Originally posted by Searias
I'll probably end up paying around $200 since, they are letting us get involved and give feedback on the game as it progress. This is going to be a fun ride :).

Thank you so much, I really do appreciate it. And yes, it will be a fun ride, crazy at times but fun and in terms of feedback, well, I'll say this much, you'll be really pleased with the amount/manner of two-way interaction you'll have with the team and myself. That's one reason I'm posting here so much, getting in shape for the big game! :)

Again, my thanks.

Originally posted by MarkJacobs

Originally posted by MLecl0001

Originally posted by Marcus-

Uncertain at this point.

 

Theres a lot I like, but theres definetly things that make me a bit leary. When MJ said if they reached their KS goal, then he would throw his own cash in well, I dunno how accurate I am, but that sort of makes me feel like I/we are stepping out on to this limb before he is. Yet he's certainly the one to benefit the most from this project, as its his project.

I definetly need more info.

Actually as far as I understand it, if the goal is reached the project gets funded and they get the money.  If the 2 million isnt reached the project is scratched and the money is returned.  If I am correct the way kickstarter works they dont see the funds until after their time is up and only if their goal is reached.  I am not 100% sure, but I am pretty positive that is the way it works.

 

So because MJ is putting his money where his mouth is so will I.  I love the idea for this game, and even with my reduced playing time even if I never get time to play I just hope a game like this is made and successful.  Just to prove to other would be developers with good ideas that publishers maybe arent needed.  With the core of your players able to download the client off the internet maybe we can start to phase developers out a little bit.  A pipe dream maybe, but just a little hope.

You are absolutely correct, that is exactly how it works. If we get our 2M the project funds, we receive our 2M - fees. If we don't hit 2M, even if it is 1.99M, we get nothing and the game doesn't get made.

Thank you for your support and trust, I won't let you down.

Well, I would be willing to jump in and help if it will be anything like DAoC.  DAoC was my first real MMORPG  and it has incredible nostalgic value to me for that reason.

I see no real reasons not to trust Mr. Jacobs.  My guess is when EA took over Mythic, things began to get top-heavy and micro-managed (llke most typical over-large projects).  When that happens, they loose sight of the fact that the game is actually supposed to be entertaining and fun and not like a job or all about making money.

Hi Mark!  I am still waiting on DAoC 2....  :D 

Originally posted by MarkJacobs

Originally posted by Searias
I'll probably end up paying around $200 since, they are letting us get involved and give feedback on the game as it progress. This is going to be a fun ride :).

Thank you so much, I really do appreciate it. And yes, it will be a fun ride, crazy at times but fun and in terms of feedback, well, I'll say this much, you'll be really pleased with the amount/manner of two-way interaction you'll have with the team and myself. That's one reason I'm posting here so much, getting in shape for the big game! :)

Again, my thanks.

Mark,

I just want to make sure that you're not going to handle latency issues by inventing a new metric of time, as was done with Warhammer? I'm sure you remember the conversation you had on the forums about Mythic Time (it was my irl friend who posted about it initially).

It's VERY important that a PvP game has smooth gameplay, and bogging that down with harsh server scrutiny (that forces you into a position where you literally have to recalculate time to make things work) isn't going to go down well with gamers (again. Warhammer and SWTOR had this problem). I sincerely hope you avoid that mistake.

Anyway, I'll be keeping a close eye on things. I'm quietly enthused about it, but also somewhat critical of things. I'll certainly be sticking around however. I also wish you all the luck in the world, and I very much hope you succeed :)

Anyway, it's pleasant to see you getting so involved. Props for that :)

Much love and kisses to you, etc.

Originally posted by Xobdnas

Im old school and desperate, but also super leery after so many disappointments. If $10 gets me beta I'm down (and it would be the first project fund on KS). If they are asking a lot, or pulling a cash grab ex. for 1000 you get X, Y, and Z to make u uber, then I'll abandon the game entirely.

