Game Design, Programming and running a one-man games business…

Category: showmethegames

Rebooting showmethegames.com (The golden age of simulations)

If you have read this blog for a long time you will know I own and run a site called www.showmethegames.com. It’s been around a while, and it’s a collaborative indie thing, that basically serves as a cool database of indie games you can buy direct from the developer. It’s essentially a bunch of screenshots, short descriptions and links. It’s NOT a portal, because it doesn’t sell anything. Every link takes you to a developers own site, and the owner (me) doesn’t skim a penny from anyone. It’s run by me because I like indie games and I like supporting indie developers.

Anyway, the problem with it, is there is little draw to it traffic wise. Some indie devs link to it, but not many. The problem is that the devs are all too busy making games to contribute any fresh content, and although I stuck some stuff up there in the past, interviews with some indies, some videos about upcoming games… I’m as busy as the next guy (probably MORE SO).

smtg

So I’ve bitten the bullet and accepted I should actually hire proper writer types to generate content for it!

This isn’t going to be another Rock Paper Shotgun. it’s not getting daily updates and won’t cover today’s gaming news. It will be feature-driven, not news-driven, but I hope it will prove interesting and worth a place on your bookmarks or under your tweet button.

The first article has just gone up on the site, courtesy of Dan Griliopoulos, talking about the Golden age of simulations, and you can read it right here, right now.

For the business minded asking why I am doing this, this is a long, long term hedge. There is no immediate profit from doing it, although obviously my own games are amongst the 100+ so far listed on the site.

 

Show Me The Games bundle last day etc…

The SMTG bundle runs out tonight at midnight. If you missed the earlier blog post, then I suggest just going here:

http://www.showmethegames.com/bundle1.php

And checking it out. It’s five hgh quality indie games, on a sort-of-strategy theme, than are bundled together for $28.50.

On the topic of SMTG, that brings me to the question of the sites future. I’m really please that SMTG is up and running, that it gets some traffic, that it looks nice, and that it has the support of so many developers.

That’s the good side.

The bad side is that the site earns $0, and actually costs some bandwidth, plus also the site takes time to develop further. Frankly, I don’t have the time to dedicate enough effort to constantly add content, and I can’t afford to hire a full time (or even decent part-time)  site manager to handle it. I like to have total control over stuff, so I’m not looking for a volunteer, I prefer to pay people and then tell them what to do :D

So although SMTG works very well, and definitely drives sales to developers etc, I’m unsure what will happen to it next. I’ll continue to add new games that I think are really awesome, and I hope to find some time to add features and improve upon it over time, but it’s not going to grow like Steam or even Moddb, because of lack of time. Maybe when my next game has shipped I’ll get a lot more free time and spend a few months on it, but I already have to find time for top-secret-side-project #1 as it is… Ho hum.

Show Me The Bundle

You know that little side-project website ShowMeTheGames that I talk about now and then? Well guessy what? Go on…  nah…You’ll never guess.

We are running a bundle of indie games through SMTG. It’s basically five high quality indie games for $28.50, which save you $81.33 You have probably heard of some, or all of them. They are (in no particular order)…

Gratuitous Space Battles

This is my latest game. It’s a space strategy affair, where you design spaceships and put together big space fleets, but the battles are stratengely hands-off. :D

Castle Vox

This is by Sillysoft. You remember they made Lux right? It’s influenced by games like Risk. It’s a conquer the world strategy game, and great fun

Evochron: Mercenary

By StarWraith. They have been making excellent space games like this for a while. Watch some videos of it and then tell me you don’t want to own it. I dare you. Awesome graphics, and reminds me of the days of Elite. Ahhhh….

Fate Of The World

By Red Redemption. This is the climate-change game. Save the world from Jeremy Clarkson and Exxon. You know you want to. I do my bit by not flying long-haul, but it’s easier to just buy this game instead.

Smugglers IV

Another space strategy game that evokes memories of Elite. This one is by Niels bauer who has been making indie PC games as long, or maybe even longer than moi.

This isn’t a humble bundle, but  it’s a self-confident and proud one. In fact, as bundles go, it has has en-suite bathrooms and 24 hour porterage, and a helpful concierge called Gerald.  The main bonus is that all the money goes to the developers (BMTMicro take a tiny fee for processing payments). SMTG doesn’t make anything from it, and I only make my share of it (from GSB).

There is a webpage with a video about the bundle here. Which is also where you can buy it. Video embedded below. PLEASE retweet, or facebook it, or write witty forum comments over the interwebs about it. The bundle lasts until the 12th June. Forget all that crap about E3, that’s only for shoddy console ports that will cost $100 and have DRM in anyway. Buy this instead :D

 

Show me the frozen synapse

Have you heard of the stealth indie strategy game Frozen Synapse? If not, today is your lucky today because here:

http://www.showmethegames.com/

is an article on ‘the making of’ that game, and the game itself is finally released today. if you like what you see you can grab the game direct from the developers site. The link is in the article.