It’s not a good idea to hold grudges. Most often, they’re far more trouble than they’re worth! With that said, it is a bit hard for me to look at a Kickstarter that launched recently with a completely open mind. The game is Secluded by Dark Day Interactive. The team are asking for an approximately $2,852 in funding to create a space-based first-person survival horror experience. Sounds fantastic! So why aren’t I immediately on board?
Simple, I just happen to be aware of the very unorthodox behavior of Dark Day Interactive. Back in July I recounted the incredibly weird Kickstarter usage history they have. That article was about One Final Breath and the five Kickstarter campaigns which were launched for it. After two successful projects, and a lack of concrete information, they launched the suddenly episodic title on Steam. Episode One is out to mixed user reviews, while Episode Two is planned for September. And now we have Secluded. Is there anything inherently bad about running a campaign while you’re still knee deep in development of another game? No, but there’s no doubt that moves like this sometimes annoy folks. My issue doesn’t stem from this aspect particularly.
Mostly, I fear that Secluded will be treated in much the same way as their five previous One Final Breath campaigns. They’ll raise their funds, but then spontaneously run another to pay for console or VR support (which are currently stretch goals). Or, this project will fail and then they’ll launch the exact same campaign 12 hours later instead of assessing the failure. I’m not a mind-reader and have no idea if either of these events will actually occur, but the team has shown themselves to do exactly these things during 2014 and 2015. Potential backers should have all this information to help facilitate a backing decision.
Here’s my take on this. I didn’t even know it launched. And I backed the first three OFB Kickstarters. Also, I have yet to receive the key promised for the one that I backed that did get funding. I didn’t even know that the first episode launched. As such, until I start seeing actual communication I’m passing on this one.