Super Action Squad on hold after troubled Kickstarter campaign

It's often praised for giving fans the games they want that publishers might not be willing to back, but Kickstarter has its share of risks, and the status of retro-styled platformer Super Action Squad is a shining example.

The Kickstarter campaign for what was then called Super Retro Squad exceeded its goals in July 2012, with over $50,000 pledged. But creator Jay Pavlina posted on the development blog yesterday that the project had stalled for now, due to an extremely troubled production cycle. In the post, he accepts responsibility for the issues, citing his inexperience as a key factor.

"When I look at (the promised feature list) now, it is staggering. I clearly had no idea how much work all of that was going to be," he wrote. "It is obvious in the video that I was excited about the project and was dreaming big, but I was too ignorant to realize that what I was promising would cost way more money than I was asking for and would take a very long time without a more experienced team."

Regarding backers of the project, Pavlina asks that they "please understand that it is impossible for us to offer a significant amount of refunds right now", but to contact him with suggestions on reaching a compromise.

It's a shame, because the game did sound promising. But as it stands, it's a perfect cautionary tale for both aspiring developers and their supporters.

Thanks, Kotaku.