Is Kickstarter still a viable alternative to publishers

I recently received a code for a game I backed on Kickstarter over two years ago, and for the life of me I don’t rmember why. The game looks fine, it’s a platformer that mixes up the gameplay elements by harking to the platformer titles of the 8-bit era, 16-bit era and modern interpretations of the genre. Switching between these modes allow for the game to progress, it’s a neat idea.

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Life is Strange: How an Ending can Ruin a Game

There’s an old expression that goes “life isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey.” A lot of narrative fiction takes this same approach. We spend most of our time watching movies or playing games, traveling towards a final goal. But the ending; it’s only the bit at the end. The real bulk of the experience comes from all the juicy bits in the middle. It’s easy for me to say that when a narrative ties up in a nice, neat little bow. But when the ending to a story throws you for such a loop that it ends up leaving a bad taste in your mouth, then I’d argue that an ending can be just as important as the 20-100 hours that came before it.

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Assigning a Value to “Indie” Games

Do you know what my first reaction to seeing that The Witness was released yesterday: it wasn’t to go straight out and buy it. Instead, I sat on my hands staring at that £30 price tag wondering if the game was worth that much. The reported high quality of the game being a none factor, I found myself hung up on the cost to purchase the game. But considering what early reviews have to say, £30 is apparently a steal.

We’re at a point now where video games are as inexpensive as they’ve ever been, and yet we’re all still talking about our value for money and independent studios overcharging. People complain about the free games they get with services like PS plus and Games with Gold because they’re not getting the £50 triple A releases. Continue reading “Assigning a Value to “Indie” Games” →