Show Support, Renounce Free/Buy Extra Copies

The world of gaming has changed significantly since the 90's. There's a whole other level of media coverage these days that can separate the wheat from the chaff much easier than before.

As for why I will buy a new copy in the store, it's be part of a statistic. That Tex Murphy sells.

I'll be DAMNED if I'm going to see this new game be a blip on the radar just because the game itself didn't sell well in stores. I WILL NOT sit idly by and see the franchise resurface this briefly, and let it be remembered as something that was "just for the fans".

I want this ressurection to be PERMANENT, dammit! I want Tex BACK. And not just for the one game, either. I want the entire franchise to return!

-Fred

I don't think we will be able to buy the game in our local gaming stores anytime soon. Maybe never.

Because, the thing is, business models have changed. Publishers stopped supporting adventure games a long time ago, and nowadays you would be hard pressed to even get shelf space for a Tex Murphy game. And without a publisher, you wouldn't get it in stores anyway.

And this is the most important point. Tex is now by all intents and purposes an indy game. Financed by the fans and self-published by the developer. I am sure BFG will make disc copies available to order online and if the game becomes an unexpected hit, someone may just pick it up for a retail version, but that's neither here nor there.

This means something very important however: Project Fedora will need to make money in a different way as well. A lot of independent adventure games get exposure through word of mouth from the online community (the Kickstarter has already been a great first marketing push), sales (on Steam, etc.) and indy bundles.

Just think about this: When Double Fine's Psychonauts was released as a retail game back in 2005, it was considered a flop. Later, the rights for the game reverted to Double Fine and they have been offering the PC version on Steam ever since. I read in interview with Tim Schafer once, that Steam sales gave Psychonauts much more exposure and revenue than it ever had back in the retail days.

It was also part of the latest Humble Indie Bundle, which sold almost 600.000 copies and made about 5.000.000 Dollars. DF probably got a healthy chunk of that money. Let's just assume they received 10% of the overall revenue ... well, that's pretty impressive indeed.

So, while I will not renounce my free copy, I will definitely support the game by gifting it in the odd sale, etc. I am also giving away my GOG download codes for the old games, since I already own them anyway.

So, yeah, I really hope BFG will use the network of independent gaming to push the new game even further. If they do that, there franchise might just be here to stay. It's really awesome, that this kind of game can actually make money again!

By the way, I wanted to say "Indie Game" not "Indy Game". Yikes!

Fred Buer wrote:As for why I will buy a new copy in the store, it's be part of a statistic. That Tex Murphy sells.

I don't think this is going to help Tex become a success, though. Look at it this way. Most of the money made from sales of this game will be profit, as the expenses are already covered. If we assume the seventh Tex game (i.e. the one after Fedora) will cost $850,000 to produce (a similar figure to get a similar calibre of game as Fedora), if BFG receives an average of $20/copy of the game, they will need to sell 42,500 copies. The fact is, 20-30 fans buying an extra copy is not going to make a significant enough dent in those numbers. Not even 1,000 such fans would. This game will be successful or not on its own merits, not renouncing "free" copies.

Also, I think trying to boost those figures without boosting the audience for Tex is doing BFG and the Tex Murphy franchise more of a disservice than it helps them. Ideally, if we need to sell at least 42,500 copies for Fedora to be considered a success, then that should be from 42,500 new fans who will buy Tex games in the future, not from established fans buying multiple copies. If we were to be "successful" because fans bought up multiple copies, then it's a success only in terms of dollars and not in terms of customers. That will not be sustainable.

We are also not getting a "free" copy. I paid for my copy. The 7,000 copies that have sold thus far were essentially like the first 7,000 copies sold had this game been produced more traditionally. The revenue from them has recovered the costs of production and every copy from here on is profit. If we all received a free copy, then BFG would still need to cover their expenses as it could only mean they've made no money.

