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Morgan Vening wrote:
Some have suggested he scrap this campaign, take a breath, and come back with a more polished launch. But with the admission he's already sunk $40K into this, and license pressures making this even more costly, I'm not sure he can afford to. But I'm really not sure he can afford for it to fail, or as others have suggested, for it to succeed. If he's already in for 40K, and the costs on this are pushing breaking even on the ACTUAL funding, investing more for a retail market that just might not be there (aka PB's crapload of backstock of RRT), this really does look like he's thrice damned, barring some miracle. He can't back out and relaunch (too much debt), a failed campaign is going to impact a career in gaming, and a successful but mediocre campaign is not going to do his reputation any favors.

And gods help him if it funds, and things go pear shaped.

Yeah, Casey gakked the bed here, and now he's gonna have to lie in it. Not that there was ever a chance of this succeeding by him. While he might do just fine as a Rifts writer, he's obviously not a Project Manager, to say nothing of being a Marketer or Accountant. At this point, he should expect the campaign to collapse, and he should be thankful that it will do so. He will have spent a lot of money on his wannabe Board Game Designer hobby, but hopefully, that'll be the end of it, that his family won't end up on the streets. As for his gaming reputation, Kevin already killed that in sharing the news of Carmen's failed suicide attempt.

The hypothetical of his funding and then having to deliver is zero, so no popcorn for those on the sidelines.

Best case, he regroups and relaunches on IGG, where he gets whatever he gets (probably $40k), makes his family whole, and walks way from Rifts like Kevin walked away from RRT. If the Rifts fans get screwed? Feth 'em. They definitely shoulda known better by now.
____

ETA Kicktraq mini-chart:

-$150 for the day so far. Now that it's negative, expect the rats start fleeing...

Poor Carmen.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
As for his gaming reputation, Kevin already killed that in sharing the news of Carmen's failed suicide attempt.

Why would a suicide attempt destroy Carmen's gaming reputation?

I understand people's reluctance to financially support someone in the throes of a mental health crisis, and Carmen's issues from only a few months ago are concerning in regards to him managing a KS campaign due to the stresses involved, but are you suggesting that the suicide attempt now makes Carmen as a writer and designer a pariah in the industry? If so, why? Lots of creative people suffer from mental health issues, and I'd be shocked if a sizable number of people involved in the gaming industry haven't thought about, attempted, or know someone who has attempted suicide in the past.

I guess I don't understand the point you are trying to make.

The issue is his ability to manage stress. If I'm up against a deadline, someone who can't handle pressure isn't going to be my go-to.

And then it's the nonsense around the attempt. He went out of his way to create the drama that led to that attempt. That's also a big strike in terms of people that I want on my team.

Basically, the guy stirs up a lot of gak, but can't handle it when it's his turn to lick the spoon clean.

It's about professionalism. His post on the RTT forum was peak unprofessional. That will be worse for him, in the long run, than any suicide attempt. Nobody wants to hire someone who is going to go off the chain and antagonize or alienate potential customers.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
The issue is his ability to manage stress. If I'm up against a deadline, someone who can't handle pressure isn't going to be my go-to.

And then it's the nonsense around the attempt. He went out of his way to create the drama that led to that attempt. That's also a big strike in terms of people that I want on my team.

Basically, the guy stirs up a lot of gak, but can't handle it when it's his turn to lick the spoon clean.

Okay, so his gaming reputation with you is destroyed. Thanks for clarifying. With the stigma mental health has in the US, I was curious about your previous statement especially regarding the larger industry as a whole.

Regarding stress management, that is something that comes from treatment, education, and self-exploration. If Carmen is getting the treatment he indicated he is receiving, then stress management should be less of a factor going forward as long as he continues working on treatment.

As for the other stuff, yeah, bad decisions were made. Hopefully what Carmen is learning in therapy will help in those areas as well.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
As for his gaming reputation, Kevin already killed that in sharing the news of Carmen's failed suicide attempt.

