holy god, you're kind of right: http://www.spacepunk.org/wombat_of_war said:
People gave this guy one hundred and seventy thousand hard American dollars.
Code Hero Kickstarter Goes Bad - UPDATED
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
People gave this guy one hundred and seventy thousand hard American dollars.
Hum, would you look at the time, Kickstarter's honeymoon is over. Time to see if it will survive now that people begin to realize it isn't a magic money and dream machine. The bubble pops... lets see if the bottom falls out.
Sorry, poor wording. I meant that the situation that actually did arise is probably worse than the hypothetical Activision scenario. Definitely not implying that a cease-and-desist letter is worse than unkept promises involving thousands of other people's dollars.Azuaron said:
I'm a backer of this project, and I'm also someone who has interacted with Alex a lot over the last month. I can tell you-- this project is STILL going places.. he's been super busy and unfortunately neglected the PR aspect of Code Hero, and done a terrible job keeping in touch with his backers. But the project is not by a long shot dead, and Alex is absolutely not a fraud or a con-man. I urge you not to write Code Hero off, and to download the latest version. He's a smart guy with a great, inspired project which is actually looking quite tight..
He just posted a response to this here:
https://primerlabs.com/developmentcontinues
He just posted a response to this here:
https://primerlabs.com/developmentcontinues
This worries me about Kickstarter, but it's a risk when you give money to a project. So far I actually have not seen any physical rewards yet, but Feb-March is supposed to be when a lot of my perks are delivered. We shall see around then what happens. The ones I've backed so far have been good with giving consistent updates throughout. Makes me wonder what will happen with the Ouya.
Ah jeez... My heart goes out the backers, and all, but the project had red flags of implausibility flying all over the place. If it ever happened, it would have been something more akin the Peter Molyneuxs At the Movies game - something that looks the part on a superficial level but just doesn't deliver what was promised in terms of filmmaking.
Also, I'll defend kickstarter to the death, and it's really a buyer beware thing. Projects will fall through and people will lose money, if anything news like this should keep people grounded and not pledge more money than they're willing to lose if the end product doesn't materialize.
And, yeah. The only people that have any business as part of a class action lawsuit should be the people expecting the physical rewards. KS was never to be used as some kind of a pre-order or guaranteed end-product.
Also, I'll defend kickstarter to the death, and it's really a buyer beware thing. Projects will fall through and people will lose money, if anything news like this should keep people grounded and not pledge more money than they're willing to lose if the end product doesn't materialize.
And, yeah. The only people that have any business as part of a class action lawsuit should be the people expecting the physical rewards. KS was never to be used as some kind of a pre-order or guaranteed end-product.
I've supported 2 Kickstarts, and only at the 10 or 15 dollar level. I would never invest heavily in a project unless I'm going to get some return on it. Who are these people who donate thousands of dollars anyway? Optimistic to say the least. Remember, inside every cynic there is a dead idealist.
Pretty much, after all who is this Alex Peake?Azuaron said:
As far as we know just some guy who has a great idea, even if he steal money from the gamers he can just declare it as a bad investment and declare bankruptcy. He'll never work in the game industry again, but would he care? probably not
The industry heavyweights that goes on Kickstarter are about as reliable as it gets since they have everything to lose if they don't follow through with their project. It's one thing for them to make a shitty game, it's quite another if they steal money. They don't guarantee that they will make a great game, but at the very least they will deliver a game
If you went to the Code Hero site you could get beta access for $5. I tried it out, realised what a pile of wank it was and ignored the Kick Starter page for it after that.
I think my fondest memory from within the game was accidently spawning 500 looping staircases causing my laptop to freeze.
I think my fondest memory from within the game was accidently spawning 500 looping staircases causing my laptop to freeze.
I understand the concept of a LLC, I'm just not sure that it applies here. If I walk up to you on the street, I offer to sell you a bridge, we sign a contract, and then you give me money and I give you no bridge, I can't just bring up some LLC that I own, file bankrupcy for it, and avoid paying you back that way.Dexter111 said:
First of all, because you made a contract with ME personally, not with an LLC in which I'm a shareholder. The two are separate legal entities. If you look at the Kickstarter page, Alex Peake sold the game under his own name.
Second, there is such a legal action as Piercing the corporate veil [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil], which means that if it appears like a LLC was used as just a front by a single person, or if an LLC's main shareholder committed fraud, then the court can destroy the legal fiction of the LLC and let the owner be sued as an individual.
Third, a Kickstarter project is not an "investment" on the backer's part, it's a contract. If you are a construction company, and I pay you $200.000 to build me a house, and you accept the contract, then you can't just change your mind and not build the house after all, because it's a "bad investment". I don't give a fuck about your investment plans, I'm not your shareholder, I'm your contractor, and we had a deal.m72_ar said:
Just because the time frame is longer in these cases like constructions or game developments, where the final subject of the transaction needs to get made, ultimately it is not different from pre-orders, r any other sale for that matter. Person asks for money, promises product for it. If erson doesn't deliver the product, then person is guilty of breach of contract.
