Let Us Talk Pricing, Shall We?

I was going to do this as a reply to a comment in my Pingvinas review, but it’s actually become a bit of a hot button issue on the scene.  So I figured I would talk about it.  I recieved the following comment from the developers of a game that will be reviewed shortly here, 3D-struction.  This is in response to my comments about pricing from the Pingvinas review.  Here is their comment, which I’ve cleaned up.

We’re in firm agreement about developers putting too much stock into their numbers and not enough on pushing their games.  I haven’t seen too much “outside the box” marketing from this community and that really surprises me.

I do respectfully disagree about price points though.  Ian Stocker, the developer of Escape Goat, is going to be addressing this issue right here at IndieGamerChick soon and he’s not taking my side of the argument.  I’m opening up my site to developers to post freely (yes, freely, as in you can even slam me and my reviews) and he’s the first to take me up on that.

But I’m going to use Ian as an example for my point of view.

My #1 game is here is Dead Pixels.  My #2 game here is Escape Goat.  Both games are retro-themed titles with 8-bit style graphics.  Both were well received games, not just from me but by the community at large.  Both received mainstream attention and a spot on the dashboard as a Kotaku pick.

Dead Pixels has sold 25,000 copies.  Escape Goat?  According to Ian, “only dozens.”

What is the difference between these two games?  Perhaps zombies are a better, more attractive subject matter than goats.  But, is it really 25,000 copies significant?

The significant difference is price point.  Dead Pixels cost $1.  Escape Goat costs $3.

This little piggy went to the market.

The article those guys sent I agree with in points and not in others.  However, my argument isn’t related to economics, cost to develop, or game quality.  It’s fully about consumer perception.  I believe, and no disrespect to any developer or the hard work they’ve put into their games, that gamers associate the term “indie game” with “non-professional, potentially unstable/unplayable/glitchy amateur games” that are not worthy of a significant cash investment, even if they are good games.  Whether this is true or not, it really is the consumer perception of the Xbox Live Indie Game marketplace.  As more quality games come in, that perception might change.  But it’s not likely to because there is no filter for XBLIGs and absolutely no quality control.

Right now, consumers can purchase games of remarkably high quality off the market for 80 Microsoft Points, or $1 USD.  It’s what the most promoted, mainstream reaching game the marketplace has seen was priced at.  And I feel once a consumer has a taste for that, it’s hard to justify high pricetags, especially when a lower one is an option.  The Minecraft games might be the exception because of the types of fans those cater to.  But in general, my (admittedly short) experience has taught me that 240MSP titles sell significantly less than others, with quality not at all relevant.

This little piggy stayed home.

Take Cthulhu Saves the World for instance.  Here’s a game that was 240MSP on the Xbox Live Indie Game marketplace.  It did poorly on the platform.  That’s despite mainstream attention, being promoted on the dashboard, being part of a promotion like the 2010 Winter Uprising, etc.  Then on Steam, at the same price point, it sells significantly better.  Many multiples better in fact.  And that’s because consumers perceive Steam as having better quality control, and higher quality games as a result.

On the flip side of that, consumers associate Xbox Live Indie Games as stuff that is more high risk.  There’s no quality control, and that’s plainly obvious to everyone involved.  Consumers associate XBLIG with games of poor quality, thanks in part to guys like, and I hate to bring up these guys, Silver Dollar Games.  You wouldn’t see stuff like their crap on Steam.  Period.  But you do constantly on Xbox Live Indie Games.  And not just from Silver Dollar, but from the majority of games on the marketplace.  And that perception suddenly makes even $3 a high risk investment.  It’s easier to buy three 80 point games using the fishing net strategy of “I’m bound to get at least one good game out of this” then it is to put all your money into one game and hope for the best.

You just don’t know what you’re going to get from Xbox Live Indie Games.  I’ve played games on here where, out of nowhere, the quality of a title suddenly falls off a cliff.  It even happened to one of my leaderboard games, Chester.  Midway through the game, there’s a level that takes about five seconds to beat.  What the fuck is that?  And mind you, this is a game I really liked.  A game that nearly became the #1 game on my leaderboard.  But it certainly did not put a premium on quality control, or shit like that non-level wouldn’t have happened.