Why would a suicide attempt destroy Carmen's gaming reputation?

I understand people's reluctance to financially support someone in the throes of a mental health crisis, and Carmen's issues from only a few months ago are concerning in regards to him managing a KS campaign due to the stresses involved, but are you suggesting that the suicide attempt now makes Carmen as a writer and designer a pariah in the industry? If so, why? Lots of creative people suffer from mental health issues, and I'd be shocked if a sizable number of people involved in the gaming industry haven't thought about, attempted, or know someone who has attempted suicide in the past.

I guess I don't understand the point you are trying to make.

Ok answer this, are you going to hire a racist as your PR guy? are you going to hire a drug user/dealer as your pharmacist? are you going to hire a drunk with DUI's as your driver? are you going to hire a known thief to watch your items? are you going to hire someone who cannot handle stress and has attempted to commit suicide into a highly stressful job?(and make no qualms about it, the gaming industry is highly stressful, especially with deadlines and anger towards a company which happens with all companies) its not about being a pariah, its about not putting a square peg into a round hole.

and on another note the kickstarter has gone up $96. for the days totals. that will be a serious kick in their behind me thinks.

We should be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of the people involved in important positions within a campaign, but there's a measure of ghoulishness surrounding Carmen's struggles, and the paper thin veneer of 'I'm not trying to stigmatize his situation and thereby help perpetuate the problem, but allow me to do it a bit anyway.'

Struggling with depression is a personal battle that ideally involves professional help and a familial/friend/social support structure.

It does not include comparing them to 'racists, addicts, drunks and thieves'.

Asterios wrote:
See when Carmen came to the RRT forums, and then went ballistic I talked to him after that, I told him straight up he needs to put as much distance as he can between him and Kevin and PB, I told him he should come out with his own IP and design his own game that way he can do thing on his own time and his own terms, and it is better if he came out with his own system for his flag ship game.

IIRC, Someone, perhaps yourself, made this suggestion to distance himself in the PB gRIFTS subforum. His reply was that he'd make a Facebook page for RH.

I still hope those miniatures get made, since there's demand (and there's already the Savage RIFTS rules for them). The $67K at least gives a rough idea of how well the miniatures would sell.

ced1106 wrote:

Asterios wrote:
See when Carmen came to the RRT forums, and then went ballistic I talked to him after that, I told him straight up he needs to put as much distance as he can between him and Kevin and PB, I told him he should come out with his own IP and design his own game that way he can do thing on his own time and his own terms, and it is better if he came out with his own system for his flag ship game.

IIRC, Someone, perhaps yourself, made this suggestion to distance himself in the PB gRIFTS subforum. His reply was that he'd make a Facebook page for RH.

I still hope those miniatures get made, since there's demand (and there's already the Savage RIFTS rules for them). The $67K at least gives a rough idea of how well the miniatures would sell.

wasn't me, I don't go to the kiss PB's behind forums, and a facebook page is not distancing oneself from PB.

 Forar wrote:
We should be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of the people involved in important positions within a campaign, but there's a measure of ghoulishness surrounding Carmen's struggles, and the paper thin veneer of 'I'm not trying to stigmatize his situation and thereby help perpetuate the problem, but allow me to do it a bit anyway.'

Struggling with depression is a personal battle that ideally involves professional help and a familial/friend/social support structure.

It does not include comparing them to 'racists, addicts, drunks and thieves'.

Actually it does, addicts and drunks are a mental issue too, so are racists and thieves according to some, there is no difference, if anybody seriously cared about Carmen they would have told him to put this whole thing on hold until he was in a much more stable situation, he is not which was evident by him vanishing from the project all together shortly after it started, the pressure got to him and he could not handle it, and this is nothing compared to what he will encounter later down the road if the project funds.

I'd suggest that you stop comparing mental illness to lots of things that are, at best, only possibly tangentially related to mental illness.

