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I personally would not give any money to the designers of Wizardry 8 and Anachronox, because I have never played one and did not enjoy the other.  However, I would give a bit to people who have worked on Jagged Alliance, a series I enjoyed.  It would have been more credible for Brenda Bathwaite to claim credit for Jagged Alliance I and II because she worked for Sir-Tech at the time.  But I would not give any money who I felt was dishonest by claiming credits for games in which they did not have a leadership role; I know neither worked for Origin System or Interplay at the time, and there was no way they could have any major capacity in those companies.  Again, it actually hurt them to credit Ultima, Bard's Tale, the Sims and other games in their Kickstarter, because it set off a red flag in people's heads, "wait...  Brenda Bathwaite and Tom Hall did not work for Origin System or Interplay."

If Brenda Bathwaite and Tom Hall plan to do another Kickstarter:

They should NOT list Ultima, the Bard's Tale, the Sims or any other projects in which they had very little contributions or did not have a leadership role.

They need to mock up a sample gameplay video, which should not be difficult to do because they have a company of programmers.

[not]

You should have seen ktchong go off about Tom Hall and Brenda Bathewaite's pedigree in an other forums I saw.  I seriously think a vein is going to pop in his forehead.

I went off on Brenda Bathewaite and Tom Hall because   their Kickstarter was a dishonest and misleading money grab.  Their Kickstarter claimed credit for games in which they did NOT have major contributions, i.e., Ultima, the Bard's Tale, the Sims.  They were padding their resumes with projects with which they had nothing or little to do. 


Brenda Bathwaite and Tom Hall had worked on many games, but they had headed only one RPG each, i.e., two RPG together, Wizardry 8 and Anachronox.  I know they were good games, (although I did not enjoyed Anachronox,) but they were not bestsellers.  Few people are familiar with them.  Very few people had played them.  I personally do not think those two titles were not enough for them to ask for $1 million to make another RPG.  I was proven right because their Kickstarter had failed to raise even half of that amount.  (Their Kickstarter is dead.) 

They may have made a lot of games, but not RPG.  "Brenda Bathwaite" and "Tom Hall" are not brand names in the RPG communities (like "Richard Garriott", "Brian Fargo", "Feargus Urquhart", "Jordan Weisman", "Casey Hudson", "BioWare", "Black Isle/Troika/Obsidian" are,)  and they were asking RPG fans  for a lot of money.  That was their big mistake.

There's room for Kickstarter's of all sizes - but there have been some with outrageous goals, and weak initial pitches - ie.  Shaker: An Old School RPG (Which started out as just "Old School RPG by Tom Hall and Brenda Bathwaite") or David Crane's Jungle Adventure.  Established names, yes - weak pitches.

I had never even heard of Tom Hall and Brenda Bathwaite before their Kickstarter.  I was put off by them claiming credit for Ultima, the Bard's Tale, the Sims, and a few other games that I knew had nothing to do with them.  I was familiar with Origin System and Interplay, and I did not know of Tom Hall or Brenda Bathwaite. (I googled them and found out they worked Sir-Tech, which was a competing company.)  That gave me the impression that they padded their rasumes/track records with games that were not theirs, and that dishonesty put me off. 

You can give money to people with no track record, no experience, no reputation, and no history of ever successfully completing and delivering a project.  It's your money.  But you'd be an idiot to do so.

So far, there have been a few failed Kickstarter projects.  People who got money from Kickstarters, and then folded and failed to deliver.  ALL were people with no prior experience, no reputation, no history, and had nothing to lose except other people's money. 

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/08/30/when-kickstarter-fails-jack-houston-has-a-problem/

The most important thing here is REPUTATION.  People with no experience also do not have no established reputation.  If you want to throw away your money at some random people with no experience and no reputation, that's fine with me.  It's not my money.  Butt I would not give a dime to people who has no track record and no reputation.  Here are the discussions, and people agree: do NOT give money to people with no track record, no experience, and no history of ever making/delivering a similar product:

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/first_successfully_funded_kickstarter_game_that_wont_be_finished_nor_released

The point is: if you launch a Kickstarter, you're just a random stranger on the Internet.  I don't know you.  I don't know if you are capable of delivering your promise.  There are millions of people who want free money just like you.  Why should I trust you over anyone else with my money?  How do I know I should give my money to you who have no experience, no reputation and not Lori and Corey Cole, Brian Fargo, Tim Schafer or Obsidian?  People whom I know can deliver because they have built up a reputation, because they have done it before?  If they can't deliver, they lose their reputation, and people who have spent years building up successful track records and resumes CARE about protecting their reputation.   

