KickStarter Aw shit, West Games is going at it again - STALKER Apocalypse

[St. Toxic]

Call me when it reaches 3 million. (And the money is used to finance actual combat operations in Ukraine)

 

[potatojohn]

Consider S.T.A.L.K.E.R sto... er, took the name and concept from the movie Stalker, this seems entirely appropriate

Do you mean the original 1979 movie? I never knew it was translated in english.

And the game has almost nothing in common with it. The movie is just... trippy.

lolwut

The Stalker (Alexander Kaidanovsky) works as a guide who leads people through "the Zone", an area where the normal laws of physics no longer apply – to encounter "the Room", said to grant the wishes of anyone who steps inside. At home with his wife and daughter, the Stalker's wife (Alisa Freindlich) begs him not to go into the Zone but he ignores her pleas. In a rundown bar, The Stalker meets his next clients for a trip into the Zone; "the Writer" (Anatoly Solonitsyn), and "the Professor" (Nikolai Grinko). The three of them evade a military blockade which guards the Zone, attracting gunfire from the guards as they go, and then ride into the heart of the Zone on a railway work car. The Stalker tells his clients they must do exactly as he says to survive the dangers which lie ahead, and are invisible. The Stalker tests for "traps" by throwing metal nuts tied to strips of cloth ahead of them.

 

[Grimwulf]

Consider S.T.A.L.K.E.R sto... er, took the name and concept from the movie Stalker, this seems entirely appropriate

Do you mean the original 1979 movie? I never knew it was translated in english.

And the game has almost nothing in common with it. The movie is just... trippy.

lolwut

The Stalker (Alexander Kaidanovsky) works as a guide who leads people through "the Zone", an area where the normal laws of physics no longer apply – to encounter "the Room", said to grant the wishes of anyone who steps inside. At home with his wife and daughter, the Stalker's wife (Alisa Freindlich) begs him not to go into the Zone but he ignores her pleas. In a rundown bar, The Stalker meets his next clients for a trip into the Zone; "the Writer" (Anatoly Solonitsyn), and "the Professor" (Nikolai Grinko). The three of them evade a military blockade which guards the Zone, attracting gunfire from the guards as they go, and then ride into the heart of the Zone on a railway work car. The Stalker tells his clients they must do exactly as he says to survive the dangers which lie ahead, and are invisible. The Stalker tests for "traps" by throwing metal nuts tied to strips of cloth ahead of them.

That's all true, but the movie scenario was actually written by a book. Brothers Strugatski. While the game was inspired by the same book, while implementing it's own ideas. Since I don't know the book's english title, it's

Братья Стругацкие "Пикник на Обочине"

 

[taxalot]

Yes. It is a vague adaptation of a novel called A Roadside Picnic. There was supposedly a more litteral adaptation in the works. I am not sure what happened to that.

 

[Grimwulf]

Yes. It is a vague adaptation of a novel called A Roadside Picnic. There was supposedly a more litteral adaptation in the works. I am not sure what happened to that.

This.

Both the book and the movie were about alien shit, don't want to spoil it much. Not a single word about actual world, Pripyat, Chernobyl, etc. The game made it's own lore, while making references to original source of inspiration.

Still, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a product of it's own.

 

[Stereotypical Villain]

I have Lost Alpha, I don't need another Stalker game.

 

[Silva]

Both the book and the movie were about alien shit

The book yes, but the movie never cited the origins of its Zone, did it ?

 

[Grimwulf]

Both the book and the movie were about alien shit

The book yes, but the movie never cited the origins of its Zone, did it ?

I'm not 100% sure. IIRC the movie was all about the book. Can't remember the ending tho.

But it definetely wasn't Chernobyl.

 

[iZerw]

In the movie nobody knows for sure: some say it's aliens, some say it was just a meteorite. It did not mater actually. And script was rewritten like eleven times special for Tarkovsky so the book and the movie are nearly completely different things.

 

[Lyric Suite]

You guys realize that the film has nothing to do with science fiction, right? The movie is chiefly about faith and spirituality and how those contrast with the two pillars of modern western civilization, namely science and art. The "zone" is a metaphor for human life itself.