I’m not going to bust on Silver Dollar anymore.  At the time I wrote that article against them, I was still new the scene.  Now, I realize they’re not the only developers that consciously shovel out stuff they know to be crap.  But I sort of have to use their games as examples because they have the most visibility.  Their rate of production means that someone new or returning to the Xbox Indie channel is likely to stumble upon one of their titles that are, admittedly eye-grabbing and maybe even attractive.  Then they try the game, hate it, and leave the channel.

What that situation does is taint all games, because a Silver Dollar Game that is priced at 80MSP is now painted into the picture with all XBLIG games, including ones not developed by Silver Dollar and priced at 240MSP or more.  Now that consumers associate games of that quality with the channel, they are really not going to want to put 240MSP at risk for one of those potentially poorly made Indie games.  $3 might not seem like a lot of money, but it’s only $2 less than Xbox Live Arcade Games that are on sale that week.  Those are games with a degree of quality control.  They are less likely to be  glitchy, and might even come from a major studio.  Plus, they come with all the bells and whistles of a real Xbox video game.  Achievements, proper online support, and professional levels of graphics.  During this Christmas season, I was able to purchase Beyond Good & Evil, a game that has had a pretty good amount of press, for the low price of 240 Microsoft Points.  That’s what Xbox Live Indie Games have to compete against.  Simply put, they can’t.

Plus, the argument fails to consider that games priced at 240MSP are generally no better or worse than their 80MSP counterparts.  240MSP might buy you amazing games like Escape Goat, Blocks That Matter, or Flight Adventure 2.  But, given the rate of bad games to good games, it’s more likely to buy you something like Raventhorne, Dragons vs Spaceships, or President John America.  The majority of consumers are more likely, just by the laws of chance, to sample those games over games of higher quality and have it taint their perception of the market.  I realize that some games are handicapped by the system Microsoft has created and are forced to price their games at $3.  I sympahtize with those people, because the system is forcing them to be, in my mind, uncompetitive.

I am willing to concede that the best-selling XBLIGs as of this writing are 240MSP.  There will always be exceptions to the rules.  Stuff like FortressCraft that made one million dollars will resonate in the minds of hopeful developers.  But those are games that are following a genre that is highly trendy right now.  They’re also probably selling significantly less copies of their games than they could on other platforms.  Reality shows that 240MSP, which is only $3, is too much to ask for your average Xbox 360 consumer.  That gamer is venturing into the Indie channel, not as a fan of it, but as someone who is looking for things to burn excess points on.  Quality is not going to be the tipping point for a three dollar game over a one dollar game.  Quantity is.  They can get more with 240MSP than with one game.  And, they can get a LOT of value out of those three games.  So if 80MSP is an option, you should take it.  I mean, you don’t think those Silver Dollar assholes would still be around if they were charging 240MSP, do you?

Kairi does not think the guys at Silver Dollar Games are assholes.  In fact, she respects them for sticking up for the XBLIG community, like they have repeatedly done.  However, she does think their games are about as fun as having glass shards forced under your fingernails. 

On the other hand, Kairi does quite enjoy being called a “Beacon of Hope.”  Wait, wasn’t that what the Jedis called Darth Vader?

UPDATE: Actually it would seem that Ian Stocker of Escape Goat did agree with my viewpoint.  Huh.  Well, either way you can expect something from him on this site sometime soon with the first installment of Tales from the Dev Side.

The Chick’s Monthly Top 10 Update: November 2011

We’re almost halfway through the first year of Indie Gamer Chick and it’s time for my 5th monthly update.  Like last month, only one new game has made the leaderboard.  Perhaps we’re nearing the point where a full month might pass by without a new member for it.  That’s not to say games are becoming poorer in quality.  November was actually a pretty good month for Xbox Live Indie Games.  I would like to give a quick shout-out to the good titles that didn’t quite get a spot on the board.

LightFish: XBLIG’s answer to Qix.  I adored my time with this game.  No title ever at IndieGamerChick has come as close to making the leaderboard and coming up short as it did.

Avatar Panic: Another remake of an arcade classic.  Maybe.  I’ve never really heard any old school gamer drone on about how they lost their childhood to Buster Bros.  Either way, I quite enjoyed Milkstone’s AHHHHHHHHH God damn it.  Every time I say their name it makes me think of Raven fucking Thorne. Let me try again: I quite liked their effort here and I think it’s criminal that this was one of their lowest selling titles.

Growing Pains: The guys who brought you some Xbox Live Arcade title return to their XBLIG roots with this dexterity-based punisher.  From what I’ve gathered, the general consensus seems to be “meh.”  I would go higher than that, even if my review didn’t indicate it.  I thought it was overall solid, even if the higher difficulty levels were a bit on the impossible side.

DLC Quest: I absolutely adored DLC Quest.  That’s why I hope there is never a sequel to it.  I know Ben Kane has been getting tons of requests for them.  For God’s sake Ben, don’t listen to them.  You successfully made a parody game where the joke didn’t stop being funny before the game ended.  Walk away a winner.  My sequelphobia aside, this game actually did what so many XBLIGs failed to do: take the piss out of gaming.  I don’t think it’s really a Top 10

VolChaos: I still don’t like it.  I do like Kris Steele’s other game, Hypership Out of Control.  Grab it for the iPad or iPhone now.  The dude has talent.

And for everyone who says that VolChaos is like Super Meat Boy, I don’t think so.  The similarities might be there, and Kris might have gotten some inspiration from it, but I don’t find the games particularly related.  I even went back and messed around briefly with it.  Super Meat Boy is based more on dexterity and acrobatics, while VolChaos is more of a game that tests your reflexes and focuses and quick thinking.  Growing Pains is much more in the vain of Super Meat Boy.  I would compare VolChaos to one of those auto-scrolling sequences where an enemy is chasing you, sort of like the dragon from Mega Man 2.  Of course, VolChaos doesn’t auto-scroll.  Maybe I missed too many games from that era but there’s really nothing I can directly compare it to recently.  Help me out people.

So it’s time to induct a new member into the IndieGamerChick Xbox Live Indie Game All-Time Top 10.  Instead of rehashing the list, I’ll just skip to the new game.  But first, a huge shout out to Andromium, which finally slipped off the list after three months.  It’s not a game that was very successful commercially, and that is a crying shame, because it’s one of the most original and entertaining XBLIGs I’ve had the pleasure of playing.  Guys, don’t miss it.  If you have 80 points to spare, go get it.

And now it’s time to welcome Escape Goat to the list.  It’s without question one of the best Xbox Live Indie Games I’ve ever played.  It has awesome old-school graphics that never tip their hat that they were developed with an Xbox 360 in mind.  The gameplay reminded me of Tecmo’s arcade and NES classic Solomon’s Key, but with much better play control.  In fact, the control was absolutely perfect.  Maybe that’s why I ended up being so hard on VolChaos.  It’s hard to look away at its control problems when I just played a game that was old school in theme but was completely without flaws in terms of playability.

In determining where it would go on the list, I weighed it against each current occupant.  Ultimately, I decided that it merited the #2 spot.  When I told Brian, he was stunned.  What I didn’t tell him until just now was that I had a very difficult time trying to determine if it had actually climbed to the #1 spot.  It was very close.  I still give the nod to Dead Pixels because it offers more replayability, with or without the added content that’s on the way.  And while we’re on that subject, quit hounding CSR Studios for the new Dead Pixels content you impatient fucks.  It will be ready when it’s ready.  You already have the best video game that 80 Microsoft Points can buy.  Be happy with it for now.

So that’s it for this month.  Thanks again to all my readers for your continued patronage.  I did have to retire the Developer Challenges and Indies in Due Time features, which really did sadden me.  But I think the Fuck Nostalgia feature went over, um, well.  And there will be a new feature this month called Tales from the Dev Side where I give developers a chance to talk about the creation of their games here, and an open forum to hate on me if they so wish.

Until next time, I’m not a FemNazi.  I’m Cuban.  I’m a FemCastro.

A big “Thank You” from Kairi Vice, and a chance to win 1600 Microsoft Points

Last month, I was kicking around an idea for an Xbox Live Indie Game community event that would give away dozens of free games, thousands of Microsoft Points, and hopefully cause a ton of promotion for the entire scene.  It didn’t pan out.  We actually got TONS of free games from developers, but perhaps my eye was bigger than my stomach.  So the big game giveaway likely isn’t going to happen and I’ve told the developers that they should do something else with the codes they sent.  If any developers are interested in me putting together a promotion specifically for their games with the codes they sent, they can contact me and I’ll see if I can come up with something.

Having said all that, I do have something to celebrate.  IndieGamerChick.com, as of today, has reached 50,000 unique page views.  Okay, so that number doesn’t sound mind-blowing, but it’s amazing for an Xbox Live Indie Game website.  In fact, that makes IndieGamerChick the most read XBLIG-centered website in the world.

I’ve only been doing this site since July, so it’s amazing how well it’s done in such a short period of time.  I can’t thank you all enough.  I’ve met a lot of cool people, hopefully sold a lot of great Xbox Live Indie Games, and had a genuinely great time doing it.  I can’t tell you how rewarding it feels to have someone drop a line to me on Twitter, Facebook, or in the comments section here telling me they bought a game based on my recommendation.  It’s often one of the highlights of my day.  It’s also great to see that people are clicking the marketplace links and checking out the games I cover here for themselves.  Roughly 1 in 16 page views results in a marketplace click.  Again, that’s not exactly stellar numbers, but that means nearly 3,000 total marketplace clicks have been achieved.  Most of those are for games in my top ten list, with LaserCat leading the way.  What I actually found gratifying was even former leaderboard games like Crosstown were getting plenty of marketplace clicks.

But we can do better.  1 in 16?  Pitiful!  Let’s get those numbers up.  If you see a game that looks good on here, at least head over to the marketplace and grab the demo.  If you like the game, spread the word to your friends.  Tweet it.  Post it on your Facebook.  Streak naked across the field during the Super Bowl holding up a cardboard sign proclaiming how much you love it.  Do whatever it takes, but get the word out.  Xbox Live Indie Games, even deserving ones, often struggle to find an audience.  A lot of people don’t realize that there are all these wonderful games out there for a measly 80 to 400 Microsoft Points.

There’s also a lot of great websites that also cover XBLIGs that are tragically getting overlooked, especially my amigos at Gear-Fish, Nate and Hurley.  Both have been short on time lately, but when they do write something, I think it’s spectacular.  There’s also my buddies at Two Fedoras who work very hard.  They cover the entire gaming spectrum, and they’re good, at least when they’re not outright plagiarizing my jokes (Geoff you cunt!)  so give them a chance.  There’s MasterBlud at Vintage Video Games TV.  For those of you keeping track, we’re currently on the “on again” part of our on again-off again friendship. But I can honestly say that without his help early on, I wouldn’t have taken off like I did.  Thanks Ryan.  Dcon, I didn’t forget about you.  Get your ass back to reviewing games.  I liked your stuff, kid.  Finally there’s the guys at GameMarx, rambling hippy-looking bastards that they are, I love their show.  Wow, this is really turning into an Oscar speech.

Since I’m giving shout outs, George Clingerman, Kris Steele, Dave Voyles, Jesse Chounard, Alex Jordan, Jack & Lisa Misiura, Brad OtakuDante or whatever the fuck your name is, Alan Charlesworth, and Jason Doucette, who always are open to discussing Xbox Live Indie Games with me.  I’m sure there are a lot of others I’m missing, but I’m really thanking everyone.  Finally, Bryce and especially Brian, my best friend.  I love you Brian.

Okay, so you endured this incredibly mushy, self-congratulatory, overly fluffy post.  So how would you like to win some Microsoft Points?  Just follow me on Facebook.  I have to admit, my ego is taking a beating because I only have 182 followers on it.  I have 500+ on Twitter.  Not a great amount, but satisfactory, even if Samuel L. Jackson isn’t following me.  Anyway, 182 sucks.  I want more.  Go to my Facebook page and hit “Like” and you’re entered to win.  On December 1, 2011 I’ll draw one person at random to win a code good for 1600 Microsoft Points.  Now there’s a chance that code might not work in your country (I’m still unclear whether a code from a prepaid Microsoft Point card works outside of North America) but I can’t do an exchange for a proper code for your country if that’s the case, so you’ll have to work that out once you have it.  Trade it to someone.  It’s worth $20 American!  Or, I guess technically zero according to the disclaimer on the card.

So thank you once again for making the first 127 days of IndieGamerChick the most successful 127 days any Xbox Live Indie Game website has ever had.  I hope I can continue to provide you with the type of reviews you’ve come to expect.  Xbox Live Indie Games are not dying.  They haven’t even peaked yet.  Yes, October sucked, but November is off to an amazing start.  If you see a game on here that seems like it might be your cup of tea, give it a try.  If you like it and buy it, let me know.  That is what makes the whole thing worth it to me.

The Chick’s Monthly Top 10 Update: October 2011

Let’s face it, October was a terrible month for Xbox Live Indie Games.  I played only two titles that truly were leaderboard contenders over the course of the month.  Those would be the dungeon crawler Dark Delve, which barely missed the cut, and airplane simulator Flight Adventure 2.  There were also a few decent titles like Blocky, Pixelosity, and Sherbet Thieves that might be worth a purchase but are hardly the kinds of games you’ll be badgering your friends to download.  Thankfully some really good-looking XBLIGs are on the horizon.  The sky is not falling, people.  It’s just one bad month, not Indie Armageddon.

Of course, I also did my first Xbox Live Arcade review this month.  So why isn’t Dungeon Defenders making the leaderboard?  It’s a matter of fairness.  Putting a game with about twenty times the budget, a publisher, and a built-in following against Xbox Indies is like having a high school football team take on the Raiders.  So there probably will not be a leaderboard for Live Arcade games in the near future.  This is also because they take longer to play and longer to write the review for.  It will likely be months before I’ve even reviewed ten.  Even though I plan on covering more platforms in the near future, IndieGamerChick.com will continue to focus primarily on Xbox Live Indie Games until the platform no longer exists.  Which, if you believe the naysayers, could be just a few months.

Besides, I think Dead Pixels is better than Dungeon Defenders.  There, I said it.

So it’s time for the leaderboard recap.  There’s not a lot of changes this month.  I guess this balances last month out.  Oh, and I wrote them in haiku form, which I’m sure I’ll regret about ten seconds after publishing.

#10 Andromium (Red Crest Studios)

Hot potato in space.

No shooting or power-ups.

I blew myself up.

#9 Flight Adventure 2 (CAVOK Games)

Fly a Mustang high.

Charles Lindbergh I am not.

Crashed often I did.

#8 Johnny Platform Saves Christmas (Ishisoft Games)

Christmas came early.

Puzzles and platforms mix well.

Life system still sucks.

#7 Blocks That Matter (Swing Swing Submarine)

Puzzles that are tough.

Rewards that are amazing.

Sequel me up boys.

#6 Star Ninja (Bounding Box Games)

Physics with ninja stars.

They bounce around like rubber.

Pirates go bye-bye.

#5 TIC: Part 1 (RedCandy Games)

Hello? Sequel please!

Screen shots or trailer perhaps?

Damn you Red Candy!

#4 Chester (BBG Games)

They keep adding more.

I have become worried now.

Please don’t ruin it.

#3 LaserCat (MonsterJail Games)

MetroidVania.

Hey, that is five syllables!

This shit is easy.

#2 Antipole (Saturnine Games)

Reverse gravity.

Run across the ceiling top.

Hey look, it is Kraid!

#1 Dead Pixels (CSR Studios)

DLC Coming.

Featuring the Gear-Fish twats.

I can hardly wait.

Yes, IndieGamerChick has now reached a new low.  Well, that’s it for another month.  Until next time, do the Mario!

Indies in Due Time: October 14, 2011

Kairi and Brian here.  We got trailers.  We will comment on them.  Yea.  Um, enjoy?  Oh, and for the sake of not having my site load too slowly, you do have to click “read more” or whatever to get to the rest of the article.  Sorry.

Read more of this post

The Chick’s Monthly Top 10 Update: September 2011

Another month and thousands of Microsoft Points later, it’s time to update the Indie Gamer Chick’s All-Time Top 10.  In the spirit that I have four developer challenges pending, I shall get to the list without further delay.

#10: Wizorb (Tribute Games)

Yes, I sort of assassinated Wizorb in my review of it, but I did it out of love.  People ask me why I’m so negative in my reviews, ignoring the fact that I said it was the best brick breaker on the Xbox 360.  Jesus, why do you guys focus on the negative?  Yeeesh.

