Vaporware?

People should be realistic here. There certainly must be some major malfunction in the design/production of the prototype(s). This exhibit is a joke. He should have just showed up with a couple of story boards, a few key promises and an open hand for games 6, 7 and 8.

A fool and his money...

I'm just wondering why he would even need a booth for that showing. Perhaps he expected to bring more when he bought the spot. At any rate, I would recommend that all pinheads stop crowdfunding these guys. With his resume, he should have easily found VC (if he didn't already have a reputation for practicing "Perfect is the enemy of good").

My prediction is a financial collapse before the first machine is delivered.

From wikipedia:

Achieving absolute perfection may be impossible and so, as increasing effort results in diminishing returns, further activity becomes increasingly inefficient. Watson-Watt, who developed early warning radar in Britain to counter the rapid growth of the Luftwaffe, propounded a "cult of the imperfect", which he stated as "Give them the third best to go on with; the second best comes too late, the best never comes."

You are seeing the failure of OCD behavior. The stuff he was working on was not good enough so he basically blended a bunch of other successful brands as a form of crisis management.

This guy has failed and you all should admit it and make a run on the bank to end the pain.

You "owners" had better hope he's not suffering depression. This is the kind of thing that can really send someone over the cliff. For all we know, he's drawing and throwing away a hundred sketches a day:

All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.

IT's called, cranking it out. At this point, JPOP should be absolutely on the verge of a fatigue breakdown because of his 100+ hour work weeks. No more talking, no more designing, no more storyboards and art proofs. Pick something he has from a year ago and go with it.

Anything else is prolonging the agony of failure. GOod luck to those of you who have been buying his food, fuel and rent for a couple of years longer than you offered. Maybe he should send you all a parting gift of a fat tube of KY.

I'm never going to worship some guy whose name was on some nice pin from 20 years ago with 7 or 8 other people that actually made it happen. If Steve Ritchie promised a pin out of his garage in 2 years to everyone who ponied up 10 grand would you think he could do it as well? I'm just glad I never fell for any of this "pre-pay the master" bullshit or I'd be over there getting my money back in person.

You guys still waiting with baited breath are just lying to yourselves. The December reveal will be another total letdown.. I guarantee it. And to think how you all just shared his come-to-Jesus moment as if that meant anything at all. One big pile of remorseful BULSHIT does nothing to produce a couple hundred machines. It's all flat out dreamland nonsense to keep the suckers from suing him into bankruptcy.

At least that's my take as an impartial observer. Thanks for the entertainment.

I agree with this, but you don't need a lawyer yet. Just a short note stating the contract has been breached and demand for refund within 30 days.

After 30 days you can decide where and how to sue. Just think how an endless series of depositions could delay any limited progress that might otherwise may have been made. One difficult "pre-buyer" could really reduce the chances that anyone get a game.

No, I think Kaneda lives in one of those 200 sf NYC rat box compartments so I'm pretty sure he isn't making that up.

If I remember, he was living with his GF so he turned his apartment into a mini arcade and then she broke it off when she saw what he did with is apartment.

Hater is a pejorative that is used to deflect from the point of an opposing view and make it about the person extolling the view. Every single time you see the word "hater", the person tossing it out has already lost.

Most people don't care enough to hate. I know I don't.

I'll gamble with a bid of $1000.

.. or not.

- Debbie Downer

Please keep in mind that designers usually make poor engineers. Engineers usually make poor business managers and good business managers usually make poor anything else.

Or maybe you meant conscience.

A thousand here, a thousand there. Pretty soon you are talking about some real money. Just keep on betting on the come and soon you will be rewarded.

The Magic 8-Ball says, "I have my doubts."

But seriously, folks, how can anyone be anything but seething if you are $27k deep on the first 2 projects and he's out running around bragging up designs and chasing the benjamins on AIW? The stall tactics should be pretty obvious in less than 45 days. If MG and RAZA don't have major reveals by the end of January, you guys had better get your demand letters in before the ponzi collapses.

