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[lowpoly]

http://www.playgreenhouse.com

The Greenhouse is a new distribution platform operated by Greenhouse Interactive, dedicated to supporting independent game development worldwide. We help indie developers get their games into the hands of gamers, and that gives gamers easy access to new and innovative games that they might otherwise have missed.

backed by the PA people, so maybe it will get some momentum?

[Robert]

If anyone can do it, Tycho and Gabe can! I like the way it's just a website rather than an application, and is meant to be cross platform right from the get-go. Also they specifically mention wanting to get indie games out there and into the public eye, always a good thing.

But like all of these things a game will have to go through a review before being let on the site. Having said that I trust Tycho and Gabe to judge good games more than anyone (except myself of course! ) and I guess you have to do avoid the system swelling up with drek.

[moi]

I don't think tycho and gabe are intrisincly more "indie" than any one else. They're in it for the money like everyone else, and if they succeed, they'll use their influence to leverage less interesting deal for the indies.
Just look, for example, how lowtax raped his own website with ads (not even mentioning the paying forums).
There is no "indie spirit"
 

[Corpus]

I dunno, I kinda suspect they already have enough money, and Child's Play doesn't make them any profit, does it?

[team_q]

I think they were just tired of getting screwed by other companies looking to cash into what they had built, so they are doing it themselves. I think they have the readership to make something like this work, and they aren't the type of people to screw others for the sake of making money. They have always been upfront with their readership regarding the business side of Penny-Arcade.

[Chris Whitman]

I don't think tycho and gabe are intrisincly more "indie" than any one else. They're in it for the money like everyone else, and if they succeed, they'll use their influence to leverage less interesting deal for the indies.

I don't think that's entirely fair. Despite the fact that this is a business, they seem to have an extremely low tolerance for bullshit. Given the alternative -- bullshit -- I'd prefer to deal with their system.

Obviously it isn't like they're giving away free unicorns in exchange for smiles, but at least they aren't stealing your things and punching you in the neck.

And you can quote me on that.

[Melly]

I don't think tycho and gabe are intrisincly more "indie" than any one else. They're in it for the money like everyone else, and if they succeed, they'll use their influence to leverage less interesting deal for the indies.

I don't think that's entirely fair. Despite the fact that this is a business, they seem to have an extremely low tolerance for bullshit. Given the alternative -- bullshit -- I'd prefer to deal with their system.

Obviously it isn't like they're giving away free unicorns in exchange for smiles, but at least they aren't stealing your things and punching you in the neck.

And you can quote me on that.

Ouch, a punch there must hurt so bad.

Also, I still think there's something fishy with how nice they are. I just know there's something hidden, secret, and when we find out it'll be too late already, we'll all be doning our fancy new mind-controlling PA T-shirts.

[Corpus]

I'm not ruling out that possibility, but, well... some people just plain aren't dicks.

[Chizzer]

I'm all for online distribution, especially with a system who's ownership seems to care about *all* games, and not just big-budget-blockbuster-um...blasts? (I like alliteration.)

Given how genuine Gabe and Tycho seem with all of their other endeavors, I can't forsee them dicking over anybody else. Don't get me wrong - it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up pushing some large-budget titles, too, but I can't see them pushing small-time devs away from distribution.

[team_q]

Even how they handle their webads are geared towards their community. They opted for ads which they themselves approve of, as opposed to before where it was more of a begging system, which they hated. This is why you don't see horrible adds for like pointers or things or stupid adsense.

[Chrissketch]

PA won the internet long ago. Now, they are free remake the web as they see fit, wielding their readership much like a giant club and/or phallus, and yet, still manage to be nice guys who write a quality, 3 panel comic strip. I think Greenhouse will be just one more victory in their quest to make the gaming world more better.

[Eclipse]

PA won the internet long ago. Now, they are free remake the web as they see fit, wielding their readership much like a giant club and/or phallus, and yet, still manage to be nice guys who write a quality, 3 panel comic strip. I think Greenhouse will be just one more victory in their quest to make the gaming world more better.

the comicstrips are done by robots now, you know

[shinygerbil]

I thought the comic strips had gained sentience, and started to replicate in an orderly fashion.

[Saint]

Gabe: Robert said we could talk about that deal with GameStop.

We had a meeting with GameStop to talk about selling a boxed version of the game. Once we had a bunch of episodes together, we would collect them and put them in a box, you know? And GameStop said, oh, that's fantastic. We'd love to do it, we'd love to carry the game... but it's not going to be available anywhere else, is it?

And Robert said, well, we're going to digitally distribute it first.

They got really upset. And they said, no, you can't do that. We can't have it in our store if it's coming out digitally first. And he said, well, I'm sorry, that's the way it works. We're publishing our game and we can say where it goes. And so the deal that they tried to strike with Robert was okay, well, listen: If you cut us in on the profits from online distribution, and XBLA, and everything it comes out on, then we'll think about carrying it in the store. Just, what assholes.

So we're not going to be seeing this game in GameStop, is what you're saying.

Gabe: Probably not.

Source

Score one to the good guys...