murphy's Law of Business states that everything takes longer and costs more), or back a small team with a really solid prototype or demo. The game doesn't always turn out to be exactly to your taste, but you have a much better chance of having backed something that gets released as a polished, finished game that way. Someone who is used to a lot of corporate infrastructure around them to take care of the little details isn't necessarily going to be as successful when striking out with a smaller team, no matter how good their past games were. At the very least, you want them to demonstrate that they can make a convincing prototype before you send money their way.
I would never put important money into Kickstarter. But it can be a great way of throwing a bit of mad money toward making something happen that wouldn't otherwise happen. Plus the backer rewards can be fun.
So you're saying this person pretended to be Stephen Kick in the e-mail? As the quote is directly attributed to him. But then there's another resource to a source -- I can accept that their source might be BS, but also the e-mail from Kick himself? It looks kind of cut and dry, and no retraction notice on the article -- did they even try to have the article updated?
edit: Just noticed your said "team" was put on hiatus rather than project. Not really sure what the difference is in this case and claiming that that is misinformation seems a bit at odds with the reality of the situation; "projects" never go on hiatus in this case, it's only ever teams. Semantics are basically the same.