Tag: Jason Appleton

Crowdfunding Update: Greed Monger Delivering Refunds To Backers


Greed Monger is a bit of a touchy subject here at MMO Fallout, considering it’s one of the few games that we outright refused to publicize should it ever reappear on Kickstarter, but we have some positive news on the game and its creator Jason Appleton. While Appleton may not have had much success creating video games, as evidenced by the crowdfunding and subsequent fall of Greed Monger, the man does appear to have more of a conscious than your average failed Kickstarter project and a willingness to right past wrongs.

That, and an impressive portfolio of cryptocurrency, because Appleton has taken a step extraordinary for Kickstarter creators and has begun extending refunds out of pocket. Backers have received updates over the past week or so letting them know that they can submit refund requests that will be processed through Paypal (or Bitcoin if that’s your preference). The refunds have started flowing, with Appleton noting that he is limited to $2,000 per day via Paypal restrictions on transfers.

Thank you guys for being patient. Its not easy coming up with 6 figures to repay donations to a passion project. But we are going to get there.

Backers interested in receiving refunds should check out the link below. Appleton took the time to post on Massively’s coverage that this controversy had been weighing on his mind for years and that in retrospect he understands the skepticism of the original campaign.

“As for the Refunds, yes, this has been a plague on my mind for many years and finally being in a position to make it all right has been a huge load off. I truly believed this project could be done. I thought everyone telling me I was crazy for even thinking it to be possible just jealous for having gotten funding from KS. Knowing what I know now, I realize why I was branded as a scammer from before the KS even ended. If I saw me today, trying to Kickstart a similar project , knowing what I know now, I’d think it was a bullshit cash grab too. I was just very ignorant and too trusting.”

(Source: Kickstarter)

Greed Monger Officially Dead…Again


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Greed Monger has once again been cancelled, leaving everyone who pledged the over ninety grand out of luck, again. The MMO was Kickstarted to the tune of ninety grand, only to face development issues and eventual cancellation under Jason Appleton and Electric Crow Games. Appleton handed over the title to ex-employee Jason Proctor who has, in turn, announced that the game has been cancelled.

After careful consideration giving GM’s track record and the number of people we still have in the community we have decided it’s best to put Greed Monger to rest for good. There is no way that Greed Monger could support it’s self with as small of a user base as we would have.

We’ll have to see if this is the last time that Greed Monger is momentarily resuscitated. For now, it appears that the game is back where it was always headed, the defunct category.

(Source: Greed Monger)

[Column] As Far As Greedmonger Goes, No.


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Greed Monger is back! Yes, that Greed Monger. The one that was funded on a dream and a promise, by developers that had neither the funding nor experience in order to create said vision, only to crash and go under to the tune of $100 million in backer funds. The one by Jason Appleton who threatened to sue MMORPG.com because people were saying mean things on the forum back in 2013. As far as MMO Fallout plays into this, I mostly refused to cover the game as a general rule once a developer starts throwing legal threats around.

So now the game is back up and running by James Proctor, and our official stance on it is: No. If Greed Monger runs another crowd funding campaign, we will not cover it. If anything, as I have said before, the previous incarnation of Greed Monger is likely to pop up again in our coverage should another crowdfunding campaign appear. If they post dev blogs to promise new features, we will not cover that either.

This isn’t an ultimatum. If the game can prove itself to be a real, functioning product, we may resume coverage. Yes, I realize that MMO Fallout isn’t a big website and isn’t as much of a move and shaker as the big websites are. I’m not writing this as a threat, but to be forward and honest with our readers.

Greed Monger Cancelled, Taking $90 Grand In Pledges With It


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Greed Monger the game is officially dead, taking with it the over $90 thousand in funding with it. In an announcement posted on the game’s official board, James Proctor revealed that a necessary investor had bailed out on the project, leaving his company without the funds to continue development. The good news is that assets and pledges are being saved, should Proctor ever fulfill his campaign to create an MMO.

ALL of GM’s Custom Assets will be saved until the time comes that we have the funds to make things right with you guys. When the time comes that we are ready to attempt another MMO ALL KickStarter backers will be notified of our plans before the general public and ALL Land pledges, Crafting Station Purchases, ect. WILL be honored.

The last we heard from the crowd funded MMO, Electric Crow Games suffered a falling out among its staff, beginning with revelations that CEO Jason Appleton had using the threat of legal action to keep Proctor on board. Appleton later announced his own departure, and that development of Greed Monger would be handed over to Proctor and his team. Not even two months later and Proctor is already throwing in the towel.

Greed Monger has been rife with controversy since its Kickstarter easily hit and tripled its target goal. Should Appleton or Proctor return to Kickstarter to fund a future project, Greed Monger will no doubt be a relevant issue.

(Source: Greed Monger)

Jason Appleton Departs Greed Monger, Signs Over Game


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Electric Crow Games founder Jason Appleton has announced that he is departing development of MMO Greed Monger and signing the game over to James Proctor. In a message to Kickstarter backers, Appleton applauded Proctor’s work effort while blaming his own pride for the controversy surrounding the game and its team.

Id rather see the backers get their due and the game launch than me be able to say “I told you I could do it!”. This is beyond pride at this point. Its not about making money. It’s about the game.  I’m not selling Greed Monger to them. I’m giving it to them to finish.

All things Greed Monger will now be handled by MMO Interactive with Joel Hager taking over PR. In a post on the game’s Facebook page, Proctor thanked the community for their support and patience.

The support that the GM community and KS backers have shown thus far is such a blessing. We are more committed than ever to deliver a top-notch product. Some more exciting news to come… Stay tuned.

Greed Monger’s drama began just before the weekend when lead dev James Proctor publicly announced his departure from Electric Crow Games. In his announcement, Proctor revealed that while he intended to resign from his position as early as two years ago, that Appleton had threatened legal action against him should he leave. Appleton responded with his own allegations towards Proctor.

Developer Interdiction Studios was in initial talks to take over Greed Monger, but decided not to go forward.

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(Source: Kickstarter)

Greed Monger Fallout: Jason Appleton Responds


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Yesterday we reported that Greed Monger, the sandbox MMO funded via Kickstarter, had lost its lead developer James Proctor. Proctor, in his departure notice, revealed that he had attempted to leave the studio two years prior, but was stopped due to legal threats by Electric Crow Games founder Jason Appleton.

Appleton has posted a response on the Greed Monger forums in which he claims to be the victim, alleging that Proctor was “impossible to work with,” fired employees and wasted money on experiments, and “never made a single deadline.” Both sides are in the process of threatening to post, or have posted, chat transcripts detailing their rocky relationship.

Jason Appleton’s complete response is below.

(Source: Greed Monger)

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Ex-Greed Monger Developer Reveals Lawsuit Threats


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Greed Monger dev James Proctor has announced via Facebook and the official forums that he is no longer employed at the indie dev.

Effective today I am ending ALL association with Greed Monger, ElectricCrow Games, and Jason Appleton… I want to say thank you to all of the supporters and community. You guys have been great! You will not be forgotten and I promise you I personally will see to it that I make things right with you guys! I will have more details on the usual channels as things proceed.

According to Proctor, Jason Appleton threatened to sue him when he attempted to leave the development team two years ago for “personal reasons.” While all we have is Proctor’s word for the moment, the allegation would line up with Appleton’s history of legal threats against MMORPG.com, specific users, and Wurm Online, over negative discussion about Greed Monger and Appleton himself.

(Source: Greed Monger)