Stardew Valley and Concerned Ape are now totally mainstream- please remove the game from the Indie category.

[Grimbor]

This game has now sold well over 30 million copies. There are now more than the original developer working on these games. Haunted Chocolatier will EA well into 20 million copies. CC is no longer indie nor is the current version of SDV.

[NBOX21]

Originally posted by Grimbor:

Does Haunted Chocolatier deserve to be eclipsing lesser true Indie titles?

If it ends up being a much better game than a lot of these "lesser indie titles" with a similar level of love and care put into it as this game got, then yes, absolutely!

[Queen Droxxanna]

dude why are you even harping on all this?? Its really none of your business since you didnt contribute a thing to develop the game and you wont be contributing a thing for Eric's next game either. The fact is he created the game solely by himself, working independently for 5 years before the game was even released. He did the artwork independently, He did the coding independently and he created the music independently --- the guy is AWESOME and way smarter then you. If you had half his INDEPENDENT skills you would be creating and publishing your own game instead of harping on something that is really none of your concern. SDV has had great success because Eric created an awesome fun game and has allowed others to create mods to expand the game with out charging anyone an extra cent for the extra content.
Now he is again working independently and a new game and you are afraid it will have more success then other games, Get of your high horse and go create something worth while and leave Eric alone.

[kingjames488]

Originally posted by Queen Droxxanna:

Its really none of your business since you didnt contribute a thing to develop the game

did my purchase of the game when it was first released not contribute to the further development of the game? where CA went on to stab me in the back by making the game I supported no longer run on my system?!

so ya, I kinda feel like I "contributed to the "development"" despite being sold what I considered to be a finished product which was then taken from me!

so you can go on and pretend like CA can do no wrong, but they've committed one of the top sins of an "indie dev".

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by Grimbor:

There is a legit concern here as to who and what should constitute a true Indie title. Comparing even a small team that has access to literally 100 million dollars (which will be made during EA on their next game, huge word of mouth and fan base to some new guys making a game with little money or resources while working full time job, doesn't seem fair. By this logic, Star Citizen is also going to be an Indie title.

The issue lies in all the awards and special honor/reviews specially for Indie titles, such as Indie Game of the Year. Does Haunted Chocolatier deserve to be eclipsing lesser true Indie titles?

That's kinda fair, but it also leaves out something else.

Both the guy with 100 million at hand(earned over the course of years and consistent updates that aren't paid DLCs) and the guy with no money and resources are being compared to industry titans worth tens of Billions that regularly sell FLOPS for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of profit in sales alone not counting after-the-fact microtransactions and dlcs, let alone successful games.

So we're comparing a drop of water, and a cup of water to, At MINIMUM, an Olympic swimming pool. here. And yeah, Both the drop and cup can't hold a candle to the pool in any way shape or form; So both the drop and cup are classified as Indie.

[werwolfgaming]

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

Originally posted by Queen Droxxanna:

Its really none of your business since you didnt contribute a thing to develop the game

did my purchase of the game when it was first released not contribute to the further development of the game? where CA went on to stab me in the back by making the game I supported no longer run on my system?!

so ya, I kinda feel like I "contributed to the "development"" despite being sold what I considered to be a finished product which was then taken from me!

so you can go on and pretend like CA can do no wrong, but they've committed one of the top sins of an "indie dev".

Actually unlikely CA is likely happy for all purchases but its very likely CA would keep making stardew anyway has he codes stardew valley on his off time when hes not working on haunted chocolatier id say his passion to make stardew is strong enough to the point hed keep making the game anyways

Also what system to play on that cant handle stardew

[kingjames488]

Originally posted by werwolfgaming:

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

did my purchase of the game when it was first released not contribute to the further development of the game? where CA went on to stab me in the back by making the game I supported no longer run on my system?!

so ya, I kinda feel like I "contributed to the "development"" despite being sold what I considered to be a finished product which was then taken from me!

so you can go on and pretend like CA can do no wrong, but they've committed one of the top sins of an "indie dev".

Actually unlikely CA is likely happy for all purchases but its very likely CA would keep making stardew anyway has he codes stardew valley on his off time when hes not working on haunted chocolatier id say his passion to make stardew is strong enough to the point hed keep making the game anyways

Also what system to play on that cant handle stardew

pretty sure it requires windows10+ now due to some update... stopped working on windows 7 anyways.

tho this game is a gift in the sense that it's kinda CAs pet project, it's not something you see every day.

tho at the end of the day it's a gift I payed for the privillage to partake in and will probably always be salty that it was taken from me.

