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[Burger]

KS is no more an investment than it is a pre-order. The closest traditional analogue is patronage.

I agree. Usually you make an investment for a return, usually a share of profit. Kickstarter offers none of this.

It's funny that the terms "donation", "investment", and "pre-order" have been used frequently in this thread. My stance is that the project has changed from what was originally proposed and I'd like my money back. Simple as that.

Why should you get your money back? Specifically why should you get your money back because the project has taken a turn you didn't like? If every 'investor' had that much control over a kickstarter project nothing would ever get done. You clearly think you could do a better job than this guy.

 

[Elessartelrunya]

I agree. Usually you make an investment for a return, usually a share of profit. Kickstarter offers none of this.



Why should you get your money back? Specifically why should you get your money back because the project has taken a turn you didn't like? If every 'investor' had that much control over a kickstarter project nothing would ever get done. You clearly think you could do a better job than this guy.

And THAT is what's funny. Many people claimed I'm NOT an investor, I made a "donation". Others have said it was a "pre-order". If it was a pre-order, I should be able to get my money back because that's industry standard. If it was a donation, I should be able to get my money back because my "values" do not align when recent changes the "charity" has made. If I'm an investor, I technically be able to vote Mike Gale off the project, but alas, I'm apparently non of these things, and all of them at the same time

 

[Sharp]

I agree. Usually you make an investment for a return, usually a share of profit. Kickstarter offers none of this.



Why should you get your money back? Specifically why should you get your money back because the project has taken a turn you didn't like? If every 'investor' had that much control over a kickstarter project nothing would ever get done. You clearly think you could do a better job than this guy.

It is a community management / professionalism thing, not a legal requirement. Giving back one person's money does not (should not) make or break the project, and makes you look really good. Banning the requester and making updates private makes you look unprofessional and petty. I strongly suspect that any of the well-managed studio-backed Kickstarters would have acquiesced in a similar situation. Hell, the Kingdom Come Kickstarter explicitly states that if they can't release on Xbox One or PS4 for some reason, and one of them is the backer's desired platform, they will provide a full refund.

And THAT is what's funny. Many people claimed I'm NOT an investor, I made a "donation". Others have said it was a "pre-order". If it was a pre-order, I should be able to get my money back because that's industry standard. If it was a donation, I should be able to get my money back because my "values" do not align when recent changes the "charity" has made. If I'm an investor, I technically be able to vote Mike Gale off the project, but alas, I'm apparently non of these things, and all of them at the same time

What? No.

 

[FryHole]

And THAT is what's funny. Many people claimed I'm NOT an investor, I made a "donation". Others have said it was a "pre-order". If it was a pre-order, I should be able to get my money back because that's industry standard. If it was a donation, I should be able to get my money back because my "values" do not align when recent changes the "charity" has made. If I'm an investor, I technically be able to vote Mike Gale off the project, but alas, I'm apparently non of these things, and all of them at the same time

To be honest I think when your values no longer align with whoever you've donated to you stop donating to them, not ask for the money back.

 

[Elessartelrunya]

It is a community management / professionalism thing, not a legal requirement. Giving back one person's money does not (should not) make or break the project, and makes you look really good. Banning the requester and making updates private makes you look unprofessional and petty. I strongly suspect that any of the well-managed studio-backed Kickstarters would have acquiesced in a similar situation. Hell, the Kingdom Come Kickstarter explicitly states that if they can't release on Xbox One or PS4 for some reason, and one of them is the backer's desired platform, they will provide a full refund.

What? No.

Yes, i've done this before. It was a local charity and I discovered (through further digging on their site) that portions of their funds went to anti-LGBT causes. It being local, I took my donation receipt to the main office and asked for a refund. It worked. Perhaps that not normal? But I think we're digressing. I was simply pointing out that I apparently wear many hats according to different people here

 

[SmokedMeat]

No offense, but I don't get this whole kickstarter thing. Why would I give money to some developer to get their little project off the ground? Screw that. Make your game, and if I like what I see, I'll buy it. I'm surprised so many people have the disposable cash for this.

 

[Burger]

And THAT is what's funny. Many people claimed I'm NOT an investor, I made a "donation". Others have said it was a "pre-order". If it was a pre-order, I should be able to get my money back because that's industry standard. If it was a donation, I should be able to get my money back because my "values" do not align when recent changes the "charity" has made. If I'm an investor, I technically be able to vote Mike Gale off the project, but alas, I'm apparently non of these things, and all of them at the same time

Wow. Such semantics.

