Grumpy Gamer

We just released the new Ransome unbeeped DLC on Steam and GOG. Give the trailer a watch, but I have to warn you, if you’re offended by words like beep, beeper, beephole, or beephead you might want to avert your ears.

It’s a little depressing that a few people are actually upset that we’re charging $1.99 for this. Making this wasn’t free. It took a lot of work. Programming, testing, audio editing, etc. It feels like people think it was just copying a bunch of audio files over. I’ve always objected to DLC that was made at the same time as the game and all they do is flip a bit. This is not that kind of DLC. The code to make this work was not written until just a few months ago. We had the idea of MAYBE doing this DLC during the development, but none of the work was done.

We’ve released two MAJOR updates for FREE since launch, so I think we deserve to try and recover some of our costs. It sometimes feels like people expect game devs to make games for free. This is my livelihood. I use it to pay my rent and buy food. Game pricing is completely screwed up, it’s why you see predatory free-to-play games and loot boxes.

The other reason it’s not FREE is so people don’t suddenly (and without warning) get a full-on unbeeped clown swearing at their kids. Having to pay something provides some parental friction.

Buy it!

It’s only $1.99 and you’ll support game devs trying to make a living so they can keep making games.

Of all the games I’ve released, I’m haunted the most by The Cave. I guess when a game percolates in your head for 30 years, it’s bound to mean something.

I’ve released good games and I’ve released bad games, but I always felt I knew which was which, if not before releasing, it always became apparent soon after. I’d look at the game and understand why it failed or succeeded. Scurvy Scallywags is a great game, but I understand why it failed. I have no regrets, but I understand it.

The Cave, not so much. The Cave is a great game and how it was panned and forgotten perplexes me to this very day. The other night, I literally (and I am using that word correctly) woke up from a nightmare about The Cave. If I ever venture down into The Cave, my object of desire will be a successful version of The Cave. What atrocities will I commit to make it true?

I’ve asked a lot of friends and read countless options on the Internet about what’s wrong with The Cave, so I’m not asking. Please don’t tell me in the comments, I’ll just delete them.

The morning The Cave was released, I eagerly awoke and headed to my computer to see early reviews. Buzz was good, playtesting was good, press tour feedback was good. I was optimistic. Then I read the first review, then the second, and a third. I was crushed.

I headed into work and felt horrible. Everyone on the team did such a great job and they were reading the same reviews and it was disheartening. How could I fuck this up, I kept saying to myself, all the while trying to keep a positive attitude. There is no one to blame but myself and it haunts me to this very day. Who did I not listen to? What did I not see?

Maybe it was one or two big things, like having to repeat the common areas, or maybe it was more systemic. Maybe it was just bad, boring or pointless storytelling. Maybe it just wasn’t that fun. When something fails (from rocket ships to movies to a game), it’s often (but not always) many things that form a perfect-storm of ick. For every internet theory I’ve read on what is wrong with The Cave, I can point to other games that did very much the same thing and succeeded. I don’t feel it’s a matter of just fixing one thing and we’re done. It’s kind of why it’s not a 20/20 hindsight discussion I want to have.

Over time, I can often distance myself from my games and understand (both the good and the bad) them better. But not The Cave.

After my nightmare a few days ago, I fell back to sleep and had another dream about The Cave. In this dream, I made The Cave 2, but in 2D and with new characters and fixed all the problems.

But I don’t own the rights to The Cave, and the chances of Double Fine selling them back to me are about as good as Disney Selling me Monkey Island (and I won’t work on games anymore that I don’t own/control).

I’m not sure what I’d fix anyway. My dream didn’t tell me that.

Ah, I see your problem there and it’s assuming my C++ code is “well-defined”.

Wednesday Indie Game Dev!

How a skier managed to compete at the Olympics despite not being very good

It’s a fascinating read and oddly inspirational.

I wonder if this should be my new philosophy for making games: “Make a game and don’t fall down.”

“Musk and his fellow tech CEOs promote driverless vehicles as the future because it’s the future they desire. They don’t want to be on a subway or train next to regular people — as Musk has already said, one of them might be a serial killer! It’s troubling how much they want to isolate themselves from regular people, but the reality of urban mobility is that only a small portion of the population can be in individualized transport until it simply stops working.”

I’m not a big fan of Elon Musk. I think he’s driven by a huge self-serving ego. He’s charming and charming people can be dangerious.

This is why I’ll never go to Disneyland. I don’t consider this “enhancing” my ride experience. I find it creepy and invasive. It’s not that I’m bothered by Disney tracking me through the park, it’s that I don’t want my name thrown up on a screen for everyone to see. That is a violation of my privacy.

Pro-tip for new indie devs: Your hardest game will be your second game.

If your parent’s old turntable is gathering dust in the basement, oh boy do I have an awesome use for it!

Also worth noting that vinyl will likely still be playable after the apocalypse. MP3s. Not so much. Think of it as an investment in bartering for food in the future.

BUY NOW