Braid finally weaves its way over to the PC.
Prepare yourself, dear reader, to get all up in that shit. Braid, the time-manipulating platform game with a big undo button, is finally migrating from Xbox Live to the PC. Number None’s colourful puzzle game is due to reach Stardock’s online distribution store, Impulse, by the end of March, although there are hints it may arrive earlier. It’s currently up for pre-order with a healthy US$19.95 asking price.
If you’re a die-hard Steam user, it’s in the pipeline. Number None’s developer, Jonathan Blow, recently told Gamasutra that Valve is keen to distribute the game on its portal and, as such, he intends to show it some love. He goes beyond that, however, and says the intention is always to distribute games on various such portals. “I don’t think that locking down an exclusive agreement with one online distributor is a good idea. And a lot of people are willing to do non-exclusive publishing, so I’m just going to do that.”
Why not sell it directly and collect all the money? Blow mentions on the Indie Games blog that he’s opting to let digital distributors profit from selling the game because of the lack of time. “I would make more money per sale on my own site,” he confirms. However, he adds, rather than spend time setting it all up, “I want to be working on my next game, and various other projects.” The audience these online distribution platforms provide is likely another reason, as the game will certainly receive more exposure this way.
For now, of course, Steam carries a good majority of the weight in the area of digital distribution on the PC, but hopefully gamers start to spread the love across various portals. Stardock’s Brad Wardell recently made a good, albeit self-perpetuating statement when he wrote a “response to users who wish that everyone would just use Steam.” You can read it here, but the basic message is that – aside from ‘BUY FROM US, PLEASE’ – competition is a healthy motivator and it’s currently up to you, the purchaser, to encourage it.
I find it all rather exciting that we now live in a period where independent developers such as Blow can make a great game and then painlessly sell it through multiple such portals without much fuss. This means more immediate returns for the developer and more choice for everyone involved.
With all these big publishers going through hard times, no thanks to massively ballooning budgets, there really is little to worry about. The indie scene is producing some pretty exciting stuff.
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