I used 'investor' in quote marks because you don't really fit the definition. Like Uthred said above, the word that fits best is Patronage.

I.e. You give them money, and in return you get the game. You don't get a share of any profits so you are not an investor. It's not a pre-order because there is no guarantee of a product. It's not a donation because the other party is not a charity.

"A Project Creator is not required to grant a Backer’s request for a refund unless the Project Creator is unable or unwilling to fulfill the reward."

Clearly you are arguing that the 'reward' doesn't align with what was initially proposed to you, but that's simply your point of view.

 

[mclem]

Investing in something has the potential for positive return on your investment, and with KS you never see a return on your money.

I think some people regard 'a finished game' as a valid return on the investment, rather than only regarding investments in strictly monetary terms. Which I think is fair enough, at that point it gets to being pernickety on a semantic level.

 

[Sharp]

No offense, but I don't get this whole kickstarter thing. Why would I give money to some developer to get their little project off the ground? Screw that. Make your game, and if I like what I see, I'll buy it. I'm surprised so many people have the disposable cash for this.

People with disposable cash sometimes want games that wouldn't get off the ground otherwise, it's pretty simple If you value what the game would provide enough to offset the chance that it won't get created, you fund it (if we assume that 50% of games get delivered, and that the probability that the game is delivered is wholly independent of the game, then as long as you value the game at roughly twice whatever you contribute, it makes sense to fund it. Of course, I don't think that this probability is wholly independent of the game in question, so in some cases you may need to value the game at much more or much less).

 

[chogidogs]

No offense, but I don't get this whole kickstarter thing. Why would I give money to some developer to get their little project off the ground? Screw that. Make your game, and if I like what I see, I'll buy it. I'm surprised so many people have the disposable cash for this.

Not everybody has the luxury of working for free for months, especially if they are just a dude. I have a problem with the Kickstarter model but we can't deny that it helped fund alot of cool games.

 

[Elessartelrunya]

Wow. Such semantics.

I used 'investor' in quote marks because you don't really fit the definition. Like Uthred said above, the word that fits best is Patronage.

I.e. You give them money, and in return you get the game. You don't get a share of any profits so you are not an investor. It's not a pre-order because there is no guarantee of a product. It's not a donation because the other party is not a charity.

"A Project Creator is not required to grant a Backer’s request for a refund unless the Project Creator is unable or unwilling to fulfill the reward."

Clearly you are arguing that the 'reward' doesn't align with what was initially proposed to you, but that's simply your point of view.

Well, he did say (on the forum) that content was going to have to be cut and that he was preparing for the "backlash". He said he would need a couple weeks to finalize the "new path". Sounds to me like he won't be able to deliver...

More importantly, to me at least, I said I would PATIENTLY WAIT to see what was going to be cut and what the new path was. He claimed I was passive aggressive, I said it I spoke the truth and that he can't handle constructive criticism. He locks the dev diaries, deletes me posts, I ask for a refund after that bullshit, he bans me.

We're beyond the art, or the changes at this point. That boat has sailed. Now I want a refund and to point out how poorly he's managing this project. Proof? He completely locked the forum down, and the last update I have access to is from December 25th: https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-j-rpg-inspired-by-playstation-classics/posts

As a BACKER...aren't I entitled to at least see the progress updates? But regardless, he's acting quite childish and letting his ego get in the way of good business sense.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

The creator should be allowed to make any changes he sees fit during development, whether it's changes in artstyle, gameplay or scope.

But it should be also allowed for backers to voice their concerns and, if presented in a respectful manner, to be heard and if they aren't happy with the product (for whatever reason) to request a refund.

The developer sounds like a douche who can't handle criticism. You aren't in the wrong, OP, and I'm sorry it turned out like this.

I agree with this. While it's fair that he might need or want to change the art style, the main issue here is with how the creator acted to some questions and criticism. Seeing as Kickstarter is entirely dependent on user contributions, creators should treat those users with a bit of respect and appreciation, especially if they're offering constructive criticism.

 

[skybald]

Well, he did say (on the forum) that content was going to have to be cut and that he was preparing for the "backlash". He said he would need a couple weeks to finalize the "new path". Sounds to me like he won't be able to deliver...

More importantly, to me at least, I said I would PATIENTLY WAIT to see what was going to be cut and what the new path was. He claimed I was passive aggressive, I said it I spoke the truth and that he can't handle constructive criticism. He locks the dev diaries, deletes me posts, I ask for a refund after that bullshit, he bans me.

