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[Diablohead]

From what I have read/heard, none of this matters until controller lag issues are solved.

ouya controller lag? it only happens when something is in the way of the bluetooth connection, which also related to the ouya casing causing problems lol.

But seriously with a direct clear path within about 15 feet of the device it's perfect, after that it can get sketchy.

The ouya 2 will most likely have a glass or plastic antenna window somewhere on the case to help, it is a design flaw, you can get around the problem by making the ouya's top plastic lid face towards you if you sit the other side of the room from it.

 

[nampad]

Wow, after reading the Kickstarter situation around Gridiron Thunder, everything seems fishy.

If Ouya is behind this, they should just go and moneyhat devs with their $1 million. Should be enough for some nice indie games.

 

[FunInfusedGames]

I don't think you can do either of those without the NFLPA license (I'm specifically talking about the Player's license). That picture I posted from their Kickstarter would suggest they can do both. Either that or they're misleading people.

Non-licensed games have been doing this for years. Detroit Lions will be Detroit, Oakland Raiders will be Oakland, Brett Favre will be #4, etc. All the NCAA football games do this with players still.

If they're gonna try and trick gamers into thinking they have the real license / players, they very well might incur the wrath of the NFL / EA.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

People at SA called out the scam like 4 days ago and no-one paid notice until Joystiq reported it as legit news. That's kinda the true testament of how irrelevant OUYA is

 

[ascii42]

Non-licensed games have been doing this for years. Detroit Lions will be Detroit, Oakland Raiders will be Oakland, Brett Favre will be #4, etc. All the NCAA football games do this with players still.

If they're gonna try and trick gamers into thinking they have the real license / players, they very well might incur the wrath of the NFL / EA.

In the screenshots, they have the players' names, but I don't see NFL team names, just cities.

 

[Famassu]

"Free the games" -> make games (timed) exclusives.

mkay.

 

[VanWinkle]

Wait, I don't get it. It says theres $78,000 funded on that football game, yet if you count the backers on the reward side, it only adds up to like $6,000. Am I making a crucial error somewhere?

 

[Tripon]

Wait, I don't get it. It says theres $78,000 funded on that football game, yet if you count the backers on the reward side, it only adds up to like $6,000. Am I making a crucial error somewhere?

The assumption is that the game devs themselves fronted the missing money to get the Ouya backing.

 

[Bionic]

Wait, I don't get it. It says theres $78,000 funded on that football game, yet if you count the backers on the reward side, it only adds up to like $6,000. Am I making a crucial error somewhere?

No, you're not. You can back a kickstarter without selecting a reward. The only reason to do that is if you are A. the KS creator trying to prevent scrutiny of your reward fulfillment, or B. OUYA trying to keep the creators from having to send out codes or solicit feedback that won't be used.

 

[VanWinkle]

The assumption is that the game devs themselves fronted the missing money to get the Ouya backing.

But wouldn't that still show up on the backers rewards thing? The highest pledged reward so far is $500 by one person, and then $300 next but only 9 people there. I'm not understanding it.

No, you're not. You can back a kickstarter without selecting a reward. The only reason to do that is if you are A. the KS creator trying to prevent scrutiny of your reward fulfillment, or B. OUYA trying to keep the creators from having to send out codes or solicit feedback that won't be used.

OH, okay, so the fact that there's something like SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS from people who "don't want the reward" is pretty telling. Can't believe they're getting away with something that lacks so much subtlety.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Non-licensed games have been doing this for years. Detroit Lions will be Detroit, Oakland Raiders will be Oakland, Brett Favre will be #4, etc. All the NCAA football games do this with players still.

If they're gonna try and trick gamers into thinking they have the real license / players, they very well might incur the wrath of the NFL / EA.

You can do the numbers yeah. But they're specifically using names and likenesses of players.

 

[jack.]

