ForumsGamesIndie devs HATE him

9 2060
pangtongshu
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pangtongshu
9,815 posts
Jester

Recently Steam made the decision that if you do not have at least 2 hours of playtime, you can refund the game. This has caused a slight (read: hardly) bit of outrage by some indie developers whose games are incredibly short by nature, as their games could easily be played, completed, then refunded.

Thoughts?

  • 9 Replies
Doombreed
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Doombreed
7,022 posts
Templar

I like the idea but I think it is simple (if somewhat difficult to apply): Just do not implement it on all games. Indie games that indeed can be completed in such a short amount of time, should not have to be a part of the games that have this feature.

SirLegendary
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SirLegendary
16,583 posts
Duke

Oh lord. I don't think this was a very good decision business wise, because despite how terrible some indie game releases are, some devs really need to earn money. Although this would encourage devs to create better quality games. Who wants to buy a game on steam that doesn't go over two hours anyways? I think this was a great decision that sides with the consumers. If EA implemented this, lol they would go down in seconds after release.

pangtongshu
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pangtongshu
9,815 posts
Jester

I agree with TotalBiscuit; if you complete the game you shouldn't be able to refund it.

I find it difficult to stand with the indie devs, however, when the one making the call to arms states that she has a game only 30 seconds long.

http://i1359.photobucket.com/albums/q798/pangtongshu/Mobile%20Uploads/FB_IMG_1433592354306_zpsmppz9b17.jpg

etg2002
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etg2002
703 posts
Scribe

hmm. this depends. i am a guy who really likes longer games, however, i do enjoy some shorter games. (FYI, if you do nto have FTL Faster Than Light, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!)

GhostOfNinja
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GhostOfNinja
600 posts
Farmer

Is this refund thing already being implemented? And if so, how do I do it? I have a few games I can refund.

Freakenstein
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Freakenstein
9,508 posts
Jester

A thirty-second game? I can't believe someone expects payment for a 30-second game. I made a longer Java game in Highschool.

pangtongshu
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pangtongshu
9,815 posts
Jester

I believe it is within first 2 weeks of purchase

SirLegendary
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SirLegendary
16,583 posts
Duke

Well I highly think this is a move for bigger games, not games that have a gameplay time of less than 2 hours.

Better for bigger games because it takes an hour to four hours to download really heavy games.

But another thing that comes to my mind is, does that timer start as soon as you purchase the game, or does it start as soon as you've completed the download?

GhostOfNinja
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GhostOfNinja
600 posts
Farmer

I believe it is within first 2 weeks of purchase

Gah well then that's a no go. I have a few games that have just been sitting around for a year.

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