http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2018/10/is-gareth-michael-skarka-writing-for.html?m=1
I guess when money it's see/speak/hear no evil.
Well, they've already got my money for Conan, but it looks like that will be all. I get that they may think they're helping him out. He's just going to poison their customer base now, too.
Try starting a boycott for any Skarka employer until Far West is delivered - with a clever hashtag, #noskarka #fartwest etc
Eh, it was inevitable someone would get suckered into re-footing the bill.
Oops. Looks like Modiphus just made the "No Buy" list for me. Shame too. Was really looking forward to buying some Fallout minis.
I am guessing this guy made of with a bunch of kick start money? I am late on the boycott, since I bought Conan, Mutant chronicles, and most recently the Fallout Wasteland warfare game (which to be honest I thought looked appealing, but I mostly did it for the minis).
As a side question, how successful is Modiphius? They seem to own some licenses that have got to cost a fortune (Conan, Star Trek, and Fallout) and i guess they have to make a ton of money. Is it that, or are they owned by someone who just has piles and piles and piles of money?
Quote from: oggsmash;1062440I am guessing this guy made of with a bunch of kick start money? I am late on the boycott, since I bought Conan, Mutant chronicles, and most recently the Fallout Wasteland warfare game (which to be honest I thought looked appealing, but I mostly did it for the minis).
GMS has been pissing off fans for years. To my knowledge, there are three main projects that have helped destroy his reputation in the last decade: ICONS Team-Up, Buckaroo Banzai, and Far West.
Far West was a Kickstarter that funded over seven years ago and still hasn't delivered. You can look up all the details online or even check out the Kickstarter page for it, but the short version of a long story is that GMS has had long periods of silence and constant excuses for why he hasn't gotten the project finished, so much so that they've almost become a meme at this point. Take a look: https://www.mutedhorn.net/far-west-delivery-estimates (https://www.mutedhorn.net/far-west-delivery-estimates)
Buckaroo Banzai was announced around that same time and was supposed to launch in 2012. Pre-orders were taken, but silence is all people have received. At this point I'd pretty much call the project vaporware, and I don't know if any/everyone got refunds on this one. You can see the original announcement for the game here: http://www.adamantentertainment.com/2011/07/18/buckaroo-banzai-is-back/ (http://www.adamantentertainment.com/2011/07/18/buckaroo-banzai-is-back/)
ICONS Team-Up was particularly painful because it's the one project that GMS has delivered, but not in the way many wanted. It was delayed by about two years, and in that time work on the second edition of ICONS started; ICONS Assembled Edition ended up coming out less than a year after Team-Up. Much of Team-Up's content was rendered redundant, and to make things worse no print (or even POD) version was ever released despite people pre-ordering it.
Quote from: Brand55;1062460ICONS Team-Up was particularly painful because it's the one project that GMS has delivered, but not in the way many wanted. It was delayed by about two years, and in that time work on the second edition of ICONS started; ICONS Assembled Edition ended up coming out less than a year after Team-Up. Much of Team-Up's content was rendered redundant, and to make things worse no print (or even POD) version was ever released despite people pre-ordering it.
In addition, he promised $10 store credit to anyone who pre-ordered the print version. Most people never got that credit. So salt in the wound
Quote from: urbwar;1062464In addition, he promised $10 store credit to anyone who pre-ordered the print version. Most people never got that credit. So salt in the wound
I never got my refund/credit for Icons Team Up.
The fact that GMS rips off his customers continues to piss me off but as he's not in charge of the Star Trek project or really any Modiphius project, it appears the end result likely won't suffer. For the time being I'm not boycotting their products, especially since Modiphius has always given me good customer service.
Quote from: MWMattei;1062505I never got my refund/credit for Icons Team Up.
The fact that GMS rips off his customers continues to piss me off but as he's not in charge of the Star Trek project or really any Modiphius project, it appears the end result likely won't suffer. For the time being I'm not boycotting their products, especially since Modiphius has always given me good customer service.
I never got mine either.
I'm not interested in anything by Modiphius, so I don't care either way if he freelances for them or not. I get why people are bothered by it, but personally I don't care
It's amazing how fraudulent assholes like GMS or JMal can keep having rubes falling for them.
who is JMal, and what did he fail to release?
Quote from: remial;1064338who is JMal, and what did he fail to release?
James Maliszewski - failed to release Dwimmermount Kickstarter. Luckily Autarch (Alexander Macris, Tavis Allison) picked up the tab, eventually finished it and released to backers. The backers eventually got what they pledged for but JMal kept most of the Kickstarter money, so Autarch took a big financial hit.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1063352It's amazing how fraudulent assholes like GMS or JMal can keep having rubes falling for them.
You forgot Ken "Whit" Whitman in that mix. The three of them make a fraudulent triumvirate.
Isn't this the second or third time someone has "stepped up" to pull GMS's shriveled sack out of the fire on Far West?
Don't think so? I do not see any mention over on BGG where it is on the list of failed KS games.
It has happened to other KS. Most notable was Cryptozoic helping the designers and artist of Doom that came to Atlantic City after the manager scammed them all. The manager got none of that and is as of last check still under federal penalty to repay. And someone else bailed out Dwimmermont? Z-Man?
Those are the only two I recall.
Just looked it up; back in 2013, Cubicle 7 had stepped in to publish it.
That didn't last long, I guess.
Quote from: Bruwulf;1064462Just looked it up; back in 2013, Cubicle 7 had stepped in to publish it.
That didn't last long, I guess.
Apparently GMS's doodles of various depictions of farm animals engaged in sexual acts wasn't enough for C7 to base a game of off.
