I'm starting to get really tired of lurking around and waiting for updates all the time - I think it's been almost 2 years. I'm getting to the point where I might just try and forget this page and if I stumble across a finished game further down the line then great, and if not, I wish Agashi and everyone all the best.
Hey, just wait a little! we waited for so long because Agashi wants to finish a game wich she's proud of, we waited and life goes on, but from time to time we come back and I'm sure we'll see that the game is released, and seriously, it looks just awesome, the demo still had a few correction needed but Agashi is probably conscious of that and rewrote much more than a few details, so let's continue and indulge ourselves playing it once it's ready
The thing is though, because there's been radio silence for so long, we don't know what we're still waiting for. AFAIK it's been 6 months since any update from Agashi, and we don't know if that time's been spent updating the game, dealing with family stuff, having a personal crisis, being on vacation, or any of hundreds of other things. We don't know what we're waiting for, and plenty of amazing looking projects never get completed, so we also don't know if the finished game will ever actually exist.
None of this is intended as an attack on Agashi, I can't imagine how taxing it would be to have so many strangers on the internet wondering where the hell you've been, and I personally don't blame her for disengaging. But as part of the audience, the longer it's been, the more emotionally taxing it is to still be hopeful. So I don't think it's fair to insist that we still be hopeful. It's not that simple.
I understand, but.. well, I'm not the commenting type but I've been waiting for two years too, and life was going on and I forgot about projects I'm following, just checking like four or five time a year, so I didn't feel like it was that much hard to wait. I didn't mean to offend people who care more than me and want some news, but I was sad, always seeing comments of people wondering how it's going, losing hope, and the more radio silence goes on, the harder it must be for the Agashi to come back and say something, I just wanted to bright all this a little, I meant it like a cheering on to stay patient after all this time we waited already, not like an attack , sorry if it looked like that.
I'm really glad you posted Luvetia. =] I totally get the discouraged posts and all the frustration is 100% justified, I really do understand but I really want to also pop in to support Agashi. I don't want her to be discouraged and give up and think there isn't still interest or that she's making a game that no one is actively supporting. I get where everyone is coming from and respect everyone's opinions as well.♥ I'm going to keep stalking and hoping!
I don't think it would hurt to check in once in a while, really. I think you should check back after a couple months. The last update was on aug 13th and the script was 20% edited so it's (hopefully) coming soon now. I've been following this game for a while now too and since only the editing part is left, I really don't think it's gonna be cancelled. I think the next update agashi will do will probs be with the release of the game.
I just wish there was an update simply so we knew the game was still being worked on.
I don't want to pressure the developer.
Literally the only reason I want an update is because I've been let down so many times before. I've followed so many games which have ended up not being completed that its created this fear now whenever a developer seems to 'disappear' for an extended period of time. My anxiety takes the situation and makes it something irrationally torturous.
I don't know if other people are having the exact same problem, but I guess I just wanted to share my perspective of this. *shrugs*
Just look at the KS. People are literally begging for any communication, people that have payed money and are technically entitled to the info on the status of the project they backed. I fully agree with one of the last posters in that it's disrespectful and rude, and it turns people away - as seen here. Because you can't expect everyone to remain excited and loyal while giving them the silent treatment. "But it makes the author feel uncomfortable!" - wouldn't have happened if there was at least some effort to keep in touch. You lie in a bed you make for yourself. And hiding never helps in the long run.
I hope that the author is ok and that the project gets finished, but it's understandable why people would leave.
Half a*s is more than no a*s.
I'm serious. People are complaining because we don't even know is there is going to be an "a*s" of anything period.
Look at the comments of people who funded this.
"Just letting us know that you haven't forgotten about us, would be good."
"We don't care anymore abou the status of the project, just say you're alive."
"Even if it's just a comment about experiencing delays would be ok, we just want to be kept in the loop!"
Maybe put yourself in their shoes instead. Giving an update after months of radio silence isn't some form of pandering that'll ruin the game's quality. They are not pushing the dev for a rushed game. They are only asking for transparency of the game's progress as it gets done.
They should be demanding not only the game, but the wallpapers, OST, guide, art book, supporting character design rights, and supporting character creation rights. Things they should have already had for what? More than a year? But they aren't and have been willingly patient after multiple occasions of radio silence.
