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XNA Indie Games! Now with 80pt ($1 USD) game option!

RainbowDespairRainbowDespair Registered User regular
edited April 2010 in Games and Technology
So Microsoft's XNA Community Games is almost released to the public and yet I've heard next to no buzz or press on it. Seriously, what's up with that? In just a couple of weeks (with the launch of the new XBox experience), hobbyist developers will be able to put their homemade games on XBox Live for sale and download by anyone. This is an event unprecedented in the history of gaming (the creation of a truly independent gaming scene for consoles) and yet none of the major gaming websites seem to be covering it? Truly unthinkable!

So in order to rectify the lack of hype for this new venue for hobbyist developers to create their own games without worrying about publishing concerns and for gamers to play some hopefully awesome independent games, I've created this thread. I hope this thread serves two purposes:

1 - Inform people on what XNA Community games is.

2 - Gives gamers a venue to discuss available games; which games are worth playing, which ones should be avoided at all costs.

3 - Give developers a place to talk about their game project's development.

So there's the purpose of the thread, let's get going with the informative section of this post!

What is XNA Community games?
- a system whereby indie developers can release their XBox 360 games to the masses.

What do you need to release a game onto XNA Community games?
- All you need is a full fledged XNA Creator's Club membership ($100/year) and a developed game. Once you've placed your game onto the system and the game passes the peer review process (where other members of the Creator's Club download your game to make sure that your description of it isn't misleading), it'll be put on the Live Marketplace so anyone with an XBox 360 and an Internet connection will be able to purchase and play it.

How much will games cost?
- The developer will set the price at either 200, 400, or 800 MS points ($2.50, $5, $10 USD respectively). If your game is over a certain size (50MBs I believe), you will only be able to charge 400 or 800 MS points.

How much of a cut of the money does the developer earn?
- 40% to 70%. 70% is the default amount, however if Microsoft advertises your game, you'll get a smaller percentage for purchases made during that time.

How will developers be paid?
- In cash, once a quarter.

What features can community games use?
- Community games can use pretty much all the features that regular XBox 360 games can use, however they don't have Achievement points, online leaderboards, or DLC. They are also limited in size (I think 150MBs is the max).

So does that mean that my community game can support custom controllers & have online play?
- You bet as long as you're able to program that stuff in.

How do I showcase my game once it's ready for submission?
- The developer can create box art for the game (which will show up in the marketplace), demo videos, an icon for the game, screenshots, along with a description of the game. If you program your game correctly (check the Best Practices guide on creators.xna.com), people will be able to see when their friends are playing your Community game and even what part of the game they're in which can help advertise your game.

So when can we start selling and buying community games?
- When the new XBox experience is released, November 19th

What games will be available at launch?
- No details have been released yet, however it's expected that many of the submissions in this years Dream-Build-Play competition will be available at launch.

So as you can imagine, I'm really excited about this. I've got my own project I'm working on (a Choose Your Own Adventure-esque digital novel called Molly the Were-Zompire), but even excluding that, I'm excited to see what wonderful games come out on the service. Admittedly, the vast majority of community games will probably be garbage, but if XBLA is any indication, there should be some real gems amongst the dross. Let's make sure that those worthy games are not ignored!

EDIT: Now that XNA Community games are out, here's a list of the games that are listed as being out in the first week:

==200 point games==

Rift - Robotron-esque with a time stopping mechanism. Graphics look very amateurish in the screenshots, but might still be fun.
Galax-E-mail - Shmup.
Alien Ambush - Retro shmup.
UAV War - 3D Flying/shooter game.
Cubage - It's a Rubix Cube.
Abstacked - Puzzle game.
Bad Atom Episode 1 - Space shooter.
Organon - 3D Space Shooter. Pretty graphics.
Beat It - Party game.
Poker Ball - Poker crossed with Arkanoid.
Lines - Puzzle game. Looks like Gunpey with Lumines graphics.
Bloc - 2D Shmup/Puzzle game. Could be fun.
Fuel Depot - shmup.
Being - 2D platformer. Supposedly decent.
Space Combat - shmup.

==400 point games==

Funky Punch XL - a colorful 2D (w/3D graphics) one on one fighter.
Brain Party - Brain Age-esque minigames.
Smashell - 3D platformer. Decent graphics.
In the Pit - An audio only game. Control a monster who lives in a pit and eat the people who fall in.
Artoon - Q-Bert crossed with JSRF. Very stylish graphics.
Totem - Puzzle game involving indian totem poles.
Blow - Blow bubbles through levels. Nice earthy art.
Loot, Steal, and Destroy - Party/Board game.
Tail Gun Charlie - 3D shmup?
Fruit Attack - Falling puzzle game.
Endless Swarm - Looks like a cross between a tower defense game & Missile Command. I love Missile Command so I need to try this out.
Duotrix - Falling puzzle game with two boards simultaneous.
Weapon of Choice - Action/Adventure game. 3rd place winner in this year's Dream-Build-Play competition so it's probably worth checking out.
Drift - Not a game. More like a screensaver.
Word Soup - Puzzle game.

==800 point games==

Biology Battle - Geometry Wars style game. Demo was fun on the PC. Looks pretty well done.
Colosseum - 3D brawler.

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