Is this Star Wars open world RPG Kickstarter the most hopeless ever?

Update: This ambitious Kickstarter doomed to fail has indeed failed, but Devin Tripp, who started it, has shut it down with a sweet parting message.

"I am taking this Kickstarter down myself. Disney has not contacted me to tell me to shut it down for those of you who think you own Disney," he wrote. "I am taking this Kickstarter down, because I very much respect Disney, and I do not want this to get too big. I love all their Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I always wanted to be Captain Jack, but I think Mr. Depp is too good to be replaced. I have faith that somewhere in the future, a game like the one I described, will be made by Disney/EA/LucasFilms/Bioware or whoever is going to do it."

Original Story: A Kickstarter campaign has been launched in an effort to make a big-budget, open-world Star Wars RPG. Sounds good right? Well, the prospective developer has no experience in development, no partners, a super-unrealistic budget and, most crucially, he does not have the rights to Star Wars.

Devin Tripp, a 20-year-old from Texas, started the crowdfunding campaign. On the Kickstarter page he opens with an admission that he does not have permission from Disney to make the game but claims the company told him to ask LucasFilm.

He then starts laying out his plan, which begins with this gem: "Like many of us when we were kids, we wanted to be like Luke Skywalker or Obi Jim Kenobi." That will be Obi Wan Kenobi, but nice try. "With all the open world RPGs out there how is there not a good one for Star Wars?" he continues. "I have decided to take matters into my own hands and write a story in the Star Wars universe that will fit inside an RPG video game that I have not created."

Then come the caveats: "I am currently looking into talking with Disney if I am able to do this. If not then there might have to be a compromise on the name or some other parts. I need your help. I am not a very good programmer, and I'm an even worst artist. I want to put this project into the hands of professionals, but in order to do that, I need money to hire them. This was my dream as a kid I hope you can share my same compassion, thank you."

Tripp is after $200,000 (£137,000) and currently has $16,360 from 77 backers after five days. Three backers have pledged $1,500 or more – but it is possible these are fake pledges that would not be paid even if the project reached its target.

"I am talking about a Star Wars RPG that will completely blow people away; like Fallout 4, or The Witcher 3 did. These RPG's set the benchmark of how the future of RPG's should look, and they are a good blueprint to go on. I want to make something that is like this in some respects but goes even further. It will have the graphics of Battlefront or better with the feel of The Witcher 3," he continues.

It is unlikely this campaign will reach its target; it is a near certainty that Disney's legal team (which is more like a legal battalion) will come down on Devin with the full wrath of the House of Mouse. Don't mess with Mickey. It's good to have life goals.

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