KickStarter The Legends of Eisenwald Thread

[Aterdux Entertainment]

Check out our new diary entry: http://aterdux.com/developers-diaries-17-legends-of-eisenwald-indie-or-not-indie/ The response from Indiecade is rather interesting

 

[Jack Dandy]

I kind of don’t get it… When the game is defined as a “classic old school RPG with tactical turn-based battles, simple economic model” why would you enter it in indiecade?

It seems weird to me, with no hook, no novelty and no tutorial, the game feels… Well, like a 90s game. It’s a “classic, yes, but “old school” doesn’t have to mean “old”.

This game is an impressive technical achievement! Indiecade however looks for games that innovate in design or other categories, and Legends of Eisenwald is largely a worthy but loyal recreation of a well-trodden category.

​

Reading that made me sick to my fucking stomach.

Honestly though , you shouldn't feel bad. Aren't you up to date about the whole Gamergate thing?
IGF, Indiecade are both useless artfag cliques with some very shady dealings behind the scenes.

The sooner people stop giving these circlejerks attention, the better.

 

[Shannow]

Yeah, well I also found that weird in your update email. Since I heard about Indiecade the first time today, I guess nothing of value was lost
Any ETA on release now that your programmer is better? (I hope he has fully recovered?)

 

[tuluse]

I like the second response, if only you had a tutorial!

 

[Jack Dandy]

The first one is what really grinds my gears.
"why would you enter it in indiecade?"
Yeah, really. Fucking why.

The western indie community needs to go up in arms, IGF and Indiecade are tarnishing their image something fierce.

 

[SuicideBunny]

The first one is what really grinds my gears.
"why would you enter it in indiecade?"
Yeah, really. Fucking why.

it's spot on, though. here's a quote from the indicade site:

Our mission is to encourage, promote and cultivate innovation and artistry in interactive media and to champion those efforts.

that's as hipster as you can get.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

No worries, we don't feel bad or anything but could not help but share what they said. "No tutorial" review is pretty much unprofessional and yes, starting the game for 5 minutes would not be enough to find that option. Yes, unfortunately IndieCade stuff is about artsy fartsy stuff and now we know So, IGF is the same? No need to bother to apply there as well?

We know the value of what we are doing and yes, hardcore RPGs are not for everyone anyway. But thank God there are enough people who are still into that.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

Yeah, well I also found that weird in your update email. Since I heard about Indiecade the first time today, I guess nothing of value was lost
Any ETA on release now that your programmer is better? (I hope he has fully recovered?)

We tried really hard for October but by now this is unlikely. Translators (French, German) are struggling, 200k text is not a joke and it cannot be done fast and with good quality. Also, while new UI is nice and good looking, it introduced a certain amount of issues we didn't discover in testing in house. So, few more months of work for sure.

 

[LESS T_T]

IGF is not worth to apply, I think. While they are less artsy fartsy than IndieCade and nominates or awards relatively complex games (e.g. FTL, The Banner Saga), they also are not so favorable to old-school games, especially RPGs.

 

[tuluse]

Vault Dweller have you ever submitted to any indie contest things and have any experiences to share?

 

[DefJam101]

I kind of don’t get it… When the game is defined as a “classic old school RPG with tactical turn-based battles, simple economic model” why would you enter it in indiecade?

It seems weird to me, with no hook, no novelty and no tutorial, the game feels… Well, like a 90s game. It’s a “classic, yes, but “old school” doesn’t have to mean “old”.

This game is an impressive technical achievement! Indiecade however looks for games that innovate in design or other categories, and Legends of Eisenwald is largely a worthy but loyal recreation of a well-trodden category.

​

Reading that made me sick to my fucking stomach.

You think this is bad trying reading comment sections on 90s revival (for lack of a better term) shooters. Bunch of fucking idiots who cry "unoriginal" in response to any shooter that dare model itself after a dead genre whose fans have been waiting more than a decade for a single well-made title. Meanwhile, the games industry shits out generic Mass Uncharted Halocod Elder Effect clones like there's no tomorrow and 80% of indie developers scramble to produce the definitive version of FEZ 2: The Roguelike-like Chronicles

 

[Vault Dweller]

Vault Dweller have you ever submitted to any indie contest things and have any experiences to share?

IGF, 2 years ago or so. The experience is mostly negative and not because our game wasn't nominated. Never again.