 Forar wrote:
We should be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of the people involved in important positions within a campaign, but there's a measure of ghoulishness surrounding Carmen's struggles, and the paper thin veneer of 'I'm not trying to stigmatize his situation and thereby help perpetuate the problem, but allow me to do it a bit anyway.'

Struggling with depression is a personal battle that ideally involves professional help and a familial/friend/social support structure.

It does not include comparing them to 'racists, addicts, drunks and thieves'.

Seriously.
It also is a problem that can be treated and the roadblocks overcome. A person is able to be successful while battling depression.

The other silliness being the idea that the "trolls" have any real incentive to pull their money three weeks early. I mean....why would they?

I haven't. Of course I also haven't been trolling. I've just been jabbing the bear occasionally with pertinent questions.


Did anyone ever work out who the mega troll was? I've been busy the last couple days so really haven't had a chance to keep an eye on things.

Color me surprised; it's being cancelled.

When I created this game, all I wanted to do was make an amazing board game that shared my love of RIFTS with the fans. And as we all know, RIFTS has a passionate fan base; people who love the setting & characters as much as I do.

When I launched the Kickstarter, I believed that I was ready. But in reading your comments, many of you have raised valid concerns that would only make the game better. And I would like the chance to address those concerns. I want this game to be a huge success, and I believe that many of you do too; so that is why I am going to cancel this Kickstarter.

As many of you have pointed out, other companies have done this and then come back with an improved game/Kickstarter campaign that has gone on to be a huge success. And that is my intention as well; to take a step back, regroup, and address people’s concerns in order to create the best game possible.

I hope that when we do come back, you will be there. Fans of board games like me. Fans of Rifts. Fans of our community. Me and my team truly appreciate your support and concerns that you’ve expressed throughout this campaign. It is our intention to return in kind.

Special thanks to all of the backers, support team, and those who advertised the Rifts Kickstarter, who generously contributed their hard earnings, time, exposure and support.

Asterios wrote:

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
As for his gaming reputation, Kevin already killed that in sharing the news of Carmen's failed suicide attempt.

Why would a suicide attempt destroy Carmen's gaming reputation?

I understand people's reluctance to financially support someone in the throes of a mental health crisis, and Carmen's issues from only a few months ago are concerning in regards to him managing a KS campaign due to the stresses involved, but are you suggesting that the suicide attempt now makes Carmen as a writer and designer a pariah in the industry? If so, why? Lots of creative people suffer from mental health issues, and I'd be shocked if a sizable number of people involved in the gaming industry haven't thought about, attempted, or know someone who has attempted suicide in the past.

I guess I don't understand the point you are trying to make.

Ok answer this, are you going to hire a racist as your PR guy? are you going to hire a drug user/dealer as your pharmacist? are you going to hire a drunk with DUI's as your driver? are you going to hire a known thief to watch your items? are you going to hire someone who cannot handle stress and has attempted to commit suicide into a highly stressful job?(and make no qualms about it, the gaming industry is highly stressful, especially with deadlines and anger towards a company which happens with all companies) its not about being a pariah, its about not putting a square peg into a round hole.

and on another note the kickstarter has gone up $96. for the days totals. that will be a serious kick in their behind me thinks.

Today I learned that mental health problems, including depression and suicidal thoughts/actions are equivalent to drug abuse, alcohol abuse and theft.

Thanks! I love learning new things.

The stigma associated with mental health treatment is serious. It is why people don't get treatment and why mental health issues lead to plethora other social issues. And that stigma is glaring in your post.

I understand not wanting to financially back someone who is in the middle of a crisis. I stated as such in my initial post. But JohnHwang specifically stated that Carmen's suicide attempt "killed" his reputation. That isn't a throw away statement, and I wanted clarification. The implication I took from his statement being that anyone who attempts suicide or has mental health problems is persona non grata in the industry.

That shouldn't be the case if a person is making good will efforts with treatment.

