Code Hero is one of many Kickstarter success stories from earlier this year. The basic pitch, that being a game that's meant to teach students how to code software, was compelling enough to generate over $170,00 in funds. Which is almost twice its goal, and in just a few short days.
But soon afterward, all became quiet. In fact, too quiet for some. As Cult of Mac points out, one of the backers recently posted the following comment:
"To anyone keeping an eye on this space – a modest number of Code Hero backers have reached out to me, sharing information and requesting to be kept "in the loop" with any of our collective findings. You should know, right off the bat, that based on what we've found (and been told) – Alex Peake [head of Primer Labs, who is developing Code Hero] seems to have run out of money after spending it recklessly, and doesn't plan on continuing with this project. There are well over 1000 backers out there who pledged for physical rewards. And, tragically, 6 backers who pledged at the $1k level who thought their money would be well spent on an educational tool for schools.
As I've said before – I'm sort of desperate to be proven wrong about all of this. An update on the status and future of Code Hero would be more than welcome…"
Not long after, Peake broke his silence and issued the following statement on the Primer Labs website:
"Hello backer. I owe you a thanks for your support and an apology for our lack of updates on all the progress we've made with your help. I started the Code Hero project to make a game that teaches people how to make games and you backed us to help make that happen. We are going to finish this game for you and everybody else in the world who wants to learn how to code.
I believe in this mission and I'm grateful that you and so many others have believed in Code Hero too and supported us to work on this project. I worked on the idea to make a prototype for a year before asking for your help on Kickstarter, I built a team to work on it for a year since, and we are committed to finishing this game and continuing to add to it so you can make games of your own."
There have been many who have stated that they have no problems with progress being slow. Some things take much longer than planned to finish. It was simply the lack of updates that was most troubling. Let this be a lesson to anyone out there who utilizes Kickstarter.
