Comments on: Gameboys From Hell: Solium Infernum Finale

By: Hybrid

Hybrid — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:35:12 +0000

Just finished all of the Gameboys From Hell articles. What an excellent read! Downloading the SI demo now.

By: Nate

Nate — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:35:29 +0000

Sorry for dredging up this old junk, but there’s so much in here about the price of SI that, I think, misses the point. Had to register and post.

Mr. Davis doesn’t sound like a guy in dire financial straits. I don’t believe he cares that he would sell more copies by reducing the price. I think that what he wants is for most of the people who play SI to love it– and a high price point is actually a way to achieve that. If he were to sell SI for, say, US$5, yeah, everybody who read this excellent narrative from RPS (thanks so much folks, I’m one of the ones who discovered this gem of a game through your words) would buy it– but that includes a lot of people for whom this game wouldn’t be enjoyable. Mr. Davis knows his game is not for everyone, and I believe that he would prefer it be bought and played only by those who will get a great deal of enjoyment from it. And, yeah, we pretty much know who we are :) See, if you have doubts about how much you’ll enjoy this game, they’re likely valid doubts, and nobody minds that you choose not to purchase it.

And this is exactly the spirit of artistry that makes independent games so wonderful and unique and diverse. When one’s goal is to make a game that makes a lot of money, that sells a lot of copies, one ends up making certain kinds of games, and those are fun games, sometimes. When one’s goal is to make the game that one wants to make, the way one wants to make it, and, hopefully, recoup costs along the way, one makes completely different kinds of games, with their distinct flaws, and with their distinct, occasionally magnificent, merits.

By: Tomski

Tomski — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:29:22 +0000

Late reply, but have finally finished reading it all. This whole series was excellent and i’d love to see more of this sort of write up. Congrats Quinns!

By: Kieron Gillen

Kieron Gillen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:23:25 +0000

Arathain: Late to answer you, but… yeah, I think it’s people just being relatively good losers, and recognising that even if it didn’t work out, the actual story of the thing was brilliant. I certainly smile at the main irony of my downfall.

By: Cooper

Cooper — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:40:33 +0000

Price aside, I would have bought this game wree it not for the lack of netbook resolution. I know I’ve moaned about this before, and I understand why it can’t go below its lowest resolution; but it’s still a pain, as this is just exactly the kind of thing I find perfect for netbook gaming.

By: K.

K. — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:37:14 +0000

Great narration altogether.
Had to have the game afterwards, no matter the price (though being able to pay via wire transfer was the clincher).
I did some practice games on a laptop during long train trips… And, yes, playing against AI is not the way to go, but at the moment I really enjoy exploring the depths of the systems.

By: FRIENDLYUNIT

FRIENDLYUNIT — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:44:22 +0000

Hats off to you gentlemen. Truly an outstanding piece of work.
We most definitely need more of this kind of thing!

MOOOOAAAARRR!!!!

By: manveruppd

manveruppd — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:20:32 +0000

Not quite the same, a lot of people who would scoff at computer games would happily play boardgames. Also, a board and a big map is a lot more fun for 6 people to sit around and look at than a laptop is.

By: malkav11

malkav11 — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:31:55 +0000

A couple of things about the price: indie games this meaty do tend to be priced around this point or higher. Sometimes -much- higher. You’re probably used to a $20 or less price point because most indie games are action games and puzzlers and such that are fairly slight. I mean, I adored World of Goo but it’s done in a few hours and that’s pretty much the end of it unless you’re actually OCD. Your RPGs (Spiderweb Software, say) are usually around this much, perhaps a bit more, and your strategy games? Double, easily.

Secondly: halve the price point and you need to double the number of people purchasing the game just to break even. Like Jeff Vogel has said, this just isn’t likely enough to be worth it. These are niche titles. There is a limited set of people to whom this sort of thing appeals, and most of them aren’t going to kvetch about a few extra bucks.

Thirdly: indie developers tend to work on the long tail: you’re not getting huge hits of upfront money, you’re probably not even sold at retail, so you need your steady trickle of people buying to make it worthwhile and that means the price stays up.

Finally: for people who are wishing this was a boardgame – it supports hotseat play. If you can get people to your house for a boardgame, you can get them in front of your computer for hotseat.

By: Bonedwarf

Bonedwarf — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:16:38 +0000

Vinraith said:
@Bonedwarf

Sorry, I only bought Armageddon Empires (about 45 minutes before Vic posted that discount, annoyingly enough). I don’t buy MP-only games at any price point, I’m afraid.

That’s a shame. Gotta say the single player game I had tonight was fun (even if I did finish second to last. Largely because I made so many screwups at the start.)

By: Nimic

Nimic — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:43:14 +0000

So I played my first single player game, and the AI was more active than I was led to believe. I still won, whereas I’d have been destroyed in multiplayer, but it almost attempted to take advantage of stuff.

Regardless, I think I’ll do the Multiplayer thing as soon as possible.

By: Vinraith

Vinraith — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 02:19:43 +0000

@Bonedwarf

Sorry, I only bought Armageddon Empires (about 45 minutes before Vic posted that discount, annoyingly enough). I don’t buy MP-only games at any price point, I’m afraid.