So I came to vent about Battle Princess Madelyn!

[Retrogamer]

I’m sure a lot of you know about Battle Princess Madelyn all ready, but for those who don’t, long story short it’s a game that was crowdfunded via Kickstarter on March of 2017. The game was supposed to be a homage to the Makaimura (Ghosts n Goblins) games starring the developer’s daughter and her recently deceased dog.

The game was released digitally almost a year ago with lackluster results as it was largely unpolished and plagued with glitches. One of the Kickstarter tiers was a physical release to be handled by Limited Run Games. And one of LR’s policies is they will not release a game until it is 100% patched and in its final version of code. (Remember this as it’s important to my rant)

An announcement was made today first via Limited Run games that starting in October 25th they will be opening preorders for Battle Princess Madelyn for both PS4 and for Nintendo Switch (but there is a catch) the Nintendo Switch version will be a totally different version of the game.

Apparently the developer feels that the version that resulted from the Kickstarter was too far removed from his original vision, so much so that he decided to rebuild the game from the ground up, using his own tools for the Switch with different level design and more of an arcade experience. So since this game was made with separate programming it can not be offered along with the KS version of the game because it’s a totally different game and they are in no way compatible with each other.

So in order to get the full experience you are forced to double-dip. You HAVE to buy the game twice.

Furthermore, the developer in his extremely long-winded Kickstarter update complains that he is totally burned-out as an excuse that he can’t even fathom making this version of the game for PS4 at the moment. He says he is SO Incredibly burned out that he has a 3 year old that her hardly sees because he sits in front of the computer non stop.

Yet he has been working on his own version of the game and it’s a possibility that because he was working on that vision that we have been waiting so long for our physical release in the mean-time.

I would like to give the programmer the benefit of doubt but this whole situation just feels shitty.

What do you think?

 

[oliverclaude]

If nobody lost their money by fraud, I'd give the developer the benefit of a doubt and be glad that there are now two games instead of one. I'd be totally cool about NGEV bringing out another game as an excuse for being so late with Kraut Buster.

 

[LoneSage]

Stay away from kickstarter and sob stories. The final product never lives up to the hype.

 

[theMot]

Stay away from kickstarter and sob stories. The final product never lives up to the hype.

This.

These people behind the ideas don’t have the money to launch them for a reason. it’s not that the ideas are bad but for the most part they have no business or project management experience. Those boring skills you need to develop to actually deliver something of value.

 

[Ralfakick]

So as a PS4 and Switch owner any idea which version is the better experience?

 

[GohanX]

I read about that yesterday, what a clusterfuck. I think it's about time to toss Kickstarter in the fire and let it burn. That said, this new Switch version does sound like a better game.

 

[Lastblade]

Never kickstarter anything, it is all just a scam to get money up front and the devs can do whatever they want. I KS one game (Sundered) and was very disappointed by the product.

 

[Retrogamer]

So as a PS4 and Switch owner any idea which version is the better experience?

That’s another interesting issue. The Newer version for the switch is not released yet, the only way to find out is if you preorder it within the 2 week period that LR will have it available to buy, it’s a total crapshoot.

There is a absolutely different physical release in Japan for Switch that reflects the unpatched KS version. And that’s just a hot mess.

 

[munchiaz]

Kind of reminds me a bit of older games that had the same name but were totally different games on their respective consoles. Its a crappy situation for sure. Maybe they should offer a discount for people who are getting the KS physical release.

 

[ookitarepanda]

In his rambling, he talked about how much of the game he had to change because of promises that he made to backers. I feel like that's the exact kind of garbage that makes me mad about Kickstarted games anyway. Developers are essentially forced to give in-game rewards to people rather than just saying "Hey, pre-order this so I have the materials to make this game." The more ridiculous the tier, the more money they can get out of it, and it's become the norm for pretty much all projects on Kickstarter.

Part of the problem is the culture in which people crave all of those tiered rewards. The same people who pay $3500 to put their dog in a game are the same people who are constantly posting pictures of their dog on Facebook. It appeals to narcissism and people just gobble it up.

 

[Taiso]

I've kickstarted a number of projects over the years and only once have I come to truly regret it. Ironically, it was the first thing I ever funded on KS, and that was the Robotech Tactics boardgame from Palladium Books. I had a soft spot in my heart for that company because I'd had so many great memories playing their many pen and paper games over the years and after they lost their ass due to a serious level of asset theft, I wanted to see them do well. I know Kevin Sembeida has been criticized for being an asshole, and some of that criticism is very fair, but every year that I went to Gen Con and spoke with him, he was never anything but kind to me and he even spoke candidly on a number of subjects so I have no reason to believe he was putting on a face with me.

At any rate, the Robotech Tactics KS was a shitshow from start to finish. Ended up costing Palladium the Robotech license in the end, since Tactics didn't make them enough money to buy it again when it came time to renew. Now Robotech boardgames are being published by Japanimation Games and the RPG has been picked up by Strange Machine Games. There's also a Savage Worlds sourcebook for it.

Other than that, the only frustrations I've had with Kickstarter have been the many delays. But usually, I'm satisfied with the end result. I absolutely loved both Battlechasers: Night War and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.

 

[HornheaDD]

You could just get the one you paid for and then pirate the other one. I think in this case you'd be justified.

 

[awbacon]

I've stopped doing anything Kickstarter / indie pre-order. It never pans out. Paprium was my last "give money up front" purchase and we all know how that's turned out

 

[NeoSneth]

A big problem right now with Kickstarter is people see it as a pre-order platform. It isn't. You are pledging money towards a project.

Software kickstarters have the worst track record when it comes to fulfilling their promises. I'd be happy you are getting anything. Even if it was digital only. They are not restricted by their promises in the KS. Creators can later release anything and do anything with the created project.

 

[smokey]

I actually like the game a lot. It plays well and is full of charm. It recenty got a lot of bugfixes on my xbone.
I kickstarted a number of things Tanglewood and Tänzer have been awesome games. Still waiting on xeno crisis though.

 

[famicommander]

After I backed Mighty No 9 and waited forever for an overhyped, okayish game and then backed Bloodstained only to see the Linux and Wii U versions canceled (those were the platforms I owned at the time), I'm pretty much done with Kickstarter.

I was able to get the Windows version of Bloodstained running okay but it sucks that I backed and then they canceled both versions I originally wanted. Now I have a Switch and Xbone but I didn't when they sent out the survey asking which version I wanted instead.