A Tale of Two Kickstarters

Two long dormant kickstarters that I pledged updated yesterday and it's amazing how differently things went. The first one was the Ascension Online kickstarter. It's been 16 months since the campaign ended for it and all they've released was a buggy beta for the pc. Since the goal of the drive was to get the game on the android os it's pretty much been a failure. Amazingly enough their update made it worse. You see they announced that they were going back to having the app be developed by Playdek, the people who did the original ios app.

Backers are angry. Very angry.

It seems that lots of people backed this kickstarter because of the spit with Playdek. They wanted to support Stoneblade's in house development. With the return to Playdek they're understandably upset. They're calling for people to report the campaign, for refunds or additional content free of charge. They're looking for digital blood.

The other kickstarter I pledged that updated yesterday was a completely different story. It was for Victor Gischler to write a sequel to his gloriously trashy novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse. It ended almost two years ago and there's been no book. His update apologized, promised refunds to everyone, and promised copies of the book when it's done to everyone as well.

Almost everyone in the comments for his update have said to keep the money. Most of the ones who haven't advocate spending the refund on more of his books. Most importantly they're all supporting him.

So why? Is just because they're getting their money back? I don't think so. I think it's because Gischler is taking responsibility and being proactive about what he can do. And most importantly he's engaging his backers directly. He's always been extremely accessible, often responding to tweets from random people he doesn't know (like me) about things he's working on. He's built a community of people who's response to "it's not done yet" was "keep writing and let us know".

Stoneblade has been much more corporate, and they likely have to be, but that has never bought anyone any goodwill. It just makes people think you should have your ducks in a row, and eliminates the slack you might otherwise get.

I suppose at this rate it's hard to say if I'll get my book or my game first. But I know which one I'm willing to wait longer for.

Don't Starve, journal one

This journal was found on a trampled corpse near a herd of Beefalo.

Journal entry, day one:

The experiment was a success! I have been transported to some kind of strange and barren wasteland! Upon my arrival I was greeted by a man in very nice suit who suggested that I find something to eat before melting into the ground. I immediately set about doing just that, harvesting some of the local fauna and fashioning a crude ax made from flint and a sturdy stick. As I was chopping wood for tonight's fire I found two things of note. The skeleton of another man and a stone road! I wasn't expecting such level of sophistication from the inhabitants of this world and tomorrow I will be following it.

Journal entry, day two:

I found the strangest thing today. As I was walking down the stone road a creature not unlike a pumpkin hopped up to me. It has the name Otto von Chesterfield, Esq carved into its lid and it seems to want to help me carry some of the things I've scavenged. I've put a few belongings into it, nothing but things easily replaced. I can't be sure that Otto won't abandon me.

I also found the end of the stone road today. Unfortunately it comes to a halt in a large grove full of bee hives. There's no evidence of any bee keepers either. The grove is surrounded by water as well so further exploration is this direction is impossible. Tomorrow I head north.

Jorunal entry, day three:

I'm happy to report that Otto was still with me in the morning. I'm less happy about the fact that it began raining early today. I need to craft something to protect me from the elements. I doubt many more days will be as pleasant as the first two were. Fortunately the rain only continued until about noon. I managed to capture two rabbits in a woven trap of my own devise earlier. I also came across some large yak like creatures that I have named Beefalo. I need to build some more effective weapons before I attempt to slaughter one of them. I do't expect that they'll die easy. The terrain has changed from a lightly forested region to a grassy plain.

Journal entry, day four

I have decided to set up camp temporarily among the Beefalo. I've built a fire pit and a machine to refine the various things I've found into more delicate devices. The Beefalo seem to love my fire pit and their dung is an excellent source of fuel. I also found the remains of two more people. I salvaged a hat made of Beefalo hide from one of them. I wonder if I'm the only person alive here? Tomorrow Otto and  I head north. I've got a shortage of raw materials here, aside from Beefalo dung.

Journal entry, day five

There is a hole in the ground with teeth. I believe its a worm hole. Science compels me to jump in. After all, it may be a way home!

It was not a way home. I've emerged in an even more barren landscape that I was in before. Thankfully the wormhole is still there. I am going to explore this area a bit more. After all, I do still need more raw materials.

I've found several signs that this area used to be used for agriculture. And the reason why it is not anymore. As I was exploring a large spiked tentacle burst from the ground! I ran back into the wormhole before it could get me. Unfortunately Otto did not make it back as well. Tomorrow I will return to find my friend. I also found something not unlike a potato, but made of metal, but investigation into it will have to wait.