Its these $10 pledges I am worried about. This will be a pretty niche game, you can tell by the facebook and other social followings, they really aren't that big. I think 50k players might be on the optimistic side and most will not fund the kickstarter.

Some individuals would need to have some deep pockets in order to compensate. Last kickstarter/donation thing I did was to VileRat's family (the diplomat that died in bengazi) he played eve online and got national attention.

http://www.youcaring.com/tuition-fundraiser/benefit-for-sean-smith-s-family/30678

Still only raised $127k

I have serious doubts this'll raise 2 million but maybe kickstarters do better than fundraisers, Idk.

Originally posted by dotdotdash

Originally posted by MarkJacobs

Originally posted by Searias
I'll probably end up paying around $200 since, they are letting us get involved and give feedback on the game as it progress. This is going to be a fun ride :).

Thank you so much, I really do appreciate it. And yes, it will be a fun ride, crazy at times but fun and in terms of feedback, well, I'll say this much, you'll be really pleased with the amount/manner of two-way interaction you'll have with the team and myself. That's one reason I'm posting here so much, getting in shape for the big game! :)

Again, my thanks.

Mark,

I just want to make sure that you're not going to handle latency issues by inventing a new metric of time, as was done with Warhammer? I'm sure you remember the conversation you had on the forums about Mythic Time (it was my irl friend who posted about it initially).

It's VERY important that a PvP game has smooth gameplay, and bogging that down with harsh server scrutiny (that forces you into a position where you literally have to recalculate time to make things work) isn't going to go down well with gamers (again. Warhammer and SWTOR had this problem). I sincerely hope you avoid that mistake.

Anyway, I'll be keeping a close eye on things. I'm quietly enthused about it, but also somewhat critical of things. I'll certainly be sticking around however. I also wish you all the luck in the world, and I very much hope you succeed :)

Anyway, it's pleasant to see you getting so involved. Props for that :)

Much love and kisses to you, etc.

Thanks for all that, criticism, support, love and kisses, etc. Please feel free to continue to be critical about things, that's one of the reasons I'm here posting, writing blogs, doing interviews as well. 

As far as smooth gameplay, I couldn't agree more. That is one of the key things that Andew knows he needs to focus on with this game. As an independent developer, just as we were back in 1999, I know that we won't have all the bells & whistles that some other games have but that won't be an excuse for things that are in the game not being great. We know we have to focus on fewer things and do them better than more things and do them half-assed. Our backers and hopefully future players will be willing to support us if everything works really well but some things are missing that they can find in other games. What they won't be happy with is if we throw a lot of broken systems in there and say "Done!" now give us your money. I'm not going to do that and part of the proof is that I've also said that until this game is ready, they won't pay sub fees even if we have to eat the costs. We "go gold" and start shipping the disk, that's one thing but when we ship, everything has to work the way it is intended and that is under my control again, period. :)

As to Mythic Time, oh, what a nightmare that was. I felt so sorry for the programmer and for players as well. The poor guy was just trying to make the system work and he got hit from all directions at once including a very upset GM who was shouting "Mythic seconds WTF is Mythic seconds?" :)

Thanks again for the kind words and possible support,

Originally posted by MarkJacobs

Originally posted by dotdotdash

Originally posted by MarkJacobs

Originally posted by Searias
I'll probably end up paying around $200 since, they are letting us get involved and give feedback on the game as it progress. This is going to be a fun ride :).

Thank you so much, I really do appreciate it. And yes, it will be a fun ride, crazy at times but fun and in terms of feedback, well, I'll say this much, you'll be really pleased with the amount/manner of two-way interaction you'll have with the team and myself. That's one reason I'm posting here so much, getting in shape for the big game! :)

Again, my thanks.

Mark,

I just want to make sure that you're not going to handle latency issues by inventing a new metric of time, as was done with Warhammer? I'm sure you remember the conversation you had on the forums about Mythic Time (it was my irl friend who posted about it initially).

It's VERY important that a PvP game has smooth gameplay, and bogging that down with harsh server scrutiny (that forces you into a position where you literally have to recalculate time to make things work) isn't going to go down well with gamers (again. Warhammer and SWTOR had this problem). I sincerely hope you avoid that mistake.

