Game Design, Programming and running a one-man games business…

Show Me The Games bundle last day etc…

cliffski

The SMTG bundle runs out tonight at midnight. If you missed the earlier blog post, then I suggest just going here:

http://www.showmethegames.com/bundle1.php

And checking it out. It’s five hgh quality indie games, on a sort-of-strategy theme, than are bundled together for $28.50.

On the topic of SMTG, that brings me to the question of the sites future. I’m really please that SMTG is up and running, that it gets some traffic, that it looks nice, and that it has the support of so many developers.

That’s the good side.

The bad side is that the site earns $0, and actually costs some bandwidth, plus also the site takes time to develop further. Frankly, I don’t have the time to dedicate enough effort to constantly add content, and I can’t afford to hire a full time (or even decent part-time)  site manager to handle it. I like to have total control over stuff, so I’m not looking for a volunteer, I prefer to pay people and then tell them what to do :D

So although SMTG works very well, and definitely drives sales to developers etc, I’m unsure what will happen to it next. I’ll continue to add new games that I think are really awesome, and I hope to find some time to add features and improve upon it over time, but it’s not going to grow like Steam or even Moddb, because of lack of time. Maybe when my next game has shipped I’ll get a lot more free time and spend a few months on it, but I already have to find time for top-secret-side-project #1 as it is… Ho hum.

6 thoughts on Show Me The Games bundle last day etc…

  1. Hey Cliff,

    To help alleviate bandwidth requirements of SMTG, you can try putting it behind CloudFlare. It’s a reverse proxy that’ll serve up the content like a CDN. Just be sure to disable any you don’t actually want through their options panel.

  2. I hope you do find time to keep it going, and maybe improve it a little. I think SMTG is fantastic, and I’ve bought a couple of really great games because of the site that I might not have heard about otherwise. I also think the idea is great, that it’s basically a list of indie games with a basic description with links off to their sites, meaning that the indies get all the profits and team up to get exposure. But I think that with development, and maybe some help to spread the word, you could be underselling it by saying it earns no money. If people come to it looking for indie games and your games are listed, it’s advertising that doesn’t cost you a whole lot and that you have control over. Perhaps you could look to spreading the cost of site maintenance amongst those listed on there? If each developer pays a share to have their games listed, I can’t imagine the cost will be that great each, and certainly a lot less than pretty much any other form of advertising.

  3. Hi!

    I also hope you’ll keep SMTG’s; I too bought some games thanks to it! Not in the least the Show Me The Games Bundle 1! I think I now own 3 copies of GSB :)

    Was the bundle a success? Will there be simiair bundles in the future?

  4. ps. It was the priciest bundle I have ever bought, I think, but definately worth it! It was much less of an impulse-buy as a result of the higher price, but I’m glad I got it!

  5. Cliff, use some “put your software on here” button
    to let the users add their own stuff.
    Of course you are mailed once a day with all the new proposals and can approve them or reject them.

    And yes. Use cloudflare.
    It’s the future.

  6. Cliff,

    Why not charge a small fee? Just something to keep the lights on? Maybe enough to pay for a good part timer? You needn’t charge much, and I’m sure compared to what Indies are getting hit for elsewhere, your small fee will still be good for them. There has to be an amount out there you could charge that will keep the site going, and allow the Indies to be more profitable than they would if their games were not on your site. I guess the trick is to find that spot, and that takes time and…oh damn. We’re back where we started….

Comments are currently closed.