Maybe if all you "owners" bash the shit out of him again, he will trickle you out another little apology and promise to do better "this time". I am so surprised how you all think these 1-man shops are too busy to communicate. Let me assure you that they do not communicate because their operations are a total clusterfuck consisting of:
unpaid vendors
unfinished designs
disgruntled helpers
disgruntled customers
disgruntled vendors
cash shortages (as evidenced by downline project $$ collection)
and an overwhelming attitude of superiority and disdain for all those who dare question their abilities.

In other words, you 'buyers' all have become artists' patrons and have simply paid for the pleasure of the artists' company. If there was something to report, it would be reported. As it is, it is. You know it deep down just as you are confident that Nigerian Prince Aboobie will reward you 10-fold if you just send him another 5 grand.

And I can not tell you how much I wish I was wrong, but RD said it best, there are 20 people getting credit on TOM and JPop is suffering the delusion that he did it all.

BTW, if you want to see a guy who CAN do it all, check this out:

http://www.junkyardcats.net/

Why can't a boutique just grab this completed design and produce it?

I can't believe how great the rug reveal was. I take back everything negative I said in this thread.

confidence schizophrenia - I think you have discovered a new mental illness.

1. Losing money on a venture like this would likely not be covered.
2. With business insurance, if you do file a successful claim for something like this, they jack your rates and make you pay it back over time.

Business insurance is a lot different than the insurance many of you might be used to.

Another innovation: The ringmaster has fangs and a new hat - very impressive.

You'll get all those answers in the bankruptcy filing. Perhaps you "owners" should start one:

http://bankruptcy.lawyers.com/commercial-bankruptcy/facing-involuntary-bankruptcy.html

Creepy cyber-stalk alert!

IOW a cohesive, great design including all the elements of a great game will always sell. A ringmaster with fangs and a turban??? Maybe.

It means bullshit scam so we can charge you money and erect barriers to market entry for our competition. It's like UL.. totally unnecessary (depending on your sales and distribution).

WHat exactly does the video show that wasn't already known?

This is incorrect. He is a complete business idiot to let his customers get this riled if he has something to show. If he really doesn't have anything to show, then he is a complete idiot in more than one way.

THis would be the benefit to all of us "non-owners" if you "owners" end up forcing an involuntary bankruptcy: We all could order MG and RAZA from Stern for half the original retail price. It would only take 3 disgruntled "owners" to get the ball rolling.

http://bankruptcy.cooley.com/2012/05/articles/business-bankruptcy-issues/forced-into-bankruptcy-the-involuntary-bankruptcy-process/

^^ denial is obvious. "Put anyone on ignore who does not say I am getting my game."

In fact, concretehardt is an anti-chicken little. The sky is never falling:

I think the only reason Stern even cares about licensed themes is because it basically guarantees a certain number of units sold which mitigates risk. It also reduces the creative requirements which I'm sure are very costly. I'm sure they would happily sell original, Stern-trademarked themes if it was less risky and costly than licensed themes. Sadly, the licensed themes are less risky and that's why you end up with machines like Mustang.

I guess I am dumber than a bag of hammers. Please tell me what above disqualifies the plea? I'm not scared away by your name calling. Are you suggesting there is not a group of 3 creditors or whose unsecured claims do not total $14,425? Help a poor sack of hammers out.

Maybe you just don't want to address this because you don't have a form template to have your secretary fill out. Pfffttt.

All the "artist's patrons" are arguably creditors at this point. I believe there are more than 12 and I'm quite certain that there are more than 3 with about $16k down on MG. You are a stereo-typical, know-it-all d-bag. Do you win in court by name-calling your betters? Oh, that's right, you just fill out forms for a living.

This has absolutely nothing to do with taking sides with "jpoop the scammer". Please turn off your mass media programming device that makes you think in terms of white and black dichotomies. Just because one guy made a bad financial gamble, it doesn't mean the other guy is more right or more wrong.

Don't worry, you can now go to sleep for 45 days until March 1 rolls around and you will be saying the exact same things.

The longer projects like these drag out, the more likely they are to end in abject failure. It's pretty pathetic when the playfield doesn't have a single hole drilled into it. Does JPOP even have his own CNC router to run them? I simply cannot imagine who would be willing to run these 20 to 30 piece runs at some reasonable price. Mainly because I don't think there is anyone who wants to work with this guy since he has been outed as some sort of OCD whackjob that only cares about the hinges and managing an artist.