Sounds like your ego is bruised because you don't have as much say during the development of this game as your thought you would. The developer shunned you and now you are trying to run him through the mud instead of realizing how difficult and stressful game development is.

You should have just chalked it up as a loss and moved on. Maybe give the fully developed game a try or donate it to someone else who might like it.

 

[mclem]

The answers to my questions mean everything. They're the difference between donations and investments. You can't use a Michaelangelo example to discuss KS. That's so off the wall, it makes no sense. They didn't donate. They let the guy build something so they could have something better that belonged to them, in the end.

I have absolutely pledged to some Kickstarters with a mindset of "This is a game that I want to exist" more than "This is a game that I want to play". I've a massive backlog; many of these I'll never get around to playing. I still, however, am very content that I live in a world where these things can happen.

 

[Elessartelrunya]

Sounds like your ego is bruised because you don't have as much say during the development of this game as your thought you would. The developer shunned you and now you are trying to run him through the mud instead of realizing how difficult and stressful game development is.

You should have just chalked it up as a loss and moved on. Maybe give the fully developed game a try or donate it to someone else who might like it.

Say what you will, but if he can't handle constructive criticism (I never once lashed out at him), then yes, my "ego" is bruised from being banned after speaking up.

 

[Burger]

Well, he did say (on the forum) that content was going to have to be cut and that he was preparing for the "backlash". He said he would need a couple weeks to finalize the "new path". Sounds to me like he won't be able to deliver...

More importantly, to me at least, I said I would PATIENTLY WAIT to see what was going to be cut and what the new path was. He claimed I was passive aggressive, I said it I spoke the truth and that he can't handle constructive criticism. He locks the dev diaries, deletes me posts, I ask for a refund after that bullshit, he bans me.

We're beyond the art, or the changes at this point. That boat has sailed. Now I want a refund and to point out how poorly he's managing this project. Proof? He completely locked the forum down, and the last update I have access to is from December 25th: https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-j-rpg-inspired-by-playstation-classics/posts

As a BACKER...aren't I entitled to at least see the progress updates? But regardless, he's acting quite childish and letting his ego get in the way of good business sense.

Oh I agree, the guy sounds like a total douche. But really, like many people have said all over this thread already, the writing was all over the kickstarter page when you hit the pledge button.

You took a risk, and it didn't work out. This guy is basically promising Final Fantasy on several platforms and has a team size of 1. FFVII had what, over 100? For a single platform? The guy is in fucking cookoo land.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I have absolutely pledged to some Kickstarters with a mindset of "This is a game that I want to exist" more than "This is a game that I want to play". I've a massive backlog; many of these I'll never get around to playing. I still, however, am very content that I live in a world where these things can happen.

Yeah, this summarises about half of my KS backings too.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

Sorry for the wall of text, but recent events with this project have really pissed me off, here's my "story"...



Needless-to-say, I'm no longer interested in this project. I'll turn the first post into a wiki for others to edit if necessary...

Anyone think that girl on the far right looks like Gaige the Mechromancer from Borderlands 2? The just gave her a fake leg vs a fake arm

Apologies if this has been mentioned

Edit: Sorry about your experience OP, sounds like you had legitimate complaints and handled it well.

 

[Elessartelrunya]

Yeah, this summarises about half of my KS backings too.

Probably true for me as well, but its the principal of the matter at this point.

 

[mclem]

While you might want the world to burn, the stock exchange didn't close forever after its first collapse, and neither is kickstarter from a large failure. As long as success outweighs failure it will keep going, but maybe the rare incidents like this will make people wiser about where they put their money. The entire videogame industry died once, but ET didn't prevent the Last of Us from existing.

Actually, on that note, what is the most successful KS project in terms of funding that didn't ship in the end, I wonder? I've a nagging feeling I've seen a big one that's not actually in the VG field; always healthy to remember that KS isn't just about games!

 

[I'm an expert]

Probably true for me as well, but its the principal of the matter at this point.

How much did you back this one for?

 

[Elessartelrunya]

How much did you back this one for?

Only $15 for the PS Vita version (which is why i backed the project). At the same time, money is money and I don't have much at my disposal.

 

[I'm an expert]

Geezus though.. $15.. people spend that much on a burger. I think you can cut your loss here. Not saying what he did was right at all, but it's definitely not worth doing much more except maybe sending this thread out to a few people and seeing what happens.

