Blog: "One Month after Amnesia's release"

[Casey]

on the subject of replay value yes there is no reason to play Amnesia again but thats not stopping me beating the game lets see......4 times now? I think if people love your games there gonna play them over and over again just because how awesome they are.

On the pirating subject I completely agree with Frictional Games Pirating is bound to happen but I think it needs to stop it spits on the devolopers and after all the time and sweat and imaganation put into Amnesia it deserves better than that if I ever see a site pirating it or person advertising about their pirated copy of Amnesia I will make sure that site never works again.
i really want to work for Frictional Games I love their games so much and I have always wanted to be a game devoloper I love making and creating stuff.

[zak]

I wouldn't be surprised if people got the game, used a steam key, then word of mouthed it to a mate.. BUT SENT THEM THE OTHER "OFFICIAL" DOWNLOAD LINK, AS IT "FELT" LIKE WE BOUGHT 2 COPIES, NOT ONE.

Well, I can only speak for myself, but...
MY KEYS ARE ALL MINE!!! Whaaaa...!

No seriously, I paid for them both and want to keep them both. And if I meet someone who wants to play the (full) game, I would urge them to pay for it.


But I am thinking about another payment method:
The complete (next) game is financed by preorders. If the mark reaches a certain level, the game is considered as "paid off" and will be released. If too few people pay for it, it won't be released. Maybe this can be combined with 'episode-like' methods where parts of the game are released earlier (to people who have paid), and further development needs more money... something like this.
I know this has flaws... what about the people who have paid, if the game will never be released for example.... Hmm...

[Casey]

on the subject of replay value yes there is no reason to play Amnesia again but thats not stopping me beating the game lets see......4 times now? I think if people love your games there gonna play them over and over again just because how awesome they are.

On the pirating subject I completely agree with Frictional Games Pirating is bound to happen but I think it needs to stop it spits on the devolopers and after all the time and sweat and imaganation put into Amnesia it deserves better than that if I ever see a site pirating it or person advertising about their pirated copy of Amnesia I will make sure that site never works again.
i really want to work for Frictional Games I love their games so much and I have always wanted to be a game devoloper I love making and creating stuff.

By the way if anyone wants to see my LP of Amnesia and my review here is my youtube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/gondule?feature=mhum
Maybe theres a chance Thomas will watch it

[hollowleviathan]

Yet another issue is that as you approach solidifying the details of your next game, you can start to push out promotional information about it, which can have a blowback effect of boosting sales of previous games. Coupling a package/deal of those games to a pre-order of the next one could be savvy, as well.

[ajvitaly]

Halloween is approaching! Even if it's a modest discount, something like 25-33% would be enough to push as-of-yet purchasers over the edge and, given the time of the year, the attention of a discount around Halloween would be enough to get a nice spike in sales.

I know I'd happily buy other people copies if this happens!

[mattwestwick]

Minecraft appeals to the lowest common denominator of gamers. Its simple and doesn't end. Effective.
Also it was plugged on the TF2 homepage so that no doubt doubled its sales.

Thats just the way it is with TF2 players. Give them a free hat for buying a game and its a hit. Until recently TF2 had been updated for free over the last 3 years and the money the fanbase saved could be aquired by advertising other steam titles to them and giving them some shiny pixels in return.

I'm sure frictional have no intention of building a cult and implementing microtransactions to maintain a following.

However the economy of games is evolving rapidly towards this style of business and people no longer trust themselves to buy one-off titles with no multiplayer. It's not a pretty concept but it is becoming the norm and consumers are almost fully conditioned towards this method. Gaming is not a solitary pursuit anymore and people are more open to spending time on games with others for social interaction.

The best comparison I can make is with Bioshock. I followed this title through development and originally it was intended to be a hardcore survival horror very similar to Amnesia. Also it was much more akin to the original system shock series style. Emotionally draining as well as mentally taxing.

Once the developers i.e. Ken Levine came under pressure from the publisher they were forced to dumb it down siginificantly and resort to a largley run-and-gun type shooter, straying far away from the dark and visceral style it was intended to be. Naturally this was done to appeal to as many console gamers as possible and in my opinion took much away from the game I was expecting. Most of the enjoyment I recieved was from my own imagination and anticipation of the original concept coming to fruition.

