I'd never though I'd be frequenting these forms let alone actually posting on them, so with that a little about me and well why I'm here...
Thanks for the visit and the write-up.
First, let me just say that, even though we make fun of those "other" guys, we don't generally refer to backers who believed in this project, as "dumb". There is nothing dumb about having faith in something, then trying to see it through - regardless of merit and/or degree of success. Similarly, some of the smartest people - including those who think they're smart - have been taken for a ride, played for a fool etc. It happens - and the people who perpetrate that sort of thing, are quite good at it.
So DS keep up the good work and the research, but know that as long as you approach CR from a the stance that he is a fraud rather than acting the impartial watchdog people will still easily be able to dismiss you. Which frankly is a shame, because there are a lot of issues here that deserve an explanation, but its ever so difficult to fight irrational emotion, with an urgent and seemingly slanted display of data.
Right. But here's the thing; all things considered, their actions, words etc - coupled with the fact that they've been caught lying time and time again, the case for fraud, scam or whatever, is evident. You can't sugar coat it, call it something else, or dress it up just because you want people to take you seriously. That's not how that works. The definitions of fraud and scam, are quite clear and not open to interpretation.
As for being "impartial", I never claimed, nor aspired to be that. We, as humans, all have our bias that comes out in a lot of ways. Some people do try to hide it, and they are the hypocrites and frauds in society. When I wrote that first blog in July 2015, I wasn't even biased; but I knew the effects that it would have, and the risk that I was taking. But I did it anyway. Nobody asked me to, nobody paid me to, and nobody saw it coming. The way the company reacted to it, going out of their way to lie, and paint a picture (of what they said I was doing) that wasn't even based in reality, is what set in motion the series of events that led us here. They drew first blood when they made this about me, and started a war they couldn't possibly win, against a guy who never saw a war he didn't like. And when I said that I would never stop, nor allow them - or anyone - to put me under siege, I meant it.
When CIG - as a company - went to the media and
flat out lied that I did something that I didn't, their backers gave them a pass. Then some of those very backers took upon themselves to "tow the company" line by coming after me because I was now the enemy for being that guy who spilled the Apple cart. This despite the fact that many people - including media - were already saying most of what I was warning about. Those very same toxic backers have threatened my life, harassed me, review bombed my games, setup a hate-sub on Reddit where they attack me 24-7, doxed me and my family etc. All for what? And I'm supposed to do what? Stand idly by? Then croberts himself took all that one step further and wrote the most damaging (to himself, the company, and the project) manifesto imaginable; and which just served as rallying call to the toxic backers (Shitizens) who increased their attacks across the Internet.
By their words and actions, I believe that the project is
a fraud, and outright scam now. There is no getting around that, nor sugar coating it. I've said this time and time again. If I'm wrong, or they think that I have committed defamation etc, surely a company that has raised over $150 million in
free money, could have spent less than $50K to prove me wrong. When you consider the lengths these people have gone to, in order to stifle and control the message, one would think that they would have done it by now. And it's not like I haven't engaged them in legal rhetoric - at my own expense. While some of these very backers were spending money on JPEGs and a dead game, I was spending mine on legal bills on a project that I no longer backed.
The interesting thing about all this, as I wrote
here, is that back in 2015 when I spent my own money on legal action in order to get them to do three things which I felt would have gone a long way to building good faith, they literally told me to piss off. Yet, less than two years later, not only have they then turned around and done two (refunds - which they had no choice in, and which became possible due to my "noise", and providing a project schedule) of the three (the third being providing the financials promised) things anyway. The flipside of that is, not only did they take my writings seriously, but it also caused them to make the most egregious
changes to the ToS possible. Those changes not only revealed what I had feared, and written about, but also set the stage for the showdown that's now playing out, and which is coming to a head soon.
At the end of the day, gamers can do what they want with their money; but this has gone beyond backing a game, when you consider the fact that not only is the funding chart pure and utter bullshit - a fraud onto itself - but also the mounting evidence that some backers are using the project as a way to launder money. At this point, there is no "game" at stake. What's at stake is about money, and who stands to lose or gain either by the continuation of this farce, or by profiting from the Grey market money laundering.
Regardless of all this rhetoric, one thing is certain, the game - as pitched - can
never be made. They neither have the tech, nor the experience, nor the talent. And now, they've apparently run out of both
time and money.