This is one sided journalism. Close to completed builds have been seen in numerous places, and yet we only have a quote by the guy leading the Class Action Lawsuit.
That said, Code Hero dev didn't respond, so there's that. I followed this since the Unity Forum posts.
That said, Code Hero dev didn't respond, so there's that. I followed this since the Unity Forum posts.
From the linked Kickstarter Forums as of 6 hours ago:
"Creator Alex Peake about 6 hours ago
I'm Alex the lead developer of Code Hero and here is my response to this news story, updated as I continue to answer the specific questions people have:
https://primerlabs.com/developmentcontinues
Here's the Google Hangout where you can talk to us:
https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/2f0778f953e6506ccb5e95232cf91282f361e6b3?
Code Hero development continues. We released the first alpha build of the game after PAX and we're releasing alpha 2 soon to show you the latest progress.
https://primerlabs.com/download
(You do have to be a backer or buy the game to play the alpha as that is how we sustain development, but you can see how the game has evolved over the last year in the trailers: http://primerlabs.com/trailer)
UPDATE: We reached Dustin Deckard by email. He said he wants the game to succeed and that his position is being misinterpreted in some media reports. He's not suing us, he's just trying to get answers about the project's progress as we hadn't replied to his email before. We're answering journalist and backer questions since posting the first response and posting them here. Our ongoing updates will be posted below as we answer people's questions as transparently and quickly as possible to make sure people are clear that the game development continues and we're going to communicate everything about its progress from now on.
UPDATE: We're on a Google Hangout you can join if you want to ask us whatever you'd like. Some journalists have questions and a lot of our friends and supporters who believe in us have reached out and asked how they can help.
https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/2f0778f953e6506ccb5e95232cf91282f361e6b3?
We are committed to finishing this game and although progress has slowed down and the release is taking longer than we planned, we remain dedicated to working on the project and will continue to do so because we believe in this game and we believe in making programming fun to learn.
We are testing a second alpha release of the game to release soon so you can see what we've added since the first alpha. We exhibited our first alpha release at PAX and you can download it here.
Some of our Kickstarter backers are frustrated with the lack of updates on progress, and Code Hero lead developer Alex Peake would like to make a personal apology:
Hello backer. I owe you a thanks for your support and an apology for our lack of updates on all the progress we've made with your help. I started the Code Hero project to make a game that teaches people how to make games and you backed us to help make that happen. We are going to finish this game for you and everybody else in the world who wants to learn how to code.
I believe in this mission and I'm grateful that you and so many others have believed in Code Hero too and supported us to work on this project. I worked on the idea to make a prototype for a year before asking for your help on Kickstarter, I built a team to work on it for a year since, and we are committed to finishing this game and continuing to add to it so you can make games of your own.
Game development is hard and many studios and projects fail, but I can't let you down because what we're making is important. It's important to me personally to give all the people in the world a way to learn to code that is actually fun. I won't let any obstacles stop the Code Hero team from completing this. It's my life purpose to make this game because I want to see you make games of your own. Software development is hard work and we're behind schedule and solving technical challenges to add player level creation much harder than the already huge creative challenge we set ourselves to begin with. But every big project faces big challenges and we're going to figure ours out and get the game out and keep updating it and expanding it to make it grow to keep challenging the skills of our players as they learn more and more game coding skills.
Many of you may not have tried the latest alpha we showed and released at PAX. I encourage you to download it and try it and see how much we've accomplished so far. The first alpha shows a world called Gamebridge Unityversity and your first mentor Ada Lovelace who guides you through the tour of the game. First you visit the Arcade you can play and post player-created games built with the world editing tools, but first you visit the Labyrinth where you learn how to edit the game's variables to beat it. Next you visit the Library where you can learn about Unityscript programming. Then you visit the Real Artist Shipyard where you're introduced to the Scenebox world editor to make and ship your first level. The tour is designed to take the player from playing an adventure game to making their own right from the outset. It isn't complete yet, but it shows what we built and we're hard at work expanding on that first release to get the new functions fully working and the new training levels fleshed out.
We're testing a new second alpha release tomorrow to show what we've added since then and we're working towards a third more feature complete alpha that will be ready for general use as a complete learning tool.
I know the level of frustration some people have is high right now and that it is my fault for not communicating about our ongoing progress, but I want to reassure everyone who has backed us not to panic: Code Hero is not dead and we will not let our supporters and Kickstarter backers down. All our backer rewards will be delievered along with the game. It is taking longer than we hoped, but the game is becoming awesomer than we planned too. I'll post a more detailed update soon with the new alpha build and answer any questions and concerns people may have.
If you'd like to reach me, my email is [email protected] and I'm on Google Hangouts and skype username "empowerment" and I will answer your all your questions or concerns."
