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Pierre Begue, creator of indie gem Knights of the Chalice, considered by some the best RPG since Mask of the Betrayer, was recently finally convinced to contact GOG for digital distribution of his games. Here's how things went down:
http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=478
Wait, what? Battle of the Sands is Pierre's recently released Dune 2 knockoff that nobody gave a fuck about and which promptly flopped. NOBODY WANTS THIS YOU -
Oh god.
Luckily our man VentilatorOfDoom was on the scene with some realtalk:
Pierre didn't react to this very well:
Indie developers. Indie developers never change. Maybe we need to contact Jeff Vogel for an intervention...
http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=478
Borsook said:I may be spoilt by the times, but I'd really love to be able to buy the game from a place I already use, and that takes care of some aspects of installation etc for me. So is there any chance the game will come to Steam, Desura (this might fit it's profile better) or Gog?
Pierre Begue said:Thanks for posting. I'm interested in having KotC on distribution sites.
But first I'd like to see if they can distribute Battle of the Sands. I contacted them recently about that.
Wait, what? Battle of the Sands is Pierre's recently released Dune 2 knockoff that nobody gave a fuck about and which promptly flopped. NOBODY WANTS THIS YOU -
Pierre Begue said:O.k. GOG has replied. That makes them better than other distribution sites. At least they talk. Credit where it's due
Now for the actual outcome of talks you'll have to wait, but I would say it's not going in the right direction.
In essence, GOG wants to distribute KotC but not BotS. My initial goal was more like the opposite.
Oh god.
Luckily our man VentilatorOfDoom was on the scene with some realtalk:
VentilatorOfDoom said:Understandable. No offense, but nobody really cares about BotS whereas everybody knows KotC is a gem. A bundle deal might be your best bet.
nonadventurer said:You know, these days if you're an indie developer, being offered a distribution deal for any of your games is already a great boon. So if they want to distribute KotC, go for it, seriously! It's a chance not many developers get, and you know and I know and everybody knows your games deserve more publicity and sales. You can always convince them to distribute BotS later.
Pierre didn't react to this very well:
Pierre Begue said:First off, VentilatorOfDoom, I would really appreciate it if you didn't come to my forum to tell me that no-one cares about one of my products (that's your warning). You have the point of view of the RPG player but that's not the only point of view out there. Being its creator, I obviously do care about BotS. Some RTS players may like BotS, in the same way that some readers may like my book. Your opinion is not the universal one and it's not the only one that matters.
In addition, anyone interested in seeing another game like KotC should care about BotS too, because the viability of any business depends on its sales. I've said it before, but I don't get paid anything for the humongous amount of work that KotC 2 requires. Financially, it does not make sense to do it. That's one of the reasons why I had to split the work between two games.
these days if you're an indie developer, being offered a distribution deal for any of your games is already a great boon.
This may seem at odds with what I've just said above, but money is not everything. If the relationship with the distributor is one where the distributor gets all decision power, and the developer gets none, then I'm not interested. That doesn't mean I won't do a deal for KotC alone or for both games. It's something I'll determine from talks with GOG, in my own time.
I would also very much dispute the idea that getting a distribution deal for any game is always a great boon. In any case, you're not in the position that I'm in, so you cannot make the assessment that only I can make as to whether a distribution deal would be good or not. Finally, I don't consider that it is particularly urgent for me to get any of my games on a distribution site. I hope that clarifies things. I am now locking this thread.
Indie developers. Indie developers never change. Maybe we need to contact Jeff Vogel for an intervention...
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