Quote from: Nerzenjäger;1115018Thing is, if James ever returned to Grognardia, he would quickly regain an audience. In this time probably an even bigger one than at the tail end of 4E, when he stopped blogging.

I certainly know I would read him again. However, I didn't back the KS, so I'm not a disgruntled investor.

I didn't back him, and I wouldn't read his gaming publications. You can be the best game designer in the world, but if you are going to steal from people, especially gamers, you won't be designing any games for me.

Quote from: GameDaddy;1115021I didn't back him, and I wouldn't read his gaming publications. You can be the best game designer in the world, but if you are going to steal from people, you won't be designing any games for me.

He ran a blog. Other than the Cursed Chateau, I never read any of his gaming products. Too vanilla in a bad way.

Quote from: Ratman_tf;1114964Forgetting is foolish. Mazilewski. (?) has shown that he's not reliable, and anyone who trusts him with a kickstarter again is a moron.
I'm empathetic to the situation he was in, but his handling of it was bone-headed.

Rat, Mistwel and Spina are close to my own opinion.

Dude fucked up. He should have owned it. Until he owns it he will be dogged by it and even after he'll get shit.

But his fuck up is a very human fuck up. All he has to do is be honest. He got in over his head and procrastinated and doubt snowballed. That's not a bad person and being embarrassed by it is normal. Contrast that to actual fraud, where the people have no intention of delivering. That shits harder to forgive.

I worked with James in the past doing cartography including the outdoor maps in Dwimmermount. I also helped Autarch in a minor capacity mainly by making the final versions of the maps I submitted earlier. I also put out the idea, which was adopted, that the text and cartography of Dwimmermount be made open content. Figured for all the trouble this caused the hobby, folks should get something more than just finished work.

I am with Bryce on this. The remaining issue is James taking public responsibility He has the forum as Grognardia undoubtedly still gets hundreds if not thousands of views a day. Even with that, nobody will trust him with a kickstarter again.

This issue continues to be aggravated by his semi-public behavior. For example posting on Google+ but limiting them to specific circles*. Writing articles for website like Black Gate that are peripherally connected to the mainstream hobby. Either one of these would not be an issue except for he hasn't apologized or explained his actions during the kickstarter.

When it all said and done there is no reason why he can't be a one man band and release whatever interests him without the wardogs of the internet hounding him. His fuck up was definitely the kind caused by somebody who got in over their head and wasn't able to cope.

Unlike another kickstarter screw up I was involved with fixing where virtually nothing was done and half of the money dissipated.

*Even Before the kickstarter screwup, James was subjected to persistent attacks beyond straightforward criticism. However a public post can be made with comments and other forms of feedback disabled. So that isn't an excuse not to write an explanation.

As for James being a thief, I refer to this post.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/autarch/dwimmermount/posts/434984


To be clear this doesn't absolve James of criticism, his actions (inactions?) cost Autarch plenty to see this project to completion. It just being a scammer and stealing from backers is not one of them.

Quote from: Nerzenjäger;1115018Thing is, if James ever returned to Grognardia, he would quickly regain an audience. In this time probably an even bigger one than at the tail end of 4E, when he stopped blogging.

I certainly know I would read him again. However, I didn't back the KS, so I'm not a disgruntled investor.

I think if he cleaned up his act and made amends then sure. But instead he has in the past doubled down and just made things needlessly worse for himself. Its like with Gamezone and HQ25. All they had to do was just admit that the stretch goals meant that there was no way they could make the initial deadline. That and stop tinkering with the rules at the proberbeial 12th hour, over and over and over. And antagonizing backers on top pf that. Now they are facing court in Barcelona and it all may come crashing down on them.

Self inflicted wounds.

Quote from: estar;1115033When it all said and done there is no reason why he can't be a one man band and release whatever interests him without the wardogs of the internet hounding him. His fuck up was definitely the kind caused by somebody who got in over their head and wasn't able to cope.

I think it is how he handled this rather than the money issue that cause him the real damage. Gamers can be absurdly forgiving when it comes to money. But treat them poorly, insult them, ignore them, threaten them, or any other bad behavior certain designers have committed and you can end up with grudges that haunt you a long long time.

