The Day Before’s Controversial Developer Return Explained

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As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the gaming industry has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but the saga of Fntastic is one for the history books. The Day Before was an enticing prospect, promising a post-apocalyptic MMO survival game that quickly became the most wishlisted title on Steam. However, the final product fell flat, leaving players disillusioned and outraged.

The term “The Day Before” carries an air of notoriety, stemming from allegations of deceptive marketing practices and uncompensated labor against its developer, as well as its short-lived existence spanning merely over a month. Now, the studio responsible for “The Day Before” has returned with a new endeavor and heartfelt apologies for past errors, but it appears that old tendencies linger on.

As a dedicated enthusiast, I was among the many eagerly anticipating “The Day Before,” a game that once held the title of Steam’s most wishlisted gem. The initial trailers in 2021 ignited my curiosity and excitement, promising an immersive post-apocalyptic survival experience. However, the gameplay trailers released in 2023 revealed a stark contrast to the earlier promotional content. It was as if the developers had painted a picture of paradise, only for us fans to find ourselves stranded on a deserted island instead.

The Studio Behind The Day Before Is Working On Something New, And It’s Not Going Over Well

Four days following the launch, Developer Fntastic announced its closure. Shortly afterward, the game’s servers were deactivated. Despite claims of misleading advertising existing for more than a year prior, the game managed to reach a peak player count of 38,000, causing frustration among many players due to the substantial revenue earned.

On September 26, Fntastic returned with minimal fanfare. On this day, they launched a Kickstarter for their latest project, titled “Escape Factory,” which seems to closely resemble “Fall Guys” in its physics-based party gameplay. Despite not being expected to easily escape the shadow of “The Day Before,” “Escape Factory” has only added more heat to the situation with fresh controversies emerging.

A Problematic Kickstarter

Without further information, the trailer for Escape Factory isn’t terrible; it seems somewhat familiar, but the gameplay looks good with some fresh concepts. However, Fntastic’s history might make potential backers hesitant about their promotional efforts, and the Kickstarter campaign doesn’t provide much clarity, focusing only on general aspects such as player count (four to eight players) and support for keyboard and mouse input.

Additionally, it appears that Kickstarter avoids delving into Fntastic’s past. The campaign begins with a general apology for previous events without addressing the controversy surrounding the misleading marketing of the game, The Day Before. It’s worth noting that Fntastic implies that some of its team members are working on the project out of ‘goodwill,’ which could suggest that unpaid labor is still in use at the studio. This aspect, along with the use of volunteer work, was another contentious issue related to The Day Before.

Allegations Of Asset-Flipping

If all of this wasn’t bad enough, Fntastic’s game has been accused of asset-flipping. Twitter user bsimser wrote a thread about how they’d discovered that a good number of Escape Factory‘s assets, including the code for its networking, lobby, and matchmaking, were all bought from the Unity store. Fntastic has since responded to the accusation on its own Twitter, saying that some pre-made assets were acquired for “VFX and a small part of the code,” but that art and music for the game are being “100% handcrafted by our team.”

In the context of ‘Escape Factory’, the term ‘Asset Flip’ might not be entirely appropriate as it was initially used by journalist James Stephanie Sterling to refer to games that essentially repackaged pre-made assets. However, ‘Escape Factory’ appears to have some original elements. Yet, similarities in marketing practices between ‘The Day Before’ and Fntastic raise concerns about potential misleading representations, making the comparison not entirely dissimilar.

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2024-09-30 01:24