Examples of Damage Control in Gaming: A Forever Unsung Story

To say Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians’ post-Kickstarter developments have been merely burdensome to backers would sell everything short, but perhaps we should have seen this coming.

The crowdfunding campaign started on the wrong foot by (clearly intentionally) misleading backers regarding how involved Yasumi Matsuno, director and writer of Square Enix classics like Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and Final Fantasy Tactics, was with the project. Initial info implied he was a creative head with Unsung Story, which led to a rush of pledges when the campaign started in January 2014 — over two years ago.

Those dreams of a new Matsuno-helmed project came crashing down when he clarified how he was only responsible for providing story concepts on his Twitter account, a fact developer Playdek may have never informed the public of had he not spoken up. He mentioned how anyone looking for an authentic Matsuno game shouldn’t back this. It seemed like he was trying to sabotage the campaign, but upon seeing how things have turned out, it was a huge warning.

Playdek also hired Akihiko Yoshida, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Alexander O. Smith, character designer, lead composer, and lead translator of many Matsuno-helmed projects, respectively, to contribute some work. But the damage was done, which left Playdek doing damage control for the campaign’s remaining duration, and shortly after its conclusion. They raised $660,126 for the project, a little more than the $600,000 initial goal, for the PC version — which would come in addition to mobile versions already being developed without the campaign. Despite serious hurdles and concerns, there was still a chance of this turning out worthwhile.

Yet so much has transpired since then that it’s difficult to remember when that glimmer of hope existed. The project’s fate has continued to look direr with each update in the last year, and it’s tough to tell if it will ever see the light of day. In fact, it’s reached such a low point that I feel bad about ever posting about it here during its campaign, since some entries could be interpreted as promotional efforts despite my initial criticism. But in my defense, not even the biggest pessimists could have foreseen this project going so horribly awry, especially considering it was coming from a once-trusted developer responsible for delivering many mobile games.

It’s also a pity since it appeared project was getting back on track last year. Playdek was rightfully taken to task after trying to create the Player vs. Player (aka PvP) portion first, saying it was the plan all along despite its Kickstarter page and pledge video confirming otherwise. Backers had already lost trust in them after having little concrete to show after so long, but blatant dishonesty was intolerable. They switched the project back to a single-player focus in a remarkably quick fashion, and showed what they were working on through a video showcasing an alpha build a month later. That this was all they could provide after around 19 months was astounding, but at least they were working on something. Another update detailing more gameplay, and another Reddit AMA, was planned to arrive in November.

Sadly, they didn’t provide anything further. And given the infrequency with which their Twitter and Facebook accounts have been updated, you can tell something tumultuous occurred behind the scenes.

In the latest update, the team confirmed the project has been put on indefinite hold, due to losing some key staff members and their need to focus on other projects for the company’s continued operations. They’re also seeking outside development assistance, since their internal staff is no longer capable of dealing with too many projects at once. No backers wanted to hear this, and if some didn’t want refunds before, they do now — especially those who trusted them with more than $20.

Unless a miracle happens, I wouldn’t count on this project ever arriving, or anyone receiving their money back. It’s clear they’ve spent the $660,126 they received (not including the cut Kickstarter and Amazon Payments take), either due to overestimating how resource-intensive the project would be, or on other matters they shouldn’t have. Not to mention this project was planned for release on mobile regardless of whether the campaign was funded. It’s yet another lesson to be careful of which campaigns you back. Outside a few exceptions, only give your money to developers with a proven track record and a working prototype to show.

People constantly point to Mighty No. 9 first when stating an example of a crowdfunding disaster, but despite that project’s post-Kickstarter woes, it’s nowhere near the level of this one or, say, Project Phoenix. (I still need to cover how poorly Project Phoenix was handled, which I hope to post about soon.) I wish I could end this post more positively, but let’s see if Playdek surprises me by actually showing and releasing Unsung Story. But it would be best if you prepared for bitter disappointment.