Game length?

[Bou]

How long?

[AngelEyes]

About 30-45 minutes

[Bou]

Thanks. I will skip this, too short.

[Hannibal]

Yeah price and length. Can't hit the buy button. 30 minutes just whizzes by in gaming. Probably would of been a spontaneous buy at .99 cents.

[Bou]

Originally posted by ~ 🔱 Jim 🔱 ~:

Yeah price and length. Can't hit the buy button. 30 minutes just whizzes by in gaming. Probably would of been a spontaneous buy at .99 cents.

The problem I have with it, at least for me, that it takes some time to get immersed by these type of games. Just like you said Jim, it whizzes by. It's a shame because I like the graphical style. I'm moving on to other games though. I'm done with horror indie games with very short lengths.

[Hannibal]

Oh I agree. It's a very nice immersive game but with that it seems just as your enjoying the world being presented its over. Having watched a full playthrough I felt I gained enough entertainment from that alone without having to buy it. I've too big an inventory myself of these very short horror/psychological horrors myself. They miss the point of building up a lasting story. It's like a quick paced short story and your done.

[Dan Sanderson]

I'm sorry you feel that way guys and I hope you come back eventually. If you'd like to play my other games (which are all free) then head over to my itch page at https://danthai.itch.io/

It's true First Winter is about 35 - 45 minutes game play time and should you want to unlock the additional ending then you can probably add an extra 15 minutes to that.

I can't apologise for the game play length. I could've added extra scenes in there that didn't progress the story or simply pad out the stopwatch, but I'm 100% happy with the length of the game and how it feels. The pacing is exactly how I wanted it to be and I think you'll feel rather satisfied when you reach the end of the game.

It would be great if I could afford to sell a game for $0.99 but in reality that's a very small amount of money and essentially I need to make money in order to continue doing this. I understand the principle of impulse buying and perhaps I've missed that opportunity but at $0.99 there is no wriggle room for offering discounts in the future or participating in Steam sales, should I choose to do so.

It's difficult and somewhat treacherous to discuss value for money, especially in a digital market where there is infinite supply and an unknown demand. It's a highly subjective matter and all I can say on this is that an incredible amount of craft and attention to detail went into making First Winter. I haven't used any stock assets, every item was built and textured individually. Music licences were purchased in order for YouTubers to record videos without getting copyrighted, professional voice actors were sourced and paid for and actual people translated the entire game to enable as many people as possible to play the game.

For the end user (you) this probably doesn't matter much and I didn't really want to go into this much detail but I thought it right that after a few days of pondering this thread that I contribute to the discussion. I'm grateful that you took the time to show some interest in the game and I'm confident that if you play my free games you'll be reassured of my intention and ability to make compelling experiences.

I'm just sat on a nice big learning curve and all of this is great feedback and experience so thanks for getting in touch.

[Bou]

I'm actually willing to pay more for increased length though. I wish you all the best with the game, sales and future game development.

[Stefan8000]

For me, the game length was perfect. The pacing was great and i like a playthrough in one session. The price was ok for me, because i see the lot of work and i am willing to pay around 5 dollar for an hour of good playtime. Dev, you could add free dlcs of the original version or your other games. That would be awesome and adds more value for people who think, it is too less game time. I know, all games can be downloaded free on itch, but steam users like there games in one place. The games would be added to the account and lots of people would be happy to get more games for the same price. If you would ask me, i would be paying for them to own them on steam. Maybe add them free and consider a donation dls (or add mp3 in this dlc). There are so many opportunities. But all that besides, it is an awesome game. Thanks for making it.

[Dan Sanderson]

Thanks Stefan. That's a great idea and I'll definitely give it some careful consideration. Ponder ponder...

[The Pansen]

It matters to me! I bought the game although (because?) I watched a complete Let's Play and I just finished recording my own. This game feels personal and is in my oppinion perfectly paced. It's a gem and I enjoyed it very much.
Now I came to the forums to see if anyone could spoil me the second ending, but everyone has been nice up till now :-D

[Deaf Sparrow]

Why does every game have to be a million years long? It's a great immersion experience for sure. Who cares about the damn length?

[Kuro X Kage]

Originally posted by Dan Sanderson:

I'm sorry you feel that way guys and I hope you come back eventually. If you'd like to play my other games (which are all free) then head over to my itch page at https://danthai.itch.io/

It's true First Winter is about 35 - 45 minutes game play time and should you want to unlock the additional ending then you can probably add an extra 15 minutes to that.

I can't apologise for the game play length. I could've added extra scenes in there that didn't progress the story or simply pad out the stopwatch, but I'm 100% happy with the length of the game and how it feels. The pacing is exactly how I wanted it to be and I think you'll feel rather satisfied when you reach the end of the game.

It would be great if I could afford to sell a game for $0.99 but in reality that's a very small amount of money and essentially I need to make money in order to continue doing this. I understand the principle of impulse buying and perhaps I've missed that opportunity but at $0.99 there is no wriggle room for offering discounts in the future or participating in Steam sales, should I choose to do so.

It's difficult and somewhat treacherous to discuss value for money, especially in a digital market where there is infinite supply and an unknown demand. It's a highly subjective matter and all I can say on this is that an incredible amount of craft and attention to detail went into making First Winter. I haven't used any stock assets, every item was built and textured individually. Music licences were purchased in order for YouTubers to record videos without getting copyrighted, professional voice actors were sourced and paid for and actual people translated the entire game to enable as many people as possible to play the game.

For the end user (you) this probably doesn't matter much and I didn't really want to go into this much detail but I thought it right that after a few days of pondering this thread that I contribute to the discussion. I'm grateful that you took the time to show some interest in the game and I'm confident that if you play my free games you'll be reassured of my intention and ability to make compelling experiences.

I'm just sat on a nice big learning curve and all of this is great feedback and experience so thanks for getting in touch.

Dan,

Just wanted to pop in and say, your post here. Prompted me to purchase your game. Very well said. I will be trying this out later today. Much success to you in the future.