Kickstarter System Shock Remaster Goes On Hiatus
It looks like more money meant more problems for the crowd-funded project.
Choosing whether or not to back a Kickstarter project is always a gamble. Even the most ambitious, well organized, projects can run into snags and fall off the face of the earth. Semi-fortunately, it doesn't look like the System Shock
When Nightdive Studios made their initial Kickstarter run in June 2016 they were able to raise $1.3 million thanks to 21,000 backers to do a modern
"We moved from a Remaster to a completely new game. We shifted engines from Unity to Unreal, a choice that we don’t regret and one that has worked out for us. With the switch we began envisioning doing more, but straying from the core concepts of the original title...The more that we worked on the game, the more that we wanted to do, and the further we got from the original concepts that made System Shock so great.
As the CEO and founder of Nightdive Studios, a company that was built on the restoration of the System Shock franchise, I let things get out of control. I can tell you that I did it for all the right reasons, that I was totally committed to making a great game, but it has become clear to me that we took the wrong path, that we turned our backs on the very people who made this possible, our Kickstarter backers."
For now, Stephen has decided to put the project on hiatus while they figure out how to get their core concept of a System Shock
"Please accept my personal assurance that we will be back and stronger than ever. System Shock is going to be completed and all of our promises fulfilled."
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replyBlake Morse posted a new article, Kickstarter System Shock Remaster Goes On Hiatus
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I think you don't quite comprehend how little $1.3 mill is in terms of full 3D game development. The actual cost of a project of this scale could easily be $10+ mill. They've already invested significantly from their own assets. They were 25% (their own, likely inaccurate, guesstimate) complete when the Kickstarter launched with a playable pre-alpha demo. They'll likely be providing 90%+ of the development cost themselves.
They have put an additional 1.5 years of work in since the kickstarter began. Even with a smaller team (15ish people?), with a reasonable average salary, the Kickstarter money is fucking gone!
This seems to be them taking a step back to look at their financials, probably divert some people into quicker profit options (like their wonderful Turok releases), and focus down the scope of this project. I hope they can get their financials worked out, and manage to release a solid product eventually.
(Sorry, a touch ranty, but ignorant negativity gets to me sometimes.)-
When $1.3 million comes from investment capital, yeah it's not much. When that 1.3 million comes from people who work for a living and have bills of their own to pay, it's quite a lot of money.
When people invest their own money to see a remaster of the original game, and the project lead decides to make a stand-alone game on his own volition, I can understand why people would be upset.
It's sh*t like this that makes people avoid kickstarter projects like the plague, IMO.
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Too many people walk into Kickstarter expecting that they bought a product when they support something. I treat it more like a high risk investment. You may get something, nothing, or totally different from the concept product.
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They should never have switched engines. Wtf where they thinking.
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Really bummed about this because the initial pitch and scope was perfect. With every update and instance of feature creep, I got more and more worried :(
Honestly though, I'm glad they had the balls to suspend and review what the fuck was happening rather than continuing down the same path and delivering something completely different from the original promise (hi, Star Citizen). Let's hope they can get this shit back on track!
(Ideally under new leadership)
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