I think all you buyers completely overestimate Jpop's ability to manage a project from inception through product delivery. Wasn't it Steve Ritchie that said he couldn't finish anything he started? Just wait until the problems of production start percolating. Who will he have to blame then? I'm predicting the MG's will get done sometime in 2016 (right around the time that RAZA owners force him to sell his IP in an involuntary BK). I also bet the gameplay will be screwed because the coding will suck. Oh, I believe RAZA will be made. It will be made by either Stern or JJP once the asset forfeiture sale goes down.

I've worked with guys like Jpop. They are good at blaming everyone around them when things go wrong and their even better at taking credit for a team effort. I bet he hardly did shit on all those pretty games that play like ass.

I'm not worked up at all. But that wouldn't be the first time you were wrong, would it?

THat's clearly NOT a pinball playfield. Take a look here: http://www.classicplayfields.com/store-playfields.html

Do you notice anything different?

I especially like the "dunk the zombie" play on RCT and all the unlicensed characters that will be half covered with something. You buyers must really be relieved after seeing this collage of ideas. I'm sure the production line is already firing up.

Actually it's really sad to see people grasping at absolutely anything to hold on to the idea that all this nonsense will end with an actual game being shipped. I might even buy a print of that poster shown above (if it was in color).

That's OK. I'm sure you will unhide my inciteful posts when you see them. It's like a car wreck. You know it would be wiser not to look, but look we all do.

The nuance of my diction is difficult to pick up even by those readers whose first language is English. Certainly solarvalue understands my skillz.

All images copyright 2015.. at least you know what he has been working on the last three weeks.

My lord, no mention of any move toward production. This guy truly has lost it.

Maybe you could get some t-shirts and posters... if you made them yourself. Jpop has absolutely no commitment to producing anything.

Does anyone know what engineering resources zidware has access to? Once the prototypes are done, I'd say there was at least 4000 hours of engineering specification required to get parts mass produced.

A designer and an engineer require almost opposite strengths. The weakness you see in zidware is primarily due to the absence of engineering strengths.. along with the absence of strengths in all areas of business as well.

It's not like I'm saying he's going to fail. I'm saying he's already failed.

I thought groundhog day wasn't for another week.

Deleted post.

_{Post edited by SadSack: Venting empathetic frustration not helpful.}

There really aren't many koolaid posters left. I'm just sorry for how all the negativity of this entire fiasco has reflected off me.

Rumor has it there will be production MG games at Texas Pinball Festival... Oh wait. I'm the one who's starting the rumor.

On the rug reveal.... not! I'm thinking of brokering betting lines on MG, Predator and TBL. How many permutations are there of First, Last and NEver?

Everyone gets mad at me for questioning a likelyhood of mental illness. I just can't imagine the burden of carrying on an abject failure with no positive end in sight. Whether it's denial, ego-mania, OCD, or something completely different, certainly there is a cog missing on the gear.

Do you think he forgets his lies or is his failure to acknowledge his failure purposeful deceit?

Every time I see the pejorative "haters" used, I know who lost the argument. "Haters" is a term that's used when one simply cannot formulate an effective argument and rather than admitting their own argumentative weakness, they project their own feelings on their superior opponents.

Hate away, haters!

What's funny about this whole episode is the artificial classification of interest levels. The "owners" are now forming a secret group to do an "out-of-court" restructuring because His Excellence and Royal Highness Our Dear Leader Iceman has gotten to the bottom of it and given the unruly JPOP a good talking to.

WHat a joke this entire escapade has become. It would absolutely be laughable if so many people weren't on the verge of losing so much money.

Also, does anyone find the parallel universe with SPFXTed and SkitB more than coincidental?

It's great for these guys to jump up and lead, but I find their reassurances nothing other than more of the same through a 3rd party. Why must the limited communications always consist of gunnados instead of duns?

His point is valid. With vendor lock-in and no access to an outside programmer, you would be free to set your price. Vendor lock-in is always a concern. I'm a lot less concerned about the form of the questions than the substance.

I think we have a really big misconception on this board understanding the difference between "negative" trolling and valid concerns. I , too, wonder how FAST has all this slack time to volunteer programming your controller for the love of the game. I never thought "love of the game" could pay for rent or groceries.

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