Those of you who are members of the WOZ Google group may have read this already, but for those of you who aren't or haven't, here are Jersey Jack's (sobering) thoughts on the subject:
JPOP Thoughts
19 Jun
Jersey Jack
My personal opinions:
This is the JJP Forum but there is obvious spillover as it's all Pinball.
JJP was able to start because you, the loyal customer base of PBSC believed first in me and then in the Team and in what we were doing. You bought into a dream, an idea, a hope and ultimately a game(s).
The Pre-Pay crowd-funded model seemed good. Get money, build games. We all know that road was and is littered with land mines and huge chasms. Not everyone can navigate them and yes the Journey is The Reward and all that.
We have learned a lot and we have much to still learn. This is a marathon and not a sprint and it's not for everyone, obviously.
About six weeks ago at his invitation I visited JPOP at his studio. I don't know John. I've never said more than a few words at shows where I saw him. I like the games he has designed and like everything in this industry, it has many stories and many twists and turns.
When I was there I was impressed at what I saw. Though I felt a bit blinded by what appeared to be a "game" Magic Girl was to me, a "Box of Lights" and I mean that in a very respectful way. I myself had paraded a box of lights around in June of 2012 at E3 and NW Pinball but that was a different kinder and gentler time when hope sprung eternal.
Still John had MG in some place where it could be a game if the right amount of time, expertise, money and magic was applied, this could be a good game perhaps. But it was not ready to be played, shot on or shown as a near finished product.
My friend Bill called me to discuss his best efforts to revive or to save this dream that John had. Bill is a wonderfully hopeful guy that had every good intention. In the process he subjected himself to public ridicule, humiliation, scrutiny and all at the cost of over $100,000 to his wallet. His associate was likewise skewered in public by the angry mob and even the few hopeful, hapless know it all armchair experts that do nothing and have never done anything worthwhile.
It made for great drama and great reading on the forum. After all bad news sells newspapers and good news, well.... zzzzzzz. So, Bill went on his Mission which became Mission Impossible. Nobody can step into this fray or in front of a moving train and survive.
I read most of the posts and I spent some hours talking with John. Is he a genius or a moron? Is he a diabolical thief or a bad businessman? Did he intend to defraud or was it a bad plan of events? He knows and he must look himself in the mirror. I believe he is a good designer and a bad businessman. I do not believe his intent was ever anything other than to deliver the best most innovative game he could design. The guy redesigned leg bolts! I mean who makes PC boards Purple? Waste of money or Passion??
He got way ahead of himself. I asked him - John - If you had a house with ten rooms and enough paint to finish one room, why would you try and paint all ten rooms? He did Magic Girl, Zombie, Kiss, Alice...what else.....years of passion, blood, sweat and tears of his life to do this. Pinball is (or was) John's life. He did it for you, those who believed in him. He did not intend this to happen, it happened because of poor planning, because of negative posts cutting off and panicking his buyers. Because he was too secretive and not communicating in a broad sense....who knows - all of this is my guess...I don't have the facts of the financial or anything else. It's just what it appears to me personally and not commentary on behalf of JJP.
John is a mere Mortal like all of us. He is flesh and blood and has feelings. He has a wife and kids and they have feelings too. Those who "invested" in him - well - you got what you paid for. You got to be on the roller coaster ride of ups and downs. You got to be an insider and an outsider. You had the money to burn for a big toy that nobody needs and that money got burned alright. It was used to fund a startup, most all of which fail in the first formative years as perhaps John's may have.
You already have received your pound of flesh and if you truly cared about Pinball all of you would have rallied as a group to help the poor guy figure out what he has and what could be saved if it was possible. Instead, the lynch mob storms the castle with pitchforks and torches. Hang the guy, so what satisfaction is that. He did his best and maybe his best was not good enough but it was his best. Done.
Next, who knows what happens, that's a legal thing. Sue him or not. Forgive and forget or hold a grudge and let it consume you. Live and Let Live.
The guy and his family have suffered enough, really, he has. He is out of Pinball. Aside from his family that was the thing in life he loved most. Bigger things have failed and smarter better funded people have failed. John is not a failure, his company is a failure.
I feel bad for the people who lost money and I feel bad for John and especially feel bad for Pinball in general.
