6 years after Kickstarter, Orphan Age dev Studio Black Flag shuts without a release
6 years after Kickstarter, Orphan Age dev Studio Black Flag shuts without a release
Game development is a complicated beast, a constant challenge to get funding and for Studio Black Flag who were building the promising looking Orphan Age it's all over.
Ya this is unfortunate but typical of so many kickstarter games. Back around 2011-2012 when kickstarter games were really taking off I backed quite a few. I think I’ve been able to play 2 maybe 3 tops. Lesson learned: it’s just very easy to underestimate time to deliver on lofty promises. Ideas are cheap; execution is what’s insane. Many of these were individuals or tiny groups with little or no real world experience in industry so no experience with project management; it’s really no wonder.
I backed two of them because they seemed like chill ideas, bringing back old 90s franchises.
Both got made, but it took so long and I kept seeing other games failing. Then when the games did come out, they releases another "special edition" version of it a while later that you had to buy again. I never bothered after that. I figured I'd just wait and see if the games release at all.
Grifters made some real money tho...
I remember playing the demo a little, and didn't looked bad. I get the impression that a lot of these indie and small studios should keep goals lower: start with a small RPG and if that goes well, expand it, don't start doing the new Skyrim.
Another one bites the dust
But that's why I prefer early access. They already have something to show for the money and you get something more than an idea and a promise.
I don't know about this particular title, but I feel like Kickstarter games get a bit of a bad rap for taking a long time or not making it to release. But that's because the whole point of a Kickstarter game is that we, the public, are acting as the publisher. Putting up money in advance, making an investment, hoping for a great game.
And just like with traditional publishers, sometimes games take years and years to make, and some of your investments crumble and don't make it.
It's just that we the public rarely hear about a traditionally published game until it's already been in development for a while. Until it seems likely to succeed. We're not used to taking pitches while a game studio figures their shit out. And even then, some traditionally published games crash and burn too!
And that's all ignoring the fact that a bunch of crowdfunded games are typically by greener devs who maybe don't know how things are done. But what I'm saying is that even the normal game industry has long lead times and has some burn outs, it's just that normally an entire community hasn't built up around them, because they haven't even been announced yet.
I guess is what I'm saying is that publishing is hard and risky, and crowdfunding is collective publishing, not advanced purchasing. That doesn't immediately mean that anyone who tries and fails is a scam artist. Most of them probably spent that money trying their best for as long as they could, and nothing great came out the other side. That's just what business ventures look like, unfortunately.
Creates studio Doesn't release any games Elaborates Leaves
I think I've backed 4 Kickstarter games. 3 made it to release. I'm not surprised that a lot fail. The one that didn't make it to release got removed from Kickstarter for not making its goal and being a "sequel" I believe. That game looks like it's still getting made. It happens. Studios make mistakes or don't get the timing right or what have you.
It's important to remember that this is an investment. Investments have inherent risk. It's not going to stop me from investing in new games or projects I'm interested in. But I recommend not investing anything you can't bear to lose.