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RED ASH Kickstarter crashes n burns (Comcept/Inafune/Hyde making Mega Man Legends 3)

The needle is barely moving on this one. I've been periodically clicking in to look out of interest, and it's only increased about $30k since the PS4 announcement. Such a badly-managed project, and I can't see that there's any way they'll get another $350 in six days.
 

FuKuy

Member
are there any successful examples of a developer that has had a second ks that waited until the first product was out ?

Harebrained Schemes LLC launched the Shadowrun Hong Kong KS campaign after finishing Shadowrun Returns.

I can't name any Kickstarter games that came back for a second campaign.


To name a few: Double Fine, Harebrained Schemes LLC, Obsidian Entertainment and inXile entertainment. They all launched two (or more) successful KS campaigns.
 

nynt9

Member
I think they meant coming back to KS after they failed? There are those who have done that as well, but the names elude me.
 

Servbot24

Banned
I haven't followed this at all, but keep hearing that they ran the campaign terribly.
Could someone summarize?

- Campaign starts before MN9 releases
- Did not show sufficient material from the game. Just a few character designs and a very rough story board.
- Confusing what we're actually getting; there's a prologue, but is there's also a map divided into sections that are stretch goals?
- The separate anime kickstarter is weird, unnecessary, and distracting
- Did not announce a console until midway through the campaign
 

Parsnip

Member
- Campaign starts before MN9 releases
- Did not show sufficient material from the game. Just a few character designs and a very rough story board.
- Confusing what we're actually getting; there's a prologue, but is there's also a map divided into sections that are stretch goals?
- The separate anime kickstarter is weird, unnecessary, and distracting
- Did not announce a console until midway through the campaign

Thanks.
It's surprising, when I first heard of this it seemed like it would be a lock in couple of days.
 

Servbot24

Banned
Thanks.
It's surprising, when I first heard of this it seemed like it would be a lock in couple of days.

MML3 is my most desired game of all time. I would absolutely love for Red Ash to succeed. I haven't backed it though, simply because they haven't inspired any faith in their own work.
 

OmegaX

Member
I thought that I was on the up and up when it came to KS but this is the first I am hearing of this massive chalice . it seem like unless your first project is great returning to KS can be hard. if you dip back into the KS well before your first product is out then you will catch flak . if your first game is not well received by the fans then you will catch flack . are there any successful examples of a developer that has had a second ks that waited until the first product was out ?

Double Fine poisoned the well with Massive Chalice. Basically, they launched that second KS while they were still working on Broken Age, but everybody had faith in them, and backers of Broken Age said that the game was looking fantastic. Massive Chalice was funded, and later we find out that Broken Age was going to be delayed, and split in 2 parts because they run out of money. Also, there is Spacebase DF-9, that game wasn't on KS but it was on Steam Early Access, and it has been left incomplete by Double Fine because it didn't sell well.
I'm not saying every KS needs a prototype of the game but the team should do their damn best to explain what their vision is, and who they have on board.
 
Double Fine poisoned the well with Massive Chalice. Basically, they launched that second KS while they were still working on Broken Age, but everybody had faith in them, and backers of Broken Age said that the game was looking fantastic. Massive Chalice was funded, and later we find out that Broken Age was going to be delayed, and split in 2 parts because they run out of money. Also, there is Spacebase DF-9, that game wasn't on KS but it was on Steam Early Access, and it has been left incomplete by Double Fine because it didn't sell well.
I'm not saying every KS needs a prototype of the game but the team should do their damn best to explain what their vision is, and who they have on board.

I'm not so sure that the peeps interested in an MML successor have that much overlap with LucasArts/Double Fine adventure fans.

I think it's less that one event, and more a general sense of fatigue in the Kickstarter system that's making it harder for projects to find funding.

My boss pulled me aside one day to rant about how much he hates Kickstarter now, and that entire convo had to do with Kickstarted musical instruments and synths. Nothing to do with games, it's just that the audience at large is getting wise to how easy it is to pitch a Kickstarter and it's harder to sell that jaded audience on KS projects.

Put it this way; Potato Salad would never work today.
 

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
To name a few: Double Fine, Harebrained Schemes LLC, Obsidian Entertainment and inXile entertainment. They all launched two (or more) successful KS campaigns.

I think they meant games (individual games, not developers) that failed one KS then came back and were successful.
 

DMiz

Member
MML3 is my most desired game of all time. I would absolutely love for Red Ash to succeed. I haven't backed it though, simply because they haven't inspired any faith in their own work.

This, and by extension, I feel like Kyle Bosman's video on it does good justice as to why people aren't convinced either.

I'm not one of the people who think that Mighty No. 9 is 'bad'; I am fine with the are style, I'm sold on the gameplay (Gunvolt did a great job in convincing me that it could work), and I'm looking forward to when I get my physical copy.

