Something just doesn't seem right

[Antmeister]

Towards the end of last year, I was receiving some emails about this game that an independent developer was creating called the Arcadia Project. Since I was subscribed to their newsletter, I would get emails about what going on from time to time.

The developer had this idea to collect money to develop this game from the ground up and that the people who gave him money would have a much better deal than the people who would buy it later. I considered it since he always seem to develop his games on a good schedule, but it seemed a little risky, so I didn't do it.

About a month or so later, I would receive another email stating thanking the people who did contribute, but it was not enough and he elaborated on how giving him money up front would give you a leg up on future buyers since he was also going to give you some advantages in the game. Once again, I thought about it, but declined.

Well today, I go to visit the site to find out what the progress is on the game since I received no updates from his newsletter, only to discover that it was put on hiatus because they plan to work on one of his older games with a bigger company. Who knows how long this game will be put on the back burner, but I know I would be pissed if I had donated money to this project. On top of that, I wanted to check out his forum to see what others were saying about the situation, only to discover that the link to the forums is broken. Coincidence.....I don't think so.

Now this developer in question used to post on these boards and once in a while he even tried to get people to pre order the game here. Is it just me, or do you think he should give people their money back? He did ask for $16.95 to preorder it initially. I guess why this bothered me so much is that I never received an update about the status of the game even though I am subscribed to the newsletter and I have no idea how long the link to the forum has been broken.

Thoughts.....

[Tekneek]

Yes, I think he should give the money back. Does he legally have to? Perhaps not. However, if you don't have your integrity, you've got nothing. Giving $16.95 to anyone who asks for it back, considering they have no product in their hands, is a small price to pay to save your good name.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Tekneek

Yes, I think he should give the money back. Does he legally have to? Perhaps not. However, if you don't have your integrity, you've got nothing. Giving $16.95 to anyone who asks for it back, considering they have no product in their hands, is a small price to pay to save your good name.

Good point. He should, at least, let people know what has been occuring through his newsletter and give them a choice. He never seemed to have a problem with customers before. But this bothers me for some reason.

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by Antmeister71

Good point. He should, at least, let people know what has been occuring through his newsletter and give them a choice. He never seemed to have a problem with customers before. But this bothers me for some reason.

It would bother me, so I understand. While I was reading it, I was thinking that he is either taking the money and running, or it is a ponzi-ish scheme where he is taking the money for this 'future project' and financing something else with it. I would hope there was a special newsletter/update that went to the people who paid ahead, or that he even asked them what they thought before changing plans. Just taking that money to the bank, while putting the project on a shelf, is a bad idea if you have not sought (and received) approval from those customers.

[Lorena]

Where are my pancakes?

[Antmeister]

::shameless bump::