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Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

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Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#61

Post by Lockyy »

kamaal wrote: post #53
reitzensteinm wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look, if the guy wasn't taking money for it, I'd be completely supportive. Trying stuff, MVP, and all that. Great angle for a game, great way to get started. Clearly a smart go getter. But to use your analogy, the man has ordered 50 tables, not knowing they're likely to fall apart. The seller never revealed his lack of experience. At the end of it, we're just going to say caveat emptor? That just doesn't sit well wit…

Well actually I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just trying to show you how the world is. We have to learn to live with this thing. The way programming has evolved in the years is scary to say at the least. And we may see more and more of this kind of stuff. This is almost the same fury we saw when YC announced they would fund Ideas. Although they are not the same, but YC really was ready to fund stuff which wasn't r…

I think another problem might be how he claims "the game is designed, programmed, conceived, and produced by me," and then it is revealed that he is doing some pretty shady things with reusing sprites. Plus since he is following a tutorial to make it is likely going to end up with code that is pretty similar to the tutorials code, and that might have interesting implications depending on what the tutorials author said could be done with the code from it.

But this is all hearsay, this might all just be place-holder graphics, he might just be using the tutorial to learn quickly and then remake everything from scratch. We don't know yet. However, if it is place-holder graphics, why remake Waluigi at all instead of just using him completely for testing...

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#62

Post by merijnv »

JVIDEL wrote: post #23

Don't know about this project, but the problem with kickstarter is that once you back a project is no longer your money, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's right there on their TOS: they are not responsible for the project, nor to provide ways to keep the project's creators from running away with the backers' money. This "give money and something MAY happen, eventually" model is going to collapse on itself…

> This "give money and something MAY happen, eventually" model is going to collapse on itself.

I'm not so sure, crowdfunding is certainly very attractive for people that have a track record of delivering but a consumer base that is to small for traditional publishing/production processes. Think Double Fine [1], Harebrained Schemes [2], Order of the Stick [3]. The people behind these projects have a clear, public track record of delivery and the projects wouldn't have happened without Kickstarter's crowdfunding.

There is, of course, also Kickstarter original/official goal which is funding art, but here the same principles apply. With the exception that maybe art backers are a little more accepting of late/disappointing rewards at the end.

The only real question is, is there a sufficient number of such proven projects to make Kickstarter sustainable? I'm not sure, but given the size of the internet and the available talent I would suspect so?

[1] - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adv...

[2] - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1613260297/shadowrun-ret...

[3] - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/599092525/the-order-of-t...

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#63

Post by nknight »

reitzensteinm wrote: post #46
kamaal wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who need to decide whether something is good or bad are his users. And users don't open up code bases and do code review before buying something. Just like how you and I, don't tear down washing machines to just check the wiring inside it.

I completely disagree. You're talking as if the game is already done, it's fun, but is held together with duct tape. I'm questioning whether the game will ever come out at all. He's painting a picture about what the game will be like; his users aren't savvy enough to know whether he's going to be able to make it a reality. If something stands out as a red flag, bringing into question whether he's got the ability to p…

> I'm questioning whether the game will ever come out at all.

Then why have you not said that anywhere? All you've done is complain about the perceived quality of the result as predicted by you.

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#64

Post by nknight »

Rinum wrote: post #5
nullflux wrote: post #2

Have these types of things happened on Kickstarter before (or has anyone attempted to just completely game the system?) What types of recourse do investors have? Any?

There is a kickstarter for a game (Echos of Eternia) where the creators are making the game using RPG Maker (a free tool anyone can use). They raised over $26k. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1465600975/echoes-of-ete...

> a free tool anyone can use

So, no more gcc, clang, Eclipse, Blender, nasm, or GIMP. Anything built with free tools is not worth supporting. Do you want to let the entire Fortune 500 know they need to close up shop now, or should I?

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#65

Post by 89a »

eykanal wrote: post #31

What is the point of this article? The guy said he'd make a video game, and people pledged money. He's pretty upfront about what he's making on the Kickstarter page. The article author is upset because the fellow is using a tutorial? Who the hell cares? So long as the supporters get their "sidescrolling platformer action/adventure game, reminiscent of console classics like Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog"…

All the stolen artwork perhaps?

I recognise the origin of all those sprites.

