The problem with free money is that it’s so easy to spend. You can get easily comfortable and before you know it, the rug has come from underneath and you have nothing.
System Shock Remake
A hard truth developer Nightdive Studios have found out this week by holding development on the much-anticipated remake of System Shock – due to using up the Kickstarter funds.
CEO Stephen Kick wrote in a letter to backers the following:
“Maybe we were too successful. Maybe we lost our focus. The vision began to change. We moved from a Remaster to a completely new game. As our concept grew and as our team changed, so did the scope of what we were doing and with that the budget for the game. We began a long series of conversations with potential publishing partners. 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.
Ultimately the responsibility for the decisions rests with me. 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.”
Nightdive Studios Kickstarter goal was $900,000, but they were surprised when they ended up raising $1.35m. Did their ambitions get in the way? Hopefully there’s a silver lining on the way for everyone.