Probably not helped either by the sheer frequency KS designers use some emotional turmoil as an excuse for delays sometimes spanning years. Or in one or two cases, a decade. The sympathy well has been bled dry for an increasing number of KS backers with the misfortune to end up backing one of these.

I agree than an explanation of the why things went wrong would help. Though after so long and no real statement its just allowed feelings to fester and making this ever more difficult.

Last year a designer I'd helped playtest his game for ran a KS, the second for him. Afterwards there was a delay, then more delay and silence. Finally he came forward and let everyone know the delay was due to having to change printer companies and the new factory needing all the files in a different format.

Things like these is why I never want to do hobby for money. Once you start charging, you have a responsiblity to getting the products out there, dealing with customers, all that jazz.
More power to those who choose that route, but it's not an endeavor for those who are ill prepared. And the gaggle of amateurs on Kickstarter really drive that home.

Quote from: estar;1115036As for James being a thief, I refer to this post.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/autarch/dwimmermount/posts/434984


To be clear this doesn't absolve James of criticism, his actions (inactions?) cost Autarch plenty to see this project to completion. It just being a scammer and stealing from backers is not one of them.

So, he is entitled then to the profits for mismanaging this project so badly? From what I understand he had some rather pressing medical and other bills at the time, unrelated to gaming, and that he used some of the Kickstarter funds for that before seeing the Kickstarter completed. Was I misinformed?

Quote from: GameDaddy;1115049So, he is entitled then to the profits for mismanaging this project so badly? From what I understand he had some rather pressing medical and other bills at the time, unrelated to gaming, and that he used some of the Kickstarter funds for that before seeing the Kickstarter completed. Was I misinformed?

I am not privy to those details you will have to ask one of the folks at Autarch.

What I do know that a substantial portion of the Kickstarter funds were turned over. And because he was no longer participating meant Autarch incurred additional costs both real and opportunity. It wasn't the same as what I experienced dealing with the Judges Guild kickstarter where after a certain point the money just disappeared.

Both cases are not ones where the creator never did anything from the get go or immediately started spending the KS cash on irrelevant items. Both started with the creators intending on following their plans then spectacularly crashing on a subsequent turn. Then compounding the issue by walking away from the wreckage without an explanation.

Unlike certain individuals who never bother moving off the start line or immediately take a left turn and drive out of the stadium.

If he used some of the kickstarter funds for personal use in this particular instance it was a minor issue compared to the issue of him not doing the work. Again you will need to ask one of the Autarch folks for a definitive answer on the finances.

Quote from: Omega;1115040I think it is how he handled this rather than the money issue that cause him the real damage.

I concur.

The only thing I will add that with open content license, print on demand, inexpensive stock art and PDF distribution means that the fallback isn't nothing. There are always options. Hobbyists are starting to know this. Thus finding excuses for nothing being produced rightfully unacceptable.

James and I had worked together for over a year when he published a series of columns called "Days of High Adventure" for my old website, The Escapist. He was always timely and professional and we thought well of each other. I was the one who approached him to do a Dwimmermount Kickstarter. Autarch was riding high on the success of ACKS, megadungeons were hot, Grognardia was the #1 blog in the OSR, and Kickstarter was still a new business model -- the most important difference being that back then, it was quite common to Kickstart a product that *would* be written, rather than to Kickstart a product that had already been written and needed art and layout. When we set up the Kickstarter, I erred in estimating the timeline to completion for the product, as I thought Dwimmermount was more developed than it was. We also get overzealous in our expectation of what could be delivered as bonus goals.

Worse, when I wrote the contract between Autarch and James, I structured it badly in that Autarch had taken the money and had the liability to the backers but transferred all the funds to James. This was simply bad business judgment on my part justified by what I expected to be a big hit coming out of a smooth and reliable process of development and launch.

Working with Tavis Allison as project manager, James completed approximately half of the book and spent approximately half of the funding. At that point, a confluence of events occurred. First, as the book fell behind schedule, critics began to unleash a firestorm on James, blasting the quality of the work, his skill as a designer, and his position in the OSR. Second, James suffered a serious of personal family and medical misfortunes that would have been difficult for anyone to handle. The combination of the two led James to retreat from the project. For a time, he retreated from all communication, which put Autarch in a very awkward situation: We had a liability to deliver books to over 1,000 people but we had neither money, nor a finished product, nor even the right to proceed without James.

