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Semi-happy ending to 'The Doom that Came to Atlantic City' Kickstarter campaign

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40hz:
Remember the earlier discussion here at DoCo about (appropriately named) Forking Path's abandoned kickstarter campaign to produce a Lovecraft-themed game called The Doom that Came to Atlantic City?

Sad story, right?

Well here's a question: Do you believe in white knights?



Because this news has just recently been posted over at Keith Baker's blog (link here) that shows such people sometimes do show up:

Cryptozoic Saves Doom!
Posted on July 31, 2013   

The development of The Doom That Came To Atlantic City has been a long road for Lee Moyer and myself, and a week ago it looked like a story with a decidedly unhappy ending. For me, the worst part of it was that people who’d put their faith in my design had been hurt by it. When the news broke, we received a outpouring of support from people in the gaming community. Both casual gamers and industry professionals expressed their sorrow, asked about buying the Print & Play version, or what it would take to get to get the game into print. While Lee and I were keen to see the game finally produced, neither one of us were comfortable with the thought of doing that when the first people to support it were left out in the cold. Luckily, Scott Gaeta of Cryptozoic Entertainment felt the same way. So here’s the news of the day:

The Print and Play version of Doom is live. If you are a backer, you should receive download instructions within the hour (make sure to check spam folders!). if you don’t, please contact me through this website.

Cryptozoic Entertainment is going to produce The Doom That Came To Atlantic City… And send it to the backers free of charge. If you backed the game, Cryptozoic will be providing you with as many copies of the game as you were due to receive. They can’t fulfill all of the rewards that were promised by The Forking Path, but they are going to evaluate the rewards and see what else they can do. If you’re a backer, expect to hear from Cryptozoic in the next few days with more information.

You can find the official press release here, and while you’re at it, check out Lee Moyer’s post on his blog.

To be absolutely clear: This has nothing to do with The Forking Path or Kickstarter. The project was cancelled, and this is not a reward or refund from the Forking Path. Cryptozoic isn’t assuming responsibility for the Kickstarter project or the actions of The Forking Path: They are simply doing what they can to make things right for the gamers who have suffered because of it. As I said, they can’t cover all rewards The Forking Path promised, because they are doing this entirely at their own expense to lend a hand. But Cryptozoic will see to it that the backers get the game they thought they were backing, and that is a tremendous relief to me.

Thanks to all of you who backed the game and to those of you who reached out to us over the last week. Thank you for making this game a reality, and for showing such compassion for your fellow gamers.

<more>
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Awesome! :Thmbsup:

wraith808:
That's really cool... and might end up saving the person that was the forking path some legal issues.  Then again, people being what they are, they will probably receive the game and still sue him...  :-\

40hz:
^I think a lawsuit is the least of the dude behind Forking Path's worries. Supposedly he co-mingled funds and diverted investment money for his own personal use. Big no-nos on a lot of levels. Big as in: *knock-knock* "Good morning. Erik Chevalier? I'm Special Agent Smith...with the FBI...(badge flashes briefly) we'd like to ask you a few questions...may we come in?"

 :tellme:

wraith808:
Supposedly he co-mingled funds and diverted investment money for his own personal use.
-40hz (August 03, 2013, 04:18 PM)
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All of that is speculative based on what people *think* happened.  He got smart and shut up too late.  And it's *not* an investment, and Kickstarter does indeed stipulate it.  Basically what people are doing is 'donating', and the rewards are strictly that... rewards.  It's really a murky area...

40hz:
And it's *not* an investment, and Kickstarter does indeed stipulate it.
-wraith808 (August 03, 2013, 07:07 PM)
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Any attorney (or AG) will remind you if it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck - it can be treated as a duck in the eyes of the law no matter what somebody wants to call it. And  there's plenty of legal case precedent for them taking that position. ;)

Besides. we don't get to define the scope of the law. Or the definitions. That's the prerogative of the legislature and judiciary. We can argue our point in a court based on a certain legal theory we come up with. But in practice, you usually loose out very quickly if you deviate too far - or try to get too novel or clever - with legal definitions and theories.

Kickstarter is also walking a fine line right now. Because when you have people like Mark Shuttleworth trying to raise multi-mega through Indiegogo, or Amada Palmer clearing a million for her project through Kickstarter, it becomes increasingly difficult for these crowdsourcing operations try to pretend they haven't evolved (or are in the process of evolving) into something other than what their founders originally intended. And the SEC is already paying attention.

All of that is speculative based on what people *think* happened.  He got smart and shut up too late.
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My understanding was that was more based on several things he said he had done by way of excuses before he thought better of it - or (more likely) finally got some competent legal advice. I think it's more him realizing he'd better stop being stupid rather him getting smart per se.

Personally, I feel a little bad for him.

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