Now, I agree that a suicide attempt in February and a Kickstarter launch in May of the same year would generate serious red flags. And rightfully so.

3+ months is not enough time to begin working out the underlying issues that brought Carmen to that decision.

However, your post is bs, and it further propagates negative stereotypes about mental health. So stop.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
The issue is his ability to manage stress. If I'm up against a deadline, someone who can't handle pressure isn't going to be my go-to.

And then it's the nonsense around the attempt. He went out of his way to create the drama that led to that attempt. That's also a big strike in terms of people that I want on my team.

Basically, the guy stirs up a lot of gak, but can't handle it when it's his turn to lick the spoon clean.

Okay, so his gaming reputation with you is destroyed. Thanks for clarifying. With the stigma mental health has in the US, I was curious about your previous statement especially regarding the larger industry as a whole.

Regarding stress management, that is something that comes from treatment, education, and self-exploration. If Carmen is getting the treatment he indicated he is receiving, then stress management should be less of a factor going forward as long as he continues working on treatment.

As for the other stuff, yeah, bad decisions were made. Hopefully what Carmen is learning in therapy will help in those areas as well.

Let's say that I were to attempt to commercialize KOG light. If I were to do so I certainly wouldn't want Casey on my team. The biggest issue was his sheer unprofessionalism of barging into the RRT Comments; that he handled the richly-deserved blowback with a suicide attempt made it that much worse. The worst part is that I don't believe that he's yet to apologize for what he's done. But the fact that he's bipolar? That's a much smaller issue, assuming that he'd be actively working to keep it managed. I just can't have someone on the team running off like a loose cannon and actively poisoning wells, no matter how talented. The damage caused by such an action would exceed any possible contribution he might make. As a manager, that's just unacceptable. And if I'm being totally honest with myself, I shouldn't be the marketing point man on KOG light KS, either. I'd probably work through a experienced publisher like CMoN, who has a professional marketing team, and the ability to source and deliver far more effectively than I can. However, I can work with them to determine a minimum viable product, and appropriate stretch goals to create a compelling campaign. I just know I shouldn't be handling the bulk of the communication, especially not in the Comments. But that's me, not him.

I see that Casey has made a LOT of EXCEEDINGLY poor decisions, and is very likely acting out of desperation. But I see that all entirely due to the very deep hole that he dug for himself. Nobody held a gun to his head and told him to sink $40k into a Rifts boardgame, and then kick off the mass-marketing for said boardgame by antagonizing the RRT backers. As far as I can tell, Casey is unprofessional and irresponsible, makes incredibly poor financial and managerial decisions. Hopefully, Casey can learn to take responsibility for his actions and then try to make things right. Hopefully, he can learn to make better decisions as well.

So, the Kickstarter is cancelled.

As far as mental health and Drug abuse... I work for a consumer direct (obamacare) division of a big insurance company. Drug abuse care and counseling in considered mental health...

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

Asterios wrote:

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
As for his gaming reputation, Kevin already killed that in sharing the news of Carmen's failed suicide attempt.

Why would a suicide attempt destroy Carmen's gaming reputation?

I understand people's reluctance to financially support someone in the throes of a mental health crisis, and Carmen's issues from only a few months ago are concerning in regards to him managing a KS campaign due to the stresses involved, but are you suggesting that the suicide attempt now makes Carmen as a writer and designer a pariah in the industry? If so, why? Lots of creative people suffer from mental health issues, and I'd be shocked if a sizable number of people involved in the gaming industry haven't thought about, attempted, or know someone who has attempted suicide in the past.

I guess I don't understand the point you are trying to make.

Ok answer this, are you going to hire a racist as your PR guy? are you going to hire a drug user/dealer as your pharmacist? are you going to hire a drunk with DUI's as your driver? are you going to hire a known thief to watch your items? are you going to hire someone who cannot handle stress and has attempted to commit suicide into a highly stressful job?(and make no qualms about it, the gaming industry is highly stressful, especially with deadlines and anger towards a company which happens with all companies) its not about being a pariah, its about not putting a square peg into a round hole.

and on another note the kickstarter has gone up $96. for the days totals. that will be a serious kick in their behind me thinks.

