Problem is that Nintendo for all their faults still make GREAT games for kids. And if adult pc gamers think they have it bad they should have a look at the predatory shitshow that is tablet games for the 5 and under market… its properly fucking ridiculous. At least Nintendo has the common decency to give me an amazing and full game for its eyewatering prices.
the indie space still has a ton of stuff. you lose the benefit of always having accessibility features and easy ui navigation depending on the game (although a ton of indie games have better modding and accessibility support than a lot of high budget games as of recently, just in case they come to be interested), but you still get to see a ton of different stuff.
most of these without coming close to Nintendo’s approach to fan works, so i’d say you’re not going to lose much if you know the right places.
if you want games for Android, Mitch is a third-party access to itch.io, a game store where you can by the game and get the game straight into a zip file or what-have-you. no DRM, no questions asked. about half the games i mentioned are in there without the predatory behavior most of the time.
i’d probably pick MiniMetro and simple rythm games like ADOFAI or Rythm Doctor to begin with, simple shapes and an obvious thing to learn to do.
MineTest (has android ver.) and StuntRally are pretty close to reach if you’re willing to be patient and teach them to explore an open space on their own or of their own (one is basically a sandbox engine like Garry’s Mod, the other has a map editor alongside the several open maps). takes a while to understand the UI of each but it’s possible to use.
Celeste is notoriously difficult regardless of age, as a platformer about climbing a mountain, but i’m sure they can grasp it (no pun intended).
non-game programs are also an option. i remember having my mom teach me to use MSPowerPoint which made me break and build a ton of things later on by the time i was 7, it was a mess, but i made that mess :3
try an art program like Pencil2D, Krita or InkScape, maybe something unrelated like LibreOffice Impress or KDE Marble, or a music program like MilkyTracker (has android ver.) and take your time to teach them to make a tune or a flipbook or navigate a map, i’m sure they’ll have fun with something like it too.
I heard if you go into your bathroom and turn off the lights. Then close your eyes and spin around three times well saying “Nintendo, Nintendo, Nintendo!”
It will summon their lawyers and they will drag you to court through your bathroom mirror for violating copyright.
I mean, as I understand, that was the purpose of that company. His customers were not the players, but rather investors. They wanted lots of companies to be acquired. And they were free to pull out their money, if that plan stopped working, which they did, which is why Embracer evaporated.
The fact that they keep improving this game is just gold. And here i was, thinking of doing a full evil durge playthrough on honour mode. This update will add a new motivation to do so, if i don’t spoil myself by watching the new endings of course.
I played once as a goody-two-shoes, trying to keep all my followers in check (even the vampire). Are there any companions that stick with you on evil playthroughs?
“I’ve often thought ‘I wish I could give these folks another $10 or $20 because it was worth more than my initial $70 and they didn’t try to nickel and dime me every second,’”
You know what, I could agree with that opinion if the irony wasn't lost to folks
No. One. Would tip for a blizzard game.
Blizzard DOES nickel and dime you at every second. Literally.
Blizzard has not produced a good game since Overwatch 2.
Blizzard made 8.71 Billion in 2023. They can afford to pay their developers without relying on public donations.
Because it was made as an excuse to fully transition to a f2p business model. It wasn’t a game anyone was asking for and the only way they could get people to use it over the first one was by shutting the first one down. It was their way of pushing enshitification.
Not really true. While there are lots of factors in how profitable a game is, the biggest one is marketing. Regardless of how good it is. Brand name recognition. Like any other industry. It’s why games like CoD and Assassin’s Creed are ridden the fuck to death despite continuously getting worse.
I don’t think he’s saying to tip for a Blizzard game. He’s not at Blizzard anymore (probably still has stock though).
I basically agree, I mean, I’d tip for a game I really like. Actually I do, indirectly. I buy other things from companies like FromSoft. I would go further than you and admit I agree with him despite the irony.
I think all CEO’s should create some sort of tip platform.
They do so much single handedly for the company, most companies could simply not exist or have any direction without them and their leadership.
And to make things worse they aren’t appreciated and are hardly compensated.
Imagine having to go to lunches at fancy golf courses, trips with your peers to exotic locations, all for a measly few hundred million per year?
CEO’s are almost being mistreated and borderline persecuted infront of us, and all they want is to be treated and compensated fairly like the average worker with 3 jobs.
Maybe if we all come together and show them that we care , and more importantly, send them as much of our money as we can, then they will feel better about their terrible circumstances.
I think the concept of “Pay what you want.” is a very friendly approach to this. It already exists on platforms like itch.io and some free to play games financed through donations, like Dwarf Fortress, also became extremely popular. Humble Bundles are also pretty famous for this. And of course kickstarters do something a bit similar to this.
Personally I’d love to see donation buttons/infos especially for all the free music and games that exist out there. But I want to make sure my donations reach the people who actually worked on it, so I dislike products like paypal or patreon where a portion of the money goes to men in the middle and their managers/owners, etc. A bank account number or something along those lines where I can transfer money a bit more directly would be nice, but some creators only provide paypal buttons, so I won’t donate.
He’s not talking about donations though, he’s talking about paying full price THEN tipping. It’s a blatant excuse to pay developers less while placing financial guilt on the people paying for the product. It’s the same way tipping at a restaurant works.
He’s not talking about donations though, he’s talking about paying full price THEN tipping.
I’m aware of that. The “Pay what you want.” concept mentioned in my first paragraph was its own idea/suggestion/thought, since it kinda fits the topic. It’s a different thing.
It’s a blatant excuse to pay developers less while placing financial guilt on the people paying for the product. It’s the same way tipping at a restaurant works.
Not really, really good video games take months or even years to complete, so your developers will want to be paid for that time before they become profitable. At restaurants the initial investment isn’t quite as high, as far as wages are concerned. I’d argue that you get tipped before even getting your first monthly paycheck. That can not be the case for video game tips.
I assume software developers and other people in the IT sector are also in higher demand than waiters, so they don’t have it quite as bad as waiters. That’s why I think they’re not comparable.
That said, I do believe that a company that is open about the tips it receives could be interesting for developers. If I saw that tips were actually split evenly among all the employees and their work hours then I think it’d be worth considering applying there. Though I guess for fairness those tips should even be paid out if employees quit or get kicked out so you’d have to track how much each person contributed to each product and that could be a bit of a bureaucratic hassle.
The dorf fort devs made like $3k-6k per month throughout the 2010s. They did end up going commercial to get more. But it was hardly “not even a little profitable.” I mean, I’d take that deal to do what I love too.
I’m aware of that and also see the problem, but argue that that’s partially because most people just aren’t used to this. People’s actions depend a lot on what they consider the norm. Take waiters or other service people as an example - in some cultures it’s usual to tip them, in others it’s unusual or even frowned upon.
You would have to at least have a base minimum purchase price and then accept tips on top.
That’s also fine. If the initial price were lower than other comparable games then I assume that more people could be convinced to tip. Or even just if a company is very open about their work / income and dedicated to communicating to their players. I think there’s already some companies like that, though perhaps not necessarily the big ones.
kotaku.com
Aktywne