However, it just seems in very poor taste to release something like this Kickstarter before I've had that game to play. I realize that this is how 'real' development plays out, with people often asking for funding for the next project before the last one is even out the door; but this isn't how you sell the idea to customers. And without much to show except for some very skeleton art and concepts, I'm not sure how much confidence I should have in their team in developing something else again.

I've had a cursory look over the thread and realized that there is a lot going on behind the scenes that wasn't well communicated, or that there is, in fact, some confusion regarding the development of this game (specifically the caliber of the team involved and the resources being allocated). At the end of the day, though, it is sad to see the project go in such a manner. Legends is one of my favorite game series of all times - and this is not how I would have wanted to see its potential 'revival' go about.

At this juncture, I'm curious as to how Comcept will view further Kickstarters going forward. Arguably, their handling of the Mighty No. 9 campaign - post the initial marketing and rush - has not been the most stellar, as noted by the 8-4 team on their own podcast. (I believe Mark commented early on that they were not involved with the campaign past a certain point). Whether they attempt to hire a specific individual who can handle these campaigns for them, or if they've earned so much ill-will that Kickstarter no longer becomes a viable funding source for them, will be something to watch for.

I do think, if they intend to keep crowdsourcing their projects, something needs to be said about how this campaign was handled. Either they re-attempt their pitch, this time with more material, so that they can convince any fans who feel spurned by this particular project, or they apologize and attempt to address what happened; without such closure, though, I think Inafune may find that his fans are not so eager to donate again to any future developments.
 

Stanng243

Member
Both are on track to fail according to Kicktraq. Even the console decision didn't help. I wonder what they have lined up for a last minute push.
 
I can't name any Kickstarter games that came back for a second campaign.

Check out board games. Eminent Domain had had two expansions, a microgame, and a spinoff all funded successfully as an example. Same with Coup. A lot of board game companies keep tapping the KS well. I think Viticulture and its expansion Tuscany were both funded on KS. Even minis, such as Reaper Miniatures being on their third KS (Bones 3).

Not to mention Double Fine, in exile, I believe Obsidian, the studio behind Shadowrun, and Uber Entertainment for videogames.
 
So what's the likely "next step" after this KS inevitably fails? Are we expecting Inafune to try again with a different approach or does this get abandoned? This is a cruel world to be a MML fan. :(
 

Kawika

Member
I really want another MM Legends style of game. I am kind of surprised this KS came out before the Launch of Mighty No. 9. The anime tie in was really confusing to me as well. That said, I really hope that this project does see the light of day.

So Mighty No 9 KS campaign was managed by 8-4 play. Did they try to manage this KS campaign in house this time?
 
So what's the likely "next step" after this KS inevitably fails? Are we expecting Inafune to try again with a different approach or does this get abandoned? This is a cruel world to be a MML fan. :(
I just hope that if there is a second kickstarter that they won't change unnecessary details like making changes to the characters (make Call white) or the location. I want them to just change the things about the Kickstarter and not about the game itself.
 

Stanng243

Member
I just hope that if there is a second kickstarter that they won't change unnecessary details like making changes to the characters (make Call white) or the location. I want them to just change the things about the Kickstarter and not about the game itself.

You know Call is white in the Anime kickstarter? Which is the one that is more likely to get funded at this point. I always wondered why different skin tones between the 2 versions.
 
So what's the likely "next step" after this KS inevitably fails? Are we expecting Inafune to try again with a different approach or does this get abandoned? This is a cruel world to be a MML fan. :(

I'm imagining Paypal will remain open for the next year while Inafune finds a way to spin this to publishers.
 
You know Call is white in the Anime kickstarter? Which is the one that is more likely to get funded at this point. I always wondered why different skin tones between the 2 versions.
I know, that's why I say I don't want them to change the game version since I prefer how the 3 main characters look in the game.
 

hamchan

Member
So what's the likely "next step" after this KS inevitably fails? Are we expecting Inafune to try again with a different approach or does this get abandoned? This is a cruel world to be a MML fan. :(

Try to get publisher support or maybe even just self-fund it himself if he really wants it to exist. Comcept isn't hurting for projects or partners either way.
 

Ducktail

Member
This is definitely not the sort of game I would expect to release for PC only. I think the campaign would have been way more successful should they have planned this for PS4.
 

Cmagus

Member
Good thing this is so late in the campaign else we might have had another Skullgirls situation in this thread.

Yep but then again there is nothing there to show how much work things take to those who don't know. It reminds me of the whole Skullgirls additional funding where they had an uproar over the price of new characters but Lab Zero broke it all down so well and did streams to show just how much work went into designing, coding, animating a new character it was all very impressive.

Games take time and Hyde probably only has a small core team right now planning out all the framework before it goes into full production.
 

HardRojo

Member
Thanks.
It's surprising, when I first heard of this it seemed like it would be a lock in couple of days.
I'm pretty sure it would have been backed in no time under different conditions. It's like Inafune picked the worst-case scenario to announce this kickstarter. Had this been announced some months later, I'm pretty sure it would've gotten all the attention.
 