And she gave an apology,
"Hey everyone, first of all, I'm very sorry to have worried anyone... You've all been incredibly patient with us up to this point and absolutely deserve to be kept in the loop..."
only for the apology to be baseless by not warranting any actions of keeping anyone in the loop. Not even the people working with her. There is even another previous apology from a different occasions she stopped updating,
"Okay, so there has been a significant lack of contact from me over here and I really do apologize to anyone who has been worried about their investment.."
And yet she's still ghosting a third time.
If anyone should be frustrated it should 100% be the backers. They cannot do anything to make this situation better. She can.
Edit: Actually, about 288% 👀
Nicely put. It's sad how this game is the first project that many people backed. Some of them has even said that they don't want to back any future projects again. I also follow another game and even though it doesn't get as much followers as this one, the author of that game has update every week. And since this author has many backers, she should have responsibility with them. I understand that she has difficulties in her life but the fact that she apologized and still repeats her mistake just seem insincere. I'm surprise that no backer have call this a scam.
absolutely agreed. as one of these people just asking for a proof of life and to work trust from there, I can guarantee pressure for the game rn is completely sidetracked by worry to how they are doing because well. you dont just disappear from the face of earth for months abandoning a project unless something dire is affecting you. and even then, the five mintes you need to log in and post if only one sentence replying updating, whatever even just saying life has gone shit and we would support and understand. One sentence.
This whole situation feels very one-sided and quite unfair. As much as it saddens me to say, at this point we really have no guarantee that this is not a scam or that the developer isn't just dead.
I get that she has had problems in her 'real' life, but I believe that is not an excuse in this case. This IS real. If she were a fanfiction writer or someone making a game for free with no backing she would have that excuse, but in my eyes she has been payed by backers, this is now her job. By accepting that payment, she has committed herself to fulfilling the promise she made. Any other job and she would have been required to alert someone to the fact she was taking time off in advance, or she would have had to tough it out and continue the project anyway. She has a responsibility to the project, and to those she made promises to.
Fact is, if she were having problems in her personal life, some jobs might allow her to have some days off for personal leave (and even then, they wouldn't allow for such a lengthy absence) , but there are a lot of jobs that wouldn't. She would have been required to work regardless, and separate her personal life from her work life. This behavior would be unacceptable, she would have been fired and/or she would have had reimburse the backers for their contributions by this point.
Again, would like to clarify, I'm not trying to put pressure on the developer, I (and a lot of others) would just like an update to know this project isn't dead in the water.
I feel like (at the very least) the developer owes it to the backers to alert them to what's going on. Even if it's just a message saying something like, 'I had to take a break, but I'm back, working on it again.' Or 'I've had problems, will be taking a break'. Like, if she's working on it still, tell SOMEBODY and they can alert the rest of the community. If you're not working on it, or need a break, or whatever, just TELL SOMEBODY.
The community that has formed for this game has been so ridiculously understanding so far, I think you owe them something back. Just take a look at all the comments, so few of them are asking why the game isn't finished yet, or demanding you finish. The majority I've seen have been comments showing worry, or concern, not anger or cruelty.
If you see this, please consider what I've said.
I get giving someone the benefit of the doubt but people need to remember that this game has a kickstarter, specifically a kickstarter that people gave $11,553 to. People don't mind waiting, so long as there are updates, but damn does this ever look like another take the money and run situation. Probably from loss of interest or personal issues, but when your given over 10 grand to work on a project... Bruh literally just write a single word to your supporters.
I totally agree! It's disrespectful even if they are still working on the game. Especially since Indie authors already have it hard, and it's even more difficult to get support when projects keep getting abandoned like that. She shouldn't do that to her fans and she shouldn't do that to other creators who sometimes struggle to get off the ground because of the bad reputation. I saw a comment from a backer that said out of the four books/games she'd backed, she'd only received one thus far. This does not look good at ALL for crowdfunders and it means that less people will be inclined to back solid projects over time. It's sad because I thought this demo had a lot of promise.
The fact that she accepted money from people she has an obligation now to at least update us. Even if she is making slow progress knowing that there is any every so often feels like less of a burn then leaving us in the dark. Especially if she plans to do future projects she needs to prove she's dependable and someone we can trust to give money to.
