Carrot Kingdom™ - Physical Production on Kickstarter

[miker]

Not going to grow any sh*tstorm here but...

 

It would be nice to present your company and maybe give link to some one level, time-limited or so... game demo here and/or in your kickstater page.

 

 

And from other had all the campaign looks terribly familiar, NO?   

[Arenafoot]

13 minutes ago, miker said:

It would be nice to present your company and maybe give link to some one level, time-limited or so... game demo here and/or in your kickstater page.

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/243605-carrot-kingdom™-work-in-progress-32k-new-demo-10-16-2017/?do=findComment&comment=3896578

 

 

[+Karl G]

I was wondering if the control scheme has changed since the old demo. I see from the kickstarter page that two button Genesis controller support has been added, but I remember some discussion about how controls were handled before. 

 

I've been interested in how this game comes out for a while now, but absent an updated demo or any reviews from other players I'll probably wait for a second run of the game before purchasing, if there is one. 

[Shawn]

15 hours ago, Jinroh said:

Mao Mao Media is producing them.

 

Can't seem to find any info on such a company. So they have designed there own 32k bankswitched pcb and bankswitching logic for this then I assume? If not, and it's more sensibly being produced with already made boards and bankswitching logic, who and what flavor of boards are you using? I'm asking really simple questions here but you keep beating around the bush or deflecting the most innocent and valid questions from not only myself but others as well. You are not even touching on the "we" and who the "we" is aside from yourself and you are now playing like this is much more than it is. I understand being a professional about your work but it's a little contrived and off-puting how you are handling yourself since making this post about the game. Also, if you are going all out on this why are you using recycled shells with potential blemishes instead of brand new ones? That doesn't seem in line with the rest of your mission statement to date. 

[CPUWIZ]

15 hours ago, Jinroh said:

Mao Mao Media is producing them.

 

So in other words, you downloaded Joe's files, or a new design?  I am curious as well.

 

Can you post pics or info, about your other "rodeos"?

[Jinroh]

2 hours ago, CPUWIZ said:

 

So in other words, you downloaded Joe's files, or a new design?  I am curious as well.

 

Can you post pics or info, about your other "rodeos"?

 

2 hours ago, Shawn said:

 

Can't seem to find any info on such a company. So they have designed there own 32k bankswitched pcb and bankswitching logic for this then I assume? If not, and it's more sensibly being produced with already made boards and bankswitching logic, who and what flavor of boards are you using? I'm asking really simple questions here but you keep beating around the bush or deflecting the most innocent and valid questions from not only myself but others as well. You are not even touching on the "we" and who the "we" is aside from yourself and you are now playing like this is much more than it is. I understand being a professional about your work but it's a little contrived and off-puting how you are handling yourself since making this post about the game. Also, if you are going all out on this why are you using recycled shells with potential blemishes instead of brand new ones? That doesn't seem in line with the rest of your mission statement to date. 

Too much jumping to conclusions.

The question was about cartridges, we will be assembling them in house from the required materials. We have a large quantity of shells already gathered.

 

However, nothing was asked about PCBs.

 

We have previously inquired with existing Atari PCB makers back in 2019 when gathering research, but have not inquired about the order with any yet, as the Kickstarter is not funded.

 

We are just trying to have a little fun during the pandemic and release a neat game that a lot of hard work went into. ^^

Edited January 3, 2021 by Jinroh

[CPUWIZ]

14 minutes ago, Jinroh said:

 

Too much jumping to conclusions.

The question was about cartridges, we will be assembling them in house from the required materials. We have a large quantity of shells already gathered.

 

However, nothing was asked about PCBs.

 

We have previously inquired with existing Atari PCB makers back in 2019 when gathering research, but have not inquired about the order with any yet, as the Kickstarter is not funded.

 

We are just trying to have a little fun during the pandemic and release a neat game that a lot of hard work went into. ^^

 

No conclusion on my behalf, questions.  I think Shawn was talking about the actual parts.  Your answers in general have been vague, so everything you just typed, was just a guessing part for the reader, before.

 

I wish you the best of luck and I agree, doing something constructive and fun during this nightmare time, is the best thing you could do.  So many people drown in this shitstorm and it is sad to see.

 

Spoiler

I don't like the box.

 

[Shawn]

47 minutes ago, CPUWIZ said:

 

 I think Shawn was talking about the actual parts.  Your answers in general have been vague, so everything you just typed, was just a guessing part for the reader, before.

 

 

Correct. This dude is really going above and beyond to make mountains out of mole hills. Totally bizarre. Any interest I might have had is now completely gone. What a weirdo. 

