After a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2018, developer Eggnut released their post-noir narrative adventure Backbone in June 2021. Sadly, they've decided not to go through with the official Linux support on it.
This is a crowdfunding campaign that did very clearly have Linux down as a platform from the beginning, so it's not the best of looks. Especially to get the announcement that it's no longer planned eight months after the initial launch. What's the reasoning being given? Here's what they said in the Kickstarter announcement:
We're very sorry to announce that we won't be porting Backbone to Linux in the near future. We did our best to do it in-house, but it took immeasurable amount of time and effort, and making it work properly would require creating a dev environment to work in which we don't have the resources for because we're deep in production for our next game. We are not in the financial position to hire another party to do the porting for us. We absolutely understand the frustration these news might bring, and we're ready to offer you these solutions:
For backers, they've offered a key for any other platform or a full refund if you prefer. That is at least a lot better than some, as we've seen plenty of other projects decide not to do Linux after including it in funding and not offer anything. Still, it's a frustrating situation, especially to be told they don't have a development environment set up for it — after being in development overall for multiple years and already being supported on Windows for over half a year.
What about Steam Play Proton, can you run it there? Reports seem mixed on it, although there's not many, with the big problem being cinematics not playing.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can also follow my personal adventures on Bluesky.
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areamanplaysgame 13 Feb 2022
Don't.
Crowdfund.
Games.
If you support a game on Kickstarter and it ends up like 99% of everything else on Kickstarter, you can't really be surprised.
Crowdfund.
Games.
If you support a game on Kickstarter and it ends up like 99% of everything else on Kickstarter, you can't really be surprised.
1 Likes
areamanplaysgame 13 Feb 2022
I'm not entirely sure they were referring to a GNU/Linux setup for that, but rather a software development process and allocation of "resources" (i.e the time/cost of actually assigning someone to it).
That's how I read it too. Unfortunately then it turns into, "I know I took your money for this thing, but I can't get it to you because now I'm too busy taking someone else's money for something else."
1 Likes
Cyril 13 Feb 2022
Don't.
Crowdfund.
Games.
If you support a game on Kickstarter and it ends up like 99% of everything else on Kickstarter, you can't really be surprised.
Stop.
Telling.
Lies.
[https://www.gamingonlinux.com/crowdfunders/](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/crowdfunders/)
2 Likes
areamanplaysgame 14 Feb 2022
Don't.
Crowdfund.
Games.
If you support a game on Kickstarter and it ends up like 99% of everything else on Kickstarter, you can't really be surprised.
Stop.
Telling.
Lies.
[https://www.gamingonlinux.com/crowdfunders/](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/crowdfunders/)
Good point. Enjoy funding the next 10 "failed" or "in development" until it is no longer "in development" Linux games on Kickstarter. I'll stick to paying money for things that someone is actually obligated to deliver.
0 Likes
Eike 14 Feb 2022
Good point. Enjoy funding the next 10 "failed" or "in development" until it is no longer "in development" Linux games on Kickstarter. I'll stick to paying money for things that someone is actually obligated to deliver.
Enjoy playing the games others have made possible on Kickstarter.
Last edited by Eike on 14 Feb 2022 at 7:44 am UTC
2 Likes
areamanplaysgame 14 Feb 2022
Good point. Enjoy funding the next 10 "failed" or "in development" until it is no longer "in development" Linux games on Kickstarter. I'll stick to paying money for things that someone is actually obligated to deliver.
Enjoy playing the games others have made possible on Kickstarter.
What is this? Some kind of guilt trip?
If the games are good and in line with my tastes, I will indeed enjoy them. I don't feel any kind of bad whatsoever for not backing them on a crowdfunding platform. The fact that I pay for them when they exist is enough for me, and should be enough for anyone buying any product.
2 Likes
Eike 14 Feb 2022
What is this? Some kind of guilt trip?
If the games are good and in line with my tastes, I will indeed enjoy them. I don't feel any kind of bad whatsoever for not backing them on a crowdfunding platform. The fact that I pay for them when they exist is enough for me, and should be enough for anyone buying any product.
