Republique (story driven stealth game by Camouflaj Studios, founded by Ryan Payton)

[PaulLFC]

Originally Posted by Hodapp

I don't have anything against it, I'm glad it exists, as watching the whole thing unfold has been remarkably entertaining. I'm just very glad we didn't post about it now, as this is a typical Kickstarter gear shift. We would've posted under the guise that it was an iOS game, which would've resulted in iOS gamers potentially dumping money into the project which is now... a PC game!

That's the truly hilarious thing about Kickstarter is the sheer amount of pandering that takes place to get money. Projects literally become whatever people on forums want them to be instead of what the original creator set out to make. That's really sad, in a way.

What a ridiculous post. It's now both a PC/Mac game *and* an iOS game. That being because it didn't get enough backing as a pure iOS project, I wonder why? Could it be that the biggest iOS site decided they had some sort of bizarre problem with the game and wouldn't give it any coverage that may have generated the funds it needed? Hmm, I wonder.

Also your point about "potentially dumping money into a PC game" is ridiculous and shows you have no understanding of Kickstarter whatsoever. Anyone who was/is dissatisfied with the new direction could, and still can, completely remove their pledge if they are so bothered about the change, therefore they have lost nothing, and your point is complete nonsense. But hey, why let facts get in the way of a chance to have yet another dig at the game?

[CoalArcane]

Maybe you'll feel differently after you donate some substantial amount to a Kickstarter (you know, more than 20 bucks) and still not have the goal be reached. Kickstarter is just a new way to hustle for a lot of these people (not all, that's not what I'm saying). I don't see why it's so hard for people to grasp.

You are giving someone money.

But, you aren't getting something in return. To me that sounds like a WASTE of money, unless I am GUARANTEED a product in return. Which, with Kickstarter, you aren't. You're promised sugarplums and candy canes and sweet dreams but in the end I'd be willing to bet 50% of these Kickstarters are either A. full of shit or B. have goals (unrealistic or realistic) that are not reached.

And I REALLY don't see what is so special about Republique. Someone please explain to me why this game MUST be what Samuel L. Jackson is carrying in that suitcase in Pulp Fiction. It has to be because every one that white knights it seems to think it's 💩💩💩💩ing GOLDEN.

[Xela]

Originally Posted by Hodapp

As long as it's an actual game that exists I'm sure we'll post about it.

Why haven't you already? You post about lots of games that aren't yet finished and thus could end up being good, bad, or cancelled, why haven't you yet reported about The Banner Saga? Just because it started from Kickstarter? Or because it's not yet finished? It's still, as far as you know, a turn based strategy rpg coming to iOS and other platforms in the near future made by a small indie company that happens to include ex-employees from a certain large corporation, like many of the games you post about. What's the difference between a bunch of people announcing such and such game is in development (and, like Republique, having content to show already, including gameplay footage) and a random indie team you've never heard of before doing the same, in terms of being able to have coverage on your website which is merely meant to inform iOS owners of what's coming and the quality of what already came?

And why do you insist on sprinkling your opinions with blatant lies, what do you think that gets you, making claims like Republique not showing any gameplay, or that it's no longer an iOS game, or that early backers lost their money into a PC product, when they can always take it back (or not even have to bother doing that if the project doesn't meet its goal as they then don't get charged)? Seriously, what's wrong with you?

[backtothis]

Hodapp, you should look for any traces of kids from NeoGAF here and nuke their accounts. Better yet, this entire thread. That'll probably cause the internet gaming community to explode literally though.

[squarezero]

Originally Posted by CoalArcane

Maybe you'll feel differently after you donate some substantial amount to a Kickstarter (you know, more than 20 bucks) and still not have the goal be reached. Kickstarter is just a new way to hustle for a lot of these people (not all, that's not what I'm saying). I don't see why it's so hard for people to grasp.

You are giving someone money.

But, you aren't getting something in return. To me that sounds like a WASTE of money, unless I am GUARANTEED a product in return. Which, with Kickstarter, you aren't. You're promised sugarplums and candy canes and sweet dreams but in the end I'd be willing to bet 50% of these Kickstarters are either A. full of shit or B. have goals (unrealistic or realistic) that are not reached.

And I REALLY don't see what is so special about Republique. Someone please explain to me why this game MUST be what Samuel L. Jackson is carrying in that suitcase in Pulp Fiction. It has to be because every one that white knights it seems to think it's 💩💩💩💩ing GOLDEN.

Not sure it's a wise thing for me to step into this morass, but it should be made clear that if a Kickstarter project does not meet its funding goal, nobody gets charged and the project gets no money.

[GDSage]

Originally Posted by CoalArcane

Maybe you'll feel differently after you donate some substantial amount to a Kickstarter (you know, more than 20 bucks) and still not have the goal be reached. Kickstarter is just a new way to hustle for a lot of these people (not all, that's not what I'm saying). I don't see why it's so hard for people to grasp.

