09-16-2005, 09:31 AM | #41 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Tornado Alley
Posts: 1,541
|
Quote:
__________________
Glad to have my old username back. GhostPirateLechuck no longer. |
|
09-16-2005, 09:44 AM | #42 |
ACK!
|
You know, some sites offer the chance to buy the CD and get the download as well, like Starscape...
__________________
Apparently I have a Devianrt Art account... And people actually like it! |
09-16-2005, 09:51 AM | #43 | |
cows are my friends...
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Tonawanda, NY
Posts: 258
|
Quote:
1. It does seem a bit much, but I honestly can't say I know how much would be a good amount. It would seem arbitrary to say $10 without knowing how good each part is. I've never been one to follow the "X hours of gameplay" model because it doesn't seem to work like that for me, especially lately. I have so many starts and stops I can't keep track. 2. I don't really like it, to be honest. I like to have something physical in my hands. Downloading seems too cheap. I know it keeps costs down, but I would like an actual pressed CD with a manual and everything. A box is not necessary, but would be a plus. I think maybe DVD cases are the way to go, and I'm surprised more PC games aren't in them. 3. Yep. I sure would. It almost verifies that if something happens to your company I can still play/have access to my game. I wouldn't have to figure out where I could download it from again if I lost it or my backup got destroyed (I've had a number of CDRs go bad on me lately). 4. I think anything over a gig would probably make me think twice. But it wouldn't stop me out right, because I could just leave it on over night, or at least for a few hours. 6. I downloaded Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. It was a free release that was at least a couple hundred megabytes if memory serves. 7. Nope. 8. Just to restate that I like to have something real in my hands when I pay money. Paying to download something seems ... wrong. But that might just be the collector in me. I still have original boxes from some of my old Sierra and LA games (as many of us here do). That's part of the fun for me. I'd have to really, really be interested in a game to d/l it without any kind of box, CD, or manual. Sam & Max fits that bill, I don't think Bone does.
__________________
Quadriflax "To Insanity and Beyond!" |
|
09-16-2005, 10:05 AM | #44 |
Jack Bauer loves you
|
1. 8-10 hours would be nice.
2. Yes, yes I am. But ONLY if it's cheaper than a boxed version with printed manual. 3. Only if it came with extra "goodies" and the shipping didn't cost too much. 4. It would have to be bigger than what I could burn to a single DVD. 5. I'm not sure what you mean. So I guess not. 6. Not unless you count Pocket PC and Palm OS games. Also, I'm looking into the whole GameTap thing. 7. Not for purchase, although Bejeweled is kind of fun. And Telltale Texas Hold'em. 8. I love the possibilities it offers in the global sense. Being able to buy a game that was developed and released in Germany or England or something, but not officially published in the US. And not having to pay for shipping and handling, or having to wait for it (except for the download).
__________________
An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. -- Robert A. Heinlein |
09-16-2005, 10:21 AM | #45 | |||||||||
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 900
|
Quote:
It depends on what kind of gameplay I get, really, but I wouldn't complain if it was somewhere between 6 and 10 hours. Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
And I want to repeat that I'd really, really like a CD-version. Preferably boxed in a DVD case or something. Like for instance Moonpod and Nurium offer with their games. A printed manual isn't a "must", but I would appreciate it. Quote:
|
|||||||||
09-16-2005, 10:34 AM | #46 |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 73
|
1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?
6-8 hours. Extrapolating from the fact that I would be willing to pay $10 for four hours of gameplay. RtMI hit that sweet spot pretty well. 2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future? I throw away boxes anyway, so downloadable contant is fine. 3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this? No. 4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it? I don't care. Though if its too big, then you better have a resume option! 5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way? I don't care. 6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres? Yes. I've purchased a number of shareware classic action shooters. The only classic shooters out there are shareware - though many of them are incredibly well polished. 7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games? No. 8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games? I strongly dislike internet verification for reinstalling. I had a very cool arkanoid type clone that I bought once and then the company went out of business, leaving me stuck with no game as soon as I reinstalled. I will not buy another game that requires internet verification again. |
09-16-2005, 11:03 AM | #47 |
Elegantly copy+pasted
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,773
|
1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?
I'd rather pay less for a shorter game than more for a longer one. I want an adventure game I can finish in a weekend, so no more than ten-twelve hours. But again, I'd rather have a four-six hour game for $10 than a twelve-hour game for $20. 2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future? Thrilled. See website, desire game, pay, download, play. No stupid going to the store or waiting for a CD in the mail. 3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this? Probably not, unless it offered some other bonus. I think a lot of people would, though. It's nice to have the option. 4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it? About 1GB. Anything below that would be OK if the server is reasonably fast. A bigger download might be fine, too, but I would expect it to take a long time, and that might put me off trying. 5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way? Probably not, although I might be annoyed if the game seems like it didn't need to be that big. (Facade is an example of a game that seems like it could have been a smaller download.) Throw in a couple of video sequences (like The White Chamber did) and the download size will seem justified. 6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres? No, I don't think so. I've downloaded and paid for a couple of different adventure games, though. 7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games? I think none of the casual games I've played have required a download (apart from loading into Flash player or whatever), and none of them have required payment. I was thinking of trying Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates, but never got around to it. 8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games? If you download games, the terrorists win. ... Oh, you meant intelligent thoughts? No.
