Princess Skittles said:
If somebody buys a game for achievements, what skin is it off your back?
None, but one of people's major complaints about the service is the "wild west"/ un-regulated flow of crap that comprise the majority of releases. I think 0 pt achievements would be fine, but if gamerscore were allowed with IGs, then you WOULD see an increase in the worst kinds of dreck on the service. MS isn't going to pay people to review these games too much, so abuses would inevitably slip through. Tying the amount of any gamerscore to the cost of the game would make things even worse.
toythatkills said:
For me, the best achievement system on Indies would be 12 achievements for no GamerScore. There'd be no point selling games to whore GS, but Indie Games would appear on people's GamerCards as "played" and there'd still be fun to be had getting the game maxed out. I'm not sure if it'd add much appeal to the "I'd play it if it had achievements" crowd though so could be pointless.
This is the best solution. But as you say, the vast majority of people who claimed they were holding out for achievements will also turn their noses up if there is no gamerscore associated with them, so adding them would only satisfy a few. It's probably not worth it.
OR as some have suggested a "separate" score for IGs might work.
GDJustin said:
If you haven't already, read Radian's extremely detailed and transparent sales blog post:
Cliffnotes: He's sold 20,000 games, and earned $15,600, in six months.
Def. eye-opening. He's one of the most successful XBL Indie devs, and it still isn't enough to earn a living.
Was XBL Community Games originally pitched as a way to make a living? I don't remember that. Has the focus changed? I don't believe XBLIG was SUPPOSED to be an AppStore. At least originally, it was a way for students and hobbyist coders to get development tools for cheap and then put their creations up for the world to see. If they make some pocket change from it that was great. If you wanted to make a living, develop for something else or get a job with a studio with a full XBLA or Retail Dev Kit and license.
Warm Machine said:
Luke and RadianGames isn't one of the most successful indie game publishers, that is the problem. Breath of Death, I made a Game with Zombies in it, the Beat Hazard guy, Arkedo, and Barkers Crest have all done better than he has with far less games released by a fair margin.
I've seen a bit of discussion about how RadianGames isn't doing as well as they think it should. RadianGames has put out some really polished releases, and yet I have not bought a single one despite purchasing many other IGs. IMO, there's a reason why Breath of Death, Barker's Crest, and Arkedo have all done better. They've put out more intriguing games. From what I remember all the Radiangames have very simplistic, 80's arcade gameplay and the artstyle from game to game is pretty and yet samey and sterile at the same time. Ultimately, they are a little boring. Breath of Death, Barker's Avatar Golf, and Arkedo's games have more "meat" to them whereas Zombies had the song as the "hook" that made it stand out.
I could not code a game like Luke does, and I admire him for his skills. But as a consumer, I think RadianGames should focus less on a lot of small, simplistic arcade releases, and make something more in depth.