Anyway, I'll be keeping a close eye on things. I'm quietly enthused about it, but also somewhat critical of things. I'll certainly be sticking around however. I also wish you all the luck in the world, and I very much hope you succeed :)

Anyway, it's pleasant to see you getting so involved. Props for that :)

Much love and kisses to you, etc.

Thanks for all that, criticism, support, love and kisses, etc. Please feel free to continue to be critical about things, that's one of the reasons I'm here posting, writing blogs, doing interviews as well. 

As far as smooth gameplay, I couldn't agree more. That is one of the key things that Andew knows he needs to focus on with this game. As an independent developer, just as we were back in 1999, I know that we won't have all the bells & whistles that some other games have but that won't be an excuse for things that are in the game not being great. We know we have to focus on fewer things and do them better than more things and do them half-assed. Our backers and hopefully future players will be willing to support us if everything works really well but some things are missing that they can find in other games. What they won't be happy with is if we throw a lot of broken systems in there and say "Done!" now give us your money. I'm not going to do that and part of the proof is that I've also said that until this game is ready, they won't pay sub fees even if we have to eat the costs. We "go gold" and start shipping the disk, that's one thing but when we ship, everything has to work the way it is intended and that is under my control again, period. :)

As to Mythic Time, oh, what a nightmare that was. I felt so sorry for the programmer and for players as well. The poor guy was just trying to make the system work and he got hit from all directions at once including a very upset GM who was shouting "Mythic seconds WTF is Mythic seconds?" :)

Thanks again for the kind words and possible support,

 

Hey Mark,

Any insight into how you plan to handle latency issues, for local users and those in other regions?

Kind regards,

Nope, not fund or play.  Not a style of game that I'd enjoy.

Originally posted by MarkJacobs

As to Mythic Time, oh, what a nightmare that was. I felt so sorry for the programmer and for players as well. The poor guy was just trying to make the system work and he got hit from all directions at once including a very upset GM who was shouting "Mythic seconds WTF is Mythic seconds?" :)

Yes, it was a nightmare.

Certainly the programmer involved has to take responsibility for having the idea and implementing it, but I notice that you don't actually speak about how YOU felt about that particular solution, or your involvement in its implementation. I mean... you were in charge: you must have known about it before it was implement, and you must have decided that it was a "good" solution (even if temporary) to the problem? I can't say that I know the first thing about leading a large team in developing and designing an MMO; there's every chance that you were detached from the particulars of "mythic seconds" at the time, and only later made aware of the problem it created.

Everything you seem to be saying right now is in the right direction for the niche you're aiming to fill with Camelot Unchained. That said, you can say the same about everything that was said pre-Warhammer Online, and you can say the same about everything that was said by Bioware pre-SWTOR's launch. You can say it about pretty much any major studio working on a major game; part and parcel of marketing the title is saying the right things, even where those things don't end up being "specifically" true.

As I said, I'll certainly keep an eye on things and may even show some active support. I can't say that I'll be a backer; I simply don't have the money (which will shock some people, I'm sure). If I did, I would probably back more out of curiosity for the future  of your developer-player dialogue (it's an interesting "experiment", and I look forward to seeing what comes of it even if I don't get to take part in it). So you'll just have to take my love and kisses, I'm afraid. It's all I have to offer.

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Originally posted by dotdotdash

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Originally posted by MarkJacobs

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Originally posted by Searias I'll probably end up paying around $200 since, they are letting us get involved and give feedback on the game as it progress. This is going to be a fun ride :).

---

Thank you so much, I really do appreciate it. And yes, it will be a fun ride, crazy at times but fun and in terms of feedback, well, I'll say this much, you'll be really pleased with the amount/manner of two-way interaction you'll have with the team and myself. That's one reason I'm posting here so much, getting in shape for the big game! :) Again, my thanks.

