Arcen Games

General Category => AI War II => : Ovalcircle March 29, 2018, 05:13:04 PM

: AI War II Demo
: Ovalcircle March 29, 2018, 05:13:04 PM
Will this have a demo like AIWC?
Edit: One more question: Will the steam version be available for pre-order? Or will it be on steam the day it comes out?
: Re: AI War II Demo
: x4000 March 29, 2018, 05:28:41 PM
Probably not, to be honest. This game is absolutely huge in terms of file size, and distrubting that ourselves would cost a fortune. Putting demos on Steam actively reduces sales for any game, which is why you don't see those anymore; it gives a prospective buyer a feeling that they aren't doing their dye diligence if they don't play the demo, so they delay buying, sometimes indefinitely.

On the flip side, Steam's refund system, paired with let's plays, user reviews, and professional reviews give players more of a chance to learn about games without a demo than ever before. So as much as I used to be a proponent of demos, to my own surprise I've changed my tune.

But I love he refund policy that lets you get your money back if you don't like it, I have to say. It's equivalent to a demo, except you get the full experience for up to two hours; and it doesn't come with the negative psychological baggage that suppresses sales. People make refunds on our games for a variety of reasons every month, but I'm proud to say we're better than average in the store in people not wanting to. For me, with those people that did take the refund, I'd rather they have their money back and be happy rather than being disgruntled with me.

I know I changed the subject a bit, but the whole industry has really changed since the first game came out, and these are the more current methods that seem to benefit everyone well.
: Re: AI War II Demo
: Draco18s March 29, 2018, 06:56:29 PM
I think I'm with Chris here.
The refund policy makes demos effectively obsolete.

The no-demos no-refund period of several years ago was awful. I certainly no longer pre-order anything unless I'm getting it for the price of coffee (under $5). I do not mind throwing $2-5 at an indie dev who has a great idea, and not worrying about it.

But I don't pay $20+ for anything these days unless I have reviews and the game is launched. And if I'm still unsure I'll set a timer for 90 minutes, exit the game, sit back and consider "do I want more?" (note: I've done this twice, and I returned one*)

*The other I probably should have, but its flaws and frustrations didn't become apparent until 6 hours in.
: Re: AI War II Demo
: x4000 March 29, 2018, 07:29:14 PM
I actually refunded the second Wolfenstein game, the newest one.  I was sooo excited for it, too.  But the enemies were just infuriating and the level design was horrid.  I marked it as "too hard," because I was literally getting curbstomped repeatedly at this one area with a nearly-insta-kill sorta guy with no telegraphs of his moves, and I was just so frustrated.  I'm glad other people like it, but it wasn't for me.

I don't know if I would have found out from a demo how I really felt.  With the Force Unleashed, I really liked the demo, and that showcased the best of the game.  What wasn't apparent was that after that it was just more of the same but in progressively worse environments for a while.  It's easier to tell, sometimes, with the full game.  Just as a consumer, I definitely no longer preorder unless I have a personal desire to see a game succeed that otherwise might not, and I'm big on reviews and videos to decide what I want.
: Re: AI War II Demo
: Draco18s March 29, 2018, 09:19:36 PM
I actually refunded the second Wolfenstein game, the newest one.  I was sooo excited for it, too.  But the enemies were just infuriating and the level design was horrid.  I marked it as "too hard," because I was literally getting curbstomped repeatedly at this one area with a nearly-insta-kill sorta guy with no telegraphs of his moves, and I was just so frustrated.  I'm glad other people like it, but it wasn't for me.

Yeah, that's what I did with the one game I refunded. It was too hard and I was getting curb-stomped repeatedly.

The game had mechanics to deal with anything the game threw at you...but every time you died you started with hug-all resources and had to scrounge them up again, but the game didn't give you TIME to scrounge up resources.