Haha, wow, apparently the other project (Elementary, My Dear Holmes!) is doing the same thing as Gridiron Thunder except they are pulling the Kickstarter account image from a Google image search of the name. This has led to a bunch of celebrities (and at least one missing girl) backing. From the comments:

Ben Wiggins about 15 hours ago
I do apologise if I'm seen as being overly aggressive or negative, but the backer list is ridiculous. It's not one or two people who happen to share the name/image of celebrity.
There's a definite pattern. Not all are celebrities One of the images is even a missing woman, and another is a fugitive. Others are of professors, staff, university students, images unlikely to be used by someone else as a profile pic.
Not wanting to be accussatory, but I just don't know who else would be profiting from this if not the creator of the project.
Absolom = UK actor Joe Absolom
Acklerley = David Acklerly
Alexa Smith = Businesswoman Alexa Von Tobel
Vaibhav Rastogi = Indian actor Vaibhav Reddy
Gabriel Boucher = US gymnast Gabriel Douglas
Adelaide = a picture of Adelaide, Australia
Alexis Langlois = Alexis Bledel
Nicolas Fournier = Nicolas Cage
Emily Morris = Emily Deschanel
Kaitlyn Roy = nutritionist Kait Fortunato
Agatha = Agatha Christie
Alisha = Taiwanese model Alicia Liu
Omari = actor Omari Hardwick
Omarion = professor Justin Omarion
Paxton = Bill Paxton
Peter = Peter Dinklage
Philip = Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Pierre = physicist Pierre Gaspard
Dexter Harris = Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
Abel Allen = Professor Abel Folsch
Adam Lee - Professor Adam Wierman
Aditya Adams - Professor Aditya Prakash
Michaela Brown - cheerleader Michaela Stalder
Mikayla Phillips - UFL staffer Mikayla Ivers
Molly Hall - Etix employee Molly Bendall
Natalie Roberts - Natalie Portman
Montana Gonzalez - picture of a Chevrolet Montana
Nayeli Lopez - amateur actress Nayli Russo
Noelia Hall - Noel Gallagher
Noemi Martinez - City of Mission, TX staffer Noemi Munguia
Olivia Brown - Winona State University student Olivia Wulf
Julie Wright - Professor Julie Nelson, Ph.D.
Juliet Thompson - Claire Danes as Juliet
Alex Adams - Swiss professor Alexandre Pouget
Jay Lewis - Jay Jay the Jet Plane
Jefferson Taylor - Thomas Jefferson
Jerry Walker - Jerry (of Tom and Jerry)
Karla Johnson - blogger Karley Robey
Karly Martinez - UFL professor Karly Jacobsen
Claudia Rodriguez - University of Notre Dame professor Claudia Polini
Collene Thompson - Colleen L. Mcguire
Cora Jones - Cat Cora from Iron Chef
Corinne Lopez - FederatedMedia.net staffer Corinne Kasman
Cakota Lewis - Dakota Fanning
Dasia Allen - a random image from DASIA 2013 (http://eurospace.org/dasia-2013.aspx)
Destinee Thompson - Destinne Quinn (Miss Arizona USA)
Devin Lee - musician Devin Townshend
Dorothy Hill - Judy Garland (as Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz')
Patience Williams - Patience street sign
Payton Robinson - Footballer Walter Payton
Peyton Walker - Footballer Peyton manning
Phoebe Lewis - Lisa Kudrow (as Phoebe from 'Friends')
Princess Garcia - Princess clip art
Raquel Davis - Raquel Welch
Reese Garcia - Reese Garcia
Sophie Lavoie - Sophie Marceau
Charlotte Begeron - Charlotte Church
Mia Ouellet - M.I.A.
Maya Fournier - Image search for "Plain woman"
Leah Nadeau - City of Albany councillor Leah Golby
Matthew Jackson - Matthew C H Tong
Cameron Poulin - David Cameron
Hudson Michaud - picture of a vintage Hudson Motor Car
Sesbatian Couture - Christopher Sebastian
Riya Robinson - Riya Sen
Bertie Williams - Irish politician Bertie Ahern
Zack Hall - Twitter employee Zach N. Hofer-Shall
Zakai King - Yaron Zakai-Or
Zazu Scott - painter/sculptor Scott Myers
Ruben Campbell - Ruben R Puentendura
Sagiv Evans - professor Jacob Sagiv
Sam Collins - journalist Sam Pizzigati
Sampson Stewart - dancer George Sampson
Saul Sanchez - Knoxville News Sentinel photographer Saul Young
Sebastian Morris - economist Sebastian Leitner
Shamir Morgan - Shamir Tandon
Sivan Bailey - Sivan Aldor-Noiman
Patrick Ramirez - Patrick from Spongebob
Paul James - Paul Dyer (Australian Brandenburg Orchestra)
Philip Brooks - Statue of Phillip II of Macedon, 382BC
Raanan Kelley - Rannan Bar-Cohen
Nick Simmons - Nick Jonas
Noah Alexander - Russel Crow (playing Noah)
Oran Graham - image of Oran, Algeria
Joseph Sullivan - Joseph Yu
Josh Wallace - Michael B Jordan (playing Wallace in 'The Wire')
Jud Owens - German film poster for Jud Süß
Kabos Gibson - Professor Kabos Sandor
Julie Bedard - IATP associate Julia Olmstead
Anna Desjardins - Anna Kournikova
Catherina Richard - USC professor Richard Taylor
Levi Gagne - Levi van Veluw
Harrison Lefebvre - Harrison Ford
Justin Martel - Justin Bieber
Callum Lecierc - Callum Hart
Matthew Parent - Matthew Farrelly, Ph.D
Piper Fortin - Piper Kerman, author or Orange is the NEw Black
Jared Henry - Jared Leto
Hans Nichols - Alan Rickman (portraying Hans Gruber in Die Hard)
Ichabod Dunn - Johnny Depp (portraying Ichabod Dunn in Sleepy Hollow)
Zahavah Payne - Billy Zane
Isaiah Spencer - Isaiah Washington
Zaza Wagner - @ZazaTMO
Vidette Riloey - Vidette Bullock Mixon, GBPHB corporate relations
Yael Lawrence = French-Israeli singer Yael Naim
Shira Carr - Shirra Harington @ Purposeful Hire, Inc.
Shoshana Chapman - fashion designer Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss
Stacy Richards - NYU student Stacy Alicea
Stella Williamson - Princess Stella cartoon (Winx Club)
Susannah Banks - Susannah Llewellyn (MEC Global)
Suzanna Meyer - Suzanne Roshan
Nitzana Little - Stuart Little
Odera Jacobs - Aramando Albarran (fugitive)
Pazia Romero - C. Pazia Mannella
Rachael Burke - author Rachel Rennee Russell
Maria Mendoza - Maria Carolina Herrera-Hernandez, Ph.D
Alice Blais - American McGee's Alice
Brooke Richard - Brooke Burke
Reese Lavoie - Reeses chocolate bar
Paige Hebert - Paige Johnson staffer UNCW
Parker Lachance - Jason Statham as "Parker"
Pankaj Jumar - Pankaj Barman
Alivia Das - Missing woman Alivia Kail
Lawl Curtis - American University professor Curtis Burrill
Libby O Brien - Dr. Wendy B Libby (Stetson Uni)
Linda Sutton - OneJustice director Linda Kim
Lisa Gregory - Mona Lisa
Malcom Haman - Malcolm McDowell
Wesley Kukowski - Dutch footballer Wesley Sneijder

