It

is an interesting idea and would probably work well for someone who is just

trying to get started and get their software "out there" while making a

little money to cover the costs of production.  It seems to encourage

spamming though to get the message out, as traditional advertising would be

cost prohibitive. I would hope that this is not the case.

It is

definitely a unique idea and likely appropriate for some. No method works

for all, each person must find the appropriate strategy for themselves.

Hi Soeren and everybody else,

The developer

developed a dice-based fighting game (analog, not a computer game, like WotC

"Dragon Dice"). The only material needed for the game are a set of dice and

the rules. So what the developer actually tried to sell, were a set of

rules. Instead of investing in printing the material into a booklet (which

costs money) he figured that it would be simpeler to distribute the game

digitally (in the form of a .pdf digital rule book).

The developer did

not want to setup his own webshop for the .pdf because of his slow internet

connection. The author also had to consider piracy issues, because .pdf

files are easily copied all over the internet. Also, whenever one sells a

product, customers usually expect service in return in case of errors and

such, which also takes time and money.

So what he did:

1) The author

had developed the game idea to a certain extend (so that most of the rules

were already in place)
2) The author set up a website on which he announced

the game and gave some basic information about the game. On the website he

declared that the game would be FREE for download for everybody if he

received a certain amount of money (in the form of donations) before a

certain amount of time.
3) During the period before the deadline, the

author would release game art on the website, while testing and refining the

game.
4) Because people were interested in the game, appriciated the

author's efforts so far, wanting to support the developer, they all donated

a certain amount of money. I guess many people only donated a few dollars or

so, while there probably also were people who donated 10 dollar and up.
5)

The ransom amount of money was reached before the deadline and so the

developer released his game for everyone to download for free. If the

deadline was not reached, the developer would have given the money to a

charity and the game would not have been released.

That's the

setup.

For us audio game developers it would go somewhat similar, here's

an example:

1) Audio Game Developer declares that he is working on a

game. On the 1st of May he publishes a website, which provides some basic

info on the game, an early sound trailer, etc. The website also states that

the game will be free for all to download on the 1st of November *BUT ONLY

IF* the author has received 500 dollars of donations through Paypal. The

author has developed some audio games already, which are well known and

appreciated by the audio game audience. The author has enough experience

with developing audio games that he knows that the game can be completely

finished within 6 months. The developer does not want to continue work on

the game after this deadline so he clearly states that when the game is

released he might do a few bug fixes but he will not give any customer

service. Also, there's is no warranty, since the final product will be free

to use, at your own risk.
2) During the period between the 1st of May and

the 1st of November the developer continues to finish the game. Every month

he publishes new material on the website: more audio trailers and even a

playable (time-limited) demo. He also opens a free mailinglist/forum through

which he answers questions from potential players about the game.
3) The

developer finishes the game (including testing) on the 1st of september. He

now waits untill the 1st of November to see if his ransom amount is met by

the players donations.
4) Because of the demo and the audio trailers, many

gamers anticipate this game and many of them donate the amount of 1 to 7

dollars, bringing the total amount of donations to 529 dollar by the 1st of

November.
5) Because both the ransom and the deadline is met, the developer

releases the game on the 1st of November, free for all to download.
6) The

game is enthousiastically played by hundreds of blind gamers, who all share

this game among friends. There are a few bugs and the developer clears these

bugs with a free patch on his website. However, a few people still have a

problems. Since it is a free product, the developer does not give a warranty

and is not obliged to help. However, players with problems can find help

from other players through the forum/ emaillist the developer set up on his

website.
7) In the end, the developer received some money for his efforts,

the audio game community receieved a cool audio game. The developer took the

risk of developing a game without receiving enough money for it, the audio

game community took the risk of giving money to a developer who would not

deliver a game. The developer took the risk because of his trust in the

audio game market, and the audio game community took the risk because the

developer proved he could make fun audio games before and this game seemed

to turn out like a cool game, given the material published on the website

such as a demo and audio trailers.

That's the story,

folks...

Greets,

Richard

What??? $500 dollar is NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING!

??? I don't know about you (maybe it's your age?), but anyone who is

serious about game development and has had a recent reality check knows that

getting $500 for developing a (professional) (audio) game is NOTHING. As a

professional audio designer, I cost AT LEAST $40 an HOUR.

Well, I think Bavisoft made AT LEAST 1000 dollars

with Chillingham. I think Code Factory has made AT LEAST several thousands

of dollars with their games. Those are professional businesses.

Yes, I agree very much with your opinion.