---

Mark,

I just want to make sure that you're not going to handle latency issues by inventing a new metric of time, as was done with Warhammer? I'm sure you remember the conversation you had on the forums about Mythic Time (it was my irl friend who posted about it initially).

It's VERY important that a PvP game has smooth gameplay, and bogging that down with harsh server scrutiny (that forces you into a position where you literally have to recalculate time to make things work) isn't going to go down well with gamers (again. Warhammer and SWTOR had this problem). I sincerely hope you avoid that mistake.

Anyway, I'll be keeping a close eye on things. I'm quietly enthused about it, but also somewhat critical of things. I'll certainly be sticking around however. I also wish you all the luck in the world, and I very much hope you succeed :)

Anyway, it's pleasant to see you getting so involved. Props for that :)

Much love and kisses to you, etc.

---

I play from austrlaia, The WAR in beta was kinda bad on US servers, i think that was for everybody though, but once they did some major fix i think the game played rather well on 200 ping, certainly better than wow where i get constant messages like " im out of range, i cant do that right now, im too far away from my target" WHEN IM STANDING ONTOP OF IT!

Also Mark trust me on this, no Australian servers, dont do it, we dont deserve them.

Originally posted by boxsnd
This will be the first kickstarter project that I will back.

This will also be the first kickstarter project I will back, but only if more information comes to light that shows the game is "on the right track". If the combat mechanics are like how they were in DAOC in a way that I think I will like, then I will go for it. If the combat is going to be like every other mmo on the market right now, then why bother.

One more thing before I head to bed, because I feel it needs to be said:

A lot of people - myself included - took a fairly bad impression of you (in a professional capacity) away from Warhammer Online with us. Your involvement with the project, the decisions you (seemingly) made, and the nature of your departure from EA left a lot of "bad blood" in the water. So there are many people who are as concerned about judging you in that capacity as they are about judging Camelot Unchained as a game.

I hope I haven't overstepped the mark there (pun intended), but I feel I need to point out my own reservations here (knowing that there are a lot of people who think the same). You are at once famous and infamous within the general MMO community, and you clearly know that.

I personally would like to see you talk a bit more about the mistakes you've made in the past, the thoughts you have on those mistakes, what you've learned, etc, etc. I'd like to know a little about your journey and evolution over the years. I'd like some insight into Mark Jacobs the Man, not just Mark Jacobs the CEO.

After all, people are backing you as much as they are backing the game :)

Originally posted by dotdotdash

Originally posted by MarkJacobs

As to Mythic Time, oh, what a nightmare that was. I felt so sorry for the programmer and for players as well. The poor guy was just trying to make the system work and he got hit from all directions at once including a very upset GM who was shouting "Mythic seconds WTF is Mythic seconds?" :)

Yes, it was a nightmare.

Certainly the programmer involved has to take responsibility for having the idea and implementing it, but I notice that you don't actually speak about how YOU felt about that particular solution, or your involvement in its implementation. I mean... you were in charge: you must have known about it before it was implement, and you must have decided that it was a "good" solution (even if temporary) to the problem? I can't say that I know the first thing about leading a large team in developing and designing an MMO; there's every chance that you were detached from the particulars of "mythic seconds" at the time, and only later made aware of the problem it created.

Everything you seem to be saying right now is in the right direction for the niche you're aiming to fill with Camelot Unchained. That said, you can say the same about everything that was said pre-Warhammer Online, and you can say the same about everything that was said by Bioware pre-SWTOR's launch. You can say it about pretty much any major studio working on a major game; part and parcel of marketing the title is saying the right things, even where those things don't end up being "specifically" true.

As I said, I'll certainly keep an eye on things and may even show some active support. I can't say that I'll be a backer; I simply don't have the money (which will shock some people, I'm sure). If I did, I would probably back more out of curiosity for the future  of your developer-player dialogue (it's an interesting "experiment", and I look forward to seeing what comes of it even if I don't get to take part in it). So you'll just have to take my love and kisses, I'm afraid. It's all I have to offer.

