It’s been two years – two years – since Lioness updated its Kickstarter backers. To put that into perspective, that’s a radio silence covering 2,255 backers and $26,735 of investment. Yikes. Pretty ironic, considering Lioness‘s themes of non-existence. That streak ends today.

What’s even crazier is the update itself, which simply reads:

“Phillip Lanzbom passed away on January 1st.”

It also contains a link which, as far as I can tell, is broken. Philip Lanzbom, for the uninitiated, was one of the team members working on Lioness. That’s bound to be an impactful development on any collaborative project. Our thoughts are with the team as well as the friends and family of Philip Lanzbom.

LionessHowever, if we come back to business for a moment, it still doesn’t explain a two-year silence. Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly understandable that the team would be mourning the death of one of its members, and that work on Lioness would’ve taken a back seat for a few months. That part makes sense, but if Lanzbom passed at the start of the new year, his death wouldn’t account for the rest of the two year timespan.

Now’s not the time, of course, to slap the team on the wrist. But once work does recommence, backers need to be kept in the loop. They’ve poured a lot of money into the project.

As for Philip Lanzbom, may he rest in piece. The remaining team members now owe it to him to see Lioness through to release, and to share the process with their generous donators. Death, after all, has a way of bringing the living closer together, and if Lanzbom’s death means anything to the Kickstarter community, let it be that.

About the Author

Gary Alexander Stott

Gary Alexander Stott is a handsome young writer from Scotland absolutely brimming with talent, who feels his best feature is his modesty. When it comes to overthinking narrative and storytelling in games, his otherwise useless degree in English with Creative Writing comes in very handy indeed.

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