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[Player 3]

In other words, we're all hobos.

[thatredant]

Humble Bundle is really awesome. I paid 5 bucks and the games are rad! My favorites are VVVVVV, Cogs, Braid, and Revenge of the Titans. Nice job with the bundle. 

[Ashkin]

Time to choose the next easy and thoughtless video game targets. I think we've already done robots and zombies, so...
I posit dinosaurs. They're heartless things that are extinct anyway, and they're varied enough. I mean, Turok was fun, right guys?

Dino D-Day came out on steam last week. Dinosaurs are trying, they just aren't quite there yet.

Well maybe we just need better people to develop them.
Seriously that game had so much potential.

[unsilentwill]

It was like multiplayer only so not many people bought it, even with the free weekend. Kind of sucks.

The bundle hit two million, which is nuts. Maybe I'll try to make a pretty game before the next one... also it's a bummer that some poor indies don't like "rich" indies. Whatever, the more indie love the more strange games are bound to be found.

[Noyb]

I think hobos have a lot more potential.
Think about it, hobos would make ANY game better.

I found the hobos in Condemned: Criminal Origins to be quite frightening enemies.

[sonicblastoise]

Hi guys,

So recently the HiB came out with its third iteration, which did wonderfully, and it seems to have become a bona fide cultural phenomenon. But I can't help this feeling that the popularity of this...thing may actually not be all that great for indie development. I mean, not to disparage it or anything, but anymore this huge amount of money gets involved, it's possible that things can start getting all wrapped up in that money. And for the sake of games, I hope it doesn't.

But I'm just a lowly writer and observer of these things. Are there any of you guys out there (and I know there are people who have developed games that have been in this HiBs) feeling any kind of negative fallout from these bundles? Or have misgivings? Or just opinions? I'm just trying to figure it all out.

Anything would be nice. Thanks

[moi]

Ah yeah.
Oh btw, THIS IS NOT INDIE ANYMORE..

I'ma just copy and paste teh whole article because you guys are doing a great job walking around the elephant

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/34255/Humble_Bundle_Backed_By_47_Million_In_Venture_Capital.php

A recent SEC filing has revealed that Humble Bundle -- the company that packages indie games together for charity -- has acquired $4.7 million in venture capital funding.

The funding round is led by Sequoia Capital, a reliable source has confirmed to Gamasutra. The VC firm has also funded gaming companies including Pocket Gems, GameGround and Unity Technologies.

Sequoia partner Alfred Lin is the only outside director listed in the SEC filing for the San Francisco-based Humble Bundle operation, CNN's Fortune noted in a report.

John Graham, co-founder of Humble Bundle and COO of Wolfire Games, did not immediately return request for further comment regarding details of the funding, and how it will be used.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

most of the games are still indie, even if the bundle is not; it's not like they give up the rights to their games to wolfire if they're included in the bundle

but i still wonder why they need 4.7m in funding considering how successful the bundles have been, and their stated emphasis on social marketing rather than traditional marketing. where is all that money going?

[BMcC]

What's so shameful about funding, moi?

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

nothing yet, but this comment on that article may indicate one direction to worry:

I think that the biggest question this raises is how Sequoia's involvement will affect their business model. Sequoia is known for taking an active role in the companies it invests in to ensure that they get a good return. When they first backed Atari, part of the deal was that the founder of Sequoia got a seat on its board of directors.

If Sequoia takes a similar role in the Humble Bundle, will they be satisfied by the money that comes in from the "Humble Tip?" Will they keep the games DRM-free? Will they still allow you to give your entire donation to charity and not to them?

Hopefully Sequoia will recognize that these are some of the factors that led to the bundle's success. Still, venture capitalists don't invest in companies unless they think that they will make a significant amount of cash.

[BMcC]

I can't imagine anyone involved agreeing to something so antithetical, though, for "only" $4.7M. (A relatively small amount against the millions being made each sale.) And yeah, this doesn't really affect the "indieness" of the games anyway.

[moi]

It's not shameful but I find it a bit hypocritical to keep calling it "humble indie bundle".And theses venture people are there to make their money back by all means, and we're already seing less spontaneity and more strange things that make me think this is becoming one big marketing event so I'm kinda iffed by their media darling status.
Also: it has potential to hurt other independant devellopers in the future (a la steam)

[BMcC]

Ah. Well, I will say it's not "humble" anymore, at least. But I'm gonna try and remain optimistic about the rest, as long as it still could be good for the developers.

[moi]

You're not getting any of that money are you?

[BMcC]

Haha, no, I'm still destitute/indie.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

it's certainly good for the indies who get in it, but i imagine it might train some people into thinking 'oh, this is an indie game? i'll wait until it's in the humble indie bundle and then i'll buy it' just like when a game appears on steam many people (including me) tend to wait for it to be on sale for like 75%+ off before buying it, and how some people don't buy a game unless it's on steam

[TeeGee]

I still wonder how the investors plan to profit on this. $2m is a lot of money, but I suspect that the "humble tip" is a very small fraction of it.

[:^)]

I just hope the next ones continue to be as good as this one.

[st33d]

The next one will include this one.

Just to make us feel like idiots for buying this one.

[Zaphos]

I still wonder how the investors plan to profit on this. $2m is a lot of money, but I suspect that the "humble tip" is a very small fraction of it.

I vaguely remember reading something about extending the humble bundle beyond the current context of games ... if they could duplicate their success in other contexts, they could run a lot more events per year.