Community MetaSteam | October 2019 - The Horrors Of Empty Wallets, A Digimon Story

[lashman]

Yup, it's totally Valve fault that Piko's most popular game is Super 3D Noah's Ark and their latest one, fucking Impossamole, flopped. Not because they're working on super niche games that are usually seen in Fanatical / Indiegala bundles, nah.

Of course they are totally correct not updating the product they are currently selling in a storefront if said storefront puts them in such a harsh situation.

Great attitude there, customer friendly and polite and using their leverage intuitively cos Steam will totally see that and go omg, we should change our algorithms to promote ancient low effort re-releases over other stuff. I don't hear Risk of Rain, Hollow Knight, Ori, whatever devs talking about an indiepocalypse.

This is the dumbest excuse ive seen for not updating your library image. Fuck the people who bought your games because Valve bad

So people who bought your game caused the algo change? I don't get it.

the funniest thing is that they didn't even bother adding proper tags to their games .... something which would help them A LOT

the store pages are barren

and the screenshots are stretched (or look like they've been taken off of google images - like in 40 Winks's case, for example)

 

[Jav]

oh ...

''We won't do our work unless Valve accepts our demands.''

Valve right now:

 

[PC-tan]

oh ...

Bruh

What games did they make again? I'm guessing that their games were not popular or something.

Do they have any new games they released recently and what have they released on? If they released on Epic and N/S okay sure, but if they released on PS4 well (Indies do not sell well on PS4 and depending on the game PS4 makes up less than 20% of sales for some indie games).

Seeing how this post is from today, when they talk about the Indi apocalypse thing are they talking about the "very recent" change were upcoming games were not shown as much? If so I think I can understand were they are coming from but at the same time if they did more research it would make sense as to why that is. But if they are talking about in general (Steam Direct) then they likely never had any intention to do anything with Steam at all (which would include putting games on sale, so does that also mean not cashing their Steam check either?)


Also the whole indie apocalypse thing really has to do with just too many good games coming out (releasing on Steam being cheap and it's a lot easier/simpler to make a game now compared to 15 years ago? But more importantly just the fact that everyone wants to be an indie dev now.)

Isn't an indie studio a business? (Or something like that) and well the thing about business is that a big portion of them are going to fail by definition. It just feels like a lot of indie devs feel like their games are better than others and that they should be the ones still around and not other indie devs.

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I blame participation trophies

 

[lashman]

What games did they make again?

they didn't make any ... they just re-release old stuff on steam (mostly emulated):

Steam Publisher: Piko Interactive

Gaming since 1988

store.steampowered.com

 

[Tizoc]

lol
I did NOT know this released


So thanks for the heads up.
I ain't gonna reply to that tweet or retweet it, myself.

Also Impossamole is part of the Monty the Mole series? Woah!

Great attitude, customer friendly and polite and using their leverage intuitively cos Steam will totally see that and go omg, we should change our algorithms to promote ancient low effort dosbox re-releases over others. I don't see Risk of Rain, Hollow/Shovel Knight, Ori, whatever devs talking about any indiepocalypse.

Some of their games also include PSOne isos and SEGA MD roms. Personally I don't mind, it means I can legally get some of these niche and old titles.
...but yeah that attitude is a big no-no. Even a false 'we're working on it' would've been a better response.
BTW, some of you recommended some yuri/lesbian VNs on itch.io, Could you mention them again please? I want to make sure I added them to my wishlist on there.

 

[Alextended]

they didn't make any ... they just re-release old stuff on steam (mostly emulated):

Steam Publisher: Piko Interactive

Gaming since 1988

store.steampowered.com

Except Head over Heels which is an actual remake (also ancient, originally free and barely enhanced since then, but they made it) as I mentioned here.

 

[Spamlynguist]

oh ...

 

[Hektor]

oh ...

You ARE the indiepocalypse

 

[lashman]

You ARE the indiepocalypse

guess they must've changed their mind somewhere along the way ... because they barely have 50 releases on steam so far (and they've been doing it for like 3 years now)

 

[Eferis]

Hm I only know about them because I was interested in the 40 Winks port, which they also crowdfunded through Kickstarter, and then released on Steam using an open source emulator and charging 11 euros for it.

So... bye, I guess?

 

[Ascheroth]

Crying about the Indiepocalypse is all well and good but the reality is that we're living in a time where free or cheap entertainmant (which includes games) is abundant and ever growing.

Hell, according to my Spending Sheet™ I've bought 108€ worth of bundles this year for a total of 110 games. Sure I don't care about all of them, but even assuming I care about half or only a third of those, that's still crazy.
This to me seems far more severe than whatever algorithm changes Valve does (and quite frankly the recent rollout of Developer and Publisher pages + the event system + all the Labs experiments shows that Valve is still very commited to help people discover games).