LOL, do you know how many people were working on WAR at the time? I can't give out the exact number but it was more than 300. If I knew what every person was doing every day in a micro-managing sort of way, I wouldn't have gotten anything done for my work, EA's work and other studio work. Nope, I had no clue that was how it worked until I saw the stuff explode on the forums. When it was explained to me, it made sense technically but I don't think you'll find a studio GM who could tell you what any one programmer was writing as a comment to his code, that's why you have leads, managers, development directors, producers, COO and then me. :)

As to what I'm saying now versus then, well, not exactly. The difference with Warhammer was that part of my job was to help build buzz for the game to compensate for an anysmally low marketing budget when compared to games like WoW, CoD, etc. As you might remember, WAR got no TV commercials, no big marketing events, etc. even though we broke EA's sales record for preorders for a PC product. The reasons are complicated and JR talked about them publicly (too many products coming out at the same time) so I've moved on from that but it meant that guys like PB, JH and I had to do lots of PR stuff. PB/JH ended up doing more than me but we all had to help sell our game. If you go back and look at some of the things I said about WAR and compared them to what I'm saying today, I would hope you would see the difference. I'm not using a lot of adjectives, I'm not saying that CU will be the best RvR game ever, etc. I'm simply laying out what we want to do with the game and leaving it up to the players if they like the concept. I'm telling them flat out that this will be a niche game, that we are aiming for a smaller sub count and that the game won't have PvE in it. I hope you see the differences betwen the two approaches, especially as I keep reminding people that the Kickstarter could absolutely face-plant and that this game isn't Dark Age of Camelot 2. If I was trying to hype the game the way I had to hype it for WAR (telling the truth as I knew it), I would have taken a different approach entirely.

As to not being able to back us, that's fine, no worries at all. I don't expect everyone who has the money to back us will as I expect that they will be people who do can't afford to back the project too, that's how things go. I do appreciate the feedback and support, even if it is simply on the forums. Again, my thanks.

Only personalities and/or companies with name recognition can pull off a successful Kickstarter campaign.  I would LOVE to be able to start a Kickstarter of my own and create the best damn MMO game out there the way I see it, but I realize that I don't have nearly the celebrity of Mark Jacobs in the MMO gaming sector.  He can pull this off, I think.  And I like the fact that we have the same mindset, for the most part, on what would make a genuinely FUN and ADDICTING mmo game.  I'm a little concerned about his thoughts on E-Sport in an MMO, however, which is why I'll be waiting for the details to come out before I open my wallet.  

But I do have faith in his ability to pull this off since he has a glowing mark on his resume called Dark Age of Camelot.  I get the feeling he was probably overruled or argued to death on some of the bad design decisions that went into WAR.

Originally posted by MarkJacobs

LOL, do you know how many people were working on WAR at the time? I can't give out the exact number but it was more than 300. If I knew what every person was doing every day in a micro-managing sort of way, I wouldn't have gotten anything done for my work, EA's work and other studio work. Nope, I had no clue that was how it worked until I saw the stuff explode on the forums. When it was explained to me, it made sense technically but I don't think you'll find a studio GM who could tell you what any one programmer was writing as a comment to his code, that's why you have leads, managers, development directors, producers, COO and then me. :)

Don't get me wrong: I wasn't accusing you of anything at all. I added in the part about you maybe not knowing what was going on for the very reason you described. Having managed larg-ish teams on projects I work on, I can certainly understand that you would not know the particulars of everything going on at every level. From my perspective, the "mythic seconds" solution was a big thing, and it's very hard for me to switch tack and try to see things from your perspective when I really don't have any idea what things are/were like from your perspective. So I only have my own perspective to come from, and all I saw at the time was a (frankly, but not offensively) unappologetic, arrogant managment-type attempting to make excuses for what was (and still is) a really bad solution to a very, very important aspect of client-server interaction and core game play.

So I asked you for your thoughts so that I could at least have a little understanding of the difficulties you faced at the time. I can certainly empathise with your position now that you've spoken fairly frankly about it.