Agreed, Matthew, but I also must point out that the expenses for this game have only been mostly covered. The Kickstarter raised $450k, but BFG sank $300k of their own money into this as well. There's still a good chunk of their own investment there that I imagine they want to recoup. The key will be creating new Tex fans, which is why buying games for our friends who mightn't have otherwise bothered will be a gift that keeps on giving--to Tex.

my voice just wrote:

Frogacuda wrote:Someone who has the money to make a game, but would simply prefer to have me bankroll them can f*** right off

what about jane jensen? she seems to have established the whole system of annual games releases on this

I'm not talking about someone who has a few bucks in the bank, Roberta is like, actually rich, not from King's Quest royalties, but from actually selling Sierra to Vivendi. Jane DOES need the money to make her new games. Roberta does not.

Bafitis wrote:I'll buy another copy to support, but I'm looking forward to the Exclusive Boxed Collectors Edition...

While I'm sure the game will be stellar, I worry about the Piracy that's sure to swamp it... I know people will buy it, but for every buyer there will probably be 3 or more who grab it off torrent or other means... This will hurt their profits for a possible sequel... And then people, even those who steal the game, will come crying for a new game, but they might throw their hands up and say there just wasn't enough interest and profit in it to do any more...

I hope they don't get ripped to bad by the pirates out there... But if they do decide on a Sequel and use Kickstarter I will certainly be involved again....

If Kickstarter has proved anything, it's that consumers are altruistic and generous toward game developers and have no problem coughing up money for their products -- more money than they have to, even -- as long as they know that money isn't all going to corporations.

I'm not saying that people won't pirate it, but I am saying that the people that pirate it were largely not interested in buying it for the price they were asking in the first place, and those that are will pay for it.

Well said. Whether or not it hurts sales...Most pirates won't get a game if they can't pirate it, but there are still some who would. However, that doesn't so much matter as there is absolutely no way to stop them from doing it, unless maybe it's a multiplayer only game, and even in those cases hackers can create their own servers (World of Warcraft for instance).

Piracy DOES hurt sales. However, you can't use it as a reason that your game didn't do well, because people pirate everything. Good games sell well and are pirated a lot. Bad games sell poorly and are still pirated.

LockeCole wrote:First of, that is insane, to pay for a game to be made, promised a free copy and then say "Nah, I'll pay for it again thanks. However, I likely will buy anyone I know a copy as Christmas/Birthday Presents...

Bafitis wrote:...I worry about the Piracy that's sure to swamp it... I know people will buy it, but for every buyer there will probably be 3 or more who grab it off torrent or other means... This will hurt their profits for a possible sequel... And then people, even those who steal the game, will come crying for a new game, but they might throw their hands up and say there just wasn't enough interest and profit in it to do any more...

Sigh... People who habitually pirate games generally WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT THE GAME if they couldn't have pirated it. It isn't some easily countable number of 'lost sales' that 'screwed the developers'. I really wish people would stop acting like it is so... It just makes game makers feel like they need DRM that in turn does nothing but harm the PAYING customer (IE you and me) meanwhile the pirates crack the game a few hours later than if they'd had a DRM-free copy. It's a strawman argument that game companies use to claim that their game wasn't bad or poorly marketed, just that the profits were destroyed by 'the pirate menace'.

It's BS and I'm sick of hearing this argument.

Tex will make money as long as it (and I have no reason to doubt this) is a good game. Unless there really are only 7000 people (IE the backers) who would ever like Tex... then we're screwed, but I doubt that one.

What I found surprising to learn was that Pandora Directive apparently didn't sell that well. I don't think FMV had gotten a bad rep at that point yet, most sites seem to say that occured later more towards Overseer's release, so it seems it was just down to not enough publicity and marketing. From the Reddit:

In retrospect, could should Pandora have been titled 'Under A Killing Moon 2' in order to capitalize on the success of UAKM, and to build up the brand recognition?

BigFinishOfficial:
Probably. We weren't very marketing savvy, which I'm not at all ashamed to admit.

Sean122383:
That’s what I called the game before I bought it, but The Pandora Directive was a much better title than re-using the title from the previous game and slapping the number 2 onto it. I can’t wait until Mean Streets 6 comes out!

I wonder if thats why they decided to call the next one Tex Murphy: Overseer. Hopefully they will hire a really good marketing person

Back then I didn't really follow PC gaming magazines, and still don't. So I only found UAKM by chance and bought Pandora Directive based on enjoying UAKM. Can't remember how I came across it though.

