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Manifesto Games is Live

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the in-soviety-russia-jokes-totally-appropriate dept.

Conspiracy_Of_Doves writes "As reported before, Greg Costikyan, author of the Scratchware Manifesto has had a business plan in the works for a while now to do an end run around the PC Gaming industry and get indie games to the masses. Wait no more. Manifesto Games is officially GO! PC gamers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your retail chains!"

29 comments

  1. Um, Steam? by Etnie · · Score: 1

    Why is this so newsworthy?

    1. Re:Um, Steam? by bear+pimp · · Score: 1
      That's a good question! Steam aside - do we really need yet another games portal? There's already quite a few - realarcade(BOO!) bigfish, arcadetown etc. Trouble is, they all cater to the middle aged woman crowd who lap up those zen-state inducing casual puzzle games. Even steam is now moving into this space with its Popcap deal. Manifesto appears to be taking the angle: Screw casual, there's other indie games out there that we should be looking at. I totally agree, and its nice to make the distinction between indie and casual games for those (like me) who can't be bothered with the casual space, but want somehting a bit diffrerent. Whether this will be enough to differentiate them from sites that just carry everything, only time will tell. I do think Manifesto have made a good start by securing these games in particular:
      • Starscape My favourite indie game of all time, but I shan't go on about it as it's been covered enough by Slashdot. Starscape does not appear to be available anywhere else but Manifesto.
      • Alien ShooterSwitch off your brain! Here comes the Gore! I can't help but revel in painting the backdrop with alien blood!
      • Uplink Once again, not a lot needs to be said about this title as it's been covered to death right here on slashdot.
      It remains to be seen whether Manifesto can acquire enough of these titles, or even whether that many great examples exist.
    2. Re:Um, Steam? by ArmpitMan · · Score: 1

      Steam is actually not particularly great, business-wise, for indies.

  2. For four players? by tepples · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I have a set-top PC and four USB gamepads plugged into a hub. Will any of these games let me take advantage of them?

  3. Indie games... by Fyre2012 · · Score: -1, Troll

    for the most part suck.

    When you're competing with the WoW's, FF's and EQ's of the world the little guys don't stand much of a chance.

    It's in the numbers. How many people does it take to develop a successful 'big box' game?

    With independantly driven communities, the users tend to be of the 'anti-esatablishment' type anyway (take indie music as an example), and don't particularly feel like paying for something like this.

    As a business model, it just isn't going to work.

    But I hope i'm wrong and a crew of like 5 folks team up and write the best game ever, but that's rather unlikely.

    --
    This is not the greatest .sig in the world, no. This is just a tribute.
    1. Re:Indie games... by snard6 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Indie games... for the most part suck.

      But think of all the unique indie titles and names that could be yours! Ideas of a lifetime! You could never expect non-indie companies to come out with such awesome games as "Lucky Fisherman" or "Jelly Wars" or "Boogers in my Dinner". But that's not all!! Buy our indie games now and we'll even throw in a special prize. We'll have one of our developers come to your house and build YOUR own game!

      ... Er ... Maybe the old saying IS true, Ideas are a dime a dozen.

    2. Re:Indie games... by Aladrin · · Score: 1

      Not only that, but they stupidly hype their games to the point of unrealism and expect people not only to believe that, but still believe it after they've played it for a few minutes.

      And one of the games, an xcom clone, claims that they have to charge for online play because they have server maintenance costs, unlike RTS's. Eh, wait... Yes they do. Even if it's just the game hub, they have costs, too. Don't lie to me and then expect to get money from me afterwards.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    3. Re:Indie games... by twistedsymphony · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not necessarily

      How many people would it take to make the next Geometry Wars? or bring back a fresh but old-school gameplay platformer, or 2D fighter? Not to mention there's a huge gap between your WoWs and your Solitares. Bigger companies are testing how high they can push up the high end and almsot completely neglecting the low. Indie devs tend to start at the low and work their way up, but without at least a foothold at the bottom of the spectrum you'll never see that middle ground start to materialize.

      Indy developers aren't always anti-establishment but most often just some programers having fun in the spirit of the art in their spare time... and IMO we need more people like that in the game industry

      --
      Collector's Edition
    4. Re:Indie games... by XenoPhage · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hrm.. I dunno.. I took a look at some of the games on the site and they look pretty interesting. I agree, there's no WoW there, but maybe a low end Starcraft, or a decent RPG... Don't count them out yet, some of those games may be more fun that the average "big budget" games being pumped out..

      Look at something as simple as tetris.. How many years has it been? There are still variations coming out that people are more than willing to pay for.. Lumines anyone?

