Yes but I know Jon personally and I'm very very familiar with the development cycle of Civilization V.  He's a good guy, a great game designer and worth supporting.

I'm very familiar with how people interpret things on the net.  Last time I checked, I was some sort of monster who treated my coworkers as "whores" (as one person put it).  What you read online is rarely even remotely accurate to reality. Even interviews where they're supposedly quoting things. The more you know about the gaming media, the more like you are to not pay attention to it.

See ya..but I cant find an internet video of you pimping out your employees in some dark ally somewhere. Through the miracle of Youtube I can go back and watch video casts of Jon Shafer demoing the civ 5 AI like 3 days before release. Blanently lying to the customers about how solid the game is..a game which as I recall crashed at least a few times during that particular demo. So while I apprecaite your man love for each other..it doesnt change history. You've sheltered him from accountability and now are working some other smoke an mirrors game now to distance yourself from him..."cause in this economy no one passes on a solid concept and a "great game designer". And this great kickstarter experiment? so last biennium simpsons and 1000 other devs who flopped did it.

To fail is human..you be a better friend to him by encouraging him to come clean and lead with the truth.

I think we had this same arguement when you hired him..oh what tangled webs we weave.

Will there be salted pork in this game? If not Im not buying since not having salted pork is against my religion.(And Offensive)

On topic I will watch how this game comes along and if I like what I see I too will chip in to help out.

I thought I read that Civ 5 was a huge commercial success actually. Huh. 

Anyways, At the Gates certainly looks like an interesting proposition. Lots of cool concepts in there, and after playing Dom3 I don't think I'll ever be dismissing a game because it doesn't have super flashy graphics. Changing resource management depending on seasons? Yes please.

This game is definitely right up my alley. I have been waiting a long time for a game like this.

I love the time period and your new game concepts seem very intriguing.

I wasn't thrilled with Civilization 5 TBH (still don't like it) but I am very excited about this one.

I'll be contributing to Kickstarter for sure. The only question is how much.

Wow, really cool stuff!

The concept of having to keep armies supplied is very interesting and, unfortunately, underused in contemporary gaming.

Having the landscape change so drastically with the seasons is an innovation in turn based gaming I have never seen before. It seems so natural and obvious it's surprising it hasn't been utilized sooner.

The art style reminds me of a polished The Battle for Wesnoth for the iPhone, which is no slam against your team's talents, that game is beautiful. Personally, that it looks like an upscale iPhone game would stop me from buying it for $30 but I'd pay $10 all day long.

I'm not sure how the producer side of Kickstarter works so I'll just throw out that, as a consumer, nothing above the $25 pledge appeals to me. You're all very attractive and smart but I would not pay $500 to group chat with any developer, especially an indie developer (I would think an indie developer would do that for free as a form of advertising), and why I would pay the developers $5,000 to write an article promoting the game and the game's developers (and at $5 a word) seems like an inside joke.

I have already emailed some friends who I know will be interested in the game.

Really cool!

Othello

Looks very cool jon. The concepts behind the game sound sick. The whole seasons idea is really cool. I haven't seen anything as grand as it since the old Civ 2 games with the ice ages.

Thanks for your support guys! It's great to see a 4X game get so much love and attention. I really believe that Kickstarter and smaller studios are the future of the business, and hopefully we'll be able to do our part and contribute to that.

- Jon

There is a lesson for all the kids out there..dont work hard. The quality of what you actually produce doesn't matter. Just make sure you buddy up with insiders in your industry and you can make an annual working mans wage in a month. Anyone who actually works a job instead of gaming the system is a moron.

You have chosen... wisely. But, beware: the Gamer cannot pass beyond the Great Seal, for that is the boundry, and the price, of immortality. 

Supported! Well the only other game that's around this period was an expansion to Rome Total War, there should be more games out there that dive into this period. Looking forward to seeing it for beta next year! Also congrats on making your goal. I wonder how much you will end up with. 

Also to Haters- who has the final say when a game goes out PUBLISHER NOT LEAD! EA let go most of the writers near the end of ME3 development... Its a rough world. With small companies there is no HEY DONE YET! or we know your in beta but we are canceling and oh ya your footin the bill, or release it NOW! I wasn't a happy camper with the launch but now its in very good shape and the modders will always out do devs. But we thank the devs for making the game. Also you sign paper work so you can't talk about your work otherwise they SUE you. If you have a family to take care of you shut your mouth. Yep its a wonderful world we live in.

I assume you're talking about a different game, 'cause At The Gates looks pretty cool.

But I defy anyone to not agree with the sentiment.

Sofia Copula, Jakob Dylan, Jesse Dylan, Julian Lennon, Kate Hudson, Dhani Harrison, Brandon Lee, Zak Starr, Stella McCartney.

You don't get Elvis Costello to play on your debut album unless your father is Bob Dylan.

And you don't get a Tom Waits photo-shoot or a Will.i.am video unless Bob Dylan is your father.

I work in that industry and would agree that with the right people behind you (powerful friends), you don't need to put in the mileage.

I'm not disparaging anyone's output, but fact is fact.

Coming from Stardock and Firaxis, I'm sure some heavy pocket books opened up for the Kickstarter, but they would not have if the guy was a jerk. So the moral to take away is: don't burn your bridges and make a product people want to buy.

- Othello