GMS apologized, claiming the lack of material was due to emotional distress brought about by the death of his favorite gazelle on Animal Planet.
C7's PR Department has so far refused comment.
Quote from: S'mon;1064340James Maliszewski - failed to release Dwimmermount Kickstarter. Luckily Autarch (Alexander Macris, Tavis Allison) picked up the tab, eventually finished it and released to backers. The backers eventually got what they pledged for but JMal kept most of the Kickstarter money, so Autarch took a big financial hit.
'Yeah but I know a guy who heard someone say he read that Macris dances naked round a copy of Mein Kampf and WHARGLBLARGL!'
Amazing how GMS gets a free pass, and yet Alex, who I don't know, have never met etc etc, seems like a decent guy but is the Piñata-de-jour not just at purple fucktard central, but seemingly anywhere RPGs are discussed. I very nearly created an account on Reddit last week so I could slap down some windowlicker who butted into a thread with the AM = Nazi (sorry, 'supports the far right') crap.
Quote from: Derabar;1064576'Yeah but I know a guy who heard someone say he read that Macris dances naked round a copy of Mein Kampf and WHARGLBLARGL!'
Amazing how GMS gets a free pass, and yet Alex, who I don't know, have never met etc etc, seems like a decent guy but is the Piñata-de-jour not just at purple fucktard central, but seemingly anywhere RPGs are discussed. I very nearly created an account on Reddit last week so I could slap down some windowlicker who butted into a thread with the AM = Nazi (sorry, 'supports the far right') crap.
I guess GMS has the correct opinions, so they don't care if he cheats people. AM has the wrong opinions (eg, there should be ethics in gamer journalism) so it doesn't matter how honourable he is.
From everything I've seen him post AM iseems a nice guy and if associating with questionable people makes you a Nazi I'm sure we're all fucked from some point in our life.
As an aside if you haven't looked at ACKS do so, even a D20 (ancestral or modern) hater like myself thinks it's a tidy game.
As for GMS who gives a shit, you invest in a KS you know what the risks are. I'd rather a shithead good writer with a company that delivers than an angelic keyboard stomper who writes bollocks but he's 'alright'.
Quote from: HorusArisen;1064657From everything I've seen him post AM seems a nice guy and if associating with questionable people makes you a Nazi I'm sure we're all fucked from some point in our life.
As an aside if you haven't looked at ACKS do so, even a D20 (ancestral or modern) hater like myself thinks it's a tidy game.
The diverse* denizens of this board are nearly unanimous in these sentiments, about Alex and about ACKS. Good guy, great game.
*in the honest and healthy sense of the term
Yeah, it shows what the hobby's leftists really care about. Both JMal and Zak took money from Macris and didn't deliver, but cheats are fine as long as the guy you're cheating is a conservative.
FFG is also throwing some work his way with the new L5R.
So.... Shit.
He's been freelancing on other stuff all the way. Freelancing for FFG is just one more.
The despicable thing is the cover-up.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1069224The despicable thing is the cover-up.
Which rpg companies and those running them should know better. With social media and the Internet they can't keep it hidden.
What was the Zak/Macris interaction? I don't recall seeing it.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1069224The despicable thing is the cover-up.
And that's the thing. If Modiphius had just come out and said, "We know this is controversial, but he's an old friend, needs to make a living, and can do what we need fast," it probably wouldn't be such a mess. Choosing to hide from something when you don't really need to always makes things worse.
Quote from: Naburimannu;1069241What was the Zak/Macris interaction? I don't recall seeing it.
Started here:
http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2015/02/were-not-playing-d-with-escapist-ever.html?zx=3f4a57d3fc71e6b8
From my POV, it's Zak being a twat. YMMV.
Thing is. This is really nothing new. Various companies have been hiring him since the KS blew up.
I'd lay good odds some were roped in by his repertoire of sob stories un-aware at the time. But now? After how many years? Feigning ignorance is not an option.
Quote from: Omega;1069533Thing is. This is really nothing new. Various companies have been hiring him since the KS blew up.
I'd lay good odds some were roped in by his repertoire of sob stories un-aware at the time. But now? After how many years? Feigning ignorance is not an option.
Yeah, by now one hopes that they should know. What surprises me is that these companies trust him to deliver!?
Quote from: Naburimannu;1069241What was the Zak/Macris interaction? I don't recall seeing it.
Zak took money to produce a new series of his D&D With Pornstars show for the Escapist, and then rather than finishing it he declared that Macris was an Alt-Right Hatemonger in a public denunciation, and then quit.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1069836Zak took money to produce a new series of his D&D With Pornstars show for the Escapist, and then rather than finishing it he declared that Macris was an Alt-Right Hatemonger in a public denunciation, and then quit.
OK, if Zak kept the money that's theft, but if Zak returned the money that strikes me as a bit of unreliability which frankly isn't far out of the norm? But discussing that any further probably belongs on your forum rather than here.
Quote from: ponta1010;1069540Yeah, by now one hopes that they should know. What surprises me is that these companies trust him to deliver!?
They trust him to deliver because he does. He does good work when he has to answer to someone else. When he can set his own deadlines, he really slows down.
Quote from: Naburimannu;1069855OK, if Zak kept the money that's theft, but if Zak returned the money that strikes me as a bit of unreliability which frankly isn't far out of the norm? But discussing that any further probably belongs on your forum rather than here.
As far as I can tell he was paid on a per-episode basis and just didn't produce anything beyond what he had already been paid for. I don't think he took any money for shows that were not produced. I could be wrong though as I am not hugely informed on the matter, but it looked that way to me on first look. Is anyone claiming he owes them money?