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[TheMastermind]

I think one of the dreams of indie and side job developers is the ability to make a living out of making games and completley give themselves into it.

How much should indie game developers charge for their games?

• Free with donations (like DF)
• Regular price tag, 5$? 10$? 20$?
• Putting in ads and toolbar installations (like Little Figther 2)
• Customers set the price (like Humble Indie Bundle)
• Microtransactions
• Free with "Premium Acounts" (you get more game features/in-game stuff)

How much would you pay for a game?

[anzki4]

As much as I would pay for non-indie game, depending on the quality of the game.

[Jacob/Lee]

I'd be fine with paying what I would pay for any normal game, but I absolutely hate when people/companies charge for premium. Especially if said company charges crazy prices for a "super awesome" ultra-premium status. (I'm looking at YOU, ROBLOX!)

Not like roblox is indie, but w/e.

[Soulwynd]

Free with donations (like DF)

Every game and entertainment should be like this.

Pay-after-you-play

If I ever finish a game enough for it to be commercial, It will be free with donations (starting at 5 bucks) to unlock online features. So it would be a mix of donation, customers set the price and premium.

[Angel Of Death]

I think the games should be free with donations. If I like it, I'll pay, if it's shit, NO MUNYS 4 U!

[Enzo]

Honestly, If we're talking about multiplayer games, I really don't like Pay-to-Win games with microtransaction item-buys or obviously superior premium accounts, or the like. Seems like a half measure. If you think you can get away with charging for your game, charge for it. If you want people to try it, give them a demo or a free trial. The Pay-to-Win system waters down the playerbase with free users, allows the developer to systematically leech from the paying players by releasing more powerful shit, and is generally annoying.

(breathe, breathe...)

As for the actual question in the OP, they should charge whatever the game is worth, using whatever model suits it. You couldn't really charge upfront for DF, given it's in perpetual alpha. A large part of what you'd be purchasing would be purely on spec that Toady would continue to update the game. Not to mention the deluge of horrible reviews it would certainly receive by people who payed good money and then couldn't even crack the surface and get past the interface. So donations make sense, and Toady does alright with them. If we're talking games that barely a step above freeware, I have no issue with unobtrusive ads to scrape a little coin.

For flat rate games, again, charge what it's worth. VVVVVV or Dredmor for 5 bucks? Incredible deals. Trine for 20? Ehhhhh....

I think the games should be free with donations. If I like it, I'll pay, if it's shit, NO MUNYS 4 U!

What about demo's, trial periods, free weekends, etc?

[Angel Of Death]

What about demo's, trial periods, free weekends, etc?

I'm fine with them. Although, I've found a lot of times that the demo is actually better than the game.

[PsyberianHusky]

I can't say what an Indie game SHOULD cost, but any game over 15$ feels pricey to me.
People with an actual entertainment budget may be willing to pay more, but I can't cause it cuts into my Fruit and yogurt budget.

[Neonivek]

It depends on the game.

What makes an "Indie" game any different then a "Game"?

In fact I find this topic somewhat... insulting.

[alway]

The donation model won't work for most developers. It hardly works for Dwarf Fortress even; it was several years before Toady One was making enough to not be living off savings, and even still he's barely making a living wage. Premium account sort of things I can't see working well with indie games. Free demos are of course very good and should be released for almost every game, but that's about as close as one should get to a free/premium dynamic. Microtransactions wouldn't work for a vast majority of indie games, as those are only really applicable for games in which DLC can be easily added and adds value or for social games. However, if it is a social game, microtransactions with premium accounts granting access to stuff which you would otherwise have to pay for with microtransactions would probably fare relatively well (DD:O's business model). I'm not entirely sure how profitable ads would be for most games; they also have the added downside of needing to find several advertisers willing to pay, which I would imagine takes a bit more business sense than the other options. The indie bundle model did make quite a bit of money, and as such is a good option; the trick to making it work is getting the word out to enough people. It depends on game journalists and forums to market the game for them.

As for what I would do if I were to market an indie game: Steam. The first week or two after release, keep the price at a decent amount. Probably $10 or so for most indie games, $15 to $20 for a larger one. After that, work out a sale on Steam for something like 60-75% off. The first couple weeks, any interested in the game from the start will probably buy it shortly after release for the normal price, then a couple weeks later the sale hits. You then have your game plastered on the front page of a service used by millions of gamers every day for a price low enough to encourage people to buy it upon impulse. Preferable time for such a release would be a time period in which there are relatively few competing sales and after a somewhat long period of time has passed since the previous really big Steam sales (the two in December-January and June-July).

[The Merchant Of Menace]

I prefer the free with donations model.
Mainly because I'm dirt poor and rely on free games

[Neonivek]

I don't really consider a "Indie" game to be somehow different then any ordinary game as I said before...

So if a Indie game justifies a full price I will pay full price.

It is just that for the most part Indie games that make a lot of noise usually advertise themselves on lower price points and cheaper budgets (in otherwords a budget title)

[TheMastermind]

Indie games differ from AAA games for a number of reasons:
I personally feel more committed to buy indie games and support the developers then big corporations.
Most people here i guess will say that AAA and indie games are on the same level, sometimes indie games are even better, but there is a standard, mainly at casual gamers to just pay less for indie games.

also i asked this becouse obviously people in this forums feel more connection to indie developers and may aswell be ones themselves.

[Enzo]

What makes an "Indie" game any different then a "Game"?

In fact I find this topic somewhat... insulting.

I hate to state the obvious, but Indie stands for Independent. Meaning they are generally creator owned, made with a smaller budget and a smaller team. So...yeah. Don't act all indignant like there's no distinction to be made.

[kaijyuu]

I very rarely buy anything (nor do I rip it off). If I were to sell an indie game, it'd probably be around $10.


Higher prices requires a marketing team, not anything to do with the game itself.