And I now realise that by "GM" you mean General Manager, and not Game Master (although it would be equally as applicable ;D).

It was a big thing at the time. As I've said, it had a negative impact on what a lot of people thought and still think about you as a game designer and a lead. I can't imagine that's pleasant for you, and I hope that people reading our conversation here reassess their opinion of you. I have. And maybe they'll back you, where I cannot. 

As to what I'm saying now versus then, well, not exactly. The difference with Warhammer was that part of my job was to help build buzz for the game to compensate for an anysmally low marketing budget when compared to games like WoW, CoD, etc. As you might remember, WAR got no TV commercials, no big marketing events, etc. even though we broke EA's sales record for preorders for a PC product. The reasons are complicated and JR talked about them publicly (too many products coming out at the same time) so I've moved on from that but it meant that guys like PB, JH and I had to do lots of PR stuff. PB/JH ended up doing more than me but we all had to help sell our game. If you go back and look at some of the things I said about WAR and compared them to what I'm saying today, I would hope you would see the difference. I'm not using a lot of adjectives, I'm not saying that CU will be the best RvR game ever, etc. I'm simply laying out what we want to do with the game and leaving it up to the players if they like the concept. I'm telling them flat out that this will be a niche game, that we are aiming for a smaller sub count and that the game won't have PvE in it. I hope you see the differences betwen the two approaches, especially as I keep reminding people that the Kickstarter could absolutely face-plant and that this game isn't Dark Age of Camelot 2. If I was trying to hype the game the way I had to hype it for WAR (telling the truth as I knew it), I would have taken a different approach entirely.

I can't, and wouldn't want to, argue with that.

I do not envy you the position they put you in. That said, I am reluctant to criticise EA overtly. They seem to take a lot of flack from gamers, and it's quite clear that we don't actually know what's going on 90% of the time. And EA aren't all bad; they've given us some great games. I guess it doesn't help that the people making games are so involved with the people playing games (as this thread demonstrates), so any "back room" arguing invariably spills out in parts on to forums and media sites.

I genuinely hope it doesn't tank. I want to see this game, I want to play it, and I think it would be a real shame if it doesn't see the light of day. I think the MMO genre right now is pretty stangnant, stuck in a rut. Games like CU represent the prospect of variation in a market place that seems to favour peddling a vast number of WoW-like games. TESO, for example, seems to be very much entrenched in that formula; it's tiresome.

Anyway, it was nice talking to you. I hope to again in the future :) Thanks for allowing me to be cynical at you. I rarely get the chance.

Originally posted by skyexile

I play from austrlaia, The WAR in beta was kinda bad on US servers, i think that was for everybody though, but once they did some major fix i think the game played rather well on 200 ping, certainly better than wow where i get constant messages like " im out of range, i cant do that right now, im too far away from my target" WHEN IM STANDING ONTOP OF IT!

Also Mark trust me on this, no Australian servers, dont do it, we dont deserve them.

Sup skyexile, quit Vanu, its the hibernia of planetside. Scythe sounds like unicorn farts.

Also hes right Mark, Australians don't deserve anything. Its a land of criminals after all.

Originally posted by Coman

Nope

It's Mark Jacobs. Sorry but I keep my money to help the little poeple. That really do not have the money themselves. 

Come on. The budget for the game was finished maybe a year ago? I doubt they really need this money and the budget is set in stone already. Might pre-order when more info is available and where closer to launch though. I might be absolutly wrong, but I am sure the game will be created whatever I kickstart it or not and it will be exectly the same game. Very maybe some feature will be added later or release will be a later. 

Yeah, I think Kickstarter is starting to lose its way.  Paizo, who also doesn't need a Kickstarter, launched multiple ones for Pathfinder projects in recent months.  So, a company that doesn't need money is asking struggling consumers for money?  I don't like it.

Still, this project could lead to DAOC 2, so that is exciting.  If Mark can convince us of why they need our donations, and do it well, I might contribute, but that is a big IF.