 

[Grimwulf]

You guys realize that the film has nothing to do with science fiction, right? The movie is chiefly about faith and spirituality and how those contrast with the two pillars of modern western civilization, namely science and art. The "zone" is a metaphor for human life itself.

The Stalker guy wanted to make people believe in things he wasn't sure about himself. "Gotta have faith" and all that. I can't say I find the whole point of the movie reasonable.

In any case, the anomalies, the Stalker concept, and a lot of minor details were imported from the book unchanged.

 

[Goat Vomit]

You guys realize that the film has nothing to do with science fiction, right? The movie is chiefly about faith and spirituality and how those contrast with the two pillars of modern western civilization, namely science and art. The "zone" is a metaphor for human life itself.

Yeah, it definitely wasn't a film about alien artefact collectors. I'm not sure if I agree with you that the zone is a metaphor for life, it seems to be more than that to me. The contrast between the mundane grey life and the colourful beauty of the zone seemed more allegorical of a church or a pilgrimage to me, maybe just spiritual tradition which brings you closer to the truth in general? It was a bridge between the higher mysteries and the physical world.

Maybe I'm wrong though, I haven't read any interview with or books about Tarkovsky or anything and I'm quite bad at interpreting symbolism. Mind expanding on why it is a metaphor for life? The fact that the zone was sealed off from the people by the government seemed to be pretty strongly about soviet oppression of Christianity to me. Not sure about the wishing room though. Yeah I probably got it all wrong.

 

[Silva]

Whatever. The movie is shit.

Both the book and videogame are ten thousands times better than that religious piece of maniqueistic crap. It made me feel guilty and sinner just for not understanding the point. Like that damn father giving sermons in Latin from my youth.

 

[QuestionMan]

This https://wfunder.com site
was created by the West Games.
This is clear scam.

P.S They can increase amount of fund manually to get other people money. And then just... you know. Nothing good will happen after.
P.S.S "Trailer" looks like "look we have Unity 3D, we make stuff." i can't see any of the Unreal Engine there.

 

[Grimwulf]

This https://wfunder.com site
was created by the West Games.

Browsing this website, I feel like I'm in GTA internet. This whole wfunder is so ridiculous, it could actually fit in the game in it's current state.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Wait what? How could I miss that thing? I though they were using KS? Routine kills....

 

[Lyric Suite]

Whatever. The movie is shit.

Both the book and videogame are ten thousands times better than that religious piece of maniqueistic crap. It made me feel guilty and sinner just for not understanding the point. Like that damn father giving sermons in Latin from my youth.

Little kids talking big about things they have absolutely no understanding of. Where am i again? Ho right.

 

[St. Toxic]

The movie is clearly about Communism v.s Capitalism; the Stalker guides two capitalist observers into the wonderful world of Soviet Russia, where anything is possible provided you listen and believe.

 

[Talby]

Get out of here, STALKER.

 

[Garryydde]

No. This does not cheeki breeki.

 

[Astral Rag]

Forbes reporting:

Kickstarter 'Areal' Scam Is Back With 'STALKER Apocalypse' On Shady New Crowdfunding Site


What do you do when your video game Kickstarter project is shut down at the last minute because it was such an obvious scam?

Apparently, you start your very own crowdfunding site and then feature your new and improved video game scam there instead.

West Games tried to raise just $50,000 to build the “spiritual successor” to cult-hit S.T.A.L.K.E.R. earlier this year. They called it Areal.

I covered the Kickstarter pretty closely, and even tried (mostly in vain) to interview the developers and get them to answer some very, very basic questions about their “game.”

And yes, I put the word “game” in scare-quotes because still, to this day, West Games has not shown off anything even remotely resembling a video game. This time around the developer is asking for more money—$600,000—and they’ve got more concept art to show, though little else.

It also appears that their attempt to scam backers is shadier than ever.

The scam runs deep in this one.


First of all, the website they’re using to crowdfund this time around is called World Wide Funder. You can find it here. A bit of digging reveals that the domain has only been registered since September of 2014. The registrar is private. How interesting.

Glance around the front page of WFunder and you’ll notice a lot of Eastern European projects, just like West Games’ new STALKER knock-off. But you’ll also notice some projects from the US and from places like New Zealand.