Well, that's the "beauty" of kickstarter. She doesn't. Morally - yes, sure, absolutely. Legally - none at all. ;-) But - to her credit - I do not think this was a scam. Many inexperienced (semi) amateur developers just don't realize how taxing the development of a game can become, especially when the initial excitement is gone and it turns into just "hard and boring work every day". Particularly in case of the (very ambitiously) branching product, which grows into "exponential hell" with each and every player's decision made. Imho she knows now for sure she will never finish this but is ashamed to openly admit it to her audience, especially if that audience actually paid her money. And if I'm wrong - I'll be only glad to admit my mistake.
yikes, not even with the new year huh... I had to bite my tongue really hard today bc goodness I did want to write something in the ks page since it looks like our private cementery and they'd never read it anyway, but I get passive agressive won't lead us anywhere (nor will any supporting message for the what we see). At this point you'll forgive me but I need to vent. what a disgrace this project has become; if it's as Elvira says and things won't progress at any pace, at least tell us. Be honest. My mind has ran through all probable scenaries, from truly compromising troubles in their life to the fact they can't keep the project alive but they spent the ks money on whatever and now lol admitting they cant bring this game would mean giving the money back and they cant. I swear I want to trust but I feel they're making a fool of us.
I'm one of the higher tier backers who was promised a character to be inserted to the game. I don't believe this project was a scam-the creator was very active in responding to my emails, gave me several character sketches and even had them redone when she changed artists. We discussed some bits of the world and story, and it seemed clear to me there was more she wanted to show. I'm not going to say being a scam is a complete impossibility, but I have a hard time believing a kickstarter scammer would go through that much effort for that long. Her enthusiasm for the game seemed too genuine for someone who was only after money, but I get its easy to cloak yourself on the net.
The last correspondence I had with her was November 14th, where she was responding to an email I sent on the 13th. In that email, she mentioned having to deal with moving and mental health issues. She said she'd mention these in her next kickstarter update, which she said would go up on November 15th. She thanked me for contacting her and said "it was the final nudge I needed". The date passed and I figured she got busy, and have an update up by mid-December maximum. As we know, that hope didn't come to pass either.
I contacted her through that same email chain on Jan 11th and haven't gotten a reply yet...Things happen, so I gave her a weekish grace period to reply. But it's now the 21st, and I'm frustrated at a lack of reply and worried. To be honest, I want to get in contact with the other superbacker-maybe that'd shed more things to light on the situation. It'd help get closure if it really is the worst case scenario.
Nov 14 has got to be the most recent date for communication I've seen so far. The mental health issues concern me-- I've been there and I know how you can end up in a complete mire and just be completely debilitated. I hope she's on the road to recovery.
I also have no doubt that she sincerely loved this project. No one who does such intricate and interesting world-building is out for the money alone. I would believe it if this was a project with a shallow, uninspired story and cliche characters, with strategically dazzling art to hide behind-- but that's never been the case here. (Not that the art isn't dazzling, but it has a strong foundation.)
I'm sorry you were one of the high tier backers and it looks like there will be no payout for your investment anytime soon. You and every other backer.
I personally still hope for the game to be completed, even if it does take a long time. And I hope even more that Agashi is well.
Wow, thanks for posting this. It is nice to know as of at least November she was ok. I am one of the backers posting on the Kickstarter page, and honestly - mostly I am worried about the creator. I also don't think the game was a "scam", I think she has likely just got bogged down in real life.
I hope - despite all the posts and questions - that they are doing ok, and that this isn't causing more stress. I think all anyone is wanting is to know they are ok and for regular check-ins.
Yeah I'm a backer too (nowhere near as high tier as you though) and my main concern is the creator. I get burnout and I get mental health issues all too well, and I realise it must be really demoralising for Agashi to potentially open another update with "sorry for disappearing". I know because I've been there (not with anything as high stakes as developing a Kickstarter game). She was also super helpful when I didn't receive the wallpapers, so I'm totally aware that she cares a ton about this project.
I followed the Queen's Crown tumblr until that stopped being updated after the first disappearance, and I remember being concerned with burnout even then. I know those types of "character reacts" blogs are very popular, with Ebon Light doing something similar, but it was being updated very regularly and the only ones I see update that regularly... are the short-lived ones. That being said, aside from someone saying her twitter updated in early December, no one's heard from her in ages - even, "hi guys I'm alive but there's been little progress on the game" would be useful. A lot of successful KS games usually do monthly updates - Zodiac Axis is an example of one even when the updates are "we've had to take a giant step backwards" they always update. And I think if Agashi returns to this project (assuming she's left it a little), that sort of routine might be helpful to both us backers and herself. I don't care if Queen's Crown is perfect or not, hell at this stage whether it gets finished or not (though I think Agashi probably still wants to) - regular updates, even if it comes to "sorry I have to abandon this project, here's the half-finished game", are all we need.