[Jinroh]

Thanks for Checking it out anyway. ^^

[+TwentySixHundred]

I agree, very vague around the bush answers to fairly straight forward questions. The story has more holes then Paris Hilton's fish net stockings. Im sure if dug any further the holes would become larger and larger. Still trying to work out who "we" is as the "mao mao productions" website is only showing one rodeo and a T-shirt.

 

Im also curious though, isn't kickstarter one those fundme websites that if the pledge pulls out then there is no refunds for the backers? IIRC im fairly sure there is no way for backers to get their money back. Sounds pretty risky to fund when PCB boards haven't even been ordered yet. Especially for those ording overseas with an additional $55 shipping cost...

 

Not trying to sound rude but there was a bunch of backers that were waiting over two years for a crowed funded project that was lucky to deliver. I would hate to see others go through the same thing again.

[KevinMos3]

I'd like to make a couple of points:

 

1) I've been very interested in this game from the beginning and enjoyed the past demos, but Kickstarter is a non-starter for me.  I'm still waiting on some Kickstarter projects I've backed as many as 8 years ago and moved 4 times since.  I still receive email updates on a couple, but others are just lost $$.  I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking this.  I'd highly recommend another way of going about it.  You can publish through existing reputable channels that would give your buyers more confidence.  Your Kickstarter page sounds like you still need to design and manufacture PCBs, although I'd assume you'll end up sourcing them through someone here.  Why leave it in question?  That seems like something that should have been arranged prior to the Kickstarter so you'd have a known cost for the PCBs to factor into the price.

 

2) I'd really like to see a video of more than just "up to the breadcat".  I'm familiar with the game up to that point as well as the haunted forest after.  I'd like to see some of each level that's been added to the finished game.  In other words, I'd much rather see things I haven't already seen.

 

Again, I've really liked this game from the start and I wish you the best, but it seems like your hard work over the years may be limited to a much smaller audience than it deserves by going about it this way.  I'd like to support you, but not in this way I regret to say.

[Shawn]

If the dude acted like a normal person instead of becoming a "we" overnight he could have just sold a CIB 32k game that many would have been interested in. Instead he's giving Kickstarter a cut, being a total weirdo about the whole project now and trying to get anyone who might be interested to take him (sorry I should say "them"?) at a given word that it's all for the best. Not gonna happen around here as mutiple people are already stating. This is starting to smell like he's hiding who the other people involved are and\or might not actually know where he's gonna get the boards for it. I can't see any other reason to be acting like this. Unless he's going the Hozer route, then it would make total sense to hide that from the masses.

[+D Train]

On 1/3/2021 at 5:42 AM, TwentySixHundred said:

isn't kickstarter one those fundme websites that if the pledge pulls out then there is no refunds for the backers?

to the best of my knowledge, kickstarter funds aren't dunned from your account until all pledges have been met.  so a kickstarter project with a $5,000 goal will not take funds from your account until people have pledged a total of $5,000 or more.  if they $5,000 goal isn't met, the project sponsor receives $0.

 

it's my understanding that gofundme and indiegogo will fund a project (and dun money from your account) even if the project does not meet it's goals.

 

as always, micro-funding situations like these are speculative and not a purchase.  many projects that are fully funded never produce the product they were collecting money for;  money collection for many projects, though, do function like presales, with supporters getting the product that they expected.

 

this concludes my TED talk.

[CPUWIZ]

36 minutes ago, Shawn said:

Unless he's going the Hozer route, then it would make total sense to hide that from the masses.

 

Doesn't seem like it to me, it's more like there wasn't much thought put into releasing it.  Especially considering not knowing the costs required to pull it off, you either rip yourself off, or the backer.

 

And if it is, I hope it doesn't end up with the same disaster as the last guy, who did that and ended up committing murder and suicide.  I am actually shocked that lunatic didn't go after Hozer, after their fallout (he tried to sell his last "game" as ROM only for $10.00, but only if 100 people bought it).  Anyone seen a tasteless ad on ebay for Endless Snow yet?

 

I have had nothing but good luck with funding Kickstarter projects, I got them all.  A tiny 3D printer was 5-6 months late, but it was only $160.00 and I had already forgotten about it, because it was almost a year in total.

[Jinroh]

Let me try this again, now that I have had some sleep, and such. x3 Thank you everyone for your responses.

 

@CPUWIZ @Shawn @Swami Everyone else, I appreciate the feedback, advice, and constructive criticism.

