JSoup
Banned
And had a fantasy dream team developing it.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Fraud claims filed in 38 Studios case
- Thread starter Phediuk
- Start date
And had a fantasy dream team developing it.
Was the issue partly a case of lack of due diligence from the officials in question? Are those officials also in trouble?
I Kickstart a lot of stuff, I'm wondering if I'd seen a Kickstarter to fund 38 Studios (ignoring for a moment the amount of money that would be required to do so!), whether I'd have regarded it as a high-risk KS.
It was a brand new studio, led by a guy who had never worked on a game before, trying to develop an MMO. It's pretty much the highest risk situation you could possibly invent in the gaming world.
Ban Puncher
Member
PERIOD
Well, that's my point: Did the officials fail to do due diligence in determining that? Had I seen what they saw, would I have run away screaming, or were they shown something that even I would think suggested their plan was viable?
I'm curious if the pitch was misguided (at best, at worst a fraudulent lie), or if the pitch was honest and officials signed off on it anyway despite the warning signs because celebrity and image and Look At Us, Here, Bringing Jobs To Rhode Island.
The deal was approved by the former Republican governor of Rhode Island, who was either really buddy-buddy with Schilling, or was a big fan. Either way, it seemed like it had nothing to do with it being a safe investment.
I fail to see how an unreleased MMO could be considered a successful release.
Shame how KOA ended up. Could have been a nice WRPG franchise. We're lacking in that area lately.
I mean, we have Witcher, Fallout and Dragon Age but I felt like KOA was more cartoony and had a grand scale. Felt like a singleplayer MMO in terms of content and I really digged that.
Game was flawed of course, but it had so many different armor sets and playstyles. Most other WRPGs really lack endgame armorsets and weapons. In TW3, Geralt looked worse than he did at the start of the game.
I think quite a few MMOs could have been better if they were singleplayer RPGs instead.
I mean, we have Witcher, Fallout and Dragon Age but I felt like KOA was more cartoony and had a grand scale. Felt like a singleplayer MMO in terms of content and I really digged that.
Game was flawed of course, but it had so many different armor sets and playstyles. Most other WRPGs really lack endgame armorsets and weapons. In TW3, Geralt looked worse than he did at the start of the game.
I think quite a few MMOs could have been better if they were singleplayer RPGs instead.
OmegaDL50
Member
It's a decent hack and slash style RPG in the vein of something like Fable, but despite it being a good game, it had so much going against it.
While the story premise may have been written by R.A Salvatore, and the gameplay design by former Morrowind and Oblivion lead Ken Rolston, as well as art by Todd McFarlane.
The developer was entirely TOO ambitious. They should have simply started small with the single player Amalur game instead of that being a entryway to their MMO Project Copernicus.
Basically a small upstart studio trying to not only release a AAA budget game with some big names behind it on top of a huge MMO on top of that.
Curt Schilling simply bit off too much he could chew. He should have tone his ambitions down with a realistic projection. Let the single player Amalur game speak for itself instead immediately go into the large scale MMO development and money issues.
Basically tried to do far too much but with not nearly enough money to support such a venture.
piratepwnsninja
Member
Knowing people that worked there, I'm just going to laugh over here until I can't breath at this...especially the bolded.
FaustsBoon
Member
I'll piggyback on PPN's post and say that I am incredibly grateful that my interview with them for a position went so horribly wrong, and was so uncomfortable at the time. I never would've guessed how lucky I would be to not end up working there.
From my couple interactions with Curt... well, I found him offensively stupid in the ways of business, and the reasons he cited for not offering me a position would NEVER have slipped from the mouths of a practiced business-man.
From my couple interactions with Curt... well, I found him offensively stupid in the ways of business, and the reasons he cited for not offering me a position would NEVER have slipped from the mouths of a practiced business-man.
Anime lover 69
Banned
I'm talking about kingdoms of Amalur not Copernicus.
Of course a unreleased mmo looks bad for a franchise but the first game sold well.
mattiewheels
And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
Sure they should, just like they fund other art forms. They should just make sure it's sustainable and protected from fraud like this.
Man Called Aerodynamics
Member
Well, Reckoning, the single-player spinoff of the never-released MMO, did.
I'm still upset that there will never be a Reckoning 2. It was indeed a pretty good game.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
He also knows how to be a giant ignorant douche to believers of other religions.
And let's not forget this gem
I had pity for the guy since I really like KoA Reckoning but no more
AncientDiety
Banned
People really hate Curt....He is a big mouth I guess.
We only got the original because he pitched 'We will make WoW money' as a business plan and got investment. Fuck. WoW no longer makes 'WoW' money. It seems the shut down and ongoing business of the company went extremely unethically. Which makes me feel if he goes to jail it'd be a good thing.
unknownstranger
Member
You should be thanking him and Rhode Island for getting Amalur at all.
Since this is latest thread on the matter, and I'm not sure if it's worth a new thread, according to press conference, "no charges would be filed against government officials". They criticized the business deal, but there was no strong evidence of any criminal activity in how it was handled.