Kickstarter has now added a feature where you can mark delivery of
projects you have backed, so I’m going through my list and verifying
delivery. Since I’ve backed 400+
projects, this will take a while, and I’ll update this post as I go.
Along the way, I discovered some projects with…oh…let’s call them
“unreasonable delays”. I thought I’d mention them here for posterity.
I should start by mentioning that, at its core, Kickstarter is a
risk transfer machine. The financial uncertainty of a project
traditionally borne by the creator (or, perhaps, a publisher) is moved
to the backers. This works because a) the meet-your-goal-or-get-nothing
approach protects the backer from projects that can’t gather enough
interest to be viable and b) because most of the time the creator
delivers. (Given the number of projects I’ve backed, it should be
obvious that I like this system quite a bit.)
The flip side is that, should the creator not deliver, the backers
are left holding the bag and, realistically, there isn’t much they can
do about it. Oh, you might entertain fantasies of some sort of legal
suit, or punching the guy in the face or something, but neither is
really viable. You know this going in. That’s why it’s called “risk”.
I’ve not come across any cases of genuine fraud; usually a failed
creator had the best of intentions, but couldn’t see them through. But
the creator runs a risk as well, not financial, but of reputation. No
one backs a failed creator twice.
Which brings us to the following projects (note: the “prognosis”
section are my own opinions, not official project statements):
| Creator |
Gary M. Sarli |
| Funded |
16 Mar 2010 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
Based on the strength of Star Wars Saga Edition, I
backed this heavily. I even lobbied for it on
my blog, which I almost never do. The project’s last update is from
27 Dec 2011. The creator’s last update to his own forum was 4 Dec
2011. |
| Prognosis |
This project will never be delivered. The creator had some sort of a
financial/mental breakdown and has more or less vanished. |
| Creator |
Ben Gerber |
| Funded |
23 Aug 2010 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
Last update made on 10 May 2012, releasing a supplement to the
product not yet completed. Prior updates mention problems, including
shoulder reconstruction. |
| Prognosis |
This may still deliver, but I’m not holding my breath. The same
creator has since run another Kickstarter which already delivered. |
| Creator |
Phil Brucato |
| Funded |
1 Oct 2010 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
While updates have been constant (and overly abundant), they haven’t
consisted of much other than mentions of endless tinkering with the
text. |
| Prognosis |
This project has become the poster child for flaky role-playing
projects (and has led to a good rule of thumb for such projects: only
back projects that have already been written). It may ship eventually,
but I’m past the point of caring. |
| Creator |
Andrew Inaba |
| Funded |
28 Mar 2011 |
| Category |
Dice |
| History |
According to updates, the dice were produced, but most were
destroyed during shipping. Refunds were promised, but never delivered.
The creator’s web site no longer exists. |
| Prognosis |
It’s possible this was just all bad luck, but it smells more like
fraud. Either way, no dice. |
| Creator |
Hyacinth Games |
| Funded |
28 Dec 2011 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
Last update on 28 Feb 2013, still talking about completing a few
chapters. |
| Prognosis |
This smells like it will probably ship eventually, but not in a
hurry. |
| Creator |
Joshua Frost |
| Funded |
30 Dec 2011 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
Last update on 6 May 2014, calling the project “dead”. |
| Prognosis |
Creator used the project funds as venture capital or his roleplaying
company (and, possibly, to pay rent and such). The text of the project
may see the light of day, as it was largely completed. |
| Creator |
Battlefield Press, Inc. |
| Funded |
31 Jan 2012 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
Though it ran into a number of delays, this book was apparently done
by the end of 2012. Then it looks like the licensor hated it and went
all prima donna. It has been revised for her approval, but none has been
forthcoming. In the meantime, the creator has run six other
Kickstarters, including this same setting for a different system
(Traveller). |
| Prognosis |
Since it appears that the licensor doesn’t really know what she is
doing, I’ll be stunned if this ever gets released, even though the
creators seem good. |
| Creator |
S. John Ross |
| Funded |
1 Apr 2012 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
What started as a pitch for a single adventure for RISUS has been
basically sabotaged by feature creep. First by stretch goals that turned
one adventure into five. Then by the creator using the adventures as a
springboard for creating a new edition of the entire game, plus
supplements, and insisting on finishing them prior to finishing the
adventures. |
| Prognosis |
Since all this looks like it will be released for free fairly soon,
its hard to get hugely bent out of shape about it, and, it probably
really will be awesome whenever it is done. Still, probably good object
lessons in here someplace. |
| Creator |
Autarch |
| Funded |
14 Apr 2012 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
Update from 13 Mar 2013: “Dwimmermount’s creator James Maliszewski
signed a contract with Autarch that transferred the money we raised on
Kickstarter and the responsibility for delivering the promised rewards
to him. We understand that James is grieving for his father, but we have
to confront the fact that he is currently not living up to this
responsibility”. Since then others have taken over, with updates coming
progressively less frequent. |
| Prognosis |
I’m guessing this will eventually deliver, but not until the very
end of 2014, at least. |
| Creator |
Mike Nystul |
| Funded |
3 Jun 2012 |
| Category |
Role-playing game |
| History |
About a year after funding, the creator handed over the
responsibility to produce this product to someone else. They
seem in no hurry to release it. |
| Prognosis |
This will likely ship eventually, but not by any predictable
time. |
| Creator |
Leo Kei Angelos |
| Funded |
6 Jul 2012 |
| Category |
Web video series |
| History |
One episode of this three-episode series was produced, then all
updating stops. Given the creator moved and the series may possibly
(reading between the lines) have had some legal trouble with Warner
Brothers… |
| Prognosis |
This reads very much like the creator just didn’t know what he was
doing, mostly in terms of fulfillment. The rest of these episodes will
never be created. |