Lobodestroyo Devs Show Slow Progress Doesn’t Equal Kickstarter Robbery

Last week, we wrote about Lobodestroyo and the virtue of being patient. Well, that patience has been rewarded recently with a slew of new screenshots and information.

The new screenshots show how far the game has come from its initial Kickstarter prototype. The world is more filled out with assets, but it’s received a graphical boost as well. The world shown is the first level, WikiTiki Woods, set in a whimsical forest area that’s currently being paved over to put up a parking lot. Or upscale houses. Clearly this game is pushing the “SJW” agenda of climate change and gentrification, and given how ludicrous nature of the internet, that is indeed a joke.

Saying that, it would be interesting if they took that angle, though. A game that looks like cutesy animals wrapped up in the nostalgia of a 90’s platformer, but that wrapper is actually a Trojan-horse for a FernGulley/Avatar-esque message about the horrors of man-made climate destruction, corporate greed, and gentrification. It’s probably not going to happen, but the components seem to be there so far.

Along with the screenshots are a few pieces of new information. As with previous updates, Left-Handed Games is happy to share the steps of the development process, walking us how they created some of the assets. They also make note of several other locations they aren’t comfortable sharing yet, such as an underground cave, a sewer, and a mansion. Certainly not locations you think of when you think of 3D platformers, which makes it all the more interesting.

The images are from a pre-alpha. Generally that means the game is still early in development, but Left-Handed is assured the game is making great progress. They also promise more news in the future, not updates necessarily, but “spotlights” featuring the art and gameplay development process.

As with Left-Handed’s last update, this update is only on the studio’s website, not as a Kickstarter update. This has remained a fact that many aren’t happy about. A recent commenter on Kickstarter elicited a response from James Guy, founder of Left-Handed Games and creator of Lobodestroyo. The commenter accused him of robbing his backers, and said he couldn’t even post an update.

Guy responded with a lengthy comment. “Sorry you equate our struggling project to a robbery,” he said. Fair enough. But he followed that up with something much more substantial.

“It’s slow going, I realize that, but we really are trying our best and doing what we can to keep making progress. Much of that isn’t outwardly facing and that has been killing me for a long time. Missing deadlines and not having much to show for our work in recent months is as frustrating for us as it is for those of you wanting to hear more on our little gamble that is Lobodestroyo.

“Hopefully, these screens help alleviate any concerns that we are nefariously misleading you.”

The Kickstarter for Lobodestroyo is a big ball of frustration right now on everyone’s part. These updates are substantial enough to dampen the flames, so Left-Handed’s refusal to put them up on Kickstarter is baffling. You can tell backers a million times to check out your website, but you can’t expect everyone to get the memo. That’s what the update section on Kickstarter is for. Use it, and everyone is happy. Backers won’t constantly grab torch-forks, developers won’t have to keep putting out fires, and journalists won’t have to keep acting as a quasi-mediator between the two. And that’s what this is all about, me.

This is a good update. It’s not the most comprehensive in the world, but it’s better than most that serve only to reassure backers development is still chugging along. That’s the minimum Lobodestroyo needs right now, and instead we got a little more than that. It’s just a shame so many backers will probably miss it.