 

[Elessartelrunya]

Geezus though.. $15.. people spend that much on a burger. I think you can cut your loss here. Not saying what he did was right at all, but it's definitely not worth doing much more except maybe sending this thread out to a few people and seeing what happens.

At this point, I agree. Its just a matter of trying to find those people to send it to. I'm not very connected with gaming industry people.

 

[tornjaw]

Only $15 for the PS Vita version (which is why i backed the project). At the same time, money is money and I don't have much at my disposal.

Whereas I agree that it's a poor business practice to show one thing and provide another. If you don't have 15$ for disposable income, you shouldn't be donating in the first place.

 

[Elessartelrunya]

Whereas I agree that it's a poor business practice to show one thing and provide another. If you don't have 15$ for disposable income, you shouldn't be donating in the first place.

I have $15 obviously, but I don't like throwing away mone. Is that a better way of putting it?

 

[I'm an expert]

I have $15 obviously, but I don't like throwing away mone. Is that a better way of putting it?

Yep. I have plenty of money and I'm cheap as fuck. Nothing wrong with it. But if I dropped $15 on the street somewhere I wouldn't exactly get upset. That's why you may as well tweet someone at sites like Kotaku.. or someone like Patrick Klepek who does a lot of Kickstarter articles. See what happens.

 

[Authority]

How ridiculous. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater much? The Banner Saga, Valdis Story, and the new Shadowrun games, among others, are strong evidence that your "Kickstarter is one big scam" statement is complete bollocks.

You donate into something that you are not aware if it is going to be completed and if it is not completed you do not get back your money. There is no guarantee of anything and we are not talking about donating for a "good cause" to even make this worthwhile of plunging in money. There is absolutely nothing to state this game will be completed apart from blind faith.

That is NOT an investment - In an investment you get something financially back or you are actively part of an investment not just a bank account where you allow them to freely take your money out and use it as they see fit. This is blindly giving your money out. You have no authority, no power and no influence over the course of a game apart from giving a "feedback" in which 99% is ignored.

Let us look closely on some interesting findings for 2012,

• Only 25% of projects delivered on time!
• According to Prof. Mollick’s model, after 8 months of delay, 75% of finished products (as opposed to give-aways like t-shirts) will have been delivered.
• The larger the project, the more likely it will be delayed and the longer it will be delayed.

Direct Source: http://www.appsblogger.com/behind-kickstarter-crowdfunding-stats/

Kick Starters Percentages

Statistics - 41% of Kickstarter Projects fail

Direct Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/11/kickstarter-failures-revealed-what-can-you-learn-from-them-infographic/

So basically so far we have many big failures and small successes; but you are right, I talk allot of bollocks and I do apologize for questioning the credibility of the largest gaming scam.

 

[Aaron]

Stop calling it a donation. It's not an investment either. It's patronage, which in the history of patronage many results weren't what the patrons wanted either, but they almost never got their money back. You're providing support for a person to have the time and resources to produce whatever they're promising to produce, and that doesn't come with the guarantee you'll like the results, even if not all kickstarters spell this out. Some kickstarters have offered refunds, but its really up to them, and not something you can or should expect in every instance.

Spend your money wisely. In 99% of life, there are no refunds.

 

[Moff]

to me, personally, kickstarter is a platform where developers can produce games witthout the boundaries set by publishers. I support them because I want them to have freedom about what they do. I trust them more than publishers, for me its a question of trust. I wouldnt back something from someone I never heard of, or at least I wouldnt complain if they fail.
now I completely understand that you paid for something else that you're getting now, thats understandable. but for me, thats not what kickstarter is about. for me its about giving trusted developers the freedom to do what they want, not matter what others asy. that inlcudes publishers, but the fans who pledged as well.

 

[Cheddahz]

Yep, just checked the Soul Saga Facebook page. Someone had linked to this thread on the page, and it's been taken down. This guy is scrubbing the evidence of his misbehavior on FB/forums etc. Pretty sad sight.

Well, that person was me and yeah, I'm sure he is trying to hide all of the evidence right now. Speaking of which, I got an email from him this morning.....I'll check it when I get out of bed

 

[TxdoHawk]

Kickstarter used to make it 100% explicit that they weren't a storefront, and that there were no guarantees on anything you backed.

At some point they moved away from this wording (presumably because being brutally honest with your customers isn't a shiny friendly growth-minded path that VCs like) and now it's really starting to show with customer expectations versus reality.

