Even good indie game can sink :

Well the game is not made with 3DGS, but's it's not the discussion goal.

What is outstanding is they stop the game , and can refound people that pre ordered it.
It's so sad, i played the demo and really enjoyed it a lot, it was so well done and colorfull.



video

Apparently they didn't find a publisher, and say that for mobile, social games and free to play this is lot mor easy than find a PC publisher.

So even som great game can go down, and that's not the first example i've seen recently.

That's strange, why they don't target Steam or Desura ?
They have the quality and gameplay, perhaps they think a publisher will make more money for them ?

Pirates of the new Horizons site

Here is the problem I have with indies; They tend to think that the market doesn't apply to them. I mean, come on, the made a game, the market should effing appreciate that and just buy it regardless of wether it hit their taste or not.
Yes, indie is a great thing, you can experiment more freely and throw game ideas onto the wall until one keeps sticking, but dying indie games isn't a bad thing. The "oh wow, we are indie and the big players are mean bastards" is a big thing. Truth be told, if your game is great, and has a larger target demographic than BeOS, you will most likely have no trouble to find a publisher. Of course that doesn't mean that they will crawl into your direction just because you are indie.

The video of Pirates of the new Horizon is, simply put, absolutely boring. I don't see anything in this game, besides bad player animation. I for one am not sorry that this game didn't stick to the wall.
Also, they don't target Steam or Desura because they run out of money. The handy site of a publisher is that they give you money upfront.

You should play the demo and not watch videos only
I played the demo entirely (i mean travel to the other planet where there is a goal and things to find).

I agree the character is somewhat "robotic" not as good as some "Ratchet and Clanck" or "Jax and Dexter" game characters animations; but they are indie people and perhaps some of us should suggest to make the animation more alive to us ?
But the good graphics and lightening have a consistent style very good, the gameplay is large, there is goals, upgrades ...

Well it's a good one, that would need lot of levels of actual quality, but they have the base working (effects, panels, partciles, AI, quests, power up system, dialog etc ... etc ...).

Their main problem is that they are a team that need to be paid and not people doing it in their free time ??
The solution is just to each people to continue on it during free time perhaps ?
But perhaps they target too much things like lot of gameplay, lot of very different stages, lot of dialog , upgrades , lot of bosses , etc ???

For Steam GreenLight, it's very possible, they just have to make all levels than submit it when finished, and steam will make it vene more popular if people really appreciate and rate it good

You shouldn't see the whole Greenlight thing as something easy. I know that the developers of the Grotesque Tactics games now are struggling to get their third one through Greenlight (after the previous two being picked for sale on steam right away). You need huge amounts of votes to get your game greenlighted and I don't see this happening for that Pirate game. Especially as it's a jump'n'run which most certainly needs a gamepad in order to have good controls which most people don't have. Considerung that problem combined with jump'n'run games being unpopular on PC, they should have severe problems getting a publisher's attention or green lights via Steam...

To me a game like this would be more suitable for XBox-Arcade or whatever (don't know if they tried this way too)...

Yeah, I'm sorry, but no. The romantic picture of the dedicated developer killing all his free time on a pet project, that's bullshit. Some people have a family, a significant other or just a hobby and just not the time to pull something like this off in their free time.

And I wouldn't put all my faith in a platform like Steam Greenlight, that's just asking for trouble as Toast pointed out

yes the 3D artist is the principal to keep the consistent syle.
If a programmer let down the project , you can try to find another motivated.

It seems the team is :
One 3D artist/producer
Three programmers (one comes from Cryteck it seems, and another ex IO interactive ??)
A freelance composer (perhapsit has changed)

polycount thread

So yes if the 3D artist don't have enought time it's is problem mainly. If some programmer quit , it's to him to do with less ones (i find 3 programmers a lot , but perhaps each one worked on a different feature ?).

