They Say They’ve Been Improved: The developers of Funtastic Studios are back with a new game following the scandals surrounding their zombie creation “The Day Before.” In a manifesto he described himself as “Fantastic 2.0” and pledged to establish honesty, transparency and professionalism as pillars of his future work.
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By Fantastic Manifesto (PDF) For example, developers promise that they will communicate more openly in the future, will not do excessive marketing, and will no longer rely on volunteers for QA tests. All of these promises are attached to Fntastic’s new game: “Escape Factory” looks like a mix of “Fall Guys” and “Party Animals” in an industrial setting. The game will be financed through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter,
Return only if Kickstarter is successful
Financing the game is apparently of utmost importance to the studio: “Unfortunately, if the Escape Factory Kickstarter campaign does not reach its funding goal, we will not be able to return,” Write in FAQ to developersIn this case, the promised crowdfunding amounts will be returned, as is the case with Kickstarter.
With a target donation amount of 14,000 euros, the Kickstarter project based around the “Escape Factory” is not particularly ambitious. So far, 38 supporters have pledged 2,000 euros. There are still 26 days left. Fntastic has also defined additional stretch goals if the crowdfunding amount exceeds the minimum value. If the team raises $50,000, the game will be optimized for the Steam Deck. A Switch version is available starting at $200,000.
fool me once…
To have at least the slightest chance of success with the Kickstarter project “Escape Factory”, Fntastic should apologize for past mistakes. “Everyone deserves a second chance,” the studio said on its website. Fnatic’s latest title, the online zombie game “The Day Before”, was shut down just days after release. According to their own statements, the studio lacked the money to continue operating the shooter.
Even during its development, “The Day Before” sparked numerous controversies – from reports of unpaid testers to trademark disputes. Marketing materials promised an exciting online shooter at the AAA level – but the release version of the title was practically unplayable. The studio says it did not make any money from “The Day Before”. It is said that all the buyers have got their full money back.
“Valuable Lesson”
“We’ve analyzed the factors that led to the failed launch of ‘The Day Before,'” Fntastic writes on its website. “These include overly ambitious goals on a low indie budget, a team with no AAA experience, and inflated marketing, which we deeply regret.” The studio talks of a “valuable lesson”.
In fact, Fntastic has learned something: compared to an open-world MMO, “Escape Factory” is a much more practical game concept that can realistically be put together even by a small team. You can also download the free demo on Steam as a taste test if you want.
Meanwhile, suspicious players have discovered that Fntastic used external game assets and public Unity code to create the Escape Factory demo. This is not reprehensible in itself – The studio has had related information removed from the Steam forums.On the other hand, the already questionable development doesn’t cast a particularly good light on the studio.
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