__________________
Please excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog. |
09-16-2005, 12:09 PM | #48 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 6,409
|
Quote:
So yes, it's short, albeit not obscenely short like Lost Eden or Amerzone.
__________________
...It's down there somewhere. Let me have another look. |
|
09-16-2005, 12:15 PM | #49 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 322
|
Quote:
|
|
09-16-2005, 01:14 PM | #50 | |
Rattenmonster
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 10,404
|
Quote:
I generally don't keep track of my playtime, but did for Voyage and am for Bone, for curiosity's sake. Voyage took me 13 hours spread out over a week and a half. If I hadn't been trying to meet a review deadline it would have probably taken me 13 hours spread out over three months, and although the hour amount would have been the same it would have felt like a longer game to me. I guess my question is, is one experience worth more than another? Is it a developer's fault that some people like to sit down and play in one sitting, and those people expect the sitting to take a certain amount of time? As for Bone - people have finished it in 2-3 hours, apparently. They must have been enjoying themselves to play the whole thing through in one sitting, yet they immediately turn around and complain that the game was too short and how dare they be charged $20 for it. The player has to take some responsibility. If you know it's a short game and you want it to last longer, don't play the whole thing all at once! Sorry, not meaning to rant. I'm just frustrated, I guess, because I don't think these numbers should be used as a yardstick. If I had to choose between 4 hours of a really good, immersive, story-driven game made by people who clearly care about making a good, immersive, story-driven game, vs. 15 hours of boring-as-hell gameplay that only takes that long because you have to traverse over a ton of empty screens doing pointless tasks like delivering an inventory item from one boring character to another boring character... well, let's just say I'd rather play the 4 hour game, and I'd even pay more for it. Quantity is not a measure of quality. Last edited by fov; 09-16-2005 at 01:21 PM. |
|
09-16-2005, 01:22 PM | #51 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 549
|
Quote:
I, too, feel that 20$ for a 4 hour game episode is probably overpriced -- but on the other hand, 20$ for a full-package standalone title like BS3 is obviously underpriced. |
|
09-16-2005, 01:26 PM | #52 | ||||||||
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 948
|
Quote:
Quote:
I've been buying AGON, but each episode is more like $10, not $20. (The exact price varies slightly with currency exchange rates). Each episode of AGON game has taken me more than 4 hours, though maybe not much more in the case of the earlier episodes. The people who are making AGON are working on making the next episode longer because of complaints that the game was too short. Now you're talking about charging twice as much for something that's no longer than an AGON episode. When AGON first came out they had an online activation system that caused people so many problems that they gave it up and went to sending you a reusable key that would unlock the game after installation. So after you buy it you can copy both the installer file and a text file with your key to a CDR to back up your game. This is a very important feature in my opinion. I don't want to buy a downloadable game unless I can back it up. Hard drives don't last forever. Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
AGON was an exception. Quote:
Quote:
|
||||||||
09-16-2005, 01:41 PM | #53 | |||||||
Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Kiev, Ukraine
Posts: 34
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
|||||||
09-16-2005, 11:14 PM | #54 |
Writer-Designer
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 927
|
Thanks to everyone for your replies. They have really helped me out a lot. I have a much clearer picture on the subject and it will help in formulating my plan.
__________________
Steve Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso - Now FREE! Steve Ince, Writer and Designer Steve on Twitter |
09-16-2005, 11:29 PM | #55 |
merely human
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Chicago
Posts: 22,309
|
That mean the respondents will each receive a free t-shirt that says "Steve Ince is t3h g0d" ?
__________________
platform: laptop, iPhone 3Gs | gaming: x360, PS3, psp, iPhone, wii | blog: a space alien | book: the moral landscape: how science can determine human values by sam harris | games: l.a.noire, portal 2, brink, dragon age 2, heavy rain | sites: NPR, skeptoid, gaygamer | music: ray lamontagne, adele, washed out, james blake | twitter: a_space_alien |
09-16-2005, 11:44 PM | #56 | |
Writer-Designer
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 927
|
Quote:
__________________
Steve Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso - Now FREE! Steve Ince, Writer and Designer Steve on Twitter |
|
09-16-2005, 11:50 PM | #57 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Poland
Posts: 28
|
1. 8+ hours
2. Yes if it's the only way to get the game (ie. game won't be published in my country in predictable time) 3. I don't think so. But if there was nice box, booklet etc. I'd consider it. 4. Don't care 6. If steam or pda games count, then yes. 7. Nope 8. Hardware fingerprint is stupid idea. |
09-17-2005, 12:23 AM | #58 | |||||||
Epsilon-Minus Semi-Moron
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Oulu, Finland
Posts: 863
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
|||||||
09-17-2005, 02:32 AM | #59 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 6,409
|
Quote:
Quote:
And in any case, I have trouble seeing how a game of 4 hours could possibly be satisfying, no matter how good it is.
__________________
...It's down there somewhere. Let me have another look. |
||
09-17-2005, 02:47 AM | #60 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 322
|
Quote:
Where it's going to go wrong is if people start asking 'How do we crunch games like XYZ into four hours?' instead of 'What can we do with these four hours?' |
|