The novelty of these "simulators" dies quickly and it's just a quick way to make a buck without actually trying hard enough to make something good. Maybe this will put an end to this type of indie games.
I was going to say the same thing. There's no way the game itself look like it's worth $100k!fluxy100 said:In all seriousness this just sounds like an easy way for the guy to cut ties and run off with the kick starter money.
Errr...it was released on Steam, as is even noted in the article here.Buckets said:So why couldn't he have just written the game then released it via steam or something, instead of ripping off all those people with a promised product (there must be some sort of legal issue here), it is a con - pure and simple.
According to a good number of people, the dev was deleting/flagging negative reviews. Now, it's a bit of legwork I don't want to do to validate these claims, so I'm not saying that this is true, but it's a common tactic on Steam and would certainly explain the disparity.Elfgore said:The dude got like thirty negative reviews, most of which I've read have all had actual constructive criticism.
Nah, he wasn't quite that bad. He didn't completely explode on social media, burning as many bridges as he could before cancelling his game five times in a row. Here's hoping he doesn't insist on trying to stay relevant by clinging to internet controversy and e-celebs like some sort of demented leech though.mad825 said:So he did a Phil Fish except worse? Stay classy.
I say do the very best of Bear Simulator then get employee by a inde dev. Use Bear Simulator as your eportfolio.
Something Amyss said:Errr...it was released on Steam, as is even noted in the article here.
I would think it would be better to understand the situation and the comment, myself.
Uh...Buckets said:Something Amyss said:Errr...it was released on Steam, as is even noted in the article here.
I would think it would be better to understand the situation and the comment, myself.
Think you misunderstood what I said, a game author should actually write the game in the first instance then release it via a platform such as steam or get a publisher interested. There is something inherently wrong with kickstarting a video game, getting funding upfront for something that doesn't even exist yet is dodgy at best.
Sounds like fraud at a glance, but I've been away from the books for too long to remember what the specific requirements are for establishing fraud, and I think it varies quite a bit based on region.Bat Vader said:Could legal action be taken against him for this? Not delivering on the stretch goals and keeping the money to me should be considered illegal.
Perhaps I'm more old school, I have been here since the inception of computer games. Matthew Smith wrote Manic Miner and sold it to Bug Byte as an already complete package, this was the case for all software developers at the time. Sure there were companies like US Gold which essentially distributed the games they acquired, but the majority were bedroom programmers. The AAA industry seems to be more like a big movie studio, hiring shitloads of people to design every single blob.shrekfan246 said:Uh...Buckets said:Something Amyss said:Errr...it was released on Steam, as is even noted in the article here.
I would think it would be better to understand the situation and the comment, myself.
Think you misunderstood what I said, a game author should actually write the game in the first instance then release it via a platform such as steam or get a publisher interested. There is something inherently wrong with kickstarting a video game, getting funding upfront for something that doesn't even exist yet is dodgy at best.
You know how games get published, right?
They're things that don't exist yet (or only exist in their most basic forms), which are pitched to a publisher so that the person can get funding so that they can then go on to actually create said thing.
The only difference between Kickstarter and "getting a publisher interested" is that Kickstarter cuts out the middleman and gets the funding directly from the people who would be buying the game anyway.
EDIT: For the sake of clarity, what you're saying here is basically that developers should work pro bono, and then get paid after the fact. If a developer wants to actually make games full-time, they kinda need to get paid while they're actually working.
OT: Like other people here, I've having a hard time thinking this isn't just the guy throwing a temper tantrum and deciding to take all of his toys home. As far as the monetary aspect is concerned, I'm not going to question it too much because it's not like he hasn't done any work (whether he's done $100k worth is debatable, but he's still put in more effort than the people who try releasing "Unit Z" over and over again as their own games).
The video game industry hasn't been like that since before I was born in the very early '90s. Yeah, things have a way of changing in over twenty years.Buckets said:Sure there were companies like US Gold which essentially distributed the games they acquired, but the majority were bedroom programmers. The AAA industry seems to be more like a big movie studio, hiring shitloads of people to design every single blob.
I was of the understanding that indie developers were more like the original designers actually putting the work into a game so they have something to show off before release. Maybe the mobile phone developers are more like the old developers.
Obviously Indie doesn't mean what I thought.