You're finding out why so few games get promoted, developed and released by mainstream companies--there are a million ideas out there but only a few will hit the "sweet spot" with the right number of paying, enthusiastic players.
A lot of the crowd sourcing games are well intended but not experienced...programmers who always wanted to make a game but never have, game programmers who worked on coding games but never really learned balance and playability and people who just bite off more than they can chew.
In investments, you know you have a risk and you invest accordingly. In games, you're investing in something that you "like"...this isn't always a "win" for business success.
A lot of programmers are brilliant but not creative. A lot of gamers can program but aren't disciplined or experienced and any of them can have no business and marketing background. They may even get investors but if they don't understand business planning, they may blow through the investment money during development that they are stuck when it comes time to actually get the game out.
When you pre-pay a crowd source game, it's a vote of confidence and the equivalent of buying a lottery ticket. You are basically a micro-investor. You aren't guaranteed to be "Buying" anything.