If anything the game was popular because of the original elements such as moral choice and self-degredation in the pursuit of power. The FPS elements were added purely to appeal to the COD, Medal of Honor regulars upon which the deeper aspects of the story would pass over their heads; but still give a cheap thrill from blasting a bad guy.

Bioshock 2 which many would agree was mediocre, was developed largely under the people who pulled Bioshock towards a mass-marketable product. And as such, became more of a mindless shooter than before, tacking on poor multiplayer, and losing much of the trust in its fanbase.

Fortunately the publisher realised this and reinstated the original creators to work on the newest title. The reason for the series' longevity is the original elements that stayed true to the creators vision.Sure, adding marketable draws sold some extra copies but at the expense of fans expectations and the valuable content within the games.

So whats my point? I wanted to give an example of how sticking to your ethos is what keeps people returning and that selling out will only work once.

On a positive side. I believe that games like amnesia will persist due to the quality of its experience. I could only recommend greater integration into the steam system as this is where the future of gaming is at. And Gabe Newell is all for cheap exhilirating games that provide a bang for your buck. But you need to provide some source of longevity without degrading the style or value of the single game. The level editor tool is excellent but requires some expertise and effort (unlike minecraft) which would dissuade people from using it.

Multiplayer or co-op is not out of the question. In fact if frictional could master this within the style of their games it would be truly groundbreaking and give a reason for people to keep playing. Not that I have the expertise but generally it is easier to prevent piracy at least over the online aspect of a game. Something like the multiplayer modes in the original Alien vs Predator, (and not like F.E.A.R. whatever number it was, which had crappy co-op modes) would be amazing in the worlds Frictional create. With custom scenarios like they already have, but streamable for online users to connect to and engage in. Think Dungeons and Dragons.

If you wanted multiplayer to succede with Amnesia for example. You would have to maintain the emotional experience of the solitary gamer. i.e. restrict voice or text communication after the initial setup. Metaphorically speaking: the game host is the miniature game developer and the other player is "The Player".
Or simply design such that other online players appear to mimic what we might expect from an NPC but have the emotional connection and value of a real person (since they are real, just brought into a fictional world). Yourself and your fellow gamers would have to be limited with your communication options to achieve this.
Just an idea.

The best way to get the most out of a singleplayer game is to allow the community to mod and adapt it themselves, like Half-Life 1+2. If you can provide a flexible starting point, the users can create the content and spread the involvement themselves. All this without forcing them into leveling up, grinding, or paying a monthly fee.

I could go on for hours but if anyone wants to understand what I mean just listen to some of gabe newell's speeches, the man knows where the future lies for games. Myself, I know where it has been.

Regards,
Matt

[Sexbad]

Minecraft appeals to the lowest common denominator of gamers. Its simple and doesn't end. Effective.

It also encourages creativity and takes hold of your survival instinct.

[mattwestwick]

Yes, theres something that appeals to the hunter/gatherer aspect of people. Plus it has nice colours. And who doesn't like building blocks.

I don't mean "lowest common denominators" to be offensive. Maybe I should have said "the widest range of people" instead. Games need to have what the Max Payne guys called, a spin. A repetitive action or motif that identifies with the core of the game. In max payne it was the moments of bullet-time shooting sequences. In amnesia its the light/dark balance. In minecraft its the achievement of building structures. The amount to which the spin is refined, will attract different kinds of people. If you can appeal to the base desires of lots of people and allow them to refine it as much as they want: Result!

Performing more and more epic moves in max payne, being gradually more resourceful with the lamp and tinderboxes in amnesia ( surviving is a big one as well), and building grander structures in minecraft. All of these are the spin of games. Get that right and you have a hit.

[UnrealQW]

I'm one of those players who downloaded pirated version but later bought the game. I felt obligated to support authors... After one day of playing pirated game I liked it so much that I promised myself to not play it anymore until I'll buy it. Waiting 3 weeks (I live in Russia BTW) for my MasterCard to arrive was unpleasant, but finally I received it and bought the game.

So, not all pirates don't buy games. This happens not so often (especially in Russia) but there is a chance. I recommend using some sort of protection, though, like Steam. I fear that further Internet/torrents spread, fewer people will bother to buy a game -- it's just a psychology of new generation.

[hollowleviathan]

I still consider myself part of the new generation, and I admit, I pirated quite a bit 5-10 years ago during high school, but once I got a job, finally having money buying things was exhilarating and that ended utterly. Pirating is a childish act I put behind me, like others no longer egg houses at Halloween.