 

1 hour ago, Shawn said:

If the dude acted like a normal person instead of becoming a "we" overnight he could have just sold a CIB 32k game that many would have been interested in. Instead he's giving Kickstarter a cut, being a total weirdo about the whole project now and trying to get anyone who might be interested to take him (sorry I should say "them"?) at a given word that it's all for the best. Not gonna happen around here as mutiple people are already stating. This is starting to smell like he's hiding who the other people involved are and\or might not actually know where he's gonna get the boards for it. I can't see any other reason to be acting like this. Unless he's going the Hozer route, then it would make total sense to hide that from the masses.

I will try and address some things, as I would like to hopefully remain a goodstanding member of the community. I was a bit nervous or overzealous before, haha, but 'We' are the artist, tester, and designer, who helped me create the game. We are a bit of a development group amongst ourselves. I could not have made the cute Jinny art and such for the box, well at least in that style, by myself.

 

@darryl1970 Is a close friend, and can vouch for my ability to finish production of the boxes, manuals, carts, etc. He has also been a tester and given great feedback since I started the game back in 2015.

 

I am also good friends with an Atari Distributor and Homebrew Publisher, who has been around for a long time. He has been really supportive and given me a lot of advice since we decided to start this project. If I run into any snags, he is always happy to give me advice.

 

2 hours ago, KevinMos3 said:

I'd like to make a couple of points:
... 
Your Kickstarter page sounds like you still need to design and manufacture PCBs, although I'd assume you'll end up sourcing them through someone here.  Why leave it in question?  That seems like something that should have been arranged prior to the Kickstarter so you'd have a known cost for the PCBs to factor into the price.

Thanks for this, that was a misfire there, that I did not notice. I have corrected it.  
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Quote

The cartridge shells have been amassed for the first production run. Boxes and manual have been designed and quoted by the printing companies and are ready to be ordered as soon as funding is completed. A source for F4 Bankswitching PCBs for the cartridges has also been selected and are ready to be ordered once funding is completed.

 

2 hours ago, KevinMos3 said:

2) I'd really like to see a video of more than just "up to the breadcat".  I'm familiar with the game up to that point as well as the haunted forest after.  I'd like to see some of each level that's been added to the finished game.  In other words, I'd much rather see things I haven't already seen.

The development thread has been updated since April of 2020 (I did not just disappear for 18 months, but maybe I am easy to miss.  ) sections with Chocolat's battle, the Lava Surfing section have been posted in there, but I can post here if you like.

 

I have a good reputation in the feedback forum: 

 

If you have trepidation about backing the Kickstarter, it does not hurt my feelings.  I am happy we can all love Atari stuff together, and if there is a second run, maybe you can pick one up.

1 hour ago, CPUWIZ said:

 

Doesn't seem like it to me, it's more like there wasn't much thought put into releasing it.  Especially considering not knowing the costs required to pull it off, you either rip yourself off, or the backer.

 

I did spec out the costs, but I think my problem is that I am an awkward front man, a great programmer, but an awkward front man.

 

In any case, ramble over, thanks everyone. I hope to see you on Kickstarter, if not, see you around here anyway.

 

Also, here is up to the Bread Cat, in the final version, you can see the additional flashing damage effects, flashing invincibility state for Jinny, story text, and things that you may not have seen yet. I am trying not to spoil too much of the game, but I can make some other videos, if you REALLY want to spoil it. x3

 

There are also TWO difficulty modes, and you need to beat the game on HARD to get the true ending.

 

 

Much love! ❤️

Edited January 5, 2021 by Jinroh

[+darryl1970]

I didn't want to speak for Joe, because I felt there were things he needed to clarify for himself.

 

I could see why a few were skeptical, and I also could tell that Joe mistook the skepticism for Internet hate.  I am glad he had some time to re-asses the intent behind the questions.

 

The hardest part of seeing this was that I know Joe as a very stand-up, generous individual.  I do not say this to sway anybody about a Kickstarter: the idea of Joe scamming people is unimaginable to me. He's a good guy, and I am sorry to see all of the weirdness that came across in the thread. I know that Joe has been passionate about this project since the beginning. This is truly something that means a lot to him.

 

I hope everything goes smoothly Joe.

[Shawn]

Who is the Atari Distributor and Publisher you speak of? One of your mistakes is not putting names to folks involved. When you say people are working with you on something it really helps to say who they are and what they are doing\have done. Your last post does help clear things up quite a bit. Good on your for taking a step back to look at things from a wider view.  In the end you would still have been much better off to release this on your own without kickstarter and without becoming a "we" when speaking of the release. You got ahead of yourself there but I can see you are acknowledging that or it seems you are anyhow.

 

 If I was you, I'd cancel the kickstarter and just sell it on your own. You only have 20 people on board so far with kickstarter. I'm sure those same people will buy with or without kickstarter taking a chunk of the money. Hell, pass the $5 savings per unit onto the customer if you like.