Today I learned that mental health problems, including depression and suicidal thoughts/actions are equivalent to drug abuse, alcohol abuse and theft.

Thanks! I love learning new things.

The stigma associated with mental health treatment is serious. It is why people don't get treatment and why mental health issues lead to plethora other social issues. And that stigma is glaring in your post.

I understand not wanting to financially back someone who is in the middle of a crisis. I stated as such in my initial post. But JohnHwang specifically stated that Carmen's suicide attempt "killed" his reputation. That isn't a throw away statement, and I wanted clarification. The implication I took from his statement being that anyone who attempts suicide or has mental health problems is persona non grata in the industry.

That shouldn't be the case if a person is making good will efforts with treatment.

Now, I agree that a suicide attempt in February and a Kickstarter launch in May of the same year would generate serious red flags. And rightfully so.

3+ months is not enough time to begin working out the underlying issues that brought Carmen to that decision.

However, your post is bs, and it further propagates negative stereotypes about mental health. So stop.

Actually Alcoholism can be linked to depression and such, you know mental disorders, so can drug addiction, not too mention they can be chemical imbalances too so can depression, my wife suffers from Bi-Polar disorder and I would not want her in a highly stressful field since that can effect her greatly and she has her Bi-Polar under control thru medication, and I love her greatly but because I love her I would not recommend her for a highly stressful job.

Furthermore no one said Carmen"Casey" is persona non-grata from the industry, but he would be in highly stressful positions which he is in right now. and my post does not propagate negative stereotypes, it does show that you do not put someone who suffers or nearly committed suicide in a highly stressful position with less then a year of his incident or without a medical leave if the situation is known, the situation that screwed Carmen"Casey" is Kevin made his situation known in an open update, and then Carmen further compounded it by making it known in an open update.

 Smokestack wrote:
So, the Kickstarter is cancelled.

As far as mental health and Drug abuse... I work for a consumer direct (obamacare) division of a big insurance company. Drug abuse care and counseling in considered mental health...

probably the best thing they could have done, they were not ready, they were not prepared and this project had way too many ways to go south.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
I see that Casey has made a LOT of EXCEEDINGLY poor decisions, and is very likely acting out of desperation. But I see that all entirely due to the very deep hole that he dug for himself. Nobody held a gun to his head and told him to sink $40k into a Rifts boardgame, and then kick off the mass-marketing for said boardgame by antagonizing the RRT backers. As far as I can tell, Casey is unprofessional and irresponsible, makes incredibly poor financial and managerial decisions. Hopefully, Casey can learn to take responsibility for his actions and then try to make things right. Hopefully, he can learn to make better decisions as well.

All of those are excellent reasons for not wanting someone on a development team. But those reasons weren't evident in the statement that I was inquiring about which is why I asked for clarification.


It is bad enough that this guy had such a personal episode broadcast to the world, I just didn't want to see the community using that event as justification for shunning his work. There seem to be plenty of other reasons why he could be passed on as a writer, PR guy, developer, whatever, and those reasons should be the metric for determining his value as a collaborator--not his struggles with mental health-related issues.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
I see that Casey has made a LOT of EXCEEDINGLY poor decisions, and is very likely acting out of desperation. But I see that all entirely due to the very deep hole that he dug for himself. Nobody held a gun to his head and told him to sink $40k into a Rifts boardgame, and then kick off the mass-marketing for said boardgame by antagonizing the RRT backers. As far as I can tell, Casey is unprofessional and irresponsible, makes incredibly poor financial and managerial decisions. Hopefully, Casey can learn to take responsibility for his actions and then try to make things right. Hopefully, he can learn to make better decisions as well.

All of those are excellent reasons for not wanting someone on a development team. But those reasons weren't evident in the statement that I was inquiring about which is why I asked for clarification.