 

[Jarpie]

Vault Dweller have you ever submitted to any indie contest things and have any experiences to share?

IGF, 2 years ago or so. The experience is mostly negative and not because our game wasn't nominated. Never again.

Can you tell us more? We'd be very intrigued to hear all the juicy details.

 

[Grunker]

Vault Dweller have you ever submitted to any indie contest things and have any experiences to share?

IGF, 2 years ago or so. The experience is mostly negative and not because our game wasn't nominated.

Do tell.

 

[SuicideBunny]

nice gossipy details, please.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Not much to tell.

It's kind of like that time when I emailed a prestigious magazine and was told that the editorial stuff is busy and if I want their attention I should order them pizza and given a phone number of a nearby pizza place. I kid you not. Technically it was a sound advice (and it was offered as an advice) as it would have cost me less than 100 bucks I paid for the IGF entry, but you have to draw the fucking line somewhere.

Entering the game and talking to the judges (one guy talked to two NPCs and thought it was the entire demo; don't ask) made me realize that it's the wrong place to promote the game and it's for a very different kind of indie games, to say the least.

 

[Grunker]

100 bucks I paid for the IGF entry

lol, what bullshit

 

[80Maxwell08]

Not much to tell.

It's kind of like that time when I emailed a prestigious magazine and was told that the editorial stuff is busy and if I want their attention I should order them pizza and given a phone number of a nearby pizza place. I kid you not. Technically it was a sound advice (and it was offered as an advice) as it would have cost me less than 100 bucks I paid for the IGF entry, but you have to draw the fucking line somewhere.

Entering the game and talking to the judges (one guy talked to two NPCs and thought it was the entire demo; don't ask) made me realize that it's the wrong place to promote the game and it's for a very different kind of indie games, to say the least.

Were they the people who thought you couldn't go outside the first town in the demo?

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

It's kind of like that time when I emailed a prestigious magazine and was told that the editorial stuff is busy and if I want their attention I should order them pizza and given a phone number of a nearby pizza place. I kid you not.

Hmm, so there's a pizza place that delivers to both Crooked Bee and Infinitron...

 

[Vault Dweller]

The prestigious magazine in question is one of the biggest gaming media corporations, hence my surprise. These people are so used to getting something for previews and impressions, the thought to do it "for free" wouldn't occur to them. At the same time it's still a very juvenile business where you can buy positive impressions with food.

 

[Jack Dandy]

I know it might seem blockheaded from me, but why not just come out and name some names? Give source, if possible?
It's not like you can expect glowing reviews from THESE kinds of sites anyway.

 

[Vault Dweller]

The advice was offered in good faith and it was a good advice as that's how it works in the 'real world'. It's fairly common in sales (except for taking someone who can help you to a restaurant is a lot more expensive than ordering several pizzas). I guess expecting people working for large companies to do it out of passion and love for the genre - the way many indie developers and sites like the Codex and the Watch do it - was a bit naive and bitching about it would serve no purpose whatsoever.

I mentioned it here not to complain but to share the experience and point out that there are different gaming 'circles'. There are the indie festivals that have a very specific definition of what indie is and isn't. If your game isn't some innovative artsy-fartsy stuff, don't bother. There is the corporate corner - corporate media serving the interests of AAA customers who keep pizza and doritos coming at a steady rate.

There are second-tier sites like Kotaku and Destructoid and agencies that charge 2-3k a month to keep you covered. And then there is the almighty Steam that handles 90% of your sales no matter what you do. Get on the front page and try to stay there for as long as you can and you'll do fine. Etc.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

The thing about Steam front page these days is that it's not easy to get there. Not even full release is a guarantee. So, if a game wins in a festival or there is enough publicity then chances are higher to get there, in my opinion. And also, once game is up there, it's still best to bring some traffic to Steam from external sources to keep the featuring. According to some marketing things, it's good to build awareness first of the product - people who heard about it are way more likely to buy it.

So, while I agree with you in general, still, working with press is a must. I think festivals now are out though

 

[Agesilaus]

At the same time it's still a very juvenile business where you can buy positive impressions with food.

Isn't that every business? In criminal law you can definitely buy positive impressions with food.

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

At the same time it's still a very juvenile business where you can buy positive impressions with food.

Isn't that every business? In criminal law you can definitely buy positive impressions with food.

Are we pretending that being a prosecutor isn't a juvenile career choice now?