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Was the Code Hero Kickstarter a scam? They claim it's not! But Tactical Corsets!!!
- Thread starter onlyindreams
- Start date
Everyone with common sense saw this coming. It's just that not everyone pronounced verdict on Kickstarter based on that.
dr3upmushroom
Banned
Wow, I remember someone in the press mentioned this on a podcast and I meant to donate to it because it sounded really cool, and then basically laughed out loud when I saw their KS page. Can't remember for certain but I want to say it was Anthony Gallegos on the GFW Radio reunion that came out on Geekbox. Maybe he'll cover the lawsuit.
thekonamicode
Member
on what basis do you believe Ouya will fail to deliver?
Dark Octave
Banned
Was it obvious? How so?
Real question.
How do you tell what's a scam and what isn't on Kickstarter?
Ghost Dad the Whip
Member
I've backed a few kickstarters that ran behind schedule, and they all were diligent about keeping their backers updated. This is shady.
Dark Octave
Banned
I thought I heard that the Ouya has already shipped or being shipped to backers.
Badly written where every sentence ends like this! And computer graphics from the 80s. Also pointing out other successful kickstarters to leach some success. Also backed by a nobody who has done nothing but make up a company name. How isn't it obvious?
Aquamarine
Member
You better hope they have a case.
Because if this scam slides through, it will ruin the whole system...essentially proving that developers DON'T need to be held accountable for their promises.
And if that happens, who knows how many scams will hit the Kickstarter market.
Haha, dem top comments.
Not according to Kickstarter's official stance apparently. Either way, this sort of thing is exactly why I haven't and won't ever be backing a project.
Sorry, but that's BS. No one said this could never happen. We said that if you choose your Kickstarter projects carefully, the chances of this happening are low.
As much as silly people like you want it, this simply doesn't negate Kickstarter as a viable solution for funding indie games. There are already examples of finished Kickstarters that proved out to be well worthwhile of a pledge.
No it isn't. At least by the current wording on the site.
http://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use?ref=footer
It is pretty much that you have a contract, but Kickstarter itself won't do anything to help you enforce it. It seems to me that should be plenty for a case.
DjangoReinhardt
Thinks he should have been the one to kill Batman's parents.
Kickstarter is a conscious end-run around those protections.
Shady Kickstarters are rightly as surprising as the existence of bootlegs on eBay masquerading as the real thing. If you're not careful, you're going to get screwed. Even being careful, you might get screwed. This doesn't mean eBay as a concept is awful, and it doesn't mean Kickstarter as a concept is bad. The high-profile failures were inevitable; they're a shame but not proof that everyone who thinks Kickstarters are a good thing is a sucker.
Oppo
Member
I thought the actual button used to say DONATE. Now it says "back this project". Maybe the language changed at some point. I'm not certain you are correct about the contract part.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
How sure are they that he has taken the money and spend it unwisely. If he had to run/disappear, he wouldn't be using his Youtube account.
It is, however, shady that there is no update in 2 months. Also, he was going to release an update soon and he didn't.
Regardless, aren't people "scared" that spending all the money is going to get them no recognition or job in the future whatsoever? Whoever googles him will find out what he did.
It is, however, shady that there is no update in 2 months. Also, he was going to release an update soon and he didn't.
Regardless, aren't people "scared" that spending all the money is going to get them no recognition or job in the future whatsoever? Whoever googles him will find out what he did.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
... And this is why established devs will always have a place on kickstarter.
I don't remember anyone saying anything of the sorts, so I would love to see you back your post up with some examples.
michaelius
Banned
That's why you use brain before becoming backer.
VampireKitten
Neo Member
Man that sucks, I hope the Backers get him good. I saw that someone mentioned that they hope this model fails... I kind of don't want it to. We've seen so much good come from Kickstarter (Double Fine for example) and I feel like this is a great direction for Indie games. Hell, it's a great direction for larger titles because of the way publishers are nowadays, but there is always bound to be a few bad apples.
Foxy Fox 39
Banned
What was Code Hero anyway?
I think they will deliver but it will be a year or more later than it was scheduled to be, which is why I stopped backing them.
I have backed 19 projects this year and I have got items from 5 of them and I expect another 3 of them to send me the items in another couple months, the rest I don't expect till next year or so but I am not worried.