These days publicity and marketing should hopefullly be easier now that the internet is more widespread and the whole social and viral marketing thing is bigger. I didn't get the internet until 2000. As someone said above Psychonauts is a good example of a series that didn't get the recognition it deserved before and is enjoying more success later on after more distribution and marketing options online opened up. I only heard about Psychonauts in the past year or two, mainly due to watching people play it on Twitch TV who picked it up on Steam etc. It looked good so I stopped watching the broadcasts intending to get it and experience the story for myself, and snapped it up when it appeared in the Indie Bundle.

Bafitis wrote:I certainly hope Tex sells and helps bring back the Adventure genre... I just hope a flood of FMV games doesn't destroy things again like in the 90s...

Since I only played the good FMV ganes back in the 90s I've always thought it a shame a run of "bad movies" killed the method of using live actors in a game. It'll be cool if the next Tex Murphy game could change attitudes like Chris and Aaron seem to suggest hoping to do in interviews. No doubt if the FMV game genre revives there will be bad games, thats impossible to avoid as every genre has them, but so long as the good ones get acknowledged that will keep the impression balanced. After all there have been some poor Adventure games recently or with very bad voice acting, yet people still have a good image of Adventure games because the really good ones get the right amount of publicity.

Jerry Dan wrote:Agreed, Matthew, but I also must point out that the expenses for this game have only been mostly covered. The Kickstarter raised $450k, but BFG sank $300k of their own money into this as well. There's still a good chunk of their own investment there that I imagine they want to recoup. The key will be creating new Tex fans, which is why buying games for our friends who mightn't have otherwise bothered will be a gift that keeps on giving--to Tex.

Yeah, I considered that. I was giving best-case scenario in terms of how profitable Fedora needs to be. There could be other factors to consider like income distribution to the owners, etc.

It's much preferable to try and get new fans than simply buying another copy for yourself. I'm all for buying copies for others if it might make them potential future customers of BFG. Buying copies for people who are very unlikely to play and/or enjoy the game is not much better than buying yourself an additional copy, however. The key to Tex's future success is building an audience and all efforts must be directed towards that, not just making money. Not all dollars are equal.

Sai wrote:Since I only played the good FMV ganes back in the 90s

You can't always tell what the good ones are just by looking at the box... Not everything had Previews or Demos back then... I still own a few of the bad ones... lol
I rarely get rid of a game regardless... The only time I get rid of one is if it becomes corrupt or broken in one way or another...

I did finally, about 2 years ago, go through a huge box of floppies and get rid of a bunch of those that I no longer had a box or manuals for, or just weren't good games... Also I got rid of all of my Police Quests because I now have them on the CDs... Same goes for Space and Kings Quests...


My "Frankenstein" machine, as people seem to call them nowadays, is just about done... I just need a place to set it up and load the OS and I'll be good to go... I'll be in 90s heaven... lol

Sai wrote:Back then I didn't really follow PC gaming magazines, and still don't. So I only found UAKM by chance and bought Pandora Directive based on enjoying UAKM. Can't remember how I came across it though.

Same here... I just don't have the time to read all these different magazines or websites, which is why my gaming list is so long, every time I turn around someone mentions a game that sounds great... If I had only read Game Informer I would have known... But if I had read Game Informer than I would have ended up skipping a Debriefing and I can't afford to do that...

Martian Memorandum was given to me as either a B-Day or X-Mas gift, can't remember which...

UAKM I just came across in Electronic Boutique one day... I had went to the mall to hang out, walked in the game store to browse around and possibly buy something and there was this big box with a big Moon and the now classic silhouette which I loved instantly... I saw the price and said "Yeah sure, why not"...

Pandora was basically the same, I knew it was a sequel to UAKM as soon as I saw it, but I only saw it by chance, because I didn't know it existed... It was the little silhouette that caught my eye and said to myself "Could it be???" and sure enough it was, Tex Murphy... I said this is too kewl I gotta get this... Luckily I happened to be in the store with my parents that day, because I didn't have quite enough money for it and I was able to talk them into getting it...

Overseer, again I had no idea another one had came out... It was the Blinking Light on the package that caught my eye that time and then I saw the BIG letters Tex Murphy written there and I said "That's Mine"... lol
Still have that box packed away somewhere... I kept a lot of my computer game boxes...