[neotokeo2001]

1 hour ago, Shawn said:

Who is the Atari Distributor and Publisher you speak of? One of your mistakes is not putting names to folks involved. When you say people are working with you on something it really helps to say who they are and what they are doing\have done. Your last post does help clear things up quite a bit. Good on your for taking a step back to look at things from a wider view.  In the end you would still have been much better off to release this on your own without kickstarter and without becoming a "we" when speaking of the release. You got ahead of yourself there but I can see you are acknowledging that or it seems you are anyhow.

 

 If I was you, I'd cancel the kickstarter and just sell it on your own. You only have 20 people on board so far with kickstarter. I'm sure those same people will buy with or without kickstarter taking a chunk of the money. Hell, pass the $5 savings per unit onto the customer if you like.

I agree with Shawn here. Cancel the kickstarter, save that fee and release the game yourself. You can do a pre-order if you need the funds to produce the game. You will probably do much better posting in the Marketplace here on AtariAge then going with kickstarter.

 

Either way, I backed it already and would support you either way. Having released dozens of games myself, I know how hard it can be to bring everything together.

 

Scott Dayton-NEO Games

[Jinroh]

Thanks guys.  The publisher is not officially affiliated, and they have their own 7 new releases coming out. If people end up not liking me, for whatever reason I do not want to affect their business.

 

I appreciate the constructive criticism, and encouragement.

 

Love it or hate it, Kickstarter was a measured decision, it is essentially free advertising that can get the project on eyes that are well outside my sphere of influence.

 

The project has been featured in Kicktraq's top 10 hot list for video games, and front and centre on Video Games Kickstarter bulletin for Monday the 4th.

 

I appreciate the support, the Kickstarter will be seen through to the end, I do not want to pull the rug out from the existing backers, but we will see how it ends up and go from there.

 

I appreciate the words too @neotokeo2001, you have a lot of great releases.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2021 by Jinroh

[Shawn]

2 hours ago, Jinroh said:

 

Love it or hate it, Kickstarter was a measured decision, it is essentially free advertising that can get the project on eyes that are well outside my sphere of influence.

 

 

No it's not free. You are paying them a fee and it's still only hit 22 sales in total. I think it's safe to say Kickstarter is not helping your cause at all.

[Jinroh]

44 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

No it's not free. You are paying them a fee and it's still only hit 22 sales in total. I think it's safe to say Kickstarter is not helping your cause at all.

Haha yes I know, saying it was “free advertising” was hyperbole.

 

Paying a small percentage fee for the exposure and other amenities Kickstarter affords is worth it to me.

 

We are 86% funded in a week, so I think that is phenomenal for an unknown project. I am confident we will be funded, and have had great response.

 

I am not going to keep going in circles arguing over this, there is enough discord in the thread and the world quite frankly. I love you guys, and I appreciate your comments and support.

 

If you want to back it, thanks, if not no hard feelings either.

 

❤️ Love you all for being my AA friends.

[Swami]

On 1/7/2021 at 3:01 PM, Jinroh said:

Haha yes I know, saying it was “free advertising” was hyperbole.

 

Paying a small percentage fee for the exposure and other amenities Kickstarter affords is worth it to me.

 

We are 86% funded in a week, so I think that is phenomenal for an unknown project. I am confident we will be funded, and have had great response.

 

I am not going to keep going in circles arguing over this, there is enough discord in the thread and the world quite frankly. I love you guys, and I appreciate your comments and support.

 

If you want to back it, thanks, if not no hard feelings either.

 

❤️ Love you all for being my AA friends.

I contributed to this kerfuffle as the presentation was more than a bit puzzling and never bought anything off kickstarter, but I did end up buying your game as I have been awaiting it's release. I would have preferred buying it on a little more worn-in method, like AtariAge store, rather than pcbs of unknown origin -- cheap ones have been known to go bad.

[+Pat Brady]

Mine arrived today! Very nice so far. Next time I need to remember to use a Genesis controller.

 

I probably would not have ordered if @darryl1970 had not spoken up. I'm glad he did.

[TrekMD]

Mina arrived as well! 

[+darryl1970]

13 hours ago, Pat Brady said:

Mine arrived today! Very nice so far. Next time I need to remember to use a Genesis controller.

 

I probably would not have ordered if @darryl1970 had not spoken up. I'm glad he did.

I am glad you posted. I have been busy the past couple days, but I've wanted to post my unboxing pics.

 

Thanks Joe! Great job. You really pulled through, despite so many roadblocks along the way.

 

The game plays great, and the graphics pull me into Jinny's world. It has a great classic feel!

 

 

 

 

 

Excuse that the gif capture doesn't handle the multi-color flicker well.

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by darryl1970