Telepath Tactics Greenlight Promise

LOL seriously? Make a second account and upvote Again! (KIDDING!)

I'm not just a robot, I am a BROBOT... No, not a robot at all. I run the longest running indie game marketing company in the world! ... also probably the only one. You may recognize some of our other clients like
Spiderweb Software (Avernum, Exile, Avadon)
Wadjet Eye Games (Gemini Rue, Blackwell)

and like a bazillion (real number) others!
-Joe

It's an interesting point and - for the record - nobody is pretending we're doing anything BUT manipulating Greenlight. If it means anything to you, I sat down with Valve at PAX West and asked them point blank if they minded this type of behavior. Their answer was, to paraphrase, they not only don't mind but they encourage it. The name of the game is getting your game out there by any means necessary to prove to them (and others) that the game has enough merit to warrant a vote.

Personally I am with you on this, since Greenlight launched I have advocated that it will lead to a decline in quality of overall product. However, as an indie developer and with Valve controlling 80% of the PC market (yes, you read that correctly) our option is to play along or take a much more difficult path. I hope this clears it up for you and everyone who feels the way you do!

-Joe

This is what sales are all about. It is the same as marketing in a mainstream gaming magazine or placing advertisement plugs in movies. It is the nature of the retail beast.

Try the demo, you'll see they're not quite as bad in real life :) The video doesn't do pixel art justice.

Actually part of the Kickstarter budget is to improve them so your advice is well received! :D

I'm not sure what you're suggesting, but getting Steam keys in addition to your normal purchase is pretty much the normal thing these days, regardless of Greenlight. If this were a year ago I would have gone to Seattle to meet with Valve, pitch the game, they accept it (hopefully) and then we'd STILL give Steam keys to people who purchased directly. For a developer the steam keys are free to generate, so when you sell a game directly you get ~90% (vs 70% from Steam) and still give the customer the same goods. Valve doesn't mind either because using this increases their overall distribution and reach (letting them sell more future games).

If the complaint is that I am planning on giving away 100+ keys when we're greenlit - I SURE hope 100 keys is nothing more than a drop of rain in the bucket of sales. It's a nice, big, thank you present to everyone... like a party you're all invited to :D

Anyway, clarify if I am on the wrong track, I won't ignore you just because you're uncertain of the ethics involved here.

Frankly I'm unlikely to buy most of the games I upvote on Greenlight. Some of them I already paid for on Kickstarter or in an indie bundle. I just think they're games that would be nice to have on Steam. Telepath Tactics looks like a good game.

Probably a bad comparison indeed, but this actually sounds more interesting than another disgaea or fire emblem game to me. There's another single player tactical RPG out every year (or 5 on psp), but none that offer decent multiplayer to my knowledge. If this game nails multiplayer, it could fill a solid niche

thanks! :)