Reed
2787
So after Brad McQuaid’s Kickstarter MMO didn’t meet its $800k goal (already low for an MMO), they ended up raising $147k elsewhere and continued onward?
Sounds like this is all sorts of trouble…
mok
2788
Gawd. We have to hear about losing cash in 2007 and everything.
Nesrie
2789
Interesting that a KS project is being sued for not delivering;
I am not sure what legal grounds they can use considering the donation nature of the site. It might be something worth watching at least.
Fair enough. Still, they end up getting the game, maybe not for free, but at a major discount. If a publisher isn’t fronting the money anymore, there goes just about the only good thing they provide. All they’re really doing in this deal is trading their IP for exclusivity. Not sure that’s a fair trade, given how much a modest hit can make across multiple platforms compared to Sony-only. But having worked for a mid-sized developer in these circumstances, I know what Harmonix is thinking: Right now they just need a paying project to get them through the year, maybe next. They can’t afford the risk of an original property no one recognizes. And when they bust their ass producing something cool, they’ll have taken in and spent much of the revenue for the game (the kickstarter funds from their biggest fans), have no options to expand its audience, and be desperately looking for the next project to get them through. I might do the same thing in their position, but it doesn’t make it any less true that Sony has happily broken the traditional publisher/developer relationship and come out with the long end of the stick.
Let’s not make claims without knowing anything about the actual deal. Sony could have offered matching funds, or something else. They can also offer a big promotional platform via their Blog or stage presence at big shows. And they did fund the IP in the first place, and Harmonix obviously thinks that has some value. But even if you’re right, telling Harmonix they can use one of their IPs with the only restriction being that it can’t appear on competing platforms is far more accommodating that most companies would be.
One thing that is clear is Sony is willing to experiment in this area. When they hired Gio Corsi as their Director of Third Party Production they encouraged people just just tweet at him to tell him what games they want to see on the PlayStation platforms. On the one hand that has involved Sony basically fully funding things like the port of Borderlands 2 to Vita, but on the other hand that could mean opening up their IP catalog to explore alternative ways of funding games people want. When they backed the Sports Friends Kickstarter in a big way that was a signal of things to come, and they’ve been incredibly active in seeking out devs behind popular Kickstarter projects as they are funding to make sure PS4 and Vita become targeted platforms.
That’s not to say this isn’t weird. Everything about Kickstarter is weird and my misgivings are pretty well documented. Everyone is still in the process of testing the limits of what can be done and what people will support. About the only sure bets these days are retro games with really gorgeous pixel art animated gifs.
rei
2792
Maybe Brad is spending the money on opiates.
rei
2793
I just want to get things straight here. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is crashing because Brad McQuaid took out an advance on his pay which amounted to over a third of the raised budget? It wasn’t supposed to be such a big hit because they expected an angel investor to come through, but that didn’t happen? Is that right?
Basically.
I blame Everquest.
Clanan
2796
$50k for three months? That’s a nice advance.
It’s Brad McQuaid, is anyone really surprised that this is turning into a fiasco?
Imagine if they’d gotten the Star Citizen budget. It would be epic :) (And it still might…)
Shame for those working on it, of course.
Well, no. Still, I’m surprised at the reason given for the failure here.
After the Vanguard revelations?
Is anyone, really? Oh, I suppose so, it’s the internet. But I mean most people.
$50K for 3 months? Is that what out-of-work, washed-up game designers are making these days?
What a piece of shit.
That interview should be posted on Kickstarter’s front page as a disclaimer. “You know, you might get the project you contributed to, as described. Or you might get a fucking scumbag treating your contributions as a personal slush fund, and get fuck all in return. Shrug. Welcome to Kickstarter!”
I don’t think this is a Kickstarter issue. The Kickstarter failed for Pantheon, correct? People (unwisely) pledged to the project on their independent site.
Seriously though. His salary would’ve blown through their funds in 9 months. Talk about a high burn rate.
Correct. And man, giving people money for a project that failed on Kickstarter without even as much safeguard as Kickstarter provides (basically just not taking your money if the goal isn’t met, granted) has never ever seemed like a good move to me. Or for the people in question, honestly. I’m not saying every failed Kickstarter is solely a lack of a viable market for that project, but on something like this you’d think it would qualify as a warning sign.
shang
2805
Universim is a new planet-simulator/god-game that looks very interesting. The design sounds super ambitious, though, so I’m not sure how good the chances are that they manage to deliver.
For those that love the JRPG genre this might be worth checking out, Shiness:
And RPS has a little bit about it here:
