Changes to Rewards and Add-ons

Dear backers,

September was a big month for pre-production as we started locking in decisions and implementing our roadmap. During that process we went back to double check our plans against all of the items that Playdek promised. We have currently received Backerkit surveys for more than 85% of backers, of which Coffee Fund and No Reward backers are a significant portion of the non-responding backers. The results of those surveys helped shape our decisions.

It's not all bad news. Keep reading to the bottom :)

WHY ARE WE MAKING CHANGES?

The majority of changes are based around two issues that we found:

1) Few backers selected the item, which make it financially wasteful to produce

The biggest example of the first case is the Game Package sold as a $5 add-on. This package promises 3 exclusive stages only for the backers that ordered it, and only 329 backers purchased it. That means we would be producing 3 extra stages of the game for a small group of players, and we can never release those stages anywhere else. That's not a commitment we can make. For now, we are going to cancel this item. However we are evaluating the possibility of offering a new add-on closer to launch that will give backers a discount on purchasing some form of DLC that isn't exclusive.

Similarly only 52 backers selected the Kindle version of the main game and 61 backers selected the Kindle version of the Card Game. Windows Tablet had equally low orders. It's possible that back in 2014, both of these platforms were more viable, but today we need to focus on systems that the majority of backers chose.

The late addition 2nd T-Shirt is another example. Only 5 backers selected this add-on, so it makes no sense to go through the work and effort of making it. NOTE: This is a different shirt from the "developer" T-Shirt that was promised as part of the main campaign. We will be producing the "developer" T-Shirt.

2) Shipping was never calculated properly, so the add-on or reward was under priced

As an example of this second case, we did some research and the least expensive international shipping is $24 through USPS for padded flat rate envelopes.

https://www.usps.com/international/priority-mail-international.htm

Many larger reward tiers will require larger boxes to deliver everything. Yet international shipping was only priced at $15. While we do want to deliver as many rewards as possible, we can't afford to lose money on international shipping.

Lastly, the physical copies of each game were thrown in with little to no thought about shipping or extra costs. Only 6 backers chose the Physical version of Linux and 6 backers chose the Physical version of OSX.

Don't panic. While we are changing or canceling some rewards, we are also going to give some limited refunds to make up for it.

Please don't flood us with requests for full refunds. We have a complete list of everyone and what they ordered. If you purchased any of the rewards we are changing or canceling, we will be contacting you and working through either a replacement of equal value or giving the money back.

The following add-ons and rewards are being canceled:

• $25 PayPal Pledges for T-Shirt (3 backers selected)
• $40 PayPal Pledges for T-Shirt (1 backers selected)
• Add-on for 2nd T-Shirt (1 backers selected)
• Kindle version of Main Game (52 backers selected)
• Kindle version of Card Game (61 backers selected)
• Windows Tablet version of Main Game (113 backers selected)
• Physical OSX (6 backers selected)
• Physical Linux (6 backers selected)
• Physical Windows (482 backers selected)
• Exclusive Game Package with 3 extra stages

The following add-ons and rewards are being changed:

• $15 International Shipping is being raised to $24
• Addon for Additional copy will not included physical versions

UNSUNG STORY COMES TO XBOXONE AND PS4 AND SWITCH

That's right! I am very excited to announce we are adding Microsoft XBoxOne, Sony Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch versions of Unsung Story.

For me, I remember playing Final Fantasy Tactics from the couch on my PS1, and that format was quintessential to my experience enjoying that game. Hopefully this balances some of the cancellations and changes we are making.

As backers, you will be able to replace your previous platform selections with these console versions at no extra cost. Backers are still limited to the number of copies they purchased through Kickstarter. So if you backed at the Early Bird tier, then you have 1 copy coming as a reward. You will be able to change your selection in Backerkit for that single copy to select any platform except the ones we have removed.

We cannot at this time give any details on whether there will be cross play between any of the platforms.

BACKERKIT SURVEYS

As the follow-up to these changes, we will now be making these changes on Backerkit and wiping all of the previous surveys. Then we will be sending out new survey links to collect your new selections. We have a full list of backers affected by these changes. So once you have had a chance to make changes and select any extra shipping, if you were on our list, then we will work out refunds.

Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Sincerely,

Matthew Scott