I know what to expect from kickstarter and If it's somthing I am wary of them I will not back it.
well, I hope this goes through so we can find out
I'm particularly interested in these "protections", as Kickstarter itself has made no secret of the fact there are none. "Lost your money? That sucks, but it's something you'll have to chase up yourself" has always been the more-or-less official stance.
His last facebook entry is December 3rd.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
They already shipped devkits on time. That's "deliver" to me.
Zeouterlimits
Member
When they talk about how he spent money foolishly, what do they mean? Did he actively con or did he invest it or something?
Not trying to defend him, just curious.
Not trying to defend him, just curious.
And here we go with calling me a KS hater.
I have pledged to a few projects on Kickstarter. But they were projects headed by people with experience and some credentials.
People always turn this into a "You hate all Kickstarters" or "You Love all Kickstarters" battle. That's not the point, When Kickstarter became popular many of us were pointing out the high possibility of scams and this seemed to offend people. Many people quoted a section from the KS TOS stating that projects must refund donors if they don't deliver. As if this was some sort of protection. My post was only meant to highlight that this is indeed happening, and it is happening on projects that were not necessarily obvious scams.
My use of the words "never happen" was somewhat facetious, but it meant to represent the general attitude of some of the the defenders.
Ouya will be fine. It won't be the miracle box some people expect, but it'll deliver. There are actual people of note putting their reputations on the line for it. I think to back a kickstarter, either someone with a worthwhile reputation is putting it on the line, or it's a smaller group that's already produced a workable demo and aren't asking for much.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
From what I've seen and read:
1. There was suppose to be an update. They didn't provide it.
2. It's been two + months since they communicated with anyone.
3. Alex is still active on Youtube, Reddit and more; posting comments and watching videos. He hasn't "ditched" as people state, but he is not responding to anyone yet.
Fox Mulder
Member
I'm shocked there hasn't been an outright scam case yet, but how are they determining he used the money recklessly?
What if you genuinely set out to fulfill the promises, but end up using the money and can't deliver anything?
What if you genuinely set out to fulfill the promises, but end up using the money and can't deliver anything?
Kickstarter will be fine. Crowdfunding is too perfect for videogames to be killed by the occasional scam.
Now if something like Star Citizen takes the money and runs, the naysayers would have a point.
Pretty much. The rate of not getting a game from a project you funded will almost certainly be lower than the rate of people buying retail games that they wind up hating. No, those two activities are not exactly equivalent, but they both entail risks and are effectively a waste of money.
You'd better warn Feep about how Kickstarter's collapse will surely ripple backwards in time and cancel out every copy of Sequence that's been sold. Also, PM Stump and tell him that all the neat board games he got from KS are going to disappear like Cinderella's slippers.
Dark Octave
Banned
MAYBE the non-bolded could be a hint to signs of a scam but the bolded is totally unfair to the very people that Kickstarter was created for.
Are the only people who deserve to be funded, people who are so well known and successful that they don't really need funding?
Which is good, glad they are getting on time than.
This. When I start a kickstarter for my game, do I not get the chance to earn money for funding the game by showing off how much effort I put into it, instead of what big business company I'm with?
I mean if they do manage to release on time that's just the start of the problem. A console with a small 50,000 userbase, fragmenting android even more, piracy is probably gonna be rife...I'm just not sure who is going to bother with it at all
AtomskEater
Member
The fact that none of the people behind this particular project are getting in touch with the backers is leading people to draw their own conclusions. If a person honestly uses the money for project and reward expenses, there should be some kind of documentation to support that (receipts etc) and they should be swift in communicating about issues.
The Haunts kickstarter ran into problems, and the guy behind it made an update and said he'd still work on completing the game, but anyone who didn't want to be in for the long haul could request a refund. That's one way of appropriately handling the situation, and as I recall there wasn't a load of controversy when that happened. I don't think people will threaten to sue if they see an effort to make the situation right is being made.
Are Ouya promising a certain level of developer support and immunity to piracy? I'd be surprised if they are.
Ouya may well 'fail' as a product without actually failing on their KS commitments.
exmachina64
Banned
There are no protections in place and most Kickstarter backers realize things like this can happen.