If they make the anime, I'd imagine they would base the characters off that. It would be odd to have two separate designs across the character.
It's odd even now, that's the reason I haven't donated to the Red Ash anime. I still hope that the game at least reaches the initial goal, that way the characters won't chance but this final days are going to be hard. Only thing I can do for now is not back down.
 

Fishious

Member
I'm imagining Paypal will remain open for the next year while Inafune finds a way to spin this to publishers.

That... doesn't make any sense. I assume you're just joking, but if this kickstarter fails to collect its funding goal no pledges are collected. Under the FAQ they state paypal won't be available until after the kickstarter is over, but since it's unlikely to even hit the base goal I doubt they will open paypal pledges at all. Most crowdfunding campaigns only receive a small percentage of their original amount in post kickstarter funding (Star Citizen aside).

Since it's unlikely to hit its base goal during the campaign, there's no way it will raise the base goal just on paypal funding. People would be even less likely to pitch in since there's even less of a guarantee anything will get made. I assume you're saying Inafune will gladly take people's money and pocket it, but even if he truly were the cartoon villain some people believe him to be I doubt he'd burn what remaining good will he has over a couple thousand dollars.
 
That... doesn't make any sense. I assume you're just joking, but if this kickstarter fails to collect its funding goal no pledges are collected. Under the FAQ they state paypal won't be available until after the kickstarter is over, but since it's unlikely to even hit the base goal I doubt they will open paypal pledges at all. Most crowdfunding campaigns only receive a small percentage of their original amount in post kickstarter funding (Star Citizen aside).

Since it's unlikely to hit its base goal during the campaign, there's no way it will raise the base goal just on paypal funding. People would be even less likely to pitch in since there's even less of a guarantee anything will get made. I assume you're saying Inafune will gladly take people's money and pocket it, but even if he truly were the cartoon villain some people believe him to be I doubt he'd burn what remaining good will he has over a couple thousand dollars.

I don't make completely serious posts very often, no

Naturally, I have no clue how Inafune is going to handle this. I don't know if they will reboot the pitch on KS or what. I think it -could- work, if handled perfectly from the get-go. My gut feeling is this whole endeavor only took place once he already had a publisher interested. Whether they stay interested after this KS is a big question mark, but who knows. Obviously I'm just as likely to be completely wrong, but that's how I'd expect Inafune to operate. Maybe this was already expressly stated in the KS and I missed it. I'd suspect the team is already deep into a post KS pitch regardless.
 

benzy

Member
What has Inafune been doing throughout this whole kickstarter anyway? He should have come out and address questions and concerns through twitch or twitter a while ago; there's still misinformation out there right now. It's probably too late at this point.
 

Rymuth

Member
What has Inafune been doing throughout this whole kickstarter anyway? He should have come out and address questions and concerns through twitch or twitter a while ago; there's still misinformation out there right now. It's probably too late at this point.
That's a very good point.

IGA has been answering questions on Twitter.
Yu has been doing the same, not to mention doing a Playthrough on Shenmue.

There's a real sense of disconnect between Inafune and the backers here. His pitch for MN9 and the video he made mere hours after they hit one million all made him look humble. Kyle Bosman touched on this in his video (Inafune: "Meh, Call's cute, whatevs...I guess.")
 

wwm0nkey

Member
Really cool off then to release the prototype. Though I don't think they will hit their goal but having this and all the other updates on a KickStarter relaunch should help the 2nd try get funded fast
 

Damo1234

Neo Member
Really cool off then to release the prototype. Though I don't think they will hit their goal but having this and all the other updates on a KickStarter relaunch should help the 2nd try get funded fast

If this doesn't work I doubt they'd try a second time. A playable mockup is well above and beyond anything I've seen from any of the larger kickstarters. If that's not enough to get it funded, they'd be justified in assuming people just aren't going to accept anything as a good enough reason to back the game.

It's pretty much a "back now or kiss it goodbye" situation, I'd say.
 
This is such a damn shame. MML3 is such a fantasy now that will never happen and this was obviously not what people wanted out of a spiritual successor. The people have spoken. I am interested to see what they do next now. If Inafune was being genuine when he said his passion project was the MML series, then he will follow through on this, in some way...guess we'll just have to wait and see now.
 
Just played the Prototype and I'm blown away that they've opened up something this early to us to toy with. From the design and details of this Market area, they real nailed the love and feel put into the Legends games, even in this early state. Got a little emotional when I kicked the can and heard the same sfx as the one in Legends.

Fuck. Why out all games, did *this* one have to be the one they fucked up?

For those confused by the controls, the arrow keys are the movement of course, and the A and D keys move the camera Left and Right respectively. W and D move the camera up and down as well. Very basic of course, but enough to get a good view of things. Talk is Z, Kick is X, Fire is Shift Left, Space is jump.
 
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