 

[Batigol]

Man, this is the epitome of dodgy

 

[Tripon]

Updated the OP.

Looks like Ouya's just going all in because they're either desperate, or that bad of a businessman where they're okay being scammed.

Probably both at this point.

 

[nampad]

Updated the OP.

Looks like Ouya's just going all in because they're either desperate, or that bad of a businessman where they're okay being scammed.

Probably both at this point.

So I have this game idea for an exclusive Ouya title. Any gaffer interested in helping me out? We should use Kickstarter.

 

[Tripon]

So I have this game idea for an exclusive Ouya title. Any gaffer interested in helping me out? We should use Kickstarter.

Sure, just let me get my sock puppets ready. Lets call the game "A Scam for All Seasons."

 

[Archaix]

Updated the OP.

Looks like Ouya's just going all in because they're either desperate, or that bad of a businessman where they're okay being scammed.

Probably both at this point.

You assume Ouya isn't complicit and an active participant. Having an "exclusive NFL game" on their system sounds pretty damn good on paper, and the promotion got a lot more attention than just a game announcement. If they're refusing to even investigate the possibility that something is up, then they are looking no better than anybody else involved.

 

[SolidSnakex]

So maybe they just have the NFLPA license. But I think EA has exclusive rights to that as well. This article is from March of this year which does state that both licenses end this year though they'll likely re-up. It doesn't say whether or not the NFLPA one is exclusive though.

EA has full exclusivity for the NFL. That goes for the team names and the players. If they didn't then you'd at least see another football game around that featured NFL players even if they couldn't have the team names. The best example of this would be a few years ago with 2K's All-Star Football. They didn't feature any players that were currently in the league. Instead they had retired players agree to be in the game, which obviously would've violate any EA rights.

There's no way this project will go anywhere without the NFL stepping in and suing this company for every dime they're worth. This image alone is a big no no

Using images from various NFL games and the NFL logo clearly visible on Belichick's (which they misspelled) jacket.