      --
      XenoPhage
      Technological Musings
    5. Re:Indie games... by Vraylle · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If an Indie game developer tries to make a game to stand up against the "WoWs, FFs, and EQs of the world" their efforts WILL suck in comparison. Successful Indie developers (which I define as those that make at least a comfortable living making their games) don't try to compete at that level. They take a unique idea with a unique approach, or more often, try to appeal to the casual gamer (or they do both). The biggest problem for a decent Indie game is cutting through the noise of lesser works when you have something truly special.

      --
      Mutant Freaks of Nature: "Frighteningly Addictive"
    6. Re:Indie games... by Kindgott · · Score: 1

      And one of the games, an xcom clone [snip]

      If you're talking about Laser Squad Nemesis, it was deveolped by the authors of Laser Squad and X-Com -- you'd notice if you paid more attention to the game description. I suppose making a new version of your own game is a clone, but it would be less derisive to call it a sequel. The game is actually quite good, and has been around for a few years now. I'd played the demo but wasn't interested in the full version due to the fact that I don't know anyone that would be interested enough to play against me, and I'd rather play multiplayer than single player.

      --
      If there's anything more important than my ego around here, I want it caught and shot immediately.
    7. Re:Indie games... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To answer your question "How many people would it take to bring back a fresh but old-school gameplay platformer"
      Alien Hominid was made by 4 people.

    8. Re:Indie games... by c_forq · · Score: 1

      You attacked the right game for the wrong reason. I visited the site, saw this game, and proceeded to freak out with excitement (I loved X-Com, it is easily my favorite game to date). But then I played the demo... and it is pretty much nothing like X-com, added to the fact that it costs money for a limited single player game (you could go on for ever in X-com) and a multiplayer that doesn't look exciting. I'm not sure how it happened, but it seems like the creators of X-com failed on everything that made X-com great.

      --
      Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
    9. Re:Indie games... by Aladrin · · Score: 1

      Well that's easy: 1 man does not make a video game. Not even a team of programmers. It's an entire set of teams for art, programming, plot, gameplay, and other elements I'm sure I'm forgetting. Every time some hype says 'from the developers of x' I just laugh because even if it's under the same company, some of the talent has left and been replaced. It's not the same team, ever.

      But I attack them for lying, not for the game itself. I didn't care for xcom and I didn't even try this game. Any company that flat out lies on their website won't get anything from me except badmouthing.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
  4. I still have not played any game as much as... by Ibn+al-Hazardous · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Tetris...

    Sorry, but I had to say it. A game can be something else than an ultra realistic world simulation in many polygons and big textures, and still be fun. In my book that is even a pro, and there are more people like me; and they are casual players - the group that the market desperately wants to target, you will never get casuals to play EQ or WoW - possibly FF, but not for long - and at a friends place.

    So, is it possible to do something like tetris on 5 people, get it really polished - and do the QA? Yes, it's a question of getting a good enough idea - and to actually develop it. And making a clone of something old is not it. Second question, will a startup do that? Not in 1000 years.

    But if there are 1000 startups...

    --
    Yes, I am a biological organism. All rumors to the contrary are just that, rumors.
    1. Re:I still have not played any game as much as... by Fyre2012 · · Score: 1

      oh yes, we love tetris...

      I too, admit my cell phone tetris addiction =)

      --
      This is not the greatest .sig in the world, no. This is just a tribute.
    2. Re:I still have not played any game as much as... by jdonnis · · Score: 1

      Exactly - the developer of Tetris made a game concept that was good enough to get a proper publishing deal...
      That he got screwed with a fixed sum deal is only his problem.

      There is a reason for most indies not being picked up by publishers - they suck...

  5. I don't get it by Darkforge · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm a game developer. What exactly is Manifesto supposed to do for me? He's obviously not going to put my game in a box and sell it retail. He's not going to get me a development kit for the major consoles. (As you know, only large-scale publishers can purchase those dev kits, at any price.) He's basically going to sell my game for me online, and take a cut. Gee, thanks pal. I can accept PayPal on my own, thank-you-very-much.

    The Manifesto Manifesto is nothing but a list of complaints, not a list of services that Manifesto offers.

    But then, suppose I'm intrigued, so I want to sign up and sell my game through Manifesto. How do I do that? The "Help" page is busted.

    --

    When I moderate, I only use "-1, Overrated". That way, I never get meta-moderated!

    1. Re:I don't get it by CDarklock · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think the biggest projected benefit of Manifesto is to serve as a portal where lots of people come to see good games.

      However, there's one critical thing missing: there is no draw for the game PLAYER to come to this site. It's a classic case of the consumer and the customer being different. The consumer of this site is the game developer. Unfortunately, the customer needs to be the game player.

      Game developers always have a list of the greatest games ever that you just HAVE to play, and game players know damn well that most of those games suck... because we're not just players anymore. We look at things through different eyes and judge them on different criteria.

