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[dodo]

What do you think about short games. I want to develop an hour long commerical game. I plan to finish it in 6 months.

What should i price it? 4.99 eur is what i think.

I want to do something unique and original instead of something long. That's why i want to limit it to 1 hour.

Do you think that's ok or people will complain about short gameplay.

Thanks.

[Chris MacAdam]

I think it depends to be honest. You say the playtime will be one hour, is there any replay value? Or do you imagine it as more as a one time story?
5 dollars doesn't seem like too much though. Honestly under 10 dollars is my impulse buy range. Anything more than that and I will talk myself out of buying it most of the time. I say go for it though!

Edit: I should add I have never released a game commercially so don't really take my word on anything.

[dodo]

One time story, not much replay value other than exploring the game instead of following story.

Cheaper than cinema. I just wanted to know if it's acceptable to publish a one hour long game, or will people complain about it even though it was a fun hour.

Thank you for your answer.

[Xorglord]

I'm interested in this too. I'm planning on releasing my first commercial release soon. It's about 2 hours of game and I'm planning on pricing it at about $3-4.

[Josh Bossie]

What's the genre? I'd say $5 is about the max

Be prepared that people will complain no matter the price

[Whelly]

My first game, Home is Where One Starts..., is a slower-paced story game that only takes about 30 minutes to complete. I priced it at $3 on Steam, and the reaction has been OK. Fans of the "walking simulator" genre liked it for the price, but almost every single review said how short it was. I love short games personally, but I don't think most gamers do. Even if it's filler or grinding, that's totally fine with most of them (I'm generalizing of course). Another short game, Leaving Lyndow, is only $4 and takes about an hour, and again everyone was annoyed with the length. The developer explained that he took out all of the boring, meandering stuff so that it was an awesome hour well spent. My theory: gamers are so used to grinding and filler material in games that they usually expect it. If your game is less than an hour, definitely don't go higher than $5 and prepare for a few negative reviews.

[dodo]

My first game, Home is Where One Starts..., is a slower-paced story game that only takes about 30 minutes to complete. I priced it at $3 on Steam, and the reaction has been OK. Fans of the "walking simulator" genre liked it for the price, but almost every single review said how short it was. I love short games personally, but I don't think most gamers do. Even if it's filler or grinding, that's totally fine with most of them (I'm generalizing of course). Another short game, Leaving Lyndow, is only $4 and takes about an hour, and again everyone was annoyed with the length. The developer explained that he took out all of the boring, meandering stuff so that it was an awesome hour well spent. My theory: gamers are so used to grinding and filler material in games that they usually expect it. If your game is less than an hour, definitely don't go higher than $5 and prepare for a few negative reviews.

Thanks for real world examples. Much appreciated.

[Raptor85]

imho $5 is way too much for a short, hour long game. I'd say $1 is a better price point for such a short game.  To put in perspective, for $5 I could buy Dishonored, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Plants vs Zombies, Binding of Isaac, X-Com, downwell, the room, super amazing wagon adventure,  etc.... $5 has kinda become the price point for mid-length indie games and 5+ year old AAA titles from companies who don't suck.

[ProgramGamer]

Your price has to be a balance of what people are willing to pay and what will pay your bills and feed you.

If you sell a game for 1$ which you worked on for six months, you would have to sell at least 10,000 copies in order to equate with a minimum wage salary. With a 5$ price point you're down to 2,000.

It all depends on whether 10,000 people are willing to pay 1$ for a game or 2,000 people are willing to pay 5$ for a game. Or anything in between or beyond. Play with the numbers a bit and see what seems the most reasonable price.

[PacoChan]

I'm in a similar position and I've been thinking about that. I decided to sell my point and click adventure a 3.99$. It's a 1-2 hour game. But it has some replay value (multiple endings, some easter eggs and secrets, and completion time leaderboards). It's the aspect that worried me the most, that people would complain about its length. But in my case, I hope 3.99$ will be a fair price.

[TheClintHennesy]

I agree with those that said that it's too much if it's an hour's worth of game-play with no replayability.

We developed a game recently with 15-20 minutes worth of content. Even if we sold of it for like a dollar or so- it won't go close to competing with phone games with atleast 4-8 hours worth of content and around 3.99 by price.

Just my 2 cents on that.

[BusinessDogStudio]

I think it really depends on the genre and what people's expectations are going to be at that price point. In some cases, it can be perfectly reasonable - I've bought local multiplayer games for $5 and felt like I got more than my money's worth after an hour, because it entertained not just me but also my friends. Level of polish matters a lot too - I'd expect to see a lot of attention to detail in that one hour if I paid $5 for it.

One thing I wouldn't do is compare yourself to all the old AAA and rare indie mega-hits that go for $5 and think that you have to price yourself lower just based on that - if that was the case, 99% of indies would be selling their games for $1 and be living on the streets. If you're making a game that's good, in a genre that isn't already saturated to the max, you shouldn't be afraid to charge a fair price for it.

[SEEDY]

I would say you have to think about the competition and what they are selling similar games at. I have a game on Steam for £6.99 GBP ($10) and have sold very few. There are so many games in this price range and of such good quality that people are I think expecting great games for no money these days.

[Taky]

I'd like echo other comments about your genre of game. Also, don't sell yourself too short. Some styles of games (for lack of better term, I'll say "walking simulators") can probably get away with a higher price tag. For me, I'd say, how long does it take for the player to have an emotional experience in your game? If it happens at 30mins, and your game is an hour (ala Gone Home), then you're good for a higher price.

[zizulot]

Well , my opinion it depends, I remember Kirby game, It was so short, but it was extremely fun, so if game will make people satisfied than no one complains, but at this day no matter what someone will complain no matter how good your game will be

[eyeliner]

Well, you have Dragon's Lair that you can beat in about 10 minutes that costs 10$...