It is bad enough that this guy had such a personal episode broadcast to the world, I just didn't want to see the community using that event as justification for shunning his work. There seem to be plenty of other reasons why he could be passed on as a writer, PR guy, developer, whatever, and those reasons should be the metric for determining his value as a collaborator--not his struggles with mental health-related issues.

And yet all those reasons could also be linked back to his mental health too. think about it he acted irrationally, unproffessionally and irresponsibly, in fact i'm wondering if he may suffer from Bi-Polar disorder since a lot of his actions I have seen in my wife too when she had issues or was under stress.

As it goes at least he listened, he was not ready, the game was sub-par then what he could have made it, and he still needs to put up a 1,000 foot thick wall between him and PB.

YOU SPOKE... WE LISTENED

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Hey Everyone,

When I created this game, all I wanted to do was make an amazing board game that shared my love of RIFTS with the fans. And as we all know, RIFTS has a passionate fan base; people who love the setting & characters as much as I do.

When I launched the Kickstarter, I believed that I was ready. But in reading your comments, many of you have raised valid concerns that would only make the game better. And I would like the chance to address those concerns. I want this game to be a huge success, and I believe that many of you do too; so that is why I am going to cancel this Kickstarter.

As many of you have pointed out, other companies have done this and then come back with an improved game/Kickstarter campaign that has gone on to be a huge success. And that is my intention as well; to take a step back, regroup, and address people’s concerns in order to create the best game possible.

I hope that when we do come back, you will be there. Fans of board games like me. Fans of Rifts. Fans of our community. Me and my team truly appreciate your support and concerns that you’ve expressed throughout this campaign. It is our intention to return in kind.

Special thanks to all of the backers, support team, and those who advertised the Rifts Kickstarter, who generously contributed their hard earnings, time, exposure and support.

Sincerely,

Carmen

Also will someone tell Shane on their comments section Carmen brought the anger on him on the RRT forums for what he said there, that was his doing. you just don't go telling people who have been waiting 4 years for product that if his project does not fund he will make sure RRT burns.

I'm a bit taken aback it was in a state it could be cancelled. I think a wise move though - perhaps better luck next time around, especially if the concerns are actually addressed.

Time to lock the thread?

It wasn't going to fund, as there were too many open items, and no plan to reveal things that would have driven funding high enough. Pulling the plug sooner is better than later.

I suspect it relaunches at $50k after addressing some of the numerous concerns raised.

Have we actually arrived at the point where it's widely believed that the suicide attempt was actually a real event?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and will RRT wave two now burn, or it's said burning on hold until the relaunch also face plants?

Locked? As I understand it, once a KS is funded, the thread goes to one of the subforums. I guess this would go to boardgames, although the gameplay video shows the game has mechanics closer to a miniatures skirmish game. (IMO, what they showed wasn't anything new, but is quite accessible to RIFTS fan new to miniatures skirmish games.)

Said it earlier, but most of the interest was in the miniatures, and the costs for them have been paid, so I hope the miniatures resurface one way or another. Carmen supposedly did miniatures casting for Palladium at one time, so Palladium releasing metal miniatures and perhaps a skirmish ruleset for them at retail (eg. webstore) would still be possible, since metal miniatures do not require the upfront cash that plastic miniatures do. Or, since PEG has released the Savage Worlds RIFT RPG, which can use miniatures, that could be another option.

Asterios wrote:
Actually Alcoholism can be linked to depression and such, you know mental disorders, so can drug addiction, not too mention they can be chemical imbalances too so can depression, my wife suffers from Bi-Polar disorder and I would not want her in a highly stressful field since that can effect her greatly and she has her Bi-Polar under control thru medication, and I love her greatly but because I love her I would not recommend her for a highly stressful job.

