Update: And just like that, it's gone. With no explanation, Scott Ashby a.k.a. Kate Marsh has canceled the Kickstarter campaign for his attempt at making a Life is Strange sequel.

I think it's safe to say that "Blake" speaks for us all:

Original Story:

Kickstarter has made many dreams come true for artists, game developers, and fans. It is not, however, a wishing well. It can’t magically make licensing and rights issues go away.

We’ve seen fans attempt to circumvent legal processes using Kickstarter before (remember the unofficial Star Wars RPG?). The latest is someone named Scott Ashby, who really likes Life is Strange.

He has decided to take it upon himself to raise money to fund the sequel or purchase the rights. His goal? $20,000.

Ashby says that in order to turn over money to Dontnod or another developer (after acquiring the rights), they’ll need to agree to use the same voice actors, writers, and artists. They’ll also need to agree to honor the backer reward commitments.

These include a free copy of the game at $50, a single $1,000 pledge to write the back story for Principal Wells, and an unlimited pool of $1,000 donations that allow backers to “fully voice a character.”

While the chances of this Kickstarter ever seeing its $20,000 goal are limited, it has accomplished one goal. People are talking about what’s next for Life is Strange again. Dontnod is working on another game, Vampyr, right now.

[Source: Kickstarter via Eurogamer]

Our Take

Obviously, there are issues with this Kickstarter, including the funding amount, the backer rewards (especially as they create a bit of friction with the development strictures), and those pesky rights issues. But you can’t fault the enthusiasm.