Sci-fi sucks ?

Anything not related to one of my specific games, like general polls or promo/sale announcements. For general talk about games, go to the Golden Lion subforum
Katicflis
Young scout
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:19 pm

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by Katicflis »

I just gotta confirm that I bought planet stronghold full price solely due to the existence of its demo. Without it, I was a "Maybe when its 50% off depending on reviews" ...

Also, yeah. Winter Wolves need a scifi romance VN before you can say for sure your Sci Fi games just 'don't sell well.' Put a female human on a diplomatic mission where several human/alien leaders fight over her and see what happens.
User avatar
IotaOne
Young scout
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2014 11:38 am

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by IotaOne »

I dont see the point of making a Sci-fi romance VN for statistical data. There already exists tons of information about this topic, even based on ww games. Jack should make those games because he wants to, and i would like too see more Sci-fi games too, but they are going to carry the risk to sell worse compared to a fantasy game.
Oh and i bought most games too after playing the demo.
"Truth is like poetry. And most people f*cking hate poetry."
User avatar
jack1974
Pack leader
Posts: 15470
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:43 pm

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by jack1974 »

Well now that I think about it, the ones who sold badly (Bionic Heart 1-2) had no romance, or better they had it but not done as well as the others, or with less variety. I will for sure do Planet Stronghold 2 and then see how it does, but since in general I like sci-fi, I don't see a problem doing more of them in future. Also because I like the RPG mechanics of sci-fi games, in which you can use psionic (like magic) but also the various firearms with the bullet/damage types, etc. I only need to be careful to not spend too much time in the coding/design, so it will still be "worth it" :)
Katicflis
Young scout
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:19 pm

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by Katicflis »

IotaOne wrote:I dont see the point of making a Sci-fi romance VN for statistical data. There already exists tons of information about this topic, even based on ww games. Jack should make those games because he wants to, and i would like too see more Sci-fi games too, but they are going to carry the risk to sell worse compared to a fantasy game.
Oh and i bought most games too after playing the demo.
I disagree. His romance games sell well, and he hasn't released a single sci-fi game with heavy romance elements ... All of his sci-fi games have been dark/gritty/violent and usually with a male lead.

Outside of his dating sims, I'm pretty sure Loren did the best and that was a Japanime style with excellent art and 12 romances. And even though you can pick Eleanor or Saren as your playable character, the game's protagonist is Loren, a female. There are literally no sci-fi equivalents to the Winter Wolves games that sold best.




Say, Jack, can we get a rough estimate of your best to worst selling games? Just for analysis sake.
User avatar
jack1974
Pack leader
Posts: 15470
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:43 pm

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by jack1974 »

Yes Loren is my best selling game ever (for obvious reasons). Vera Blanc is my worst ever but... could be to other reasons haha. Bionic Heart is one of the worst selling too (in particular the second one).
I think ideally the best would be to be able to play as male or female, but if I was forced to choose only one, I would have to pick female since there are now much more female players (globally). And even many men that play as female main character and do yuri romances (I am one :lol:).
Luckily though, I am not "forced to pick one" :) PS2 will of course be playable by male and female main characters, but is also a RPG so I am confident will sell enough.
So RPG apart, I guess I should really try doing a sci-fi game like the one Simon suggested, playable by both male and female, less gritty/dark and more focused on discovering new species/culture/etc and obviously, romance :)
Katicflis
Young scout
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:19 pm

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by Katicflis »

There'd be a lot of routes you could go. An intergalactic diplomatic mission with assassination attempts. A starship flight academy(I think this one would be popular). A smuggler ship captain that gets a hold of cargo of intergalactic importance(maybe a weapon? Evidence of an alien race about to break a treaty and invade another species?). A space exploration team with a quirky crew that gets attacked by a handsome, beefy, rugged space-pirate ...

*ahem* ...
The possibilities are endless.
User avatar
IotaOne
Young scout
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2014 11:38 am

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by IotaOne »

Katicflis wrote: Outside of his dating sims, I'm pretty sure Loren did the best and that was a Japanime style with excellent art and 12 romances. And even though you can pick Eleanor or Saren as your playable character, the game's protagonist is Loren, a female. There are literally no sci-fi equivalents to the Winter Wolves games that sold best.
I contest this statement. PS is comparable for this except for the quality. With PSCD you have a lot of romance options, female Protagonist and if you are not into card games, can skip this part entirely. Even if the steam sales skyrocket, as Jack explained the sold copies till now underperformed.
"Truth is like poetry. And most people f*cking hate poetry."
User avatar
jack1974
Pack leader
Posts: 15470
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:43 pm

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by jack1974 »

The problem could be the card gameplay vs RPG, RPG is probably more popular :) But as I explained in a blog post a while ago, it's still good because:
- I spent MUCH less time on the card game vs a RPG!
- I had a lot of fun (I like card games, so designing them was fun)

PSCD is doing very well, but I had higher expectation. That's different from a game that just does badly, like both Bionic Heart games.

But anyway, besides of course the need to wait at least 6 months to draw conclusions for PSCD, it could also be a particular moment for ALL indie games (both sci-fi and not, and not just my kind of games). Recently all my direct sales lowered, so it's not just PSCD.

I know MANY other indies that gave up completely selling direct and are only able to sell through Steam. I'm still doing MUCH better than them, so I think really should look at what is happening around me, and think that is no longer 2012-2014, get a "reality check" and be happy about my current situation :lol:
User avatar
IotaOne
Young scout
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2014 11:38 am

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by IotaOne »

Personally i prefer non steam versions, but of course the advertising effect on steam is far greater yet alone by friends seeing specific games played by other friends.
"Truth is like poetry. And most people f*cking hate poetry."
Katicflis
Young scout
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:19 pm

Re: Sci-fi sucks ?

Post by Katicflis »

IotaOne wrote:
Katicflis wrote: Outside of his dating sims, I'm pretty sure Loren did the best and that was a Japanime style with excellent art and 12 romances. And even though you can pick Eleanor or Saren as your playable character, the game's protagonist is Loren, a female. There are literally no sci-fi equivalents to the Winter Wolves games that sold best.
I contest this statement. PS is comparable for this except for the quality. With PSCD you have a lot of romance options, female Protagonist and if you are not into card games, can skip this part entirely. Even if the steam sales skyrocket, as Jack explained the sold copies till now underperformed.
Lol. You disagree so pleasantly. I need to use the phrase "I contest this statement" sometime.

PSCD doesn't compare for reasons already discussed in this topic.
1) PSCD isn't anime.
2) is a card game which isn't the hugest market. We even have one person in this topic admit that's why s she passed on the game. Having a VN mode doesn't negate the fact that it was a game built around card fighting.
3) Honestly the romances aren't a huge focus of the game nor particularly well done.

PS is a rough comparison cause it was released a long time ago and COMPLETELY lacks Loren's polish. It also sounds like it was his best-selling sci-fi game(?). So his most successful sci-fi happened to be the one with anime and romance, which kinda serves my argument. Now release something like it with Loren's level of polish and see what happens.
Post Reply