Furthermore no one said Carmen"Casey" is persona non-grata from the industry, but he would be in highly stressful positions which he is in right now. and my post does not propagate negative stereotypes, it does show that you do not put someone who suffers or nearly committed suicide in a highly stressful position with less then a year of his incident or without a medical leave if the situation is known, the situation that screwed Carmen"Casey" is Kevin made his situation known in an open update, and then Carmen further compounded it by making it known in an open update.

While what you say is true, alchoholism can be linked to depression, as can chemical imbalances in the brain, that does not justify the statements you made in your previous post.

You compared someone who attempted suicide to a racist, a drug addict and a drunk. That you have a loved one who has a mental health ailment makes your post all the more awful since you should know better! If your wife was compared to those things because she is bi-polar would that be right? No. It obviously wouldn't. She is more than her disease. Just like this Carmen person is more than his suicide attempt.

You made a bad analogy.

Carmen has issues which he is supposedly working through with professionals. That is great for him, and perhaps in time he will be able to resume work on his passion project.

 Smokestack wrote:
As far as mental health and Drug abuse... I work for a consumer direct (obamacare) division of a big insurance company. Drug abuse care and counseling in considered mental health...

Yes, that was exactly the point I was making. Totes.

Asterios wrote:

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
I see that Casey has made a LOT of EXCEEDINGLY poor decisions, and is very likely acting out of desperation. But I see that all entirely due to the very deep hole that he dug for himself. Nobody held a gun to his head and told him to sink $40k into a Rifts boardgame, and then kick off the mass-marketing for said boardgame by antagonizing the RRT backers. As far as I can tell, Casey is unprofessional and irresponsible, makes incredibly poor financial and managerial decisions. Hopefully, Casey can learn to take responsibility for his actions and then try to make things right. Hopefully, he can learn to make better decisions as well.

All of those are excellent reasons for not wanting someone on a development team. But those reasons weren't evident in the statement that I was inquiring about which is why I asked for clarification.


It is bad enough that this guy had such a personal episode broadcast to the world, I just didn't want to see the community using that event as justification for shunning his work. There seem to be plenty of other reasons why he could be passed on as a writer, PR guy, developer, whatever, and those reasons should be the metric for determining his value as a collaborator--not his struggles with mental health-related issues.

And yet all those reasons could also be linked back to his mental health too. think about it he acted irrationally, unproffessionally and irresponsibly, in fact i'm wondering if he may suffer from Bi-Polar disorder since a lot of his actions I have seen in my wife too when she had issues or was under stress.

As it goes at least he listened, he was not ready, the game was sub-par then what he could have made it, and he still needs to put up a 1,000 foot thick wall between him and PB.

Those reasons could be linked to mental health. But that still doesn't justify your analogy of linking mental health sufferers with racists, alcoholics, and drug addicts.

Except Carmen doesn't seem to give a gak about miniatures as a product. He wants to be a professional game designer.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

Asterios wrote:
Actually Alcoholism can be linked to depression and such, you know mental disorders, so can drug addiction, not too mention they can be chemical imbalances too so can depression, my wife suffers from Bi-Polar disorder and I would not want her in a highly stressful field since that can effect her greatly and she has her Bi-Polar under control thru medication, and I love her greatly but because I love her I would not recommend her for a highly stressful job.

Furthermore no one said Carmen"Casey" is persona non-grata from the industry, but he would be in highly stressful positions which he is in right now. and my post does not propagate negative stereotypes, it does show that you do not put someone who suffers or nearly committed suicide in a highly stressful position with less then a year of his incident or without a medical leave if the situation is known, the situation that screwed Carmen"Casey" is Kevin made his situation known in an open update, and then Carmen further compounded it by making it known in an open update.

While what you say is true, alchoholism can be linked to depression, as can chemical imbalances in the brain, that does not justify the statements you made in your previous post.

You compared someone who attempted suicide to a racist, a drug addict and a drunk. That you have a loved one who has a mental health ailment makes your post all the more awful since you should know better! If your wife was compared to those things because she is bi-polar would that be right? No. It obviously wouldn't. She is more than her disease. Just like this Carmen person is more than his suicide attempt.

