If they’d been successful in their Kickstarter, it certainly would have raised issues about the potential future of the Old School RPG project. In fact, it still might if they choose to re-list that particular project.

For me though it’s a better deal to be a customer of a business than a patron of an artist. I figure that if anything that looks interesting on Kickstarter actually becomes a thing there will be an opportunity to buy it. When it works and plays rather than when it’s a hope and a dream.

That doesn’t mean I’m not delighted and impressed that other people’s dreams are given a chance to become reality through this rather innovative scheme.

Kickstarter is an amazing platform but it’s only a platform. The risk is in how it’s used. I think we’re in that uncomfortable spot with it. Nothing real has come out of it yet. Once the first few games get delayed/cancelled then that pool will dry up. If those games come out the gate as they are supposed to, kickstarter will turn into a pinata. Should be fun to see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freelancer_%28video_game%29#Development

Perhaps going through Kickstarter will be less troublesome the previous Digital Anvil, Microsoft Buyout route.

Freelancer eventually shiped and was a decent enough game as far as it went, but it seems the initial plans were hugely overambitious and not entirely dissimiar to the bumph about what Star Citizen will be.

Personally, I don’t think that funding is the only problem facing these sorts of projects. Sometimes, big publisher execs do know what they’re doing!