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| 21 OCT 2005 at 5:43am |
Nil_EinneIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 3
Joined: 12 JAN 2003
Status : Online | 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?
This is difficult to say since it depends on the type of game but for an adventure game like Bone perhaps 12-15 hours? You might want to note that I also consider most normal $50 games and movies (DVDs) etc as overpriced...
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 have no problem provided the price is fair, the payment is easy and secure and the download is fast.
3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?
Probably not unless I could buy it in a store in New Zealand and even then probably not...
4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?
Even though I live in New Zealand with a ridiculous 256k DSL connection and most connections also come with ridiculous download limits, I wouldn't mind any size provided the speed is fast and I can use GetRight or some such and resume etc no problem. The Bone type of download is something I extremely dislike. Installers are bad IMHO. You should always at least offer an option of a normal download with HTTP or FTP. It's even worse when the installer doesn't let you choose where it's downloading to!
5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?
The content does have to be worth the size. If it's 1gb for a crappy looking game with one hours of play and no voice acting it's not (just giving a general eg). Obviously voice will add size as will extensive textures etc. If there is voice acting and it's a downloadable game, perhaps make voice optional and especially seperate any multilingual voices. Again I don't have a problem provided I don't find myself asking are they filling my computer with videos of the CEO in wonder of why the limited content fills up as much space as it does?
Use efficient compression, e.g. MPEG4/XviD for video, 7zip for general compression etc.
6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?
I've downloaded numerous MMO betas but never paid for any downloaded games. I also received HL2 through Steam although Steam is the way NOT to distribute games IMHO (had the coupon from ATI video card). Get mods etc as well, none commercial though.
7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?
Yes numerous adventures although can't remember any specifics at the moment.
8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?
One thing I'm opposed to is using P2P for commercial content. This is a personal grievance but I'm still of the opinion if I'm going to pay for something, you should provide the bandwidth not your users.
Perhaps offer P2P (torrent etc) as an alternative but make sure FTP/HTTP is good enough to handle users that use it.
In the end, I don't personally see anything wrong with downloading provided it doesn't increase the overall price for the content. As said, I think normal games are over priced if the price effectively increases due to download games, it's even worse!
Also, it shouldn't effect the quality of the content. If you are forced to cut down on stuff you would otherwise include (e.g. lower quality textures, fewer voices, fewer textures, less content, less cutscenes whatever) due to size and bandwidth considerations then I think it is a mistake.
Cheers
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| 21 OCT 2005 at 7:54am |
JoGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 3 NOV 2002
Location: AU, Qld.
Status : Offline | 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?
Seems a bit steep to me for only four house play, just checked the exchange rate, that would be $26.40 Aussie dollars. I guess a lot depends on which country you live in, games in Australia are hard to come by unless you order online and with postage that often works out a bit expensive for some, so looking at it from that perspective, perhaps $26.50 wouldn't be bad if the game were a little longer
2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?
Not very.
3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?
Probably, personally I far prefer to have a CD - one question, can the downloaded game be transferred to a CD by the buyer, is it a zip file that you're able to keep on your hard drive and re-install to play again at a later date?
4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?
I have a fast Broadband connection so that aspect wouldn't particularly bother me.
5. oes the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?
No.
6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?
No.
7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?
Yes, fan games and freebies by independant developers
8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?
I was going to say No to this question, but after re-reading Lucien's post Down with publishers I would rather put the money in the hands of developers like Steve andTelltale for their hard work than line the pockets of EA anyday. Online Distribution is the perfect way to release something worldwide direct to the market you are aiming for without being buried on the bottom shelf of GAME never to be seen again.
It guarantees a longer shelf life for Niche markets to allow sales to build up and fund future developments within the genre.
But the biggest problem is getting over the "I hate change" barrier and get consumers to change spending patterns. It's the old if I don't have anything solid in my hand I can't have bought anything routine. I feel there's a lot of merit in that. Getting over the idea of downloading a game rather than having that pretty box, manual etc. would take a bit of getting used to I think, but I really love the idea of the money going to the developers rather than the greedy publishers.
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| 21 OCT 2005 at 10:19am |
DustyTrailIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 31
Joined: 7 OCT 2005
Status : Online |
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?
Can you guarantee it will take 4 hours? What if it takes some people only one hour to finish? :
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 don't know anyone who downloads anything that isn't FREE.
3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?
Most people would I imagine want a "hard copy" of a game they paid for so they could add it to their library of games. Burning a copy for themselves after paying to download it may cause legal problems. How do you propose to get around that quirk? Piracy, oh no!
4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?
Some people still have dial-up connections, especially in small towns in the USA. If you are trying to attract new adventure gamers you must think of everyone, not just those with the ability to download large files. Is your idea to sell thousands of your game to Adventure Games Forum Members or millions to prospective NEW adventure gamers?
5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?
Sure it does. There are lots of downloads of games and other stuff out there. What sort of people are you trying to attract?
6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?
Never.
7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?
Only one or two free Indy games and a few Demos that I didn't buy.
8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?
Just that it probably sounds like a good idea, and very innovative, to YOU since you may be able to bypass several expensive avenues and get your latest game in the market. However, I would think that you will NOT get to the wider audience with this idea. Promotion is everything and that costs REAL money!
Aren't Adventure Gamers trying to get MORE people to play this type of game? The addicted Adventure Gamer will buy everything (almost) but what about the up and coming lot of young people or those "retirees" who have time on their hands and only just found that they need a computer at home and want to investigate "games" other than solitaire?
Unfortunately, if the ONLY way to get a new Adventure Game was to download it, I would probably give it a miss and if the buzz on the Forums was that good maybe even find a friend to "lend" me a copy or let me upload it from his site. LOL Haven't you heard of people SAVING adventure games in "pristine" condition, hopefully that they will become collectors items in years to come and be worth a fortune? :
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| 21 OCT 2005 at 4:46pm |
JoYSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 208
Joined: 10 OCT 2002
Status : Online | 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 do not intend to pay anything to play a game online
2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?
If it is secure I have no problems with that.
But I prefer paypal, this way I just have to register my creditcard information once, and not all over the place. With most independent publishers I'm just a 1 time customer anyway.
3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?
It's the otherway around for me, if there's no CD I would hesitate to buy it.
4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?
Who cares? Broadband rules
5. oes the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?
Yes, downloading a 1gb textadventure would be a bit strange.
6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?
Downloaded no, but I ordered Uplink online...
My only pay and download so far was Return to Pirate's Island 2 by Scott Adams
7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?
Yes
8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?
Yes, it should be free of charge
If I buy something I want to be able to hold it in my hands.
The price has got to be conciderably lower than a normal CD game.
I must be able to redownload if I lose the game due to HD crash or whatever.
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