You made a bad analogy.

Carmen has issues which he is supposedly working through with professionals. That is great for him, and perhaps in time he will be able to resume work on his passion project.

 Smokestack wrote:
As far as mental health and Drug abuse... I work for a consumer direct (obamacare) division of a big insurance company. Drug abuse care and counseling in considered mental health...

Yes, that was exactly the point I was making. Totes.

Asterios wrote:

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
I see that Casey has made a LOT of EXCEEDINGLY poor decisions, and is very likely acting out of desperation. But I see that all entirely due to the very deep hole that he dug for himself. Nobody held a gun to his head and told him to sink $40k into a Rifts boardgame, and then kick off the mass-marketing for said boardgame by antagonizing the RRT backers. As far as I can tell, Casey is unprofessional and irresponsible, makes incredibly poor financial and managerial decisions. Hopefully, Casey can learn to take responsibility for his actions and then try to make things right. Hopefully, he can learn to make better decisions as well.

All of those are excellent reasons for not wanting someone on a development team. But those reasons weren't evident in the statement that I was inquiring about which is why I asked for clarification.


It is bad enough that this guy had such a personal episode broadcast to the world, I just didn't want to see the community using that event as justification for shunning his work. There seem to be plenty of other reasons why he could be passed on as a writer, PR guy, developer, whatever, and those reasons should be the metric for determining his value as a collaborator--not his struggles with mental health-related issues.

And yet all those reasons could also be linked back to his mental health too. think about it he acted irrationally, unproffessionally and irresponsibly, in fact i'm wondering if he may suffer from Bi-Polar disorder since a lot of his actions I have seen in my wife too when she had issues or was under stress.

As it goes at least he listened, he was not ready, the game was sub-par then what he could have made it, and he still needs to put up a 1,000 foot thick wall between him and PB.

Those reasons could be linked to mental health. But that still doesn't justify your analogy of linking mental health sufferers with racists, alcoholics, and drug addicts.

The problem is you keep saying I equated mental illness to those things I did no such thing I gave analogies of people you don't put in certain jobs, you don't put a drunk as a driver, you don't put a racist as your PR guy, you don't put a drug user in charge of medicines and you don't put a person with serious mental issues in a stressful job, it is not my fault you are unable to understand what an analogy is or the point, or maybe you are just trying to troll me because you think i'm the reason you don't get your boardgame who knows?

Merijeek wrote:
Except Carmen doesn't seem to give a gak about miniatures as a product. He wants to be a professional game designer.

I actually wrote to Palladium after Carmen's suicide attempt, making suggestions for him to move forward, and the response I received *did* show enthusiasm for the miniatures.

While miniatures is not Carmen's entire dream, I think it's an option, definitely considering as a way to recover the money he's already spent on this project. Miniatures are certainly lead-ins to game design, and doesn't exclude it. Sometimes, the longer road gets you there when the shorter doesn't.

Plus, he pretty seems to be ding-dang happy with his man-dollies here:

So it got cancelled.

Few things to note, there is genuine interest in a Rifts-related game, so it's something that can be polished up and released.

Carmen would hopefully learn about what people are looking for and tighten the game so that it is better focused.

Exposure like this usually either kills the person or make them better, so I think it's a good call to cancel, rework and relaunch. It'd give time to refine things.

 Lynx7725 wrote:
So it got cancelled.

Few things to note, there is genuine interest in a Rifts-related game, so it's something that can be polished up and released.

Carmen would hopefully learn about what people are looking for and tighten the game so that it is better focused.

Exposure like this usually either kills the person or make them better, so I think it's a good call to cancel, rework and relaunch. It'd give time to refine things.

Problem is what I saw most of the interest was in the minis, which begs the question why not just do minis? it makes me wonder if Kevin had done a long term IP deal on the minis and needs to wait it out for it to expire before a new one could be issued?