And gaming isn't even my only hobby. I read a ton of manga and webnovels, watch anime and tokusatsu and recently started listening to fiction podcasts (The Magnus Archives is great). All of that stuff is competing for the limited time I have. I mean, wuxiaworld alone has a boatload of webnovels to read, many with 1000+ chapters, word counts in the millions. I Shall Seal The Heavens for example has 3.3 million words, that's over 3 times as much as the entire Harry Potter saga combined, and it's legally free!

(I'm rambling a bit, but I hope I made my point).

 

[Hektor]

guess they must've changed their mind somewhere along the way ... because they barely have 50 releases on steam so far (and they've been doing it for like 3 years now)

That's still a ratio of over 1 game per month. From one, single publisher.

 

[fokkusu]

ScummVM Blade Runners rejoice

ScummVM 2.1.0 "Electric Sheep" has been produced.
The newly supported games are:

• Blade Runner
• Duckman: The Graphic Adventures of a Private Dick
• Hoyle Bridge
• Hoyle Children's Collection
• Hoyle Classic Games
• Hoyle Solitaire
• Hyperspace Delivery Boy!
• Might and Magic IV - Clouds of Xeen
• Might and Magic V - Darkside of Xeen
• Might and Magic - World of Xeen
• Might and Magic - Swords of Xeen
• Mission Supernova Part 1
• Mission Supernova Part 2
• Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness
• The Prince and the Coward
• Versailles 1685

 

[fantomena]

oh ...

So they are gonna punish the customers who has actually bough their game because Valve hasn't made sure their games are the next Hollow Knight and Stardew Valley.

 

[Stevey]

So now, when I adjust my volume on my keyboard (Corsair K70 RGB) when I'm playing a store page trailer on the STEAM client, I get this.

 

[ZKenir]

So now, when I adjust my volume on my keyboard (Corsair K70 RGB) when I'm playing a store page trailer on the STEAM client, I get this.

open chrome and type:

chrome://flags/#hardware-media-key-handling

Hardware Media Key Handling will be highlighted, change that option to "disabled"

restart chrome

 

[PC-tan]

they didn't make any ... they just re-release old stuff on steam (mostly emulated):

Steam Publisher: Piko Interactive

Gaming since 1988

store.steampowered.com

Okay this actually changes my view of them, and after hearing what other people here have to say as well.

I thought they were an indie dev making "original" games.

But what this dev is doing seems extremely niche.


By the way I am almost done with DQIV I am not sure if I am going to do Post Game stuff though. I might depending on how long it is. I still have yet to do Post Game for DQVII and DQVIII.

I'm very OP right now in the game. I went up against this one boss and because of how over leveled I was I was able to beat him very fast without having to go all out (I was able to keep my promise sensei)


I will eventually hunt down a copy of DQ V.

So since there are a lot of games that are over 100GB. I will be buying a 1TB M.2 NVME and hopefully they are $200USD or under (I'm getting a Samsung one) and also a new PSU as well so I can hook up more hard drives to my PC.

 

[Line]

Why search for a copy of DQ5 when you can easily download it on... oh wait, right, Square Enix.
And it's the best game too

 

[Durante]

I feel like in at least some cases when people complain about the "Indiepocalypse", it's really about Steam algorithms getting better at showing people games they might actually enjoy (instead of, well, others).

 

[NarohDethan]

I feel like in at least some cases when people complain about the "Indiepocalypse", it's really about Steam algorithms getting better at showing people games they might actually enjoy (instead of, well, others).

Thats why my feed is all anime

 

[lashman]

I feel like in at least some cases when people complain about the "Indiepocalypse", it's really about Steam algorithms getting better at showing people games they might actually enjoy (instead of, well, others).

yeah .... that's what i'm thinking as well

like, those views are going SOMEWHERE ... it's not like all those recommendation boxes are empty now

i have to wonder if the ones that are getting bumps now are just staying quiet ... or just aren't being retweeted (because apparently only bad news are worth spreading)

 

[NarohDethan]

yeah .... that's what i'm thinking as well

like, those views are going SOMEWHERE ... it's not like all those recommendation boxes are empty now

i have to wonder if the ones that are getting bumps now are just staying quiet ... or just aren't being retweeted (because apparently only bad news are worth spreading)

Like my friend says, the ones on the comment section are the unhappy nerds, everyone else is just enjoying things.

 

[FunnyJay]

I've fallen down the Factorio hole again, working on a new game for tens of hours already. This game is the ultimate time sink. Always something to build, always something to refactor.

I love it. Probably my most appreciated game this decade.

 

[Stevey]

open chrome and type:

chrome://flags/#hardware-media-key-handling

Hardware Media Key Handling will be highlighted, change that option to "disabled"

restart chrome

I dont have chrome installed, just Firefox, and its on the client, not the browser

 

[RionaaM]

''We won't do our work unless Valve accepts our demands.''

Valve right now:

Screwing the people who paid for the game because of a weird grudge with Valve. Totally makes me want to support them in the future!