      Unfortunately, what appeals to the player is... what big publishers are already providing on a much larger scale. Oops.

      --
      Microsoft cheerleader, blue flag waving, you got a problem with that?
    2. Re:I don't get it by fondue · · Score: 1

      It seems to just be another of the hundreds (if not thousands) of online distribution portals, only with an arbitrarily limited pool of content, and marketing copy that actively insults anyone who might dare to consider games created in a professional environment might be valid entertainment.

      --

      Preferences > Homepage > Customize stories on homepage > Authors > Zonk > Uncheck

    3. Re:I don't get it by DavidTC · · Score: 3, Informative

      There are already perfectly good game portals out there, run by actual gaming communities that don't have any sort of incentive to promote crap games.

      What's more, they're focused on specific genres, and even like different things within each genre. So you just find one or two that roughly lines up to what you find interesting, read the reviews (The big sites can get prerelease reviews, but sometimes the big sites aren't the best.), check out screen shots, read the forums, and you'll soon have a good idea what games you might like.

      Why on earth would we trust a place selling the game to tell use it's certainly a good game and we certainly should buy it? It's not like, after we find an interesting game, we're too damn lazy to google it and buy it online from the publisher. Hell, the existing portals have links to their webpages.

      This whole concept is idiotic. If you want a game portal, google the type of game you like, and 'forum', like 'adventure game forum' or 'fps forum'. See what review sites they're talking about, check them out.

      And most of those places have specific 'indie' areas.

      --
      If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
    4. Re: I don't get it by dosboot · · Score: 1

      You are basically echoing his theory. Developers will want to use his site precisely because they can't bring their game to retail and something like Manifesto is the next best thing. Sure, you could sell it on your own website, but he can generate more traffic and he pays for all the bandwidth for the distribution. Obviously he has to take a cut somewhere, and it is my understanding that it is a lot less than the retail cut.

      What makes Manifesto Games unique as I take it is that his site is going to attract real gamers with games they like. Portals like RealArcade attract casual gamers. He wants to sell games that big publishers won't take chances on and small developers can't bring to retail.

      The draw for gamers is to be able to easily find *real* games that aren't the same old repetitive games that fill up retail.

      Right now the site is an 'open beta'/stress test. That may be why the help page is busted.

  6. Indie games? by Bieeanda · · Score: 1

    I found Dreamfall (by Anarchy Online developer, Funcom) and Castle Marrach (by pay-for-play developer Skotos) in their lists of available games. I don't think that either of those companies counts as "indie"-- though the part where Castle Marrach's write-up calls the rest of the industry "philistines" certainly reflects an unfortunate indie stereotype. The rest, with the occasional exception like Crimsonland or Deadly Rooms of Death, looks like the kind of shareware crap you might find cluttering up download.com or the rotating jewel-case racks at your local EB. The whole thing looks more fanzine than manifesto.

  7. Uh, it's just a beta by costik · · Score: 3, Informative

    Oh well. Guess we get a stress test today as well.

  8. MAN-FEST! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They did a big logo design some time ago, and I cringe every time I see the one they chose.

    MAN!FEST GAMES - Games for the man inside you. Mmmm.

  9. "Great" logo. by Peganthyrus · · Score: 1

    You know what I read this logo as?

    "MAN! FESTER games".

    Given that one can sum up the half the problems with the current games industry as "games by men! for men!" I can't really see this logo attracting new, non-HARDCORE!!! audiences.

    --
    egypt urnash minimal art.
    1. Re:"Great" logo. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? I thought the problem with the games industry was that all the games were festering piles of copycat claptrap.

      P.S. Miyamoto can still design a game and uh, he's a man... and I never stopped playing a game and thought "Gee, the problem with this is.... it was designed by a man!!! A man who had a problem where he thought he should only design games for men!!!", but then again I'm not a big fan of Playboy Mansion or The Man Game.

      P.P.S.: "Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 23 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment", gee, ya'd think that'd be enough!

  10. Prove it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bandwidth doesn't cost that much these days. So nix that as a benefit (indies can always put their games up on Download.com or fileplanet for FREE).

    Next benefit:

    Sure, you could sell it on your own website, but he can generate more traffic ...

    Oh? He can? Prove it.

  11. Why Care? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you're a small (PC) developer: these guys offer marketing for a very reasonable cost. (IE, no other portal I'm aware of passes on such a high percentage of the sale price to the developer)

    If you're a (PC) gamer: these guys are collecting some cool games for you to check out. Sure you could have ferreted them out on your own, but if everyone was willing to do that we wouldn't have a need for marketing in general.

    If you're a large (PC) developer or a console developer: this isn't for you. Not everything is.