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[SelfTitled]

My question is do you prefer an indie game to come with an installer/uninstaller? or just the files structure in a zip or something and be expected to have all the required software installed?

The reason I'm asking is mainly due to the fact I'm creating a game in XNA which I would like to release on PC, but to play XNA games on pc you need to have .NET framework and XNA redists installed.

[Pineapple]

Just the files.

[davidp]

yea, zip file ftw forever and ever

but you can't go with just the files with xna, so you really have no choice.

[Muz]

No installers at all, unless there's too many places to copy files to. I don't see the point of an installer when a game is just an executable.

Zip please, not rar either. Zip takes like 5 seconds less to decompress, compared to 0.5 second faster download for a rar.

[fraxcell]

I agree that zips are far better than installers. However, if you're releasing an XNA game it would be nice to have an installer that would get you the .net framework and stuff with it, but also have the option to just download zip if you already have those files.

[Core Xii]

An installer guides you to choose a directory, then copies files there.

As someone who knows how to copy files into directories, I most certainly do not need a "wizard" to guide me through the process.

[Eraser]

IMO it depends on the size and quality of the game. For example, I would prefer an installer for Penumbra and World of Goo, but I wouldn't want one for Iji.

[iggie]

I'm happy with Inno Setup. It's handy when you have to install other libraries (eg: DirectX, XNA) and makes sure the user is set up with handy shortcuts and uninstall options.

[Razz]

Well, zips are faster and more convenient. It really depends on the size of the game, though

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i prefer installers for big games that are finished, and zips for freeware or for people just showing their latest build off. that's also how i use them myself, when the game's in playtesting i use zips, when the game is finished and being sold i use installers, because many people who buy games don't know how to unzip things.

basically, when you're not making games just for a forum full of programmers and technical people, use installers, because many people do need desktop shortcuts and such to find anything.

[bento_smile]

I prefer to just have the files or just a nice, tidy, self-contained exe. It's worth considering that sometimes people who are bored at work, and don't have the privileges to install programs, might want to play your game. 

[Draknek]

I would advise to create both an installer version and a zipfile version. There are always people who are annoyed by installers, and similarly there are people who are annoyed by something not having an installer.

I was surprised recently by my (fairly technically minded) friend, who said that he was annoyed by zipfiles, not because that meant he needed to find dependencies, but because he lost track of these tiny games dotted around his computer. He wanted installers so that he could keep track of them and easily uninstall them.

That's a personal organisation problem as much as anything, but he was someone I would have expected to be firmly in the "just give me a zipfile" camp.

[ghosted]

Yeah, I agree with Draknek here. Irrespective of our individual persuasions or preferences, the best option is to simply provide both. There's nothing to be gained by ignoring one over the other.

[AuthenticKaizen]

i personally prefer zip files.
(but as draknek said it is always good to have both... so the people can choose)

[Dim_Yimma_H]

In my experience installers tend to put junk files (aka. drivers : ) in the system folders, and may require reinstall after switching storage devices, transferring the game, and such, so I'm not fond of installers. ZIP files are more flexible to me, personally.

If you require .NET I feel you can gain some more players by targeting a version that already is on their systems (through e.g. service pack). I find it more feasible to update XNA with a game seeing it's relatively small.

[slembcke]

In my experience installers tend to put junk files (aka. drivers : ) in the system folders, and may require reinstall after switching storage devices, transferring the game, and such, so I'm not fond of installers. ZIP files are more flexible to me, personally.

While not really relevant to the XNA game in question, this is the reason why most Mac users get suspicious of something that needs an installer. When 95% of the software distributed for the Mac doesn't come in an installer, a lot of Mac users will actually refuse to run installers after downloading a piece of shareware as the assumption is that the software must be installing crap into the system directories if it needs to be installed.

So for anyone porting things to the Mac, don't make an installer unless you really really need one or want users to pass up your game.

[pgil]

I don't like installers, personally, but if it would really make my games accessible to more people I'd consider offering them.

[tempestad]

I'm not a Windows user, but I think installers are better. They help you with dependencies, and the installer manager (or however it's called) keeps track of everything installed. This way the dynamic libraries goes to the system folder, so if another program uses the same library you don't have to install a copy of it. Then the installer manager can take care of full uninstall (even dependencies that no other program depends of them anymore).

On the Mac I have no idea, and in linux I prefer some packages for the most common distributions or the source code if available (together with some readme about all dependencies needed and some quick guide of how to build and install).

[deathtotheweird]

I am a constant bitch about installers. I hate them and I think they are unnecessary.

In most cases, they are not needed at all. I especially hate the XNA installers, as they give you zero control over the files. They place the game in some dumb-ass place in appdata and dump shortcuts every where when I don't want them.

If you're a dick and want your game to have some stupid pointless installer, make every thing an option. I want the option to install wherever I want, disable the creation of shortcuts and anything else automated (such as .net installs or xna stuff). I can do every thing myself, I don't need some fucking installer doing it for me.

If users can't read a readme file with installation instructions to download the necessary .net or xna files then they are too stupid and lazy anyway. I guess if you are making a commercial game you couldn't afford to have that mindset though. But it still doesn't take a fucking rocket scientist to download those, yet so many people have problems with them. I'll never understand it.

[___]

Installers suck.  Give me a zip or a rar or whatever of just a folder with your game and everything else in it.  Then I can drag it to my indie games folder and play it and not have to worry about it adding shit to the registry, adding shortcuts to my start menu, adding a quicklaunch icon, adding a desktop icon, adding a data folder in documents and settings/application data, or doing anything else weird.