Well, you might admit that you're actually benefiting from those that - against your repeated explicit advice - backed Linux games in Kickstarter. You could even thank them.
I sure do: Thanks for all those who backed Linux games on Kickstarter.
2 Likes
areamanplaysgame 14 Feb 2022
What is this? Some kind of guilt trip?
If the games are good and in line with my tastes, I will indeed enjoy them. I don't feel any kind of bad whatsoever for not backing them on a crowdfunding platform. The fact that I pay for them when they exist is enough for me, and should be enough for anyone buying any product.
Well, you might admit that you're actually benefiting from those that - against your repeated explicit advice - backed Linux games in Kickstarter. You could even thank them.
I sure do: Thanks for all those who backed Linux games on Kickstarter.
What I said was if you back something on Kickstarter and it fails, you shouldn't be surprised. It happens a lot.
Also, no, I don't think I'm going to thank someone else for doing something in their own self-interest. Nobody else backed a game on Kickstarter so I could buy it on Steam. Nobody's thanked me for creating demand by buying indie games on Steam, either, and I don't expect them to.
0 Likes
Eike 14 Feb 2022
What I said was if you back something on Kickstarter and it fails, you shouldn't be surprised. It happens a lot.
Well, according to the statistics we got [here](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/crowdfunders/), it seems a success actually happens a lot more.
Also, no, I don't think I'm going to thank someone else for doing something in their own self-interest.
Well, if their actions help you as well... But I see you've chosen. *shrug *
2 Likes
areamanplaysgame 14 Feb 2022
What I said was if you back something on Kickstarter and it fails, you shouldn't be surprised. It happens a lot.
Well, according to the statistics we got [here](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/crowdfunders/), it seems a success actually happens a lot more.
Also, no, I don't think I'm going to thank someone else for doing something in their own self-interest.
Well, if their actions help you as well... But I see you've chosen. *shrug *
But my actions help them, too!
The goal of developing a game is to have a game to sell when development is done. Backing a project on Kickstarter isn't even buying a copy of the game. It's giving devs money in the hopes that they will deliver, which they are *not obligated to do*. It's a supplement to the existing model, not a replacement for it. If no one anticipated demand for the game after it is finished, in the form of people like me buying games, there would be no point in a Kickstarter campaign.
0 Likes
Eike 14 Feb 2022
But my actions help them, too!
Yes, but...
* You're not taking a risk, unlike the backers.
* For games coming from Kickstarter, your "help" wouldn't be possible without the backers' in the first place.
Thinking about it, as you seem to overestimate the risk, you should see the first point even clearer.
0 Likes
areamanplaysgame 14 Feb 2022
But my actions help them, too!
Yes, but...
* You're not taking a risk, unlike the backers.
* For games coming from Kickstarter, your "help" wouldn't be possible without the backers' in the first place.
Thinking about it, as you seem to overestimate the risk, you should see the first point even clearer.
Yet, by your logic, it isn't risky, and yet is somehow also heroic, to the point that I should be grateful for it.
Do you see how silly this is?
0 Likes
Eike 14 Feb 2022
Yes, but...
* You're not taking a risk, unlike the backers.
* For games coming from Kickstarter, your "help" wouldn't be possible without the backers' in the first place.
Thinking about it, as you seem to overestimate the risk, you should see the first point even clearer.
Yet, by your logic, it isn't risky
Citation needed.
I didn't say it would be without risk.
I did say that most Linux Kickstarters seem to have been successful.
Do you
[ ] agree or
[ ] disagree?
Last edited by Eike on 14 Feb 2022 at 6:40 pm UTC
2 Likes
Beamboom 15 Feb 2022
Did you even look at the page?
Evidently not good enough! :) I misunderstood the sentence, "We're currently only tracking games that got successfully funded" to mean successfully funded WITH Linux version. I didn't then inspect the stats below any further. My bad!
That looks to me like it's saying 88% delivered.
Indeed! 12% is still quite a high number (more than one in ten did not deliver on promise) but it could have been a lot worse :)
Last edited by Beamboom on 15 Feb 2022 at 9:49 am UTC
6 Likes
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