"Creator Alex Peake about 6 hours ago
I'm Alex the lead developer of Code Hero and here is my response to this news story, updated as I continue to answer the specific questions people have:
https://primerlabs.com/developmentcontinues
Here's the Google Hangout where you can talk to us:
https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/2f0778f953e6506ccb5e95232cf91282f361e6b3?
Code Hero development continues. We released the first alpha build of the game after PAX and we're releasing alpha 2 soon to show you the latest progress.
https://primerlabs.com/download
(You do have to be a backer or buy the game to play the alpha as that is how we sustain development, but you can see how the game has evolved over the last year in the trailers: http://primerlabs.com/trailer)
UPDATE: We reached Dustin Deckard by email. He said he wants the game to succeed and that his position is being misinterpreted in some media reports. He's not suing us, he's just trying to get answers about the project's progress as we hadn't replied to his email before. We're answering journalist and backer questions since posting the first response and posting them here. Our ongoing updates will be posted below as we answer people's questions as transparently and quickly as possible to make sure people are clear that the game development continues and we're going to communicate everything about its progress from now on.
UPDATE: We're on a Google Hangout you can join if you want to ask us whatever you'd like. Some journalists have questions and a lot of our friends and supporters who believe in us have reached out and asked how they can help.
https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/2f0778f953e6506ccb5e95232cf91282f361e6b3?
We are committed to finishing this game and although progress has slowed down and the release is taking longer than we planned, we remain dedicated to working on the project and will continue to do so because we believe in this game and we believe in making programming fun to learn.
We are testing a second alpha release of the game to release soon so you can see what we've added since the first alpha. We exhibited our first alpha release at PAX and you can download it here.
Some of our Kickstarter backers are frustrated with the lack of updates on progress, and Code Hero lead developer Alex Peake would like to make a personal apology:
Hello backer. I owe you a thanks for your support and an apology for our lack of updates on all the progress we've made with your help. I started the Code Hero project to make a game that teaches people how to make games and you backed us to help make that happen. We are going to finish this game for you and everybody else in the world who wants to learn how to code.
I believe in this mission and I'm grateful that you and so many others have believed in Code Hero too and supported us to work on this project. I worked on the idea to make a prototype for a year before asking for your help on Kickstarter, I built a team to work on it for a year since, and we are committed to finishing this game and continuing to add to it so you can make games of your own.
Game development is hard and many studios and projects fail, but I can't let you down because what we're making is important. It's important to me personally to give all the people in the world a way to learn to code that is actually fun. I won't let any obstacles stop the Code Hero team from completing this. It's my life purpose to make this game because I want to see you make games of your own. Software development is hard work and we're behind schedule and solving technical challenges to add player level creation much harder than the already huge creative challenge we set ourselves to begin with. But every big project faces big challenges and we're going to figure ours out and get the game out and keep updating it and expanding it to make it grow to keep challenging the skills of our players as they learn more and more game coding skills.
Many of you may not have tried the latest alpha we showed and released at PAX. I encourage you to download it and try it and see how much we've accomplished so far. The first alpha shows a world called Gamebridge Unityversity and your first mentor Ada Lovelace who guides you through the tour of the game. First you visit the Arcade you can play and post player-created games built with the world editing tools, but first you visit the Labyrinth where you learn how to edit the game's variables to beat it. Next you visit the Library where you can learn about Unityscript programming. Then you visit the Real Artist Shipyard where you're introduced to the Scenebox world editor to make and ship your first level. The tour is designed to take the player from playing an adventure game to making their own right from the outset. It isn't complete yet, but it shows what we built and we're hard at work expanding on that first release to get the new functions fully working and the new training levels fleshed out.
We're testing a new second alpha release tomorrow to show what we've added since then and we're working towards a third more feature complete alpha that will be ready for general use as a complete learning tool.
I know the level of frustration some people have is high right now and that it is my fault for not communicating about our ongoing progress, but I want to reassure everyone who has backed us not to panic: Code Hero is not dead and we will not let our supporters and Kickstarter backers down. All our backer rewards will be delievered along with the game. It is taking longer than we hoped, but the game is becoming awesomer than we planned too. I'll post a more detailed update soon with the new alpha build and answer any questions and concerns people may have.
If you'd like to reach me, my email is [email protected] and I'm on Google Hangouts and skype username "empowerment" and I will answer your all your questions or concerns."
This was an example of shoddy journalism, not a scam artist. They took a quote from a single comment on Kickstarter, and didn't wait for a reply from a creator. While I don't blame them for going forward with the story without comment, that should have been addressed in the article and the headline should not have been so sensationalist.cerebus23 said:
As of 7 hours ago, Alex Peake responded on the Kickstarter page and started a Google Hangout with the guy investigating the class action lawsuit - that even Deckard has said that he wasn't pursuing.
A scam artist wouldn't have had one alpha build already and been publicly working on the project over a year (he posted several times for help in the Unity forums). We really jump on anything that says "scam" too fast these days.