In defense of the Flower, they didn't prominently name their dev team, showed unappealing videos, described complicated mechanics based on needless realism, and picked an historical period that, while dear to my heart, doesn't automatically appeal to huge masses of players ("Imagine, the chronicles of Jean de Froissart made virtual!")
And seven days in, they haven't cleared 2 grand. Most KS projects make half their revenue in the first 24 hours, so I'm afraid that Oxford postdoc will have to keep applying for jobs.
Compare the approach of SC: slick, expensive demos, nostalgia of WC and a cult of the developer, a game genre that has a lot of traction, but is dwarfed by FPSs and casual games. And instead of telling you how you're going to have to grind every day to stay good, they come up with cool -sounding experiences you might one day have. Every png they sell comes with its own story.
So no, the Flower isn't necessarily a scam; but there are things you need for a successful kickstarter, and they have exactly zero of them.