 

[Sharp]

Authority, I don't want to quote your entire post because it is so long, but how on Earth do any of the statistics you posted suggest that Kickstarter is a scam?

 

[EDarkness]

Authority, I don't want to quote your entire post because it is so long, but how on Earth do any of the statistics you posted suggest that Kickstarter is a scam?

I was kinda thinking the same thing, considering I thought those charts show off Kickstarter favorably.

 

[RPGCrazied]

I really don't like Kickstarter. That goes for any project. Sure its nice to skip the publisher, but I'd rather buy the game when its out, and if it seems like something I'd play. I'm not going to give $$$$ out to someone with a promise they will make the game and on time without delays or without drastic changes to a game that then makes me not interested in it anymore.

 

[Tapiozona]

Stop calling it a donation. It's not an investment either. It's patronage, which in the history of patronage many results weren't what the patrons wanted either, but they almost never got their money back. You're providing support for a person to have the time and resources to produce whatever they're promising to produce, and that doesn't come with the guarantee you'll like the results, even if not all kickstarters spell this out. Some kickstarters have offered refunds, but its really up to them, and not something you can or should expect in every instance.

pend your money wisely. In 99% of life, there are no refunds.

This sounds like a cheap action movie tagline. What does it even mean? Most retail purchases you make in life actually do offer refunds.

 

[sephiroth7x]

Thats sad...

Sounds like the guy has forgotten who got him the chance to make this game.

Nothing wrong with making changes, but not when it goes against everything that the game was sold on.

I had a brilliant experience with Revolution Software (And still do, meeting the companies head was a real bonus) while they were making Broken Sword but your story has put me off supporting some of the others I was looking at...

 

[U-R]

Why a huge graph? Game Kickstarter in a nutshell:

Pro:
-You will get money if you are famous enough or you have already a community following you.

Contro:
-You get a thousand armchair gamedesigners, artist, musicians, directors, budget managers breathing on your neck, and if you don't fork for a good PR team: you are their bitch.

 

[Cheddahz]

He ended up blocking Robert (from Zeboyd Games) and I this morning on Twitter

Mike posted on the Soul Saga Kickstarter page about 2 hours ago.

Apparently he is still sending updates to backers bi weekly via e mail.

Weird, it seems as if you have to sign up to get them (I've only gotten 9 updates since the game was funded, which I don't think is a lot)

If you would like email updates similar to Kickstarter's system, you can actually sign up for the weekly / bi-weekly blog updates here:http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Disastercake

Kickstarter updates probably will be 1-2 months in span, and just cover the deliverance of the keys and goods, or large milestone achievements. It takes a lot of extra time to format a post over to Kickstarter's format, since it's not copy and paste-able, and some people have told me they don't like getting updates once a week. This way allows you the option to get more frequent updates or less frequent ones.

You shouldn't have to sign up on something else besides Kickstarter to receive updates on a game you funded through Kickstarter, take the time to put the updates through Kickstarter, so everyone gets them

 

[mclem]

Let us look closely on some interesting findings for 2012,

• Only 25% of projects delivered on time!
• According to Prof. Mollick’s model, after 8 months of delay, 75% of finished products (as opposed to give-aways like t-shirts) will have been delivered.
• The larger the project, the more likely it will be delayed and the longer it will be delayed.

I've worked in professional commercial game dev, and that sounds, frankly, a better average than my own experiences.

 

[KojiKnight]

I vaguely followed this project on and off since it was announced... I just got a bad feeling from the start which is why I didn't back it, even if the concept sounded interesting... I never want to be right about my bad feelings on stuff like this, because it means that people ended up essentially "wasting" money on it... just glad I didn't put anything into this project myself.

 

[DrROBschiz]

Wow

Well if he actually ever makes a game after all of these bad decisions and exposure then I will admire his tenacity to actual make a game with next to no experience or know how.

That said I pretty much expect this to get canned in the near future.

I have always dreamed of making my own rpg game but after looking into it I realized what a monumental team effort it takes to achieve any semblance of quality

I would feel bad for this guy but he is handling his mistakes and adversity in a very negative fashion

Admit mistakes, eat some humble pie, and learn from it bro.

 

[Durante]

So basically so far we have many big failures and small successes; but you are right, I talk allot of bollocks and I do apologize for questioning the credibility of the largest gaming scam.

I contributed to 30 gaming kickstarters (1 of which failed to reach its goal) and I don't feel scammed by any of them. Pretty weak for the "largest gaming scam".

