The Castle Doctrine Forums

Hi! I'm new here, and hadn't heard about your game before today. It sounds like my kind of thing, and I just might buy a copy tomorrow, when I get paid.

I'm caretaker of a huge and growing Steam library, and I shudder to imagine what I've paid into getting it there. I own pretty much every Humble Bundle from back when they were indie and DRM-free and cross-platform. I love indie games. I bought Minecraft back when it was semi-affordable, and bought Scrolls pre-release based on my enjoyment in Minecraft. I think I've played Scrolls all of twice. I buy all sorts of games that I never ever get around to playing, much less finishing.

I'm Steam's target demographic. Your post here makes me think I'm not yours.

Simply put, the way your plan hits me, on a low level, is something akin to "buy now or F right off". While there's a very good chance I'll be buying, and at the lowest price point, your plan means that if I don't, I will likely *never* buy your game. Years of Steam sales have conditioned me to buy at 75% off if it's even kind of interesting, buy at 50% off or more if it's AAA and I'm sad I missed it, and to otherwise skip it. It feels a lot like those AAA games who offer some shiny trinket unlock if I preorder, and then proudly proclaim that it's not going to be achieveable via gameplay. Never mind that most of those same games roll up all their DLC and exclusive addons into a GOTY edition 6 months later, it's the "now or never" presentation.

I wish you luck with your idea, and if widely adopted, I think it would give you a bigger initial spike and a smoother long tail. However, since not everyone else is following your plan, I think it's going to actually end up chasing away a lot of second-order buyers. People will see me playing, ask what it costs, and I'll have to say "I paid 8$, but you have to pay 16$", and they will decide not to buy. They may even counter with "It looks good, but I'll wait for a sale", and when I point out that you've sworn not to participate in sales, they'll say "Oh, ok, nevermind, I'll skip it" or "I guess I'll wait for 'Inevitable Sequel 2' and get the preorder pricing", which won't work either.

You're fighting something larger than you can handle. I admire your intent, Don Quixote, but I think the windmills are going to be unimpressed.