[Shurenai]

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

Originally posted by werwolfgaming:

Actually unlikely CA is likely happy for all purchases but its very likely CA would keep making stardew anyway has he codes stardew valley on his off time when hes not working on haunted chocolatier id say his passion to make stardew is strong enough to the point hed keep making the game anyways

Also what system to play on that cant handle stardew

pretty sure it requires windows10+ now due to some update... stopped working on windows 7 anyways.

tho this game is a gift in the sense that it's kinda CAs pet project, it's not something you see every day.

tho at the end of the day it's a gift I payed for the privillage to partake in and will probably always be salty that it was taken from me.

Yeah.. That's not CA's fault, That's because Win7 is so old that it's starting to be shed from the internet across the board.

Indeed, Steam itself began requiring Windows 10 planning to enforce beginning in january 2024. You are/were using an OS from 15 years ago.

[kingjames488]

Originally posted by Shurenai:

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

pretty sure it requires windows10+ now due to some update... stopped working on windows 7 anyways.

tho this game is a gift in the sense that it's kinda CAs pet project, it's not something you see every day.

tho at the end of the day it's a gift I payed for the privillage to partake in and will probably always be salty that it was taken from me.

Yeah.. That's not CA's fault, That's because Win7 is so old that it's starting to be shed from the internet across the board.

Indeed, Steam itself began requiring Windows 10 planning to enforce beginning in january 2024. You are/were using an OS from 15 years ago.

I mean, you're talking about a live service there though.

with something billed as an "indie game" I'd expect it to have values consistent with an "indie game" such as not locking users who bought your game out by "updating" it.

[DasaKamov]

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

I mean, you're talking about a live service there though.

Stardew Valley is not, and never has been, advertised as a "live service".

Also, eliminating Win 7 support (which ALL games are doing) is not a "game update". It's a security necessity dictated by the natural passage of time.

[kingjames488]

Originally posted by DasaKamov:

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

I mean, you're talking about a live service there though.

Stardew Valley is not, and never has been, advertised as a "live service".

Also, eliminating Win 7 support (which ALL games are doing) is not a "game update". It's a security necessity dictated by the natural passage of time.

I mean, first off I never said that stardew valley was a live service, tho it is kinda turning into that init?

you were talking about steam requiring updates and steam is, if I am not mistaken, a live service?

[NBOX21]

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

Originally posted by DasaKamov:

Stardew Valley is not, and never has been, advertised as a "live service".

I mean, first off I never said that stardew valley was a live service, tho it is kinda turning into that init?

Nope. It's sold as and functions as a product that you only have to pay for once. I mean, CA could've very easily sold Ginger Island as a DLC expansion given how substantial that update was, but he chose to make it a free update for all players. There are zero micro-transactions or season passes to pay for like you'd expect from a "live service" game.

Also, just because this game has online multiplayer or is getting continuous support over time doesn't make it "live service". This game doesn't have FOMO or limited time events, nor does it expect you to connect online every day like it's a secondary job - it just lets you enjoy it and have fun however you want in your own time.

[kingjames488]

Originally posted by NBOX21:

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

I mean, first off I never said that stardew valley was a live service, tho it is kinda turning into that init?

Nope. It's sold as and functions as a product that you only have to pay for once. I mean, CA could've very easily sold Ginger Island as a DLC expansion given how substantial that update was, but he chose to make it a free update for all players. There are zero micro-transactions or season passes to pay for like you'd expect from a "live service" game.

Also, just because this game has online multiplayer or is getting continuous support over time doesn't make it "live service". This game doesn't have FOMO or limited time events, nor does it expect you to connect online every day like it's a secondary job - it just lets you enjoy it and have fun however you want in your own time.

well I feel like updating a game to increase it's system requirements after purchase is a scummy move, you can call it whatever you want.

[DasaKamov]

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

you were talking about steam requiring updates

I was? When?

Because I thought this thread was on the topic of what it means to be an indie developer.

[Sstavix]

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

well I feel like updating a game to increase it's system requirements after purchase is a scummy move, you can call it whatever you want.

Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7 as of January 14, 2020. That means users would have to upgrade, or be left out on their own for using an antiquated system. Does that make Microsoft a scummy company.

Note that I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. I'd probably be one of the first to agree with you that Microsoft is a scummy company.

But it's the nature of technology. You have to move on and keep up, or be left behind. Most people - game developers, included - have to keep moving forward if they wish to remain relevant. It isn't their fault if some people choose to adhere to their antiquated equipment.

[kingjames488]

Originally posted by DasaKamov:

Originally posted by Mod_Abuse_victim#488:

you were talking about steam requiring updates

I was? When?

Because I thought this thread was on the topic of what it means to be an indie developer.

and I think it means, at least in part, not updating your game to no longer work on systems which you sold it on.

agree to disagree I suppose.