Boycott for what reason, exactly? 

PC gamers become a second class citizen. Making someone drop $60 for a chance to play and then having to request a refund as opposed to a demo is silly. I'm not one to boycott game studios but thought I'd clarify.

The funny thing is - if it's been developed on PC then just how much effort would there be required to make a demo? They're idiots. 

I don't know if their stated reasons are the actual ones, but yes making a demo is a lot of effort. 

Most likely the real reason: we aren't anticipating high sales on PC so why bother? 

My thinking here is that the 2 hour time limit of playtime in steam games need to be brought front and center for users.

Let's say you buy Prey. You play the game and decide it's really not for you, but ooops you've played 2.5 hours therefore no refund for you. Steam needs to actively tell players that are approaching the 2 hour cut off so that they may stop playing and get a refund, or continue and accept that the game is worth their time and money.

With something like this in place, all games released on steam technically have a demo in place with no further work required by the developers.

The next step would be to allow everyone to download and play any game for 2 hours without even paying and then being asked for payment when the 2 hour gate is reached. 

Yeah if Steam had a delayed-payment process that way, then that would make for an OK demo approximation -- although for some game types, the first 2 hours of gameplay aren't a great substitute for a slice that is specifically crafted as a demo.

It would really screw over short games though, unless Steam allowed developers to opt out of the delayed-payment model for individual games. 

Steam needs to actively tell players that are approaching the 2 hour cut off so that they may stop playing and get a refund.

That's a good idea.

The next step would be to allow everyone to download and play any game for 2 hours without even paying and then being asked for payment when the 2 hour gate is reached.

I feel a little weird about this one, but I'm not sure why. Maybe this could be an opt-in for devs.

With the abundance of reviewers and 'let's players' on youtube, demos seem almost obsolete. With 10 minutes of research one could determine if a particular game will suit them or not with reasonable accuracy. 

Definitely not a one size fits all thing. I like the opt-in idea! 

If a developer can't be arsed to make a PC demo, then we're talking about a developer who can't be arsed about a lot of things. 

This studio has a perfect track record and are actually dedicated to their craft. I give more credence to what they say than some other AAA studio. Arkane also has put a third of Dishonored 2, one of the very best games by far to come out in the past decade, for free, with compatible saves and all. I can't think of any other big studio that does anything remotely like this. We're talking about 7-8 hours worth of gameplay here.

Also like #9925 says, making a demo is very taxing. I know it since we made one for EYE and it took us a very long time. 

you basically want shareware back 

The problem with a "free for two hours" scheme is that it can really hurt smaller games. For instance, according to steam I played both Quake mission packs in 3 hours each - it's not inconceivable for someone to beat them in less than 2.

There are a lot of smaller games out there that people buy and enjoy. The developers currently enjoy the freedom to sell their game, and gamers don't particularly mind paying for such games.
I'm sure that smaller/shorter games like that are hit pretty hard already by refunds from frugal customers. But similarly, there are plenty of customers who either appreciate the developer's effort enough to support them or are too lazy to bother with requesting a refund when they finish the game.

But if players never had to commit any money to play the game in the first place, only those with copious amounts of spare cash would ever bother to actually pay for these games. Given that almost all (if not all) of these titles are "indie" titles created by up-and-coming devs, it seems a shame to hurt them and their market so drastically...


In other news, it's interesting to see that people are still complaining about the lack of demo versions. It's <current year>, not 2005. 

This would also pervert games to being great for the first 2 hours then meh :D 

Demos usually end up being these weirdly paced, Frankensteined snippets of the game, so I don't think they're a good way to judge whether you'll like the full game. They might be a good way to see if you like the mechanics, the "feel", etc. but they are usually not a good metric for whether the end product is worth your money.

There are so many review sites and places for end users to write reviews that I don't think it's that hard to figure out via word of mouth whether a game will be up your alley or if it's a buggy piece of shit or whatever.

Daz's idea is cool but like Killes says above, there could be (and there have been) some games that have amazing first hours that then kinda fizzle out. 

If some sort of MLM-ish "recruit X to gain Y" model was used. 

For this reason:

They might be a good way to see if you like the mechanics, the "feel", etc.

Obviously the 2 hour refund option on Steam (which I'd never heard of otherwise I'd be about �100 richer from BS games I wasted money on cos I couldn't try a demo) is not at all the same. 

The boycott, which might not be entirely serious, is NOT about not having a demo, it's about the LIE that Steam refunds are equivalent to a demo, and the pandering to consoles for a game the devs describe as a "PC game". 

I'm not sold on the 2 hour refund demo prospect. A demo allows you to try before you buy. Not buy and then refund.

Also some games are only worth 2 hours of your time. I have bought cheapo games (2-3 quid) and played them for a couple of hours but not refunded them. I got my moneys worth in that instance IMO.
I look at it in the same light as a cinema ticket. I paid �10 and got my entertainment. I don't get to refund my cinema ticket because I didn't enjoy the film (unless there is a technical problem with the experience, bad picture or sound). 

 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/442780/STRAFE/ 

Judging by the copious negative reviews, people who were excited by the marketing feel mislead by the actual gameplay. $20 is no big deal and I was excited to play this but now I am going to watch a few "let's plays" before buying. 

Firstly, congrats to the devs for shipping a first game. Seeing others without prior experience simply finishing a game is inspiring.

That said, I would have to agree with the negative reviews. Personally, I expected strafe to be what it is and I think others did too. I hope the team is able to turn the negative feedback into positive changes. We shall see! 

I feel bad because I would have liked for this game to be good.
I'm still holding out for Gibhard to be good since it seems to have got a lot of the gameplay elements correct. I also feel like Dusk will probably be a better game too.

Most of the issues with Strafe could be patched out tbh.