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Buying beta games (pre-orders with beta)
cliffski
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
What's the consensus on the 'mount n blade' model of making a game available for pre-order whilst in playable beta? Do people consider this to be a good or a bad thing?
On the plus side, I think this allows the developer to judge the likely interest in the game, and plan accordingly, as well as providing tons of feedback on how it plays from real paying customers before its declared finished. It also allows you to morph the game design more to the expectations of the gamers, rather than the designer.
On the negative side, people are paying for a game that isn't actually finished yet, and may not be understanding that this would mean a less stable and polished game at that point. It also runs the risk that people will write reviews and comments about an unfinished game judging it as though it's finished, generating bad publicity.
Mount N Blade seemed to avoid all the negatives, but are they a real risk?
Under what circumstances would you plonk down real cash to pre-order an indie game, that was in playable beta (given that you get access to the playable beta at that point). Do you need to have a discount on the final price to tempt you? would you just wait for the 1.0 release?
On the plus side, I think this allows the developer to judge the likely interest in the game, and plan accordingly, as well as providing tons of feedback on how it plays from real paying customers before its declared finished. It also allows you to morph the game design more to the expectations of the gamers, rather than the designer.
On the negative side, people are paying for a game that isn't actually finished yet, and may not be understanding that this would mean a less stable and polished game at that point. It also runs the risk that people will write reviews and comments about an unfinished game judging it as though it's finished, generating bad publicity.
Mount N Blade seemed to avoid all the negatives, but are they a real risk?
Under what circumstances would you plonk down real cash to pre-order an indie game, that was in playable beta (given that you get access to the playable beta at that point). Do you need to have a discount on the final price to tempt you? would you just wait for the 1.0 release?
cliffski on
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I mean, either you pre-order a game and hope you like it when it eventually ships...
Or you get to play the beta, and get a good idea of what the game is like before deciding whether or not to preorder. Sounds like a win-win to me.
So, I think M&B avoiding the negatives is a special case. I think it would be a terrible idea for a normal game.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
What I'm imagining is having a demo of the beta, and the full version beta copy is available to people who pre-order. Essentially, you just start selling version 0.9 (maybe at a discount) and everyone gets an automatic update to the latest version as you work towards 1.0.
How does that sound?
If you're making smaller, offline games, you should just have the open demo/beta, only giving constructive feedback leads to getting a discount on the final product. Unfortunately, this does exactly the opposite of what you hoped to do...
Fortunately, now that I have started playing again, the game is a million times better. But it could have very easily died out and that would be that.
I think it comes down to whether the devs can show that they are working hard to eventually put out a solid, fun product.
Edit: Of course, the deal with Mount & Blade was that you were getting the full (albiet in progress) game on the spot for 10 dollars. Trying to push a pre-order to play sort of deal could backfire.
Hell, I pre-ordered and shipped in Hellgate London just to get in the beta. Look how that turned out.
This is the key. The game must be in a state that whatever you are charging seems fair to a lot of people regardless of what happens later.
Then you can possibly build up some word of mouth.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
It isn't so common for single player titles. I've certainly never went for a preorder beta offer for one. Going through an experience that will be pretty static between beta and release doesn't have the same appeal. But if there's a strong multiplayer component, it becomes more tempting. Sessions against/with other players tend to have more longevity.
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That is exactly what happened with Mount & Blade, except at no point was it called a pre-order. It was a fully playable game in its own right, you were paying less for it because it was pre-1.0, and once the retail version was released you could upgrade to that. It wasn't missing huge features or anything, just rough around the edges and in need of tweaks (quite a lot of them actually).
Basically it was for sale before it was finished.
From what I saw of the demo early on, that wasn't really the case at all. The engine was mostly complete, sure, but the actual content of the game barely existed. All you could really do was trade, roam around killing people, and fight in the arena.
That reminds me, did the original-style (other than the ones in the tournaments, but those are difficult to reach if you're at war) arena fights get removed completely? I miss them.
Well I didn't get the game til version 0.95 or so, so I'm likely wrong.
And do you mean where they put you in the arena with training weapons and it's a free-for-all, to knock out as many guys as you can? Cos they're still in.
No, 2 to 4 man teams with training weapons. Sort of like the tournaments, except that you could do it whenever.