Their programmers indeed have done some great additional plugin/tools to add additionnal graphic fatures :
custom painting tool

It seems they target money, before finishing the game in their free time ? Strange strategy ?
Perhaps to buy Pro version of the engine ?
They could port it to mobile also ... but it must be lot of things to re work and optimize in 3D graphics

That's hard for people that have paid pre order ...
That's the trap of pre order on non finished games or all kick starter games.

Well let's hope they will finish it some day ?
But i think they become demotivated ... their game is from more than 3 or 4 years :
video of game in 2010
In one year they should havedone lot of levels an perhaps completed it ? of the free time of the 3D artist is not big ?
Yes when a game takes too much time or years, be carefull ... the demotivation is near ... and real life business and all will take the priority also.
Your situation is never the same for free time as years passes !

Well, I don't know how things in france are, but usually you have to do some kind of work if you don't want to be hungry all day long. And computers and internet won't grow on trees either.


Trap?! Wtf?! Pre-ordering something usually means "hey, I want to support you now, take my money and give it your best shot" not "hey fucker, here is my money, you now owe me product".


Oh and you can't replace a programmer without costs, inheriting an old code base is no fun at all. 3 programmers is also not a lot, depending on your requirements and yes, they won't all work on the same function at the same time.

Well, I don't know how things in france are, but usually you have to do some kind of work if you don't want to be hungry all day long. And computers and internet won't grow on trees either.

you mean, he has some real work, and the game is during free time ... it's also what i hope.
So why he needs money ? he can't live with a non finished game... perhaps he has paid programmers to program tools and stuff, without money he can't py their job ... ?
So this is not some game done by some free association only ?


Trap?! Wtf?! Pre-ordering something usually means "hey, I want to support you now, take my money and give it your best shot" not "hey fucker, here is my money, you now owe me product".

Yes i must not understand well what means pre order !
It's also just my taste to never buy pre order products ...


Oh and you can't replace a programmer without costs, inheriting an old code base is no fun at all

Indeed it's not easy to read other people code
What is really sad is that the gamehave all basic gameplay, dialog gadget system etc ...
He really can finish the game alone if it is just adding varied levels, quests, other ennemies.
Even for new gameplay gadget unity users in the forums could make some basic code for him
Specially if he would create some thread like : "Pirates of ... code contribution"

He can finish the game indeed ... but i think it's motivation and free time that are missing i think (specially if things change in your life)

apparently, they simlpy had bad business plan. they wanted to get financed before they could even finish a game, as an unknown developer team, thus without any proven products on a hard market.

They have all tools to make the game!
Just one word to the main producer and 3D artist guy :
"DON'T BE SO LAZY : GO BACK TO HARD 3D WORK"

That was their job. For heavens sake, they have hobbies, a family... Not everyone is 17, can live at home and kill the nights making games instead of love.


No, what's missing is fucking money. God, you can't live from love and thoughts alone, is that really so hard to understand?

I didn't had the point.
Ok so this game making was it's main revenue ?
Who knows, he can do little jobs or have a real job without telling you ... and that's what i hope.

Caus betting a lot on making a game without some solid investors and money provision, indeed you better find some job aside for living.
Even some AAA games titles have been abandonned, for money problems or strategy change, even in big companies.

Yes make a game won't garantie you to win all ypu have invested in the game.

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When you have faith even the impossible can happen LOL


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I'm sure we will see this little indie game finished and ready to buy some day

This is called "entrepreneurial risk".
Even with "solid investors" you can go down the drain, if unforeseen things happen.

There´s a german comedian who has established the following advice and I need to give it to you in a loose translation:

"If you have once again absolutely no clue ( ) what you´re talking about - just shut the fuck up!"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Nuhr

Glue?

you have no clue (=Du hast keine Ahnung).
you have no glue (=Ich wünschte ich hätte einen Kleber für Dich, um Dir den Mund zu verkleben).

Hahahahaha, really. epic. fail.

*note to myself:*
"If I´ve once again absolutely no clue what I´m talking about - just shut the fuck up!"