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#66

Post by lonnyk »

eps wrote: post #29
lonnyk wrote: post #15

I really feel this is getting blown out of proportion. The game wasn't even built yet and all of the assumptions the article makes are based on what they found in open directories on the server.

It might actually be worth blowing this out of proportion to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. I don't really want to support "I am going to paint second Mona Lisa" and end up supporting guy's quest for learning how to squeeze paint from a tube. This is not only misleading, but also damages KicStarter's reputation in general.

I think the outrage should come after people actually see the finished product and _not_ just from some random files that someone pulled off a public server. The project isn't even fully funded.

Also, the outrage should be directed at Kickstarter and _not_ the person doing the project. Directing the outrage to Kickstarter will encourage them to do better vetting. Directing it to the person doing the project will only make other people question if they should do a project.

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#67

Post by reitzensteinm »

nknight wrote: post #63
reitzensteinm wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely disagree. You're talking as if the game is already done, it's fun, but is held together with duct tape. I'm questioning whether the game will ever come out at all. He's painting a picture about what the game will be like; his users aren't savvy enough to know whether he's going to be able to make it a reality. If something stands out as a red flag, bringing into question whether he's got the ability to p…

> I'm questioning whether the game will ever come out at all. Then why have you not said that anywhere? All you've done is complain about the perceived quality of the result as predicted by you.

I did, several times in the grandparent post:

> But all of the fluff projects being funded right now that won't go anywhere will come back to bite Kickstarter. > But if he can code, it's equivilant [sic] to someone following a Fruity Loops tutorial, saying they're going to make you a song. If he's creative and talented, maybe he's got a chance, after a learning curve. > If he can't, it's like someone learning to play chords on a guitar promising the same. No chance.

The other posts outside of this were made later, and were intended to address a slightly different point. My position could be wrong, but I don't believe I've been inconsistent :)

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#68

Post by taude »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #54
taude wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, found the blog article: it's 46% in 2011 (43% in 2010), but whatever: http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/2011-the-stats

That's actually just the percentage of projects that hit their funding goal. There is no indication of what percentage delivered. I suspect someone could figure this out. To my knowledge, all funded projects still have accessible pages. You could go through them all and see which have updates that indicate shipping...

Ahh, I believe you're correct. I optimistically read those stats...

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#69

Post by frontier »

mbell wrote: post #13
SatvikBeri wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of lucid dreaming devices, and people report varying degrees of success with them, but I've never heard that any of them are completely worthless. Is there any particular reason why Remee wouldn't work?

> Is there any particular reason why Remee wouldn't work? There is no reason it wouldn't work in the same way that there is no reason that there couldn't be a giant teacup orbiting the Earth.

Lucid dreaming is possible, but not everyone can do it. Of the times I have personally done it, it has been awesome! I achieved it with the reality check method, but I think a device would make it a lot easier..

There is an interesting new iOs app called Dream:on (it's free too) that uses the accelerometer to determine when you are in likely in a REM state, and then it plays audio cues to help get you into a lucid state, instead of flashing lights like the remee.

I haven't had the bed to myself to try it out yet - my wife is a very light sleeper - but in theory both of these devices could work, but don't expect it to happen immediately or every night.. and you may need to incorporate a reality check method too, the device cue would just make it easier to do.

Re: Kickstarter game project raises $10k, made using a DIY Platformer tutorial.

#70

Post by JVIDEL »

jes5199 wrote: post #27
JVIDEL wrote: post #23

Don't know about this project, but the problem with kickstarter is that once you back a project is no longer your money, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's right there on their TOS: they are not responsible for the project, nor to provide ways to keep the project's creators from running away with the backers' money. This "give money and something MAY happen, eventually" model is going to collapse on itself…

I actually think that this is Kickstarter's saving grace: if I give money to somebody, I know it's a gamble. I'm not a venture capitalist looking for a guaranteed return, I'm not going to pressure anyone to have a "exit strategy", and I'm not a shopper who can demand my money back. I'm taking a risk with a small, disposable amount my money - usually less than the cost of going out to dinner at a nice restaurant, and…

Since when is getting what you were promised the same than a VC ROI model? VCs expect as much as possible, they want to hit jackpot. I give $100 for a watch so I expect said watch, not a Rolex!

And getting jack shit is the exact opposite of what kickstarter says it does, you could just press the donate button of any harebrained scheme on the internet and get jack shit, you don't need kickstarter for that.

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