If some random guy with no history can't deliver, he lose nothing except other people's money.  I am old enough to know there are a lot of losers out there who don't have any reputation and they could care less about protecting what they don't have once they already got your money, and they would love to get your money, and Kickstarter is just another way for them to pitch empty promises and swindle money.    Those are the people to whom you do NOT want to give your money.

[infamy]

Yeah, I just checked out Jane Jensen's Kickstarter video.  That's a very shady pitch.  And they clearly do not need money -- just  look at their estate in the background!  Why were they even asking for donations?!?  Hot daughter, tho.

Tom Hall (of Ion Storm fame/infamy) is also running another Kickstarter.  Very underwhelming as well, with no clear sense of what he actually intends to do.  As I remember it, a decade a go Ion Storm blew away investors' money on luxurious offices, weekly parties, expensive cars, fast women, and then the company went belly up. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikatana#Reception_and_controversy

With that track record, now they are hitting people for money again?  Seriously?

Of course, you do not have to give any money to anyone on Kickstarter; and you really should not give any money to Jane Jensen or Tom Hall.  The point is: having a track record and an impressive resume is NOT enough.  A fully-thought out goal and idea packaged with a good presentation should complement a good track record.  BUT, a track record/resume is a starting point.  I am old enough to know that a lot of people are great salesmen who can present a very persuasive pitch - but they can't deliver at all.  The best way to recognize people who can talk but can't deliver is to check their history.  An impressive resume is a starting point, but people should not invest money just by looking at the resume.  Checking the resume/history is only the first step.

In that case I suppose I can wait and see.  I'm really unimpressed by all these established designers falling on the kickstarter crutch, though.  I find it a bit tacky when real startup groups who couldn't possibly get funding for what they're doing from publishers now have to compete with Al Lowe and Jane Jensen.

I disagree. 

People who want to raise money at Kickstarter should have experience.  They should have successful work history.  They should have track records.  They should have done something similar before and succeeded. They should know what they are doing.  They should have already paid their due.  So now they are looking for money to do their own projects.  They have paid their dues, so now they deserve to get the money to finally pursue their dream projects.

I hate when people with no experience, no history, no background, who have not yet picked up any work experience or paid their due, just come out of nowhwere and then think they can use Kickstarter to hit people for money.  Personally, when I donate money to a Kickstarter project, the first thing I look at is at the resumes of the people who are asking for the money.  Who are they?  What are their industry history and work experience?  Do they have experience in doing anything similar?  Hve they ever successful released a product in the same field?  If they are just a bunch of (let say) young punk kids with no experience, who look at Kickstarter is just a way for them to skip work so they do not have to do a day of honest work to get to success, (now that's what really is tacky,) they can forget it.  I know I am not the only one who would not give a dime to those kind of people.

That is why people like Tim Schafer, Brian Fargo, Al Lowe, and indie studios like Double Fine, Obsidian Entertainment, inXile, were able to raise millions of dollars on  Kickstarter to fund their dream projects without having to answer to publishers or follow the profit-motivated parameters set by financiers.  People who should not be on Kickstarter and who do not deserve to get any donations are green kids who has no experience, no work history, no track records, and are just hitting people for money because they think they should not do a day of real work before they get their break.

If it helps, the page says very specifically that the new game is not going to be a Quest for Glory sequel, and will be very different from those games.

Michael Cole, Director of Marketing for Transolar Entertainment, posted a message about the new game on GOG.com:

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/quest_for_glory_kickstarter_maybe_coming/post50

"In terms of game play, it'll have two major parts: The school part which revolves around character interaction and puzzle solving. The catacombs part which is a rogue-like with tactical movement and skills built around exploiting enemies weaknesses."

Kickstarter Link: Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption