humble origin

[Darkvision]

Ok this is kind of neat, not hacking related but it IS great deals on PC games with the money going to good causes.


https://www.humblebundle.com/

[Kulverstukas]

lol who buys games these days...?

[Phage]

I thought everyone knew about this already?

Anyway, I like the idea behind this. Plus you can get some really great games for a small amount of money. And hey, the money is going to a good cause.

[Fur]

I was about to post the same thing after I checked the unread posts.

For less than £3, I though it was rather good. I especially love the concept behind Mirror's Edge.

[Darkvision]

I thought everyone knew about this already?

Anyway, I like the idea behind this. Plus you can get some really great games for a small amount of money. And hey, the money is going to a good cause.

heh well i just found out about it today, and wanted to share for those who may not have known about it.


@kulver - the video game industry is the ONLY entertainment industry i can think of that isnt wholly and totally corrupt. So no i dont mind supporting it. its super cheap entertainment. on top of that a massive pack of games for whatever you want to pay for them without worries about getting a nasty letter in the mail, online backup etc is well worth it, especially when its going to a good cause. Not saying some of the charities listed are in my opinion great, but they are still at least a charity.

[vezzy]

The major players definitely are, I would say. We've seen a general decline in game quality, dumbing down and simplification of gameplay mechanics, incessant DRM, selling vital content as DLC (anyone still remember expansion packs?), the horrors of crunch time, decrease in native SDKs and modding support, bland and unpolished textures, and so forth.

The indie and underground developers counteract it, but this applies to all entertainment. Especially film and music.

[xC]

The game industry isn't corrupt? I understand a lot of time and effort goes into development of original, new-generation games. However, take Call Of Duty for example, they release a new one about every 6 months with minor graphic enhancements and a different set of weapons/maps then charge 60 or 70 bucks for it everytime. That is ridiculous.

[Darkvision]

The game industry isn't corrupt? I understand a lot of time and effort goes into development of original, new-generation games. However, take Call Of Duty for example, they release a new one about every 6 months with minor graphic enhancements and a different set of weapons/maps then charge 60 or 70 bucks for it everytime. That is ridiculous.

i said it wasnt wholly corrupt, not that their wasnt any corruption, especially when compared to movie/music industry its hardly even noticeable. DRM, cookie cutter games, bugged to hell games.(some that are flat out unplayable) However their is no abuse of their workers(ass ton of that in both video and music industry...), reasonable costs to the game. yes it might be 60$ but considering the amount of money going in to development for next gen games, and what is still not a giant market any number of "major" releases break even or even loose cash. The indie scene is not bullied by the giants in the same way that happens with the video/music industry, hell some of the largest game companys out their ARE the indie companys, and the most played game in the world IS from an indie company(League of Legends). Yeah Riot is "huge" now but they were an upstart, Farm Ville made their indie parent company mad cash and a huge force to be reckoned with...and they went straight asshole from it, but still the point is indie developers can go from "never heard of them" to wild success with 1 game still. The same can not be said about the rest of the entertainment world.

[vezzy]

However their is no abuse of their workers

What?

You've never heard of crunch time? It can be quite a burden both physically and mentally, and on top of that game programmer salaries aren't as good as for programmers from other sectors.

but still the point is indie developers can go from "never heard of them" to wild success with 1 game still. The same can not be said about the rest of the entertainment world.

Plenty of examples of independent artists becoming highly successful after their first release, and retaining a cult status for quite a while.

There's also independent directors who become well known after their debut.

This is all the easier nowadays where the World Wide Web makes viral and guerrilla marketing easy and inexpensive.

[Darkvision]

What?

You've never heard of crunch time? It can be quite a burden both physically and mentally, and on top of that game programmer salaries aren't as good as for programmers from other sectors.

Plenty of examples of independent artists becoming highly successful after their first release, and retaining a cult status for quite a while.

There's also independent directors who become well known after their debut.

This is all the easier nowadays where the World Wide Web makes viral and guerrilla marketing easy and inexpensive.

As if movie makers dont have 12+ hour days for the entire time of making a movie? but im not talking that kind of "abuse" i mean "if you want this job get on my dick" absue. hint:casting couch porn may be a "big" sensation now, but the term wasnt invented because of the porn industry, it was invented because of the movie and record industry forcing young aspiring artists/actresses to have sex with them to get a part/join a label. Im not even talking about all the crap that has gone on behind the scenes that is hinted at here or their..but actual lawsuits etc that have been filed over this stuff. While you might occasionally get that kind of abuse at any company from a boss, this was common place and practiced all over, in every major studio and record company. Im sorry your boss working you a few extra hours doesnt count as abuse compared to that. Or hey how about your manager etc purposely getting artists hooked on drugs to better be able to control them. world of difference.


Yes a few over the past 50 years have managed to come out and be a success as indie developers. However even the "successful" ones still talk about how the industry does everything in its power to screw them or stop them from being successful. Yes the internet is changing this some, which is why these media giants cry all the time about how evil everyone is and how they cant afford a 3rd solid gold toilet on their private jet now. Pre-internet age the independents had it even harder. In either age Indie game company's have gone from no names to house hold names. They still got on major game systems, still were accessible to PC, often in the form of freeware/shareware coming with other purchases. All the internet age did was allow them to be even freer and crazier with their ideas. Some have been amazing, and they got rewarded for it. Flat out though no matter what time period your looking at game designers have had a MUCH easier time of getting recognized because the big guys over all dont attempt to stop or screw with the small guys. Hell a lot of the big company's actively HELP indie developers. Dont forget that most of the major indie successes in movie/music have been so because of indie sites/events. Its what youtube was formed around as an idea. Letting the individual share whatever the hell they wanted, and yeah its made a lot of "indie" people or groups famous and rich, but it wasnt the big company's promoting them, and still isnt. Go check out indie artist of your choice on youtube even now after being bought by a big company. 95%+ of them easily arnt being "helped" by say vevo. They arnt part of the "club".


Anyway regardless of how you stack it its much easier to make it as an independent game maker than an artist, and a lot of that has to do with the media giants monopoly.