My complaint with Kickstarters doesn’t come primarily from the wish-and-a-prayer nature of ‘donations’ to these causes, but rather from the way in which they have demonstrably changed the industry for the worst.

In the past, a developer would take their sales pitch to a producer. This required a *lot* more than a slick marketting job. It required concrete goals, efforts, cost analysis, hard deadlines, and resulted in a contract where the money was tied to progress. For the money to keep flowing, specific progress goals had to be hit (in most cases).

Now, because of Kickstarter, most producers are not willing to pay up the same money, believing that the users should front some of the cost through Kickstarter. And, Kickstarter itself has a MUCH reduced standard of control and proof. Far less evidence of a good plan is necessary, and there is no means by which the contributors can hold the developer to a timetable or account. Consequently, most money put into Kickstarter is lost with no result ever coming forth.

This is bad for gamers and bad for the industry. Developers no longer get the backing/structure from producers that they need in order to keep them on track and in the black, and gamers no longer can trust that their money will instantly yield a game. Instead, they are reduced to paying for the hope that, in future, a game may materialise, and it might not be shit.

Yay Kickstarter.