I supported it too. But I'm pretty sure Cleve is not a fraud, otherwise how would the demo exist? I think the truth is that he is obviously working a day-job in Melbourne and only being able to work on Grimoire in his spare time, thus the slow pace. And from a psychological perspective he's obsessed with polishing it before release because of how long he's been working on it.

As for his online persona and craziness, I don't think any of it is serious, when he gave an "interview" to RPGCodex he actually sounded like a normal person:
http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=8575

Also, that Sir-Tech thread on the Codex is way more insane that any of the stuff you'll find him saying on youtube.

I remain confident that Mr. Blakemore will deliver the goods in due time.

People forget the guy has a real job and this is a side project of many, many years. It isn't surprising that completing it is taking a while. Actually, he's very honest about the various things that come up which interrupt his work on it and which all point to the fact that he has a life outside of developing Grimoire.

I think Cleve's sense of humor tends to go right over some people's heads too. I've read a fair number of comments that seem to take his video and written antics seriously for some reason. I enjoy the comedy myself and I paid this guy for this game that hopefully I will one day play. I am looking forward to that video he's working on with the iMac. It should be pretty good.

I've held hope for 6 months now that I'll be able to play Grimoire during my summer vacation of 2014. I might be overly optimistic.

More news from Cleve tonight:

"Got my desktop machine back. Working on the game every night from now on until it is completed. I am about halfway through the next update video and the superdemo is ready to go, just needs a little more testing.

Got to get hot on the pledges and get that process started. I did a merge of the two exported databases from IndieGoGo to compile a master list of all pledge amounts and contact details.

Thanks for your patience. Game is looking really good. Some more issues to work through after the superdemo is out and the game will be finished. It won't have many cutscenes but there are a lot of new special animations, monsters, spell effects and environmental effects that have never been seen before."

Sounds like things are coming along now. Glad to hear it. Looking forward to a test drive of the super demo hopefully soon. I know, I am such an optimist! :D

Also, really looking forward to the video. I get such a kick out of this guy.

And the work continues. Got an update on progress today:

"Working very regular and steady on it now every day. Looks good. Running great. I did some sorting out of the multiple game endings, they were in much better shape than I thought, have not tested them in a couple of years. Nothing too spectacular for the end-of-game sequences but each is unique. There is never a "boss encounter" followed by "climax" in Grimoire. Nothing so formulaic. You find your way to any of four different endings, all of them leading into the sequel in some way. For example, you can actually ship yourself to Reality Hijinx in a packing crate on one of their teleporter pads --- that sort of thing.

The new tooltips have gotten some more auxiliary custom information and you no longer suffer from item blindness in combat, you can float the recognized name above items in your inventory. There were three issues of playability which tooltips were intended to fix and they are all addressed now.

Am giving Coop the latest version of superdemo tomorrow, he will run it through some paces and see if he can break it or find some glaring problems getting to the end of it."

Video:

http://youtu.be/yWQhSXrIJLA

http://youtu.be/fS5EKU3idO8

This is amazing

It really is. If he refuses to release the game here, it'll be a crime against humanity.

Thanks for sharing the links. Nice to see the Super Demo up and running. I'm looking forward to its release. :D

Latest post from Cleve i go in email this morning:

"Here’s an update for you from the Grimoire Forever’ team:

1 new Announcement:

Work progressing on remainder of game while the superdemo is tested.

Cooper is doing some excellent videos of the superdemo :

http://www.youtube.com/user/GrimDarkly?feature=watch

Very fun to watch and he has discovered a few minor issues to attend to.

For those of you who have asked, remember to keep your details updated here on IndieGoGo if you email or mailing address changes so we can fulfill your pledge when the time comes."

I wonder if he will fix the turning animation. That chunk of trees that switches sides is super annoying

Got this news in email today. Cleve is still hard at work but things are coming along:

"Thanks again to everybody for their patience, I hope you will find it was well worth it when you get your copy of the game.

My son's excellent walkthroughs and testing of the superdemo has discovered bugs that cause the superdemo to end early in certain areas. I am working on getting another version to him with these problems repaired. This is a glitch not in the program but in the actual packing utility used to streamline the resource file to create the superdemo.

I am hoping my son will be able to run completely through the superdemo first, make sure it is all there and then I will release it.

I have continued working on the game this entire period and have made substantial progress in wrapping up areas with small defects or that were incomplete."

Email update from Cleve today:

"My son Cooper has his hands full testing the superdemo and making up his excellent walkthroughs, so I have decided this week I will take responsibility for finishing up my program to sum up the pledges and determine what form letters get mailed out to who for fulfillments.

The program itself works now, it is just that there is no functionality to do a mass email with the results data. I found a web site that permits you to submit bulk email lists for customers I am going to use. I need to get some push button operations working on this so I can quickly dash off context sensitive emails to every person who has features they paid for to implement in the game.

Again, thanks for your patience. It is likely that just prior to the superdemo release there will be another update video, mostly for fun and to announce a new target date ... (possibly more). I hope your expectations for the final game are met when it is released."

So, Cleve is this coming here?

Is there an updated demo available?

Last I knew the superdemo for those who made pledges was still being tested. I haven't heard anything about any other demo.

We're about due for another update I guess. I'll post it as soon as I get the mail whenever there is one.