Let’s take a look at the New Zealand project “for a new building.” Zero dollars are pledged out of “4.” And the language used is the same broken English much of the Areal Kickstarter had in its updates and moderator comments:

“New Zealand to fund for a new building ( Marae ) will estimate all up of $3,5000.00. This building caters daily for all Activities. This building is well over a hundred years old, it has had more second hand updates and face lifts.More than 200 people can go through this building every week which means it is used daily for all charities,furnerals,birthdays,Holy communions,other families ( Hapu’s ) out-side the Area and further afar. This marae ( Building ) dose not charge for the use of the building, facilities,voluntry.A Donation is what the people of this hapu/ nation accept. “

The video attached to the project is just a news report from YouTube. Many of the other projects are just as bad, though West Games has obviously put more effort into some than others.

The scrolling header at the top of the WFunder page has two pieces of stock photo and one banner for STALKER Apocalypse (Areal 2.0.)

None of the other projects are promoted. Most of the projects don’t even go into detail on who the project creators are. Like this social network for animals. There’s literally nothing about who is behind it at all. Fortunately for us, “The development of new features and a mobile application is relatively straightforward, so if we reach our funding goal, then we are confident that we can deliver. We’ve gained a lot of experience from developing websites like Animalbook, and we know that this is well within our development capabilities.”

Most of the “funders” on projects with any funds appear to be sockpuppets, and there is no admission anywhere that West Games and WFunder are the same entity, or run by the same entity, though it doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.


Space Pioneer returns.


But perhaps most interesting is the page for Project TOOL. This, it turns out, is the revamped Space Pioneer crowdfunding project, run by one Max Kovtun out of Las Vegas Nevada. Space Pioneer failed to meet its goals on Kickstarter, largely because it was a total scam, used other peoples’ artwork, and basically followed the same exact formula as West Games’ Areal scam. (Though it had the neat twist of claiming to involve a bunch of actual astronauts or cosmonauts etc.)

Space Pioneer was originally the work of studio Space Enigma Studios. It was registered out of Las Vegas, NV by Max Kovtun. West Games is registered out of Las Vegas, NV by a Leonid Kovtun. (Though the registration has lapsed.) West Games claimed over and over again to have no knowledge of who Max Kovtun was, and refused to shed any light on who Leonid Kovtun is and how he is related to West Games and the Areal project. That the two men are related is not only obvious, it’s proven. They both were involved in a civil case against Harrah’s in Las Vegas, according to court documents.

Now they both appear on WFunder, though again there is no mention of either of the Kovtuns.


Here we go again!


This is the same tired scam run by the same players, only this time they can’t be shut down by Kickstarter since they’re running WFunder.com.

When I covered Areal, the developers were overtly hostile. They blamed FORBES’ acquisition by a Hong Kong-based investment group on my apparent “sloppy” reporting. They accused anyone who covered them critically of being corrupt and taking money from their (apparent) competition. They claimed Vladmir Putin sent them a letter of support. They had no gameplay footage and most of their screenshots were concept art, yet they claimed the game was in Alpha. The screenshots they did have were from Unity sample packs. (You can read more about that here.)

West Games refused to answer even basic questions about their tiny budget, claiming they’d already raised enough out of their own funds and only needed $50,000 more. Now they’re asking for $600,000. The refusal to answer questions or show any semblance of transparency was bad enough, but the developer lied blatantly to backers and to the press.

Of course, the list goes on!

Toward the end of the Areal Kickstarter, since they couldn’t shut comments down they flooded the comment section with spam, making it impossible for anyone critical of their project to comment whatsoever. Then two mysterious pledges of over $10,000 each boosted their funding over the $50k mark, and for a moment I thought they’d walk away with their ill-gotten gain.. It was obvious these were fake pledges, and finally, at the last minute, Kickstarter shut down the project. Just in the nick of time, as it were.

Yet here we are again, with West Games and their studio boss Eugene Kim claiming to be the true heirs to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. legacy despite having their team having virtually no experience with those games. The very existence of many of the members of West Games is up in the air.

