Hi, everyone!

Unfortunately our Kickstarter was unsuccessful. I'm definitely disappointed that the project didn't catch on the way I expected, but I sincerely appreciate all the support you've given it. It really meant the world to me to have you behind it.

It's disheartening to put your heart and soul into a project (not to mention hundreds and hundreds of hours, half a year, and all my savings) and really think it has potential, only to see it sort of sputter out into nothing. It's been a huge learning experience, and this whole campaign has really taught me so much about putting myself out there in a way I never have before. It forced me to look at things from a marketing point of view, and that's something I just don't think I ever would have done, certainly not to this degree, without investing so much into a project and gambling so much on its success.

I think there are a lot of different reasons why it probably didn't turn out to be successful. I don't think the concept was necessarily strong enough for people to spread the word or become immediately interested. Even though I put hundreds of hours into this thing, I don't think I put the time in the right places. Instead of spending weeks making 2.5D backgrounds (it just took so much longer than I expected it to), I should have made a variety of environments, more vehicles, more weapons, more bosses, and a demo that would allow you to play through at least one complete level, so people could really get a feel for what it was going to be. I also didn't do enough research prior to launching the campaign, nor did I lay the groundwork of getting people excited and motivated BEFORE launching.

So it's time to regroup. I no longer have the means to work on this project full-time, so it's going to be relegated to side-project now. But I'm not abandoning it. With everything I've learned, and all the time and effort I've already put into this project, I think it would be insane not to try again down the road. But I'll only be considering that once the project is much further along. I'll wait until I have a playable demo and a lot more of the game to show. I'm not sure how long it will take. Right now my priority is finding some kind of employment because I really kind of gambled it all against my better judgment and put myself in a terrible financial predicament. I was trying to make the best of a bad situation (I was a year from graduating animation school, and suddenly, without warning, the lender I was using to help pay my way stopped supporting my school, forcing me to drop out), but my time and money was not invested nearly as wisely as it should or could have been. For that reason, this is more than a learning experience, it's been a true life lesson that will really stay with me and keep me much more grounded in the future.

The other priority is building the Guinea Something Good brand. If my comic had more of a following, it's very likely this Kickstarter would have been a piece of cake. So in that regard, I think I simply jumped the gun. From now on I'll be doubling down on getting GSG out there and expanding on what it is as a project. More information on that to come.

Finally, I'm going to be releasing a "Pay What You Want" bundle on my website in the next few days. It will include an eBook of Guinea Something Good comics, including one exclusive comic, a set of animated GIF avatars, a desktop and mobile wallpaper, and for the first time, a PC download of Bounce or Die, with full screen support, native gamepad support, and even a two-player mode, which is something I just need to put the finishing touches on. I'll send out an announcement when the bundle is available.

So let me close by just once again iterating how very, very deeply I appreciate the support you've given. It meant a lot to me to have you rooting for the project and even though it ultimately didn't succeed, I still feel as though the campaign wasn't a failure. I learned so much and that has made it all worth it. This battle was lost, but the war isn't over. So thank you!

Onward and upward!

Until next time,
Jeff