 

[Lonely1]

EA has full exclusivity for the NFL. That goes for the team names and the players. If they didn't then you'd at least see another football game around that featured NFL players even if they couldn't have the team names. The best example of this would be a few years ago with 2K's All-Star Football. They didn't feature any players that were currently in the league. Instead they had retired players agree to be in the game, which obviously would've violate any EA rights.

There's no way this project will go anywhere without the NFL stepping in and suing this company for every dime they're worth. This image alone is a big no no

Using images from various NFL games and the NFL logo clearly visible on Belichick's (which they misspelled) jacket.

Maybe 'Belicheck' is their way to avoid infringement?

 

[Dingotech]

Wow this is dodgy all round...

 

[Spongebob]

So based on what I'm reading, the people at OUYA themselves seem to be funding these fake projects in an attempt to drum up fake interest in their system (in order to improve the consoles image)?

 

[Karyyk]

So based on what I'm reading, the people at OUYA themselves seem to be funding these fake projects in an attempt to drum up fake interest in their system (in order to improve the consoles image)?

Well, they're either funding it (and basically inexplicably paying double), or the Kickstarter creators themselves basically don't need the backing and are backing it themselves to get the free payout from Ouya. Ouya seems so oblivious and pleased with themselves over it that it almost seems like it has to be the former. Either way, they seem to be in on it and turning a blind eye. Ouya gets to point to another successful Kickstarter campaign (which is getting old) and gets exclusive games. It's a win for them, unless of course none of them sell.

What I don't get is, if you're going to do this, why not just back it outright and stop going through the facade that this is some competition where all the devs are on a level playing field? Other current Kickstarter projects like NONE look at least as compelling as Gridiron Thunder. NONE actually has more backers (139 to 126), but is languishing at just over $4,000. Ultimately, none of it matters at the end of the day, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

 

[TheExodu5]

From what I have read/heard, none of this matters until controller lag issues are solved.

Honestly, I'm starting to think the lag is inherent to Android. Super Hexagon is unplayable on Android phones due to input lag.

 

[boutrosinit]

It looks like people have been questioning Gridiron's funding since at least Aug 20. Apparently they suddenly had over $50k in funding at that time with very few backers. It's looking very fishy to say the least haha.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...er-awesome-indie-football-game-for-o/comments

Could be a VERY tacky marketing ploy.

I.E, "We plan to fund this game, but let's see if we can get some pre-sale hype for it by doing it publicly, through kick starter. If we get no pledges, we'll still put our money in.".

Sad if that's the case.

 

[vazel]

Honestly, I'm starting to think the lag is inherent to Android. Super Hexagon is unplayable on Android phones due to input lag.

I suspected Android was inherently laggy. It feels sort of like the laggyness java has, but worse. That's the main reason why I stay away from all these android gaming devices.

 

[DaBargainHunta]

Ouya is a great little system (save the pitchforks, GAF), but they are absolutely balls-out incompetent in terms of marketing, business, distribution, etc. The Kickstarter idea was dumb from the (kick)start, and this sort of crap isn't helping matters any.

 

[Xanathus]

I feel like this thread isn't getting the attention it deserves due to the thread title, maybe OP should PM a mod to change it to something more saucy? I suggest
First two Ouya 'Free the Games' projects "meet" funding goals

 

[TasTokyo]

Wow. Looking through the list of names who are also celeb pictures. I mean yea that's crazy. A fair amount only have backed that one project or just one other.

 

[SolidSnakex]

People should also watch the gameplay that they've posted

Here's a short video and some UI elements from where the game was last week. While the visuals are still rough, a significant amount of the groundwork for the game, such as the AI, UI, mechanics, physics, data loading and controls, is already done and in place. While most of this stuff is not visible (as any game developer knows), the key to a great game is a great foundation and this is where we focused our efforts.

During the next few weeks, we will clean up the rough edges that you now see and add local multiplayer, fantasy teams, and online multiplayer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1LvysbK5-I

This game is apparently due for release on September 15th, and that's the shape that it's in right now. They're somehow going to add all that above stuff while also fixing the the non-existent AI and broken animation in less than a month.

 

[Twinduct]

Yeah ... this be dodgy .. and smelly!

 

[RionaaM]

Honestly, I'm starting to think the lag is inherent to Android. Super Hexagon is unplayable on Android phones due to input lag.