Getting back in touch and sorting it out took a while, but ultimately James made it possible for us to finish the book. I completed the last half of the product and we shipped it, about 2 years late. Overall, Autarch lost $20,000 on the product. I do think Dwimmermount ultimately came out as an excellent product and am proud that we finished it. I wish it hadn't come out so late and with such a damaged brand, because I don't think it's ever gotten the love it deserved since.

Thanks for sharing that.

Quote from: bryce0lynch;1114947It's great that fucking up will haunt him for the rest of his online life and that you'll never let him forget it. I hear that's what life is all about.

And this is why you should post anonymously, boys and girls!

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;1115101And this is why you should post anonymously, boys and girls!

...or not, in case you happen to be doing the right thing like Alexander did! It's good to know actually what happened firsthand and whom to hold accountable for what. For example, if I had known previously that "Autarch" was Alexander, and that it was he who had made, at great personal sacrifice, the effort to ensure that Dwimmermount was completed and distributed as promised, I would have been much more likely to pick up that copy of Adventurer, Conqueror, King at GaryCon the year before last when he handed me a copy at his booth, just to help him recoup his costs. Just as I won't support game designers that take money without permission from others, I'll go out of my way to support game designers, and publishers that do help other gamers. I'll be seeing you in March, my friend, and will bring some extra cash to pickup ACKS and a few other supplements to help you recoup your previously unplanned expenses. Wish I would have known the actual details about this earlier, Thank You for sharing.

Rob, Thanks for letting us know about Bob Jr. Unlike with James, where I knew some of the background details, I had no idea what actually occurred with the Judges Guild Kickstarter, and am not happy to hear that substantial funds vanished. I suspect something similar happened to Bob Jr., as the funds from the JG Kickstarter probably became available just exactly at the time that extra expenses were incurred in the form of bills. I do know Bob Bledsaw Sr. is turning over in his grave over this one, and if he were still here now he would likely be cruising through the household looking to lay an ass-whooping on his wayward son along with anyone else who might have been misguiding him.  

That said, obtaining publishing services on credit, probably wasn't the best idea for the original Judges Guild. This was, of course, totally manageable, but only right up until the time that TSR pulled the D&D license from Judges Guild. After that popular support for Judges Guild products declined as TSR quit focusing exclusively on publishing D&D rules, and began publishing adventure supplements and campaign settings, that were directly competing with the offerings of JG.

Also Rob, if the comment about "...not getting off the starting line" were in any way directed towards me, for say, ...not helping Bob Bledsaw, Know this now. He explicitly gave me permission to write adventures and additional supplements set in the Wilderlands back in 2004, and I did help him, by explaining to him the actual details and implications of using the d20 license in republishing the Wilderlands campaign setting. Even in 2004 he was the kind of guy who believed that a real man kept his word, and that he could do a business deal on a verbal agreement. He was the kind of guy that believed everyone who could publish gaming supplements should as the successes of one game publisher boosted the others, and this was based on his direct experience publishing in the early days of the D&D boom. In 2007 everything I told him back in 2004 came to pass, as WOTC pulled the original d20 license, forcing all of their publishers to accept a new, much more restrictive deal, and this forced a great number of d20 publishers to close their doors, because of the added expense of rebranding to accommodate a new gaming license. This also affected Necromancer Games, (and Bob Sr.) in that they could no longer reprint any of the d20 Judges Guild games and supplements that they had republished between 2004 and 2007.

Interestingly at his funeral, there were some in attendance of his memorial that believed I was there with the express purpose of trying to capitalize on his demise, and there was nothing at all to that. I attended solely to pay homage to his lifetime of contributing to my well-being in the form of the games and supplements he had published over the years that kept me focused on being creative, and out of the trouble that so many of my peers fell victim to being out on the streets. One good thing did come of my attendance, in that I ended up meeting Bill Owens, as we both stayed in the same Hotel in Decatur. I consider him a good friend now, and he lives in South America, I think just outside of Buenos Aires, and owns an Olive Grove there. He still games too, but mostly wargames.