You are giving someone money.

But, you aren't getting something in return. To me that sounds like a WASTE of money, unless I am GUARANTEED a product in return. Which, with Kickstarter, you aren't. You're promised sugarplums and candy canes and sweet dreams but in the end I'd be willing to bet 50% of these Kickstarters are either A. full of shit or B. have goals (unrealistic or realistic) that are not reached.

And I REALLY don't see what is so special about Republique. Someone please explain to me why this game MUST be what Samuel L. Jackson is carrying in that suitcase in Pulp Fiction. It has to be because every one that white knights it seems to think it's 💩💩💩💩ing GOLDEN.

Originally Posted by CoalArcane

Maybe you'll feel differently after you donate some substantial amount to a Kickstarter (you know, more than 20 bucks) and still not have the goal be reached. Kickstarter is just a new way to hustle for a lot of these people (not all, that's not what I'm saying). I don't see why it's so hard for people to grasp.

You are giving someone money.

But, you aren't getting something in return. To me that sounds like a WASTE of money, unless I am GUARANTEED a product in return. Which, with Kickstarter, you aren't. You're promised sugarplums and candy canes and sweet dreams but in the end I'd be willing to bet 50% of these Kickstarters are either A. full of shit or B. have goals (unrealistic or realistic) that are not reached.

And I REALLY don't see what is so special about Republique. Someone please explain to me why this game MUST be what Samuel L. Jackson is carrying in that suitcase in Pulp Fiction. It has to be because every one that white knights it seems to think it's 💩💩💩💩ing GOLDEN.

Except you do get something in return. Many of these KS game projects will give those that pledge $10-$20 (depending on the game) a copy of the game so in that sense you can look at it like a pre-order system. Additionally, by giving even more you can get extra stuff in addition to the game such as artbooks, OST or even being modeled in the game itself.

Also, with KS you can decide to not follow through with your pledge, even after the time limit is over (the Wasteland devs lost around 30k of their fund after the end when some pledges weren't followed through).

As for risk, if a person goes into KS without knowing that they are taking a risk when pledging then they deserve to lose money if that should happen. The whole point of the project is to allow an opportunity to kickstart a project that normally wouldn't be possible in the current landscape. Not neccesarily because the title is of poor quality (sometimes that is the case) but because many a publisher isn't keen on funding projects that aren't FPS or any other genre or style of the year.

Can that bite pledgers back? Of course it can. Can it be abused? Of course, and KS has been by other non-video game projects in the past. Such a risk is part and parcel of the system so it's a surprise it even has to be called up as if it's something that has passed by everyone. That shouldn't stop what could be achieved through the system, especially if there are genuinely interesting projects being proposed with enough being shown for you to form a good enough impression of it.

... On a related note, regardless if you think KS is good or not surely the audience are intelligent enough to decide for themselves if a proposed project is worthy enough of their attention and even pledge. So to be against giving any kind of spotlight to such projects (and more, gloat and be rude about it in this particular case) is just a shy too baffling.

This isn't to say Republique will be any good or is worthy of a spotlight. Personally, I'm not really interested in the concept (it reminds me of that niche PS2 voice recognition adventure game, which I didn't care for). Rather I'm puzzled by the situation surrounding this project and the reason why it's being met with such uncalled distaste from one particular person when the devs haven't done anything to provoke such a response.

It's especially odd to see proponents of another millennial sector - the only four years old app market / touch gaming, to be so down on another such sector and worse see the 'old man yells at cloud' card being played (the lemonade stand tidbit only completing the old man mindset). Surely that's at least another six years too early to start going against the latest 'new thing'?

It's an incredibly odd situation and surely there is a better way to approach it all.

[Haruhi]

Originally Posted by backtothis

Hodapp, you should look for any traces of kids from NeoGAF here and nuke their accounts. Better yet, this entire thread. That'll probably cause the internet gaming community to explode literally though.

Except it's not just new members (or stealth GAFers) who have problems with Hodapp, as a quick skim through this thread would confirm. At this point, it's not even about Kickstarter anymore. In fact, a few GAFers actually agree with Hodapp's anti-Kickstarter opinion. The problem lies with Hodapp's handling of the situation. Having a controversial opinion is one thing, but denouncing a major gaming community for reacting to your opinion is another.

[syntheticvoid]

holy... shit. This looks amazing. I'm speechless. =oO

[crex]

Originally Posted by syntheticvoid

holy... shit. This looks amazing. I'm speechless. =oO

Obviously you aren't talking about the Hodapp/NeoGAF situation....

[syntheticvoid]

ha, no... couldn't care less who said what or who feels what about what's goin on with who said what... =oP

But the game... I'm blown away by the footage and the interviews and whatnot.... =oO

lol... sorry, didn't mean to post about what the thread was supposed to be about in any sort of fashion at all...

resume the hodapp neowhatever blah blah blah blah blah...