#9: Andromium (Red Crest Studios)

Andromium was apparently savaged by those nincompoops who only review demos, and that’s a crying shame.  It’s unique take on the space shooter, IE removing the shooting part and replacing it with Hot Potato, is one of the most clever ways a tired genre has been salvaged that I’ve seen on the Xbox Live Indie Game marketplace thus far.  Next up I want to see a brawler that utilizes the game Red Rover.

#8: Johnny Platform Saves Christmas (Ishisoft Games)

My Twitter friends really came through on this one.  I put out a call asking for an older Xbox Live Indie Game that could realistically land a spot on the leaderboard.  Everyone seemed to agree that Johnny Platform Saves Christmas would be that game.  And they were right.

#7: Blocks That Matter (Swing Swing Submarine)

The winner of Dream-Build-Play 2011 has added some extra challenge levels that owners can already download for free.  And if you don’t already own this, come here so I can give you a nice gentle slap across the face for being a twit.  Blocks That Matter is far and away the best puzzler on the Indie marketplace.

#6: Star Ninja (Bounding Box Games)

If I had to pick just one Xbox Live Indie Game that I thought could be a breakout world-wide hit, it would be Star Ninja.  Despite its use of the insanely tired, way overused ninjas vs. pirates theme, Star Ninja has “it.”  That undefinable quality that leads me to believe it could be a time sink on the level of Angry Birds.  Bounding Box Games really needs to get it’s rear in gear and get this thing on iPhone.

#5: TIC Part 1 (RedCandy Games)

On September 13, Red Candy Games announced on their Facebook page that they were, quote, “up to something.”  And then, nothing.  You bastards.  TIC: Part 1 still dazzles with its amazing graphics and lighthearted platforming.  So that “something” better involve the number “2” and the word “part” (not in that order) or we’ll have to dust off that BFG 3000 that I threatened them with in my review.

#4: Chester (BBG Games)

Honestly, when I played Chester the first time, I thought it was awesome.  And it is.  It was clearly the star of the Indie Game Summer Uprising, with its clever use of different graphical skins to highlight a traditional action-platformer.  And yet, I’m deeply concerned about the status of the game.  Developer BBG Games is continuing to work on various tweaks and upgrades that sound like they will drastically alter the way it plays.  This could be a case of “one brushstroke too many.”

#3: LaserCat (MonsterJail Games)

Yep, it happened.  LaserCat has lost its title as the #1 game at Indie Gamer Chick.  But that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying its awesome take on platforming and exploration.  I recently gave it another play-through just to make sure that my love for it wasn’t the result of some kind of temporary chemical imbalance.  Nope, that’s not the case.  LaserCat is just fucking awesome, and you should own it.

#2: Antipole (Saturnine Games)

Antipole was already one of the best games on the scene.  Their recent patch that eliminated the issues of slowdown on certain stages cemented that status, making it the first game to actually climb up the chart after having already earned a spot.  Antipole’s update came one month too late to land it in the (anti)Pole Position, but it’s still the best platformer your Indie dollars can buy.

#1 Dead Pixels (CSR Studios)

The new champion at IndieGamerChick.com is one of my favorite Xbox 360 games.  Notice the lack of “Indie” in that last sentence.  Well unless you count “IndieGamerChick.”  Sigh, I mean that it’s not just good for an Indie game.  Got it?  Good.  Dead Pixels is an absolute joy to play.  It’s repetitive, clichéd, has too many “wink wink” moments to count, and it’s still the very best game the Indie scene has ever seen.  I enjoyed it more than any of the Summer of Arcade titles, or really pretty much any Xbox 360 game I’ve played this year, and there have been some real good ones.  Dead Pixels should have been a Live Arcade game.  It would have been a bona-fide hit had it been.  At $1, I feel like I committed an act of petty larceny when I played it.  And yet the dude behind this game is planning on piling on a lot more DLC for it.  If you don’t already own this, slam your head into a brick wall, dust yourself off, and then go fucking buy it already.  I expect this will remain the king of the hill for quite a while.

And thus we say goodbye to the month of September.  I have four pending developer challenges lined up already, along with a few other titles that look neato.  Indies in Due Time should be back next week, and maybe I’ll interview a developer or two at some point in October.  Until then, I want to once again thank my readers for making this month even more successful than the last.  Now go buy the games listed here.  You won’t regret it.