The developer studio Fntastic was actually closed after the disaster surrounding the game The Day Before. However, a month ago the team came back and asked fans to create free maps for the new project. There is no question of payment; the creators should only receive a free copy of the video game.
Why did the developers come back? Nine months after the closure of the Fntastic studio, the developers are returning and are of the opinion: “Everyone deserves a second chance.” The developers promise improvement and would like to incorporate more honesty, transparency and professionalism into their future work.
They had their new game Escape Factory financed by their fans on Kickstarter, but they immediately suspected it was another cheap rip-off. Shortly thereafter, the developers took down their Kickstarter campaign and announced their next attempt: ITEMS, a multiplayer prophunt game.
In the video by Géraldine Hohmann from GameStar you will find all the important information about The Day Before fiasco summarized, plus a lawyer’s assessment of the whole thing:
The Day Before: Between fraud and incompetence
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No payment, just a free copy
What do the developers want? The developers are now holding a competition on their Discord server to see who can design the most beautiful map for their new game. The card that gets the most heart reactions from the other Discord members wins (via thegamer.com).
The studio writes, among other things: “This competition is a chance for you to let your creativity run wild.”
What does the winner get? Whoever wins the competition can look forward to their map in the ITEMS game and will have their name immortalized on the map. Additionally, the winner will receive a free Steam key for the video game.
Essentially, the studio encourages its fans to work for them for free. Although they hide it behind a “competition”, the effort that goes into creating a map is of course still not without.
In addition, there were already various reports from The Day Before from volunteers who were lured with rewards such as certificates of participation and who had sometimes toiled for years for the project (more on this at pcgamesn.com) without having anything tangible to show for it in the end can.
What are the reactions? As thegamer.com reports, the members of the Discord server react outraged. One writes: “Instead of paying for concept artists, they use volunteers through competitions.” Another: “I thought they were hiring people to make the game? What’s the competition all about?”
The game The Day Before and the controversy surrounding it shook the video game world. Potential players were lured in with stunning trailers that made promises that the actual game could never deliver. In this game too, everything looks too good to be true: New action RPG looks too good to be true – players believe here comes the next “The Day Before”