 

[Ge0force]

the funniest thing is that they didn't even bother adding proper tags to their games .... something which would help them A LOT

the store pages are barren

and the screenshots are stretched (or look like they've been taken off of google images - like in 40 Winks's case, for example)

Kotaku and/or Polygon: "indie devs say Steam isn't worth the time anymore"

 

[ZKenir]

I dont have chrome installed, just Firefox, and its on the client, not the browser

is that the beta version of the client?

 

[Deku]

Apparently I finished two vampire themed games this week; BloodRayne Betrayal and Blood Knights.

 

[Stevey]

is that the beta version of the client?

Yes

 

[ZKenir]

Yes

Maybe that's why, unless I'm mistaken then something to disable the popup window is something that should be implemented by Valve as a setting.
Chrome and Spotify have their own setting to disable it.

 

[Nabs]

Comes out tomorrow in Early Access

 

[Hektor]

Steam ads in subs of cough totally legitimately cough downloaded movies, fucking valve

This is why i like epic now

 

[Wok]

Two days left.

 

[inky]

I feel like in at least some cases when people complain about the "Indiepocalypse", it's really about Steam algorithms getting better at showing people games they might actually enjoy (instead of, well, others).

That's why my feed is 0 anime

 

[gabbo]

Steam ads in subs of cough totally legitimately cough downloaded movies, fucking valve

This is why i like epic now

What is this actually from?

 

[Hektor]

What is this actually from?

Overlord

 

[Nabs]

So happy "no truce with furries" died.

 

[Mivey]

So I finished Gears of War 4 today.

I like the campaign a lot more than Gears of War UE. There were a couple of moments where it was frustrating, way the first time you fight a snatcher, but those fights just require a specific strategy, so in hindsight it was a nice change from the usual cover based shooting.

The world ends up feeling far more interesting in this one, far more variation, from the automated settlement to the medieval castle town. and the game definitely tries to mix things up more, for example with the introduction of the wind flares. The Swarm also feel more complex than the Locust before, with a larger variety of enemies.

I feel the game still is a bit too long, but I guess they felt compelled to reach that 8 hour sweet spot.
Started up Gears 5, and at least the first Act feels like a direct sequel, with a few new goodies.

 

[Snakethesniper]

I bought Code Vein and made a redhead waifu

 

[Samson]

oh ...

 

[NarohDethan]

I bought Code Vein and made a redhead waifu

Lets see her. we need more anime.

 

[Samson]

Lets see her. we need more anime.

 

[KainXVIII]

Support Piko, i want more DOS games on Steam!

 

[lashman]

Lets see her. we need more anime.

 

[NarohDethan]

 

[lashman]

 

[Madventure]

Support Piko, i want more DOS games on Steam!

Lol I'm literally one of those 390 followers for their shitty dev page

What a bunch of dickheads

 

[Alextended]

We are never saying spiritual successor again. It worked fantastically as a marketing beat for the first game, although it had some negative things with it, as well. We need to stand on our own two feet more. We're going to make lots of games in lots of different genres for hopefully many years to come. You'll always be able to point back to something in the past and go 'oh, it's a bit like that then'. That's always going to happen. We need to focus on what makes our games relevant and unique.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a brand-new platform adventure from some of the key creative talent behind 'Donkey Kong Country'.

 

[Deleted member 113]

Lol I'm literally one of those 390 followers for their shitty dev page

What a bunch of dickheads

And I was another one of the followers of their page (until today), the one they never bother using, nor posting announcements to.
Also, I backed their 2 kickstarter campaigns, and own all but 4 or 5 of their games.

After the crap they posted on twitter, especially some later replies to me, good luck getting me to buy their future games.

I find it hilarious how a publisher doesn't do shit to promote their releases, talks down to the few people actually buying their releases or supporting their crowdfunding campaigns, and then complains about sales.

I mean, lets see:

-no one outside of Steam bothers carrying most of their games; heck, not even GOG has most of their games on their store, and they are one of the few places that carries older PC games.

-it's not Valve's job to promote their games, unlike what they think; they have tools to engage their community on Steam, like their publisher page, but don't bother posting any sort of info or news, to make followers aware of their new releases, and they have the nerve to talk about "Indiepocalypse"? More like "IndieStupidity".

-on their last kickstarter campaign, despite paying more than the price the game launched on Steam, I got my Steam key 6 days after release. They didn't bother posting any info on launch day, nor inform backers about their key delivery. I had to ask about it on several channels (twitter, kickstarter) for several days, and I finally got my key 6 days after launch. Why? Because they only bothered asking and generating keys after the game launched.


They don't bother promoting their games. They don't use the community features available on Steam, the only store that is willing to carry all their games, to make people aware of them. When their customers ask for something as simple as updating the art for the new Steam library currently on beta, they have the nerve of posting crap like:


As for their crowdfunding campaigns, they launch the games promised as rewards without even bothering to inform people, they make people wait a ridiculous amount of time for their keys, because they couldn't be bothered to ask Valve for some keys in a timely manner, and then they have the nerve of posting crap like:



Yeah, screw them.

 

[Ruvon]

Never heard of Piko Interactive before.

Won't forget to ignore them as publishers now.