The MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria was introduced as a realistic MMORPG simulation and raised about $7.7 million from fans over the course of 3 years. However, the project failed, and the money is gone. 5 years later, the developer is upset with the foolish media.
How did he manage to raise so much money? The developer Jeremy “Caspian” Walsh always presented his MMORPG “Chronicles of Elyria” as very exciting:
- It was supposed to be an MMORPG where you can age and even die
- The MMORPG was supposed to be realistic; if you eat too much, you would get fat
- It was supposed to be an MMORPG simulation where you can accumulate wealth and become powerful. They promised an MMORPG world where you can lead a second life
Developer gambled away and had to shut down
What went wrong? Caspian is not a trained developer and is a blank slate in the scene. Apparently, his plan was to raise enough money through Kickstarter and from fans to develop a prototype with which he could then convince a publisher.
But that went wrong: No publisher wanted to finance the completion of his game.
When he finally went public with his prototype and showed the game, it caused general disappointment: The game was nowhere near as great as he described, appeared technically outdated and looked dreadful.
Only 4 days after the start of the alpha, Walsh closed his studio.
What happened next? The problem is that the funds from supporters are gone, and lawsuits are looming. Therefore, “Chronicles of Elyria” has been in a strange condition for years: There is no money for personnel to further develop it, but the project cannot be shut down either.
Caspian quickly reopened the studio and continued as a one-man developer.
Developer is angry at the media
This is the latest development: As mmorpg.com reports, Caspian has now talked for 2 hours about the game:
- He wants to hire interns to further develop the game; they could count the internships towards their studies
- He no longer gives out timelines, as he is alone, and it wouldn’t be worth it
He blames the US sites mmorpg.com and massivelyop for the problems: They always report negatively about him and prevent new players from supporting him.
They constantly mention that he temporarily closed the studio.
In any case, negative media is to blame for everything: As an example, he cites the negative reporting on the DLC “Lightfall” for Destiny 2.
The media should rather report that someone is trying to create something out of nothing as a small developer.
In the future, Caspian does not want to comment on the media anymore but only communicate with supporters and verify whom he is talking to. Supporters will need to provide their name, address, and phone number so that Caspian can track who he’s speaking with.
This is what lies behind it: The fundamental error with Chronicles of Elyria occurred 8 years ago. The idea of raising money to develop a prototype and then uncovering more money is extremely difficult.
Players rightly feel deceived because they thought they were giving him the money to develop an MMORPG, not a prototype to find a “real” investor.
Ultimately, it was a project that was far too ambitious and would have cost much more than he could collect through crowdfunding and the sale of virtual land. You can only succeed at that if you are Chris Roberts, not a dreamer.
It is understandable that Caspian complains about the many criticisms over the years. But anyone who has invested even a cent in his project has reason to complain as well.
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