No Publisher Love For Darwinia

Next Generation has a conversation with the lead designer of the much lauded game Darwinia. From the article: "It sports astonishing graphics and original gameplay elements that weave their way around a decent story. Reviewers like it but, as is so often the case, publishers can't seem able to convince themselves it has anything other than niche market value. We spoke to Chris Delay about the frustrations and challenges of independence and originality..."

Comments

Highly recommended game

[FromWithin]

This game should be at least tried out, especially by retro fans even though it's not a retro game at all. It's very respectful of old games in its style.

It's a shocking indication of the state of the game industry that no publisher will pick this up. It is a superb game, exactly the type that people are clamouring for at games keynote speeches and such like.

Someone needs to fire all marketing departments across the whole industry. What chance does the industry have to mature and develop if chances like this get blankly refused every time.

Re:Highly recommended game

[CDarklock]

Somewhere along the line, marketing stopped being about finding people who want something, and started being mostly about making people buy things they don't want.

This industry reinvention has made it very difficult for most marketers to handle a good product, because they can't find the right people who don't want it.

Re:Highly recommended game

[Flayra]

Darwinia is very impressive, but I think mostly only to game developers or afficionados. That said, I don't see why they need to get into retail in the U.S.: they are profitable already and they used raw persistence and cohones to get themselves into UK retail.

They've gotten great PR for themselves, and they are able to sell their games directly from their website at essentially 100% profit. They don't NEED retail!

If they ever go out of business, they should be able to land a sweet game job, save up some cash and do it again. They've earned quite a reputation.

If I were them, I would just keep doing what I was doing.

Re:Highly recommended game

[CDarklock]

Used car salesmen aren't so widely disliked because of what they sell, but because of how they sell it.

Same with marketers. We all know "under ten dollars" means "$9.99", because that's what it ALWAYS means. Why don't they just say "ten bucks"? Because people always round down. $9.99 looks like $9 to most people, so it seems a whole lot cheaper than $10. Look at gas stations; a gallon of gas isn't 2.87, it's 2.879, because people don't count that last 9/10 of a cent. But they still pay it. That's what marketing is all about. You manipulate the world to make people think one thing and pay another.

Nobody is complaining that the miniature blender isn't worth an extra dollar, or that the gallon of gas isn't worth the extra penny. They're complaining that someone is trying to trick them, which is precisely what is happening. We're wise to it. We don't *fall* for the trick. We just perceive that a trick is being played, and we don't like it.

So when we can't see the trick, it doesn't make the marketer look honest and forthright. It just makes us feel increasingly suspicious, because we know marketers play tricks, and if we can't see what the trick *is*... chances are we're about to get screwed.

Fool me once, and all that.

Re:Highly recommended game

[Idealius]

Kind of OT, but I would have to agree with the fact most people round down 9.99 to 9.

When I first noticed a friend back in my High School days make this mistake I was absolutely amazed.

Ironically enough it was for a PC game purchase.

The Price was something like 46.99 and he rounded down to 40!

Myself, I usually ALWAYS round up because of sales tax. e.g.

I think of 42.99 as 50. After a 7% tax it almost is 50.

It's funny because there are so many analogies one could use to show how ridiculous this practice is.

1: "Why do your reports show 0 patients?"
2: "Because they're all amputees"

1: "Hi boss."
2: "You're late. We were supposed to meet at 12:00"
1: "Sorry I had to clean out my car. I just
rounded down. It's still 12:59, what up?"

1: "May I have your credit card number?"
2: "Ok, 4000000000000000"
1: "I'm sorry sir but that credit card number is not valid."
2: "Hmm, did you enter the expiration date? it's 12/00, rounded down as uuuussuuuall."

1: "Thanks for bringing those parts over"
2: "No problem."
1: "Hey where's the distributor cap?"
2: "Meh I couldn't fit it in the box so I just rounded it down, you know, because it makes so much goddamn sense."

This is what we have been waiting for

[Inoen]

Publishers have been bashed so much recently ( here ), being accused of not wanting to make/publish anything that doesn't fit within their established success template.

Everyone has been waiting for an successful game to be developed and distributed independently. Well, here it is (maybe...)! I sincerely hope they can get distribution in the US market without a publisher, and possibly show the way for other developers. In time this can create a new development and distribution model that does not rely so heavily on marketing and fiscal-year concerns.

And this is new?

[rAiNsT0rm]

Publishers pass on most of the creatie and unique titles in favor of "safe" ones. I've been on this side of the industry and it really begins to piss you off when you see great, innovative project after project get scrapped or turned away time and time again from publishers. It is so frustrating.

The next-gen 360 and PS3 aren't going to help matters either. The development costs and efforts are going to be big risk and no one is going to stray much from the center. This is a loss for all gamers everywhere.

I get bashed for saying it, but these two consoles need to fail and fail big. If they are massive successes the game industry is going to become even more fractured and broken. They are doing nothing but perpetuating the core problem of the industry, and amazingly making it worse.

I am hoping Nintendo can buck the trend, not out of fanboyism or love for Nintendo, because I would say the same of any company that was taking their stance in this new console war.

Why? Because its not risky enough

[xenocide2]

Publishers make their real money by putting down the cash for the development of a game. Darwinia is finished; this means they get less control over the game, and less money for their investment. Given the already overwhelming number of talented independent game makers wheeling and dealing for publishers, the people who work for publishers are interested in the next big hit, a financial blockbuster.

Darwinia isn't going to be a blockbuster. It's interesting, but it hasn't had the press scores and coverage that publishers leverage for their piece of shit "like metal gear with more buttons". The good news is that Darwinia can be self-published quite easily. They won't ever score the big contract with Wal-mart, but there's plenty of publishers who regret that once their stock languishes on the shelf.