2 years ago a Kickstarter for a puzzle-RPG called Bob’s Game appeared. It managed to raise over $10,000 toward its development and was scheduled expected to be delivered at the end of last year. Well, I doubt it was expected, the Kickstarter was only updated once during the campaign, and since the Kickstarter itself didn’t look too promising I would have assumed that he just ran off with the money.

The Bob’s Game Kickstarter page is pretty much what I deem the worst for a video game. There is very little information about the game and what is there is annoyingly formatted and reads strangely. It’s devoid of pictures or anything that really draws people in, but at least it has a few different demo builds available. What fills up the majority of the Kickstarter page is a long personal essay about the developers life and I find it a real turn-off from the game. The essay tells the sad story of the developer as he struggles to make Bob’s Game. He’s been working on it since 2004, but despite his efforts he never managed to get funding. He talks about the corruption he faced etc. To me, all I hear when I read it is “It’s everyone else’s fault but mine! If they just gave me funding, if they weren’t corrupt” etc.

Bob's Game

However, apparently 200 or so people wanted to give him a chance.

I just want to set the scene for you. The developer said that this game was “his life’s work” and that this Kickstarter was his last chance.  The newest update shows he squandered it. Essentially, he has another sad story: he didn’t ask for enough money and no one will give him funding despite his best efforts, but he’ll still continue to work on the game. Still, two years of work and nothing to show for it is not the best thing to show investors. Personally, I think the developers’ personality is the thing holding him back and I don’t feel sorry for anyone involved in this Kickstarter.

I hope that he does actually make something worth the 12 years of trouble. If nothing else I can still admire his tenacity. Check out the update here and tell us what you think about the situation down below. Am I being too hard on Bob’s Game?

About the Author

Stephanie Smith

Stephanie Smith is an English Teacher in Mianyang China with a passion for gaming. Stephanie is dedicated to Edutainment and wants to bring video games into the classroom and help other teachers do the same. She's a little too overly enthusiastic about collecting Steam badges and fairly grumpy if she doesn't get her daily dose of Markiplier and Game Grumps.

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