next »

[Chris Koźmik]

I'm preparing to release on Desura, what should I be aware of? Especially things like "I wish I knew this before I released my first game there because..."

- Should I make a project on IndieDB first and then once it's ready convert it to Desura?
- At what stage the game should be (alpha, beta, final, gold)? I'm concerned especially with the rating system (like if players judge my game as buggy if I release it too early and the game end up with poor rankings).
- Anything else I should know?

Are there ony articles/info about this, except the FAQ on Desura?

[ANtY]

-yes
-whatever you like (before gold you should release it as alpha funding), most ppl there will rate ur game with 10/10, and there are trolls rating each game 1/10, u'll get low score only if your game is extremely bad
-you get 15% more if ppl buy on Desura from your link, ie. from your website
You need to gather 500€ to be able to get cash from there.
It's very easy to release a game there, nothing to be worried about.
Although you still need to make a lot of pr/marketing to get any sales.

[Chris Koźmik]

What exactly is this "alpha funding"? I don't get it neither as a developer nor as Desura user At first I thought it is like kickstarter but it does not seem to be the case.

A lot of PR & marketing? I thought the whole point of portals like Desura was to avoid it and get access to the players. If I still have to do the whole marketing myself I could as well put the game on sale on my website only and do not pay any fees.... Unless I'm missing something?

[ANtY]

Are you familiar with pre-orders? It's the same but called alpha funding.

Hmm, there are for sure some ppl that browse Desura looking for games and you can get a few sales this way, but it's not Steam, yeah, it's similar to if you'd just sell it on your website. But it's easier to drive ppl to your Desura page from IndieDB posts than to your website from IndieDB posts.
From the other advantages from selling on Desura instead of your website it looks more legit and also they help market some games, but only chosen ones, others get nothing.

[Oddball]

A lot of PR & marketing? I thought the whole point of portals like Desura was to avoid it and get access to the players. If I still have to do the whole marketing myself I could as well put the game on sale on my website only and do not pay any fees.... Unless I'm missing something?

You're not guaranteed sales just for being on a portal. Not even Steam can do that for you. You still need to put the word out. The Lunar Flight guys found that out recently - http://www.shovsoft.com/lunarflight/?p=260

The advantage of being on these portals is mainly the barrier for purchasing is less for the customer. Joe public is happier for Steam, Desura, etc. to have their credit card number than they are for you to have it. The press are also more likely to cover games on portals than those that aren't. A lot of press outlets wouldn't give me the time of day until my game was on Steam. Another big advantage is that the portal is the vendor so they are responsible for VAT/sales tax. If you sell direct then that is your responsibility and you don't want to get that stuff wrong.

[airman4]

How many sales can we expect by selling on desura ?

It's bigger than steam ? equal or less ?

[Oddball]

How many sales can we expect by selling on desura ?

It's bigger than steam ? equal or less ?

Steam is massive, nothing is bigger than Steam. (insert hilarious yo' mama joke here)

My sales break down something like this: (From highest to lowest)
Steam>Indie Royale>Direct Sales>Desura>Mac App Store>Indievania

But this correlates exactly to how much I pushed each platform. I've plugged the Steam and Indie Royale version the most, and promoted the Mac App Store and Indievania versions the least.

[ANtY]

How many sales can we expect by selling on desura ?

It's bigger than steam ? equal or less ?

That is really a hilarious question, it's thousand times smaller than Steam.

And no one will tell you how many copies you'll sell, it depends on the game and marketing.

[airman4]

How many sales can we expect by selling on desura ?

It's bigger than steam ? equal or less ?

Steam is massive, nothing is bigger than Steam. (insert hilarious yo' mama joke here)

My sales break down something like this: (From highest to lowest)
Steam>Indie Royale>Direct Sales>Desura>Mac App Store>Indievania

But this correlates exactly to how much I pushed each platform. I've plugged the Steam and Indie Royale version the most, and promoted the Mac App Store and Indievania versions the least.

Okay thanks for the infos
sorry for the lame obviously question for guys like you dude.

i heard about steam and stuff but i should admit that i wasn't sure , Desura looked pretty huge to me but i'm a noob in those pc stuffs...

Indievania , didnt heard about it i'll check it.


ANtY
Sorry dude
it wasn't meant to be an idiot thing. i wanted to be sure so i just asked.
I know for the sales, but i wanted a global thing not a precise one anyway Oddball answered right as i wanted.

thanks guys.

[Chris Koźmik]

How about paid DLC? On Steam these are clearly marked and there is a lot of these. I have not noticed any on Desura... Is DLC an option on Desura? Is it feasible on Desura?

[ANtY]

How about paid DLC? On Steam these are clearly marked and there is a lot of these. I have not noticed any on Desura... Is DLC an option on Desura? Is it feasible on Desura?

I think it is, you can add a few payed positions to your game's page (each with different files), so you can make addons, or special editions this way, you can add a free demo the same way. I guess you could do this with a little help from Desura staff (so the DLC would install to the game's folder and ppl would have to buy the game first and then the DLC or sth like this)

[Chris Koźmik]

-you get 15% more if ppl buy on Desura from your link, ie. from your website

Where can I find more info about their fees? Because something does not add up. If their standard commision is 30% and the VAT in for example 20% (which they pay) and they give me this 15% bonus then they end up with -5% profit...

[ANtY]

I bet that they don't pay 20% VAT or add it to the price when someone's buying.

[mikejkelley]

Correct me someone if I'm wrong, but DLC is typically integrated into the game itself, usually using 3rd party middleware such as OpenFeint's OFX. At last check they took 15%. Selling the game itself thru your site will net you less 9%.

I don't like Desura bcs of Moddb.com's business model of vicarious copyright infringement (illegal, immoral). Also, I think they employ some sort of DRM for dwnlded games, correct me if I'm wrong.

Just remembered, at one point I tried to convince people to join in and create a business metrics repository thread. The first dozen or so posts, ppl mocked me for developing a business plan (a must have for any business that wants to be taken seriously) and for posting business related info in a business forum, lol go figure.

Anyways, you can get an estimate of quality proportional to sales by reading some of the articles linked.

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=22346.15