Fans of Scifi are a lucky bunch; we’re treated to a plethora of entertainment and art created for us in a huge range of styles. When you want to feel like scientists actually designed a piece of real-world practical technology, Star Trek and the work of Arthur C. Clark are eager to provide. If you prefer scifi that appeals more to your emotions by employing the structural logistics of traditional fantasy? You got it with Star Wars and countless games, like my beloved Ratchet and Clank. Even then, that doesn’t cover the spectrum with authors such as Philip K. Dick writing stories like the one in Ubik that center squarely around what is practically magic!
With this massive scifi spectrum, you can probably imagine that we want to figure out where Gears of Eden is going to sit before we go too far down that rabbit hole. With this being such a constant source of consideration for us, we thought it’d only be natural to share the discussion with you! After 75 votes, 53% of you said you’d rather see us take a more realistic/technical approach, compared to a 47% that was more interested in a more stylized/fantasy approach. Truth be told … this seems pretty in line with how we seem to be feeling. We definitely want you to have wow-worthy discoveries and a fun adventure, but we also want you to be able to look at something and think, “yeah, that makes sense.” We’re designing the world and history around a specific set of rules that keep us on a strong leesh, but they also give us lee-way to really explore from a creative perspective.
When it comes to #indie #PC & #Console #Games: Lower price w DLC/In-Game purchases, or simply a higher price? #gaming #indiegame #gamedev RT
— Gears Of Eden (@GearsOfEden) December 19, 2016
This week, our poll is all about game monetization models. Game developers need revenue streams to make the games we enjoy. Trust me, we’re facing that harsh reality just trying to get off the ground every day. This past week saw the release of Super Mario Run on iOS devices, and the backlash against the monetization system has been quite severe. A lot of players are criticizing the $9.99 price point, showing the dominance the freemium mobile model has established. A large group of players now expect a lot of content for free, and expect monetization to come in the form of in-app purchases, unlocks, cosmetic upgrades, etc. It’s a different world from the one in which Mario originated.
This model also shows up on PC and Console games, though not to the same extent. So, we’re interested in your opinion on this hot topic. When it comes to small indie games, do you prefer seeing games with lower entry prices but with a lot of in-game monetization features? Or, do you prefer games that charge a higher price, but keep the in-game purchasing absent or to a minimum? Let us know by voting in our poll, and leave a comment here or on Twitter telling us about some games you think got it right (or wrong)!
That’s it for this week. Be sure to check out our latest Developer Update for more information about where we are at on Gears and our upcoming Alpha test! If you’re interested in helping test, you can apply for eligibility by signing up for our newsletter. If you’re feeling especially generous and want to help us with that aforementioned funding issue, please check out our rewards page and consider backing GoE. We will be back Wednesday with another update, but until then, please be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more!