Mean Streets {yes I know I put it last because it was the last one I played out of the series}, I had no idea it even existed until I had looked some Tex Murphy stuff up online... It wasn't easy to get a copy of either back then, I almost resorted to downloading it freely, but then I had found a combo CD that had, I think 4 different Mystery games on it... I never did own Mean Streets on Floppy...


I think it will all boil down to how much marketing BFG does once they are close to finishing... Will they do the E3 conference/show/etc??? Will they do any others??? I know there is a pretty big show in Germany, should they try to get in on that???

I see people talking about buying it in the store, but will it even be available in stores??? I have to say I go to my local Game stores quite often and the PC shelf just keeps getting smaller and smaller... Should they even bother with hard copies in the stores??? Giving the Backers Collector Editions is one thing, but should they worry about spending money to mass produce???
I wonder how hard/expensive it would be to have boxes made that look like Fedoras for the Special Collector Editions...

I wonder how hard/expensive it would be to have boxes made that look like Fedoras for the Special Collector Editions...

monsieur knows what's what in pervertedness

Bafitis wrote:You can't always tell what the good ones are just by looking at the box... Not everything had Previews or Demos back then... I still own a few of the bad ones... lol

I think I just got lucky. Didn't use any demos, previews, reviews, magazines or friend reccomendations
I just bought them based on the synopsis of the story and gameplay on the back of the box. With UAKM it was in the bargain bin in a small game cornerstore and the concept/story sounded cool. I suppose after that I just kept an eye out for any more in the series and came across them whilst browsing. The version of Overseer I got in the UK had no blinking light

The only one I felt was a bad purchase was the X-Files one. But I don't think it was the FMV. I remeber finishing it quite quickly so it felt short and not worth the money. Plus I was dissapointed there was very little Mulder and Scully in it. I ended up trading it in or something to be able to afford a different game. But I did rebuy it cheap on eBay years later out of nostalgia.

I think it will all boil down to how much marketing BFG does once they are close to finishing... Will they do the E3 conference/show/etc??? Will they do any others??? I know there is a pretty big show in Germany, should they try to get in on that???

Yeah they will really need to push the boat out when it comes to marketing. And as others have commented, a lot of trailers for Tex games never show the gameplay. Throughout the whole Kickstarter campaign no gameplay from past games was shown either (after requests during the first week of the campaign they did say they were planning something but I guess it got put aside in the hubbub).

It will be very important to show the scenes with live actors to portray a general overview of the cinematic story. But I think if the general public just see those it will make them think its just a throwback to other FMV games with little new to offer. So hopefully that is rectified with the next game, because it is a unique selling point for it compared to others. Otherwise it'll just look like a movie trailer rather than a game trailer.

People are wary of game trailers that only show cutscenes and no gameplay.

Bafitis wrote:

Sai wrote:Since I only played the good FMV ganes back in the 90s

You can't always tell what the good ones are just by looking at the box... Not everything had Previews or Demos back then... I still own a few of the bad ones... lol

And it bears mentioning, the Tex Murphy games were really badly marketed. They played hard to the "interactive movie" angle, and the boxes and trailers focused solely on the FMV aspect, not on the adventure game aspect.

I saw Under a Killing Moon at someone else's house and also saw a preview in a magazine and that's what got me interested, but then Pandora came out and was out probably 6 months before I even realized it was a sequel to UAKM. You wouldn't know from the title or glancing at the box.

All the trailers, too, were devoid of gameplay footage. They just did an awful job of getting across the fact that these were good games rather than bad movies.

I hope they revise that strategy this time around. Although with the internet, other videos and writing are available at least.

Regarding E3, it's probably more money than it's worth to go as a vendor, unless they have a publisher involved and paying for it. Maybe if they just get a conference room, but certainly nothing on the show floor. They should attend, and network, do interviews, that kind of thing, but there's really no point to spending money trying to get attention on a show floor full of 10 million dollar booths.

They will absolutely need a good PR campaign. I hope they hire a good PR firm, they're really worth it. That's the most important aspect of marketing a game, way more than ads and such.