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Indie RPGs - On Reviews

by Dhruin, 2011-04-08 23:31:44

Blatantninja sends in this article at Ars Technica on why (too) rearly reviews on indie games can hurt sales. PR dude extraordinaire Tom Ohle (ex-BioWare, The Witcher, GOG etc) provides the background:

"Especially with smaller, more affordable games up to $10, you're really banking on a lot of players making an impulse purchase; at $50 it's more likely to be a well-thought-out decision," Ohle explained. "If a review is positive, you want people to be able to buy the game right then and there, and if they can't, there's a good chance they could forget about it, and you've lost that sale for the time being or, worse, forever."

The Rampant Coyote also tackles indie reviews, although looking at double-standards:

Now that being “indie” has gone from being an almost unknown term to something of a badge of honor (with all the annoying pretension that sometimes accompanies it), there have been some accusations – not entirely unjustified – that gamers and reviewers both have a double standard when it comes to indie games, heaping praise on an indie game merely for the virtue of being indie where a mainstream, traditional  game would earn little but derision.

On the one hand, I bristle at this. In a sense, it’s like people heaping praise on their kid brother’s efforts at writing a story, simply because “he’s trying.” It indicates greatly reduced expectations. I don’t want to expect less of indie games. In many ways, I shouldn’t have to.  ‘Cause there are a lot of places where indie games are breaking new ground, doing what mainstream games are no longer willing to do, and accomplishing some pretty impressive things. And if you want to talk “fun factor” – the pure entertainment value provided for your dollar – my favorite indie games compare favorably to all but the most addictive mainstream games in my library.

But let’s face it: If I truly wanted to erase those distinctions, I wouldn’t be calling them “indie games,” now, would I? Just… games.

Information about

Indie RPGs

SP/MP: Unknown
Setting: Unknown
Genre: RPG
Platform: Unknown
Release: In development


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