To me, crowdfunding is the best thing which has happened to gaming in over a decade. It's one reason for 2014 being such an amazing year for RPGs.

 

[ZeroX03]

He ended up blocking Robert (from Zeboyd Games) and I this morning on Twitter

He tweeted "It should be out later this year if things go well" a few days ago. Geez.

If he isn't mature enough to respond to people who legitimate questions and blocks people/deletes post on a whim, then that says pretty much everything about his ability to deliver a project of this magnitude. Feel for you OP.

That's why you may as well tweet someone at sites like Kotaku.. or someone like Patrick Klepek who does a lot of Kickstarter articles. See what happens.

Somebody raise the Schreier-signal! (It's like the Durante-signal only not as handsome)

 

[Fireblend]

Saw this coming a mile away.

#1. It's the guy's first game development experience. The scope was too big.

#2. Stretchgoals were simply ridiculous

This was me last year while the Kickstarter was active:

With whatever credibility my years of being a software engineer + having participated in various minor game projects give me, yes, I agree. This project seems extremely ambitious and those stretch goals are waaaaay too good for the money he's asking, and a project of this scale seems ridiculous as someone's first "serious" gaming project.

 

[DrROBschiz]

I contributed to 30 gaming kickstarters (1 of which failed to reach its goal) and I don't feel scammed by any of them. Pretty weak for the "largest gaming scam".

To me, crowdfunding is the best thing which has happened to gaming in over a decade. It's one reason for 2014 being such an amazing year for RPGs.

I agree!

Its not like this is all bad. Some great lessons are being learned from Kickstarter failures
There is value to be derived here regardless!

Kickstarter can totally work if the people putting it together are informed and smart about it.

 

[Cameron122]

Sounds like he bit off more than he could chew, and scrambling to salvage the project.

 

[Cyrano]

I contributed to 30 gaming kickstarters (1 of which failed to reach its goal) and I don't feel scammed by any of them. Pretty weak for the "largest gaming scam".

To me, crowdfunding is the best thing which has happened to gaming in over a decade. It's one reason for 2014 being such an amazing year for RPGs.

Yeah, I'm going to echo this sentiment. It would be a damn shame to not have fantastic games like The Banner Saga and without Kickstarter it probably never would have happened. Are most of these games "the best thing ever?" No, certainly not, but I would say their quality ratio is probably better than the wider scene generally and if nothing else, you can feel the amount of time that is invested into a lot of these projects.

My bigger problem with Kickstarter actually tends to be the opposite of what most people experience, which is an over-involvement of fans in a designer's vision. To some degree, I feel that a game like DooM would have never emerged without a specific set of circumstances and one of those that was hugely influential was a general lack of "input" (read: unrealistic expectations) from the gaming community before its release. To some degree I feel as though Kickstarter makes games a paint-by-numbers pastiche of fan expectations and designer ability to actually deliver on what is almost always an overestimate by fans. I'm not saying fans should not expect a quality product, but what I am saying is that fans should greatly temper their expectations of designers.

 

[graywolf323]

He ended up blocking Robert (from Zeboyd Games) and I this morning on Twitter

well that's a bad move, it seems like someone like Robert would be someone he should seek out and get advice from not block

edit: my one complaint about the Kickstarter would be that at least up front it was supposed to be Cross-Buy so I backed at the tier to get both the PS4/Vita versions but that changed, however I understand his reasoning for it even if I disagree

honestly I'm not too worried yet just don't expect the game to come out anytime soon

 

[Cheddahz]

This is the email that I received from the creator, which he states that every backer will be refunded if the project is a failure (which I doubt will happen). He also mentions the dev diaries as a way for him to vent about the struggles of game development, but I have no idea if this is true or not since...he had made them private and now the forums for the game are closed. The social aspect of game development can be a positive or negative thing (depends on how you take it) and it seems like the creator has made it a negative part of Soul Saga's game development

Hello Cheddahz,

The developer diaries are not critical information for fans. I will still be doing weekly / bi-weekly updates that are in a more suitable format. The diaries are more for me to vent about the struggles of game development, and the reason I have made them private is so that people who are more accustomed to standard news posts are not confused by them.

Any discussions about game design, character designs, etc will be discussed in the public news threads. Nothing critical happens in the Dev Diaries, so don't feel left out! =D

If I can not fulfill the reward stated in your tier that you have donated towards, I promise to return a refund to you and any other backer of that tier.

Sincerely,
Mike