I don't have a specific date, but I talked to the author once last year (pretty sure it was at the end of september)
she helped me with an issue I had with a user online (I didn't even know it was her at first, needless to say, when I saw her bio that she was the author of the game I was really excited)
After thanking her for the help I enthusiastically told her I was really looking forward to the game (didn't know beforehand of the kickstarter and such, I played the demo when it was out during valentine, loved it, and I had an habit to go through the tumblr of the game from time to time (where she wrote some imagine scenarios with the LI, but without spoilers))
She was really happy to tell me the development was near its finishing point (or something like that, I can't remember exactly tbh)
I remember going through a slump at the time and not keeping the conversation (with anyone for that matter). I have to admit, I do feel bad for that, I was honestly really excited to talk to the game developer (cursed depression that kicks in at the worst times.....).
I tried looking through my mps again but couldn't find it and then I saw her profile (on that page where we talked a bit) was deleted
I just hope she is alright...
Ok so I've checked and here's the current status of events:
The last time she's been active on Lemmasoft was November 26th 2018. Facebook: February 14th 2017. Tumblr: (both personal and official): 11 months ago. The latest she appears to have been online has been December the 6th 2018 on Twitter- she was replying to someone updating the current water quality of the area she presumably lives in (apparently it was inedible or smt and the situation cleared up-here's the thing tho. Her twitter says that her location is in Dallas, Texas. The Kickstarter says Irving, Texas. But the water situation thingy was in Atlanta-Did she forget to update her location, or what..?).
The last time she updated Kickstarter was 13th August 2018. (& before that, updates tended to come every 2 months)
I just really don't get what's going on. Of course I hope she's safe. But even if she's got a depression or smt similiar grave, she has the responsibility to at least INFORM us about it! Even if the project gets abandoned, at least be responsible enough to give people their money back, or delay the project. People are about to report you to Kickstarter, man. Like, you don't even have to give us an update on your own, you could also let a representative do that if you're not ready yet. Welp I just hope that if you can't continue on with the project, that you could at least let somebody else finish it, since we were all looking forward to it..but that's not what is important right now. Transparency is the most important thing between a creator and their customers. I just hope that you update us asap, or your reputation as a creator will get severly tarnished, which I really hope doesn't happen because you've created such a fantastic game, and we'd all be so incredibly excited to see what else you've got planned...but that future can only be realized by you actually talking to us. You don't have to be afraid or ashamed, no one will attack or harm you, we genuinely are worried about you, and just want to know that you're ok, and if you start being open and honest with us, I'm sure that we can work out a solution. But communication is a two-way street. If there's no way for us to contact you, then we'll have no other choice but to want the money back. I just hope you're doing okay.
Everyone who has worked on the project includes:
Agashi - Project Lead, Creator, and Writer
Nero279 - Sprite Artist
Saitoki1582 - Secondary Sprite Artist
Harliqueen - Graphic Designer
ShojiAmasawa - Logo Designer
Potouto - GUI Artist
Lady_Luck94 - Character Concept Artist
Noyemi K - Composer
Barzini - PR and Marketing
Atomic-Invasion - Promotional Artist
Bonesy - Programmer
I'm looking into how to contact them all, but it'd all go faster if you'd help me, please!
Agashi is listed as a story consultant for the Royal Alchemist. Which, important to note, is different from writer and a bit less essential, so any contact from Agashi to the rest of the Royal Alchemist team may be sparse. If none of the other contacts pan out, we can try asking them for more info, although I don't expect much. Communication with them might well have been dropped too.
Got in contact with the RA team. According to them, Agashi's last contact with them was in mid-October. She had to "cancel" her contract with the team due family issues that resulted into major health issues. She still wanted to help out, but couldn't anymore on frequent basis. They haven't had contact since.
Does this sound similar to what you found hiraeth? To be honest, I fear something happened with her husband and kid.
Oh my God. I seriously hope nothing happened to her family, that would be devastating. I wish we could contact her somehow and help her..And yes, everyone I contacted told me that they last spoke to her in fall~winter of last year. Oh lord I'm so worried..Thank you so much for asking, though!! But damn, hopefully everything is gonna be alright..
I think it you check out Lemmasoft Foums, you would find most of them. But as has been said, they may not know any more than us.
So, just a quick look:
Nero279 - Sprite Artist - https://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=7169 (no last active date)
Saitoki1582 - Secondary Sprite Artist - https://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=27846 (active)
Harliqueen - Graphic Designer - https://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=29349 (last active 2017, but active on Tumblr about her new project)
I assume the others will be on there too.
