Retro/Grade developer being very honest about disappointing sales

Andrew_McP

Andrew_McP

Andrew_McP

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This wasn't a game on my radar. There are, after all, so many games out there, and so few of them -- when all's said and done -- are worth more than a few hours of seat time. Which is why I have become such a fan of Steam sales and being patient.

But I saw a link to this dev's presentation and found it more compelling than I expected. http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1017963/Obsessive-Compulsive-Development-Retro-Grade

It's not a game I would have investigated before, but knowing the story behind it means I'll be a lot more likely to pick it up when it shows up in a sale. I feel a bit guilty at not being prepared to pay more, but I've said for a long time now that I'd rather pay a little and support a lot of developers, than support just a few big names at full price.
 
Retro/Grade is well worth a buy. First got in on PS3 as part of PS+ and hammered it. When I noticed it on Steam, I bought it on the spot as I'd effectively got it for nowt on the PS3 and they deserved my money for the amount of time I'd already spent playing it.

Saying that, I was surprised when I actually first noticed it on Steam - it had been on there a month and I hadn't even heard that they'd done a PC version.
 
I got it free via PSN too but i thought it was total crap so im not totally surprised at sales being low if people were checking out videos or comments about it etc. The first thing i do with indie games is look for a TotalBiscuit play-through or review with how swamped the scene is nowadays.
 
arc@css said:
Very interesting to watch, cheers. :)
Click to expand...

I was surprised I watched it all the way through. The guy has quite a compelling tale. Sadly the same probably can't be said for his game now I've done a bit more research. It's very elegantly executed, and I admire that, but it's not something I'm ever going to invest much time in.

It reminds me a bit of Sine Mora, which is another very well executed visual experience, with some very clever backgrounds indeed for a simple, 2D game. But I'm glad I didn't pay much for it, because it didn't hold my attention for long.

I do like to use Steam sales as a way of acknowledging people's efforts though, so I'll definitely pick this up when it drops down to £3 or so. Speaking of which, I ought to buy FTL while it's on sale. It's always struck me as the perfect iPad or Nexus7 game though, so I was kind of holding out for one of those.
 
This kind of reminds me of the interview that Matt Barton (Matt Chat) did with Chris Taylor (Gas Powered Games). Seems like a great guy, would love to work for someone like that.
 
Wow that was a really deep and honest view. Games 66% off on steam so going to buy a copy. He also has some videos on youtube linked from the facebook page you can really tell the guys holding back allot of emotion and it is hard to watch at times but really shows how brutal the games industry can be. When some games become mega hits with very little work put into them and then you see this guy put his heart and soul into it and get very little from it makes me pretty damn sad.
 
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I feel really really sorry for that guy, you can tell he put a HELL of a lot into this game. He has a lot of inner demons, his illnesses and his self torture of his treatment to his new wife. It absolutley makes me feel so sad, that games like COD get millions upon millions of copies sold EVERY year, when it is just the same game reskinned. Sure, I am sure those devs put a lot into those games, but do they care if it is successful? Do they rely on that for a living?

I don't know, guys like this is what we need in this industry, and if they aren't profitable, it will be the reason innovation/fun dies in gaming. Will pick this up, it looks fun!
 
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