Nah, I can play it fine on my S3. Haven't managed to beat Hyper Hexagonest yet (despite doing so on the PC version), but I blame my poor skills and lack of practice.

This isn't the first time something shady like this happens on Kickstarter. I seriously don't understand why Ouya is fine with this.

 

[red731]

Wow. This is interesting. Will be following this. Ouyaaah!

 

[PetriP-TNT]

Thank you Spongebob Squarepants, the anonymous donor in the Silicon Valley for supporting the most successful OUYA game to date

 

[jack.]

Honestly, I'm starting to think the lag is inherent to Android. Super Hexagon is unplayable on Android phones due to input lag.

I don't think that's it. I play stuff on my 2012 Nexus 7 with a DualShock 3, which uses the same SOC as the Ouya, all the time and there's no noticeable input lag. I'm pretty sure the Ouya's controller (or it's Bluetooth in general) is just shitty.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

Haha, wow, apparently the other project (Elementary, My Dear Holmes!) is doing the same thing as Gridiron Thunder except they are pulling the Kickstarter account image from a Google image search of the name. This has led to a bunch of celebrities (and at least one missing girl) backing. From the comments:

lol

 

[GuitarAtomik]

I feel like a mod should change the thread title to reflect all of this shady nonsense lol. Is there another thread about this stuff?

 

[YianGaruga]

This is one person from the list of fake people

What the fuck

 

[jack.]

Nothing fishy here

 

[BiggNife]

This is one person from the list of fake people

What the fuck

Uh this is pretty gross

 

[mclem]

Maya Fournier - Image search for "Plain woman"

Poor Maya Fournier.


One question that springs to mind: Is this being instigated by the devs off their own bat, or is there an external group being commissioned to actually do the sockpuppet creation?

 

[LordCanti]

Uh this is pretty gross

Well, that seals it, whoever did this is a scumbag.

 

[red731]

This is one person from the list of fake people

What the fuck

what
the
fuck

 

[CambriaRising]

Oh my god at that list of Fake people.

 

[Tripon]

Looks like other games that are a part of OUYA's Free the Games have bot backers as well. So far, only Gridiron Football, and My Dear, Holmes! are fully funded and eligible for OUYA's backing, but its clear that other games are using the same tactics in order to receive funds. Most of the sock puppets accounts are created in August, and have backed only one project.

NONE: Shape Your Universe. (OUYA and more!), Dungeons the Eye of Draconus, and Mighty Brawlers seems to be most affected by bot pledges.

An interesting one in particular is 'Josuha Rizzo' who has backed three OUYA KS projects so far, including Mighty Brawlers, Gridiron Thunder, and NONE: Shape Your Universe.

Now, he could be a legitimate person, but a quick google search fielded a couple of Joshua Rizzo's that looked like nothing from his KS page. Image search lead me to a random library page to... Lance Umenhofer An 20-something man trying to make it as an author.

There's also Sebastian Ertl, who a quick FB check shows he lives in Austria, and Pavel Karavaev who after a quick google search shows he lives in Russia.

It could mean nothing in the end since none of these projects outside of Gridiron Thunder and My Dear Holmes are nowhere close to be funded, but I think its worth checking it out from time to time as their kickstarter ends.

 

[Lonely1]

If Ouya is directly funding the games, why lose 10% to Kickstarter? Now, if its a marketing ploy, looks like it will (has?) backfire immensely.

 

[Nabs]

This is one person from the list of fake people

What the fuck

....

 

[LordCanti]

Is there any games/tech press actually covering this?

 

[jack.]

There have been a few articles about it today:

http://kotaku.com/kickstarter-games-accused-of-scamming-the-system-1211422850
http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/28/4667078/ouya-kickstarter-scam-allegations
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...Ouyas_first_two_Free_the_Games_recipients.php

 

[LordCanti]

There have been a few articles about it today:

http://kotaku.com/kickstarter-games-accused-of-scamming-the-system-1211422850
http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/28/4667078/ouya-kickstarter-scam-allegations
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...Ouyas_first_two_Free_the_Games_recipients.php

Well, at least they probably won't get away with it this time. No one bothered to write a story about it the last time (with the "My brothers are mean: Give me money" campaign) but it seems like that isn't the case now.

 

[Neuromancer]

The trainwreck continues. I can't believe that picture and account for a missing woman. What are they thinking?

If it's just the devs doing this shit Ouya needs to distance themselves from it and make a statement and cancel the funding matching. But I suspect they're all in it together.