I plan to reach out to West Games once again to ask them about this new project, though I doubt very much I’ll hear back. I’ll continue to update this story accordingly.

You can read my very long account of Areal here. You can read my interview with Eugene Kim here. And you can delight yourself with the atrocity that was Areal over at Kickstarter—the updates alone are entertainment gold. The new scam page is here.

And remember, this isn’t Kickstarter. At Kickstarter, if a project doesn’t fund, backers don’t lose any money. At Wfunder, no such protection exists. Careful with your cash people.


TL;DR Version:


West Games had their Areal project canned by Kickstarter because it was so suspicious. Instead of just building a video game on their own, the developer appears to have set up their very own crowdfunding site, WFunder.com. The mysterious Kovtun brothers have *both* their projects—Areal and Space Pioneer—on this new site, though under new names. These guys are determined to once again convince fools to part ways with their money.

I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.


Update: Another notable red flag: West Games claimed over and over again that they’d developed their own proprietary engine, despite all their assets having come from Unity. Now they’re claiming to use Epic Games’ Unreal Engine because: “Using an existing game engine allows us to greatly speed up development and add features that we otherwise wouldn’t have time for. Right now, we are utilizing all assets and models that we have access to, and use them within the game world as temporary “rough drafts”, which will be replaced as development continues by optimized assets that are of the highest caliber in terms of quality.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai...er-apocalypse-on-shady-new-crowdfunding-site/

 

[LESS T_T]

A Legal opinion on the trademark: http://gamasutra.com/blogs/JasPurew..._trademark_controversy_STALKER_vs_STALKER.php

Back to West Games:

The fact that there are registered trademarks (even if not totally bulletproof) for "S.T.A.L.K.E.R" does not bode well for a competing "STALKER" series, particularly where the trademark owner is very invested in protecting those rights against the newer studios (legitimately) making similar games. The fact that West Games does not use '.' in its game name probably isn't enough. The fact that 'stalker' is a frequently used word in English and other languages probably isn't enough. The fact that their new game is so similar to the original game series is a problem.

For completeness: as best I can tell from the US TESS and the EU OHIM trademark databases (which between them cover everything that matters in the Western games industry, frankly), West Games has NOT yet applied for any West Games or STALKER trademarks, notwithstanding what they have said publicly. It is possible they are still very new and being processed, but I can't see any public evidence of them yet.

But it gets even more complicated:

As some folks have pointed out to me, even if the situation between GSC Game World, West Games and the other successor studios was clear (which it isn't), there are other legal problems affecting STALKER:

(i) The whole concept of 'stalkers' derives not just from the book 'Roadside Picnic' which I mentioned earlier, but also from the 1979 film 'Stalker' by the Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, which itself was based loosely on Roadside Picnic. It seems that certain legal rights flowed from this film, but the relationship between it and the original STALKER game series (if any) was never quite made clear.

(ii) When GSC Game World shut down, its German publishing partner Bitcomposer claimed that it had all the rights to STALKER, but again it wasn't clear where they came from: a publishing contract? A licence of rights from the Stugatsky or Tarkovsky estates? Gamasutra looked into in 2012 in some detail here.

Both of these seem to make any game called 'STALKER' that much more complicated still.

 

[WhiteGuts]

The Areal kickstarter wasn't a scam though. It was just VERY poorly handled.

 

[Jick Magger]

“New Zealand to fund for a new building ( Marae ) will estimate all up of $3,5000.00. This building caters daily for all Activities. This building is well over a hundred years old, it has had more second hand updates and face lifts.More than 200 people can go through this building every week which means it is used daily for all charities,furnerals,birthdays,Holy communions,other families ( Hapu’s ) out-side the Area and further afar. This marae ( Building ) dose not charge for the use of the building, facilities,voluntry.A Donation is what the people of this hapu/ nation accept. “

Wonder if they actually can name the building that is, or what city/town they wanna build it in. Pretty sure there'd be some effort by the Maori party or locals to get funding for it in the paper or something to double-check.

 

[taxalot]

Some people just want to believe and they will give money however scammish this looks like to be.
I am surprised Nigerians scammers from Uganda or Russian Brides have not been jumping on the opportunity so far.