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View Full Version : Dude Gets 122K on Kickstarter - Walks with the cash...



Bigred
07-26-2013, 10:14 AM
It was only a matter of time. There will be more of this in the future:

http://valleywag.gawker.com/kickstarter-project-canceled-after-dude-spends-all-the-912176282

Here's a teaser - read the whole thing:


Erik Chevalier wanted to make a new nerd-approved board game:


A light hearted Lovecraftian game of urban destruction, for two to four players.

You’re one of the Great Old Ones – beings of ancient and eldritch power. Cosmic forces have held you at bay for untold aeons, but at last the stars are right and your maniacal cult has called you to this benighted place. Once you regain your full powers, you will unleash your Doom upon the world!

Fun. Lots of likeminded tabletop gaming geeks flooded Chevalier with cash, surpassing his $35,000 goal by quite a bit: the final take was $122,874. That's a lot of money to design a board game, but hey, it seemed imaginative, so maybe it'd all be put to use. That was possible until this week, when Chevalier posted an update saying he'd spent all the money, didn't have enough to finish the project, and the whole thing was called off. Oh, and about your money? You're probably ****ed:


The short version: The project is over, the game is canceled.

After much deliberation I've had to make this decision. I've informed Keith and Lee and neither at all happy with this situation. Every possible mistake was made, some due to my inexperience in board game publishing, others due to ego conflicts, legal issues and technical complications. No matter the cause though these could all have been avoided by someone more experienced and I apparently was not that person.

From the beginning the intention was to launch a new board game company with the Kickstarted funds, with The Doom that Came to Atlantic City as only our first of hopefully many projects. Everyone involved agreed on this. Since then rifts have formed and every error compounded the growing frustration, causing only more issues. After paying to form the company, for the miniature statues, moving back to Portland, getting software licenses and hiring artists to do things like rule book design and art conforming the money was approaching a point of no return. We had to print at that point or never. Unfortunately that wasn't in the cards for a variety of reasons.

Denzark
07-26-2013, 11:24 AM
Ya pays yer money, ya takes yer chance...

(I've never had this happen to me at GW haha)

lattd
07-26-2013, 11:29 AM
Not really walked with it just blew it like a moron, im still waiting for someone to promise a game get the backing then disappear.

YorkNecromancer
07-26-2013, 12:08 PM
Kickstarter's basically like Dragon's Den; only invest if their business plan stacks up... :)

Mr Mystery
07-26-2013, 05:03 PM
Not really walked with it just blew it like a moron, im still waiting for someone to promise a game get the backing then disappear.

Which is my main concern with the whole concept.

Promise the Sun.

Nick off with cash.

No comeback.

Now don't get me wrong, 99.9999999(etc)% of kick starters are on the level.

But for how long?

It needs international regulation to prevent and shut out piss takers.

Wolfshade
07-27-2013, 04:22 AM
I am sure that there was a thread about this sort of thing being possible.

Mr Mystery
07-27-2013, 04:44 AM
Might be the one I started.

I'm saddened that this has happene though. Kick starter is a great idea, and brings opportunities to the table. But it is open to abuse. The money this guy has wandered off with is pretty significant, quite possibly enough to buy a house somewhere. I feel certain scammers will pick up on this, and wreck the whole thing.

eldargal
07-27-2013, 04:47 AM
Meh, as bad as it is the rate of this sort of thing is incredibly small compared to the number of successful Kickstarters. Personally I have a rule that I only pledge to campaigns from established companies with good reputation.

Mr Mystery
07-27-2013, 04:55 AM
Indeed.

The vast majority are totally on the level.

Though I do find it 'cheeky' when companies already well established use Kickstarters. Hard to explain why though, as there's nothing shonky or inherently wrong in doing so!

eldargal
07-27-2013, 05:26 AM
No I agree, it's a bit annoying when you see a company using Kickstarter to fund something they could probably fund themselves. It depends on the context though, Reaper used Kickstarter to dramatically increase the rate at which they could convert miniatures from metal to plastic. So they had the resources to do it already but by using Kickstarter they sped it up and gave tremendous value for money. Others it just seems cynical 'we have a lot of fans so let's use them to pay for something rather than putting the money up ourselves'.

Mr Mystery
07-27-2013, 05:32 AM
Fair enough :)

Reaper is fine, as it was bolstering a solid company to the benefit of its player and fan base.

But I seem to recall PP having one, and whilst again there is nothing wrong, immoral etc about that, I do question the actual need!

eldargal
07-27-2013, 06:37 AM
I think they are having one to fund their video game, which makes sense. I don't recall them having a miniature Kickstarter but then I stopped paying attention to PP a couple of years ago.