spidweb - Slashdot User

Submission + - Indie Games Should Be More Expensive (blogspot.com)

Submitted by

spidweb

on Monday April 13, 2009 @08:53PM

spidweb writes: "The Indie gaming blog The Bottom Feeder has an article on why Indie Games should be more expensive. The enforced low prices on XBox Live, Amazon, and iTunes might feel good now, but they'll kill off the variety and depth gamers are hoping Indie developers can provide. From the article, "Every year, life is getting more and more expensive. Insurance. Rent. Food. And, at the same time, games are getting cheaper and cheaper, sometimes as cheap as a dollar, as we engage in a full speed race to the bottom. This is not going to help developers stay in business. This is not how a healthy industry is maintained."

The article can be found at

http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.com/2009/04/indie-games-should-cost-more-pt-1.html"

Comment Re:Interesting/Disappointing (Score 1) 120

by spidweb on Wednesday March 18, 2009 @12:20PM (#27242989) Attached to: The Realities of Selling Independently Developed PC Games

A note from the author.

Wow, dude. You sound pretty angry. I don't have much to say, except that, if my games were "shite" or "unoriginal", believe me. They wouldn't sell. Fortunately for me, Geneforge 4 is neither.

I only really posters to correct one misconception. Spiderweb's employees are not part-time. We have three full-time employees.

And we're not 15 years out of date. Do you know what games looked like in 1994? We're ten years, at most! :-)

Submission + - Successful Indie Developer Reveals Sales Figures (blogspot.com)

Submitted by

spidweb

on Tuesday March 17, 2009 @03:16PM

spidweb writes: "These is a lot of excitement about casual gaming and Indie game development these days, but there's also very little public information about how many games actually get sold or the sort of income one can reasonably expect in this line of work. The president of Spiderweb Software, in his blog today, released full sales figures for a recent product to illustrate what sort of earnings can be generated by a quality niche product that isn't a massive hit. From the article: "I am not the first Indie developer to reveal this sort of information. However, most public sales figures come from projects that were either blockbusters or disastrous. But our games have never landed in either pool. I have been doing this for a living for almost fifteen years."

The full article can be found at:

http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.com/2009/03/so-heres-how-many-games-i-sell.html"

Submission + - Why Single Player Games Will Never Die (ign.com)

Submitted by

spidweb

on Sunday November 11, 2007 @05:48PM

spidweb writes: "RPGVault at IGN.com has a new article about why there will always be a healthy market for single player games. For a huge portion of the market, the stress of dealing with (and competing with) other humans defeats much of the purpose of playing games to relax in the first place. From the article, "Computer games are, to a large extent, about adolescent power fantasies. We can write off three or four losses as valuable learning experiences. Lots and lots of losses? Well, then I am not living my power fantasy. I am providing the fodder for someone else's."

The article is at

http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/832/832692p1.html"

Submission + - MMORPG Endgame Content Is Dumb (ign.com)

Submitted by

spidweb

on Sunday August 12, 2007 @02:26AM

spidweb writes: "IGN.com has an article about why endgame content in RPGs (like raids, grinding reputation, and other soul-killing timesinks) is a poor way to spend your leisure time. At best. From the article, "Think about it. It's called endgame content for a reason. End. Game. You are at the END of the GAME. Why are you still playing!?!?!?" The best option, if you must play a game like this, is to jump to a new one, where you have a chance of experiencing surprises, adventure, and fresh content before the fun turns into torture.

The article is at:

http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/810/810730p1.html "

Submission + - Blades of Exile (Fantasy RPG) Source Code Released

Submitted by

spidweb

on Sunday May 13, 2007 @01:38AM

spidweb writes: "Spiderweb Software has released the source code to its fairly successful fantasy RPG from the previous century, Blades of Exile. Blades of Exile is a powerful adventure creation kit. The game came with three full length scenarios, and many more were developed with its editor. (The editor source code is also available.) Aspiring game developers who want a framework for their own titles or who want to see how a profitable game can be put together on a low budget might be interested. The code and data files can be downloaded at

http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/blades/opensource .html"

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