There needs to be a rule:  People who are presently turning a profit in a creative field should not be allowed to use crowd funding.

Originally posted by Souldrainer

There needs to be a rule:  People who are presently turning a profit in a creative field should not be allowed to use crowd funding.

National Endowment for the Arts is not going to like receiving this message.

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Originally posted by Hokibukisa

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Originally posted by skyexile I play from austrlaia, The WAR in beta was kinda bad on US servers, i think that was for everybody though, but once they did some major fix i think the game played rather well on 200 ping, certainly better than wow where i get constant messages like " im out of range, i cant do that right now, im too far away from my target" WHEN IM STANDING ONTOP OF IT! Also Mark trust me on this, no Australian servers, dont do it, we dont deserve them.

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Sup skyexile, quit Vanu, its the hibernia of planetside. Scythe sounds like unicorn farts.

 

Also hes right Mark, Australians don't deserve anything. Its a land of criminals after all.

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Funny how we were the least populated in PS1... but Lol i quit shortly after hitting BR100 first, terrible game had been won, couldn't grind it out any longer.

Originally posted by boxsnd
This will be the first kickstarter project that I will back.

same here.

I will support this game no matter what. Of course I´m not going broke over this, but I´ll squeeze my pockets as much as I can, probably backing the game with an amount of 150$. Depends on the tiers, we still are waiting for. I´m totally aware of the odds and the risk I take with backing a vision. Even if the game gets funded, it might end up not being fun for me at all. I doubt it, but its still a possibility.

Personally this kickstart is about much more, than just backing a new game though. Mark mentioned a quote I truly love myself:

"This is a revolution, damnit! We’re going to have to offend somebody"

The past years have been disappointing, when it comes to online gaming. In my the opinion commercial interests of publishers, developers and other groups alike have to take the blame here. I´m not naive at all. Of course as a business those companies do want to make money. Heck, thats something I want myself, when I´m seeking my place in the gaming industry. Still - I do believe in something called passion, moderateness and honesty. Something I truly missed for a long time, when it came to new projects.

Mark isn´t infallible. He made his mistakes. I was furious about some of them. I´m still capable of seeing him as a human being, an oldschool gamer just like me though. Being that, he´s allowed to make mistakes. Hey - I do make those myself. So who am I to judge? Its far from being so extreme, that everything Mark touched was a mistake. As long as he is capable of admitting those wrong decisions and thereby learning from then - I´m fine with that. And thats excactly what I sense here.

With City State Entertainement Mark is his own boss again and its time to offend somebody! I´m not just going to back a simple gamevision. I´m backing a company thats headed by someone I trust to have balls when it comes to make some decisions against commerce as well as curroption and in favor of passion, moderateness and honesty.

I truly believe the time of big budget MMOs, published from enormous companies trying to cater to everyone has come to an end - IF someone finally has the guts and the means to lead the way. Mark might be that person in my opinion. He is no messiah, he won´t be free from mistakes and Camelot Unchained will not become the game everyone wants to play. But all that - even though in the past so many tried to become or promise that - is totally unimportant anyway.

Focus on a targetgroup big enough to sustain a game. Get in contact with them right from the start. Hear them out, build my game around their input. Stick to my initial principles, which led me to find my targetgroup in the first place. Be transparent and honest. Make a reasonable game design, that actually makes it possible to deliver a bugfree and working game. Try to create a succesful and profitable game, but without screwing over my targetgroup. Make sure I deliver.....those are my thoughts, when it comes to game design nowadays. Well, thats how I always believed it should be and thats how I´m going to work in the industry after my studies. Unfortunately no one did seem to share this mentality. At least no one, that was capable of realizing it.

For now Mark is heading that way, leading the revolution. A revolution that by no means does imply we will see new, innovative stuff at every corner, no - its a social revolution, that in its core is about how to treat my community and how to design and produce a game.

I´d rather support someone, who of course wants to make money, but still shows he´s human and on a same level as we are, than supporting big commercial companies only interested in me until they got my money.

But thats just me and no - I´m no communist! :-)