Did this developer scam Kickstarter?

We have a few developers and programmers here so I wanted to get all of your opinions on this as I think its pretty fascinating. And of course everyone elses opinion.

Long story short, this developer took kickstarter funds of about $200,000, blew all of it, spent it on a trip to hype the game in Amsterdam, and is now not replying to anyone on the status of the game ever being released.

Heres what fascinates me, the hype video at a conference in Amsterdam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqD-dMVhW-A

After watching that video, I feel like throwing this guy money myself. Can someone who creates that kind of engine and game idea be capable of scamming? How difficult to put together was the project in that video? I can't place the guy in the video with the events that have happened since then.



Per Joystiq.com:http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/08/code-heros-buggy-kickstarter-has-backers-preparing-to-draw-lega/

Code Hero's Kickstarter concluded on February 24, 2012, with 7,459 people pledging $170,954, almost doubling the project's requested amount and pushing that cash straight to developer Alex Peake. Peake described Code Hero as a game to help people, especially kids, learn how to code, and said he would use the money to launch a version of the game on August 31, with a Code Hero webseries and MMO also in the works.

Ten months later, on December 12, Code Hero had yet to launch in any form and Peake was absent from the Kickstarter conversation. Backers of the Code Hero Kickstarter fumed in the comments, informally requesting their money back, asking Peake where their rewards were, and questioning if Code Hero was a legitimate project at all. Leading the comment swarm was Dustin Deckard, a backer who had given Code Hero $300, but was now considering legal action against Peake and his studio, Primer Labs.

That night we spoke to Deckard and Peake in a Google Hangout. Peake expressed regret over his poor communication and promised he would launch alpha 2, a new version of Code Hero, as an update on its Kickstarter the next day, and that he would provide updates to the Kickstarter on the first of every month.

By January 8, 2013, the second alpha had yet to materialize on Kickstarter or the Primer Labs website, and January 1 passed without a whisper from Peake...

 

Wow, this beats any laziness I've ever had. I can imagine he's in one of those situations where you willingly ignore people, including any mails you get from them, and hiding just because you don't want to bother with it all for some reason. I guess he doesn't care about ruining his name forever in the gaming industry, though.
"Off to McDonalds, may not be as rewarding but I'll get enough pay to get by!" must be what's running through his head. Really, his reputation is ruined now. I wonder how he even showed his face in a Google Hangout if he wasn't going to speak publicly.

I never heard of this till today, but I'm surprised to be reading there's no refund policy from Kickstarter. Kind of lets anyone get away with this stuff, and it can't be that hard to make something that's all show and fooling people into giving their money, can it?

 

Every game kickstarter is a scam

 

Pier Solar isn't?

 

Do you even try sometimes?

DFA was a high profile kickstarter that got funded and is keeping the funders up to date with development.

 

FTL wasn't either. And it was worth every penny I put in to it.

 

Pff, it was my plan to get alot of money
I guess it's time to cook meth now...

 

The new Giana Sisters game was also funded by Kickstarter, and there were also two tables for Pinball Arcade that actually got released on time.

 

Yep, I funded/prebought that one, nice game where the devs/publishers did exactly what they promised.
Mates have bought a couple other games that came out too last year.

So whoever implied they are generally a scam is quite wrong.
I get to play games that may never have been made otherwise for a small sum, a decent deal.

 

One I found like some scam is he Cheetamen 2 when I saw that it blew of my head and the worst of all is that it was founded. For a game that it will look the same but without the bug that dont let you continue. That its a scam. The rom already run through the net.

 

Kickstarter is generally reliable, but of course with so many different products there's going to be a few bad apples. That said, kickstarter should have some process in place for when situations like this occur, but atm afaik they have nothing.

 

You arent buying a product, you are throwing money at the people.

If you are offered the game as a reward - thats not the same as pre ordering a game.

As with all investments - some will go bad and you should do your research first.

Once people understand this, the better the world will be.

 

well Hucast games sent me this earlier i feel that they can be trusted however people might be scammers with certain kickstarter games but this is the message i just received

Dear backers,
here's an overview of the Redux: Dark Matters kickstarter legacy for you:
Reached Milestones
September ‎2011: started game development of Redux: Dark Matters
May 2012: kickstarter was launched, first stretch goal was reached
July 2012: funding goal was reached
December 2012: release of PC demo, development of "Dark Planet" stage was announced
New Milestones
February 2013: production of Redux Complete Soundtrack, delivery of MP3 soundtrack to all $25 backers
— fullfilment of $25 and $55 pledges —
March 2013: production of all Redux: Dark Matters Editions, production of Arcade Stick and "Supporter T-Shirt" for 1k backers
April 2013: shipment of Redux: Dark Matters Limited Edition, Steelcase Edition, Regular Edition and 1k backer items.
— fullfilment of $65, $100, $1,000 pledges —
May 2013: vacation!
-Hucast Games

 

That's not a scam despite what some especially dumb morons on the Internet say. The Kickstarter was to produce repro carts, not just the ROM.

Yeah, they can be trusted to release a game, but they can't be trusted to make a game that doesn't suck. Actually, Dreamcast shooters could be considered a scam at this point, since most of them are crap and they're only made because there's a certain bunch of suckers who will buy any crappy shooter as long as it's on DC.

 

I've been pleased with posthumous DC shooters so far, but displeased with how they re-release them so often with "updates" and such. Why not make the game correctly the first time?

I always have this thought in my mind, though:
-Damnit, why have we never figured out the Sega Saturn copy protection? We could have had so many homebrew'd, properly-released titles by now.

 

LOL theres 11 or 12 games in development or near production atm only 4 of them are shoot em ups

 

Really, the only ones that were any good were Ikaruga, Border Down and Under Defeat, with maybe one other game I can't remember. The "fanmade" ones are especially dire.

 

In your opinion. I think most are buying into new Dreamcast games to encourage developers like Reticon and Isotope to make 3D based Dreamcast games - this is only possible by proving there's a market out there, if that means buying all the DC games that come out then so be it, without games like Last Hope, Fast Striker, Feet of Fury, Dux etc.. We wouldn't have Pier Solar, Tahi & Scourge to look forward to.

 

You mean the game that's been in development for years with nothing more to show for it than a few pictures and renders? Yeah, not holding my breath.

 

I'm 15 minutes into watching the YouTube video and I already want to throw money I haven't got at Peake too.

Code Hero sounds really cool and he is certainly right about virtual worlds being the new way to convey ideas. Shame he disappeared, probably ran into some unforseen issue or circumstance or woefully underestimated the amount of money he needs to keep rolling. It is very easy to spend other people's money.

I hope he does make a comeback and move the project along, even if he is off schedule. The worst thing he could do right now is keep stringing people along though, it is probably why he is ignoring replies and just getting on with it.