Steam Greenlight Process

[Grim]

(Split off from this topic. - Moderator)

My ambition is to get the game on steam, which I think I'll be able to pull off, I've worked in the game industry for some time now and my gut feeling is that I know some guy who knows some guy. I may be overconfident though and the game might very well get stuck in greenlight hell and then primarily distributed through other channels.

I'd hate to think that this is how it's done... I really love how Kathy Rain is shaping up and it's actually one of my most anticipated AGS games at the moment... but having been through Greenlight Hell myself I'd find it terribly unfair that knowing a guy-who-knows-a-guy is the way to do it...

[JSH]

My ambition is to get the game on steam, which I think I'll be able to pull off, I've worked in the game industry for some time now and my gut feeling is that I know some guy who knows some guy. I may be overconfident though and the game might very well get stuck in greenlight hell and then primarily distributed through other channels.

I'd hate to think that this is how it's done... I really love how Kathy Rain is shaping up and it's actually one of my most anticipated AGS games at the moment... but having been through Greenlight Hell myself I'd find it terribly unfair that knowing a guy-who-knows-a-guy is the way to do it...

I'm sorry you feel that way, man. Personally, I'd judge my game on it's own merits, regardless of any potential distribution shortcuts. Sadly, things like this is no different from applying for a job or looking for an apartment, contacts will always get you an advantage. But I assure you, Kathy Rain will go through the same review process as every other game. I'm simply trying to avoid needing an actual marketing campaign to just have the game be considered for steam.

I'd say the whole Greenlight system is flawed and unfair, whether or not one even gets picked for review appears to be fairly arbitrary even when high up in the lists. Many good titles are buried beneath the pure volume of games, much like what's happened to the mobile games market. Valve simply don't have enough resources to look closely at every game. Even guys like Dave, who actually is an established publisher with several titles on steam has to go through the same tedious process every time. The fact that your game even had to be greenlit despite the critical acclaim and already being sold successfully on other venues is indicative of a system error I think, if things were fair they would've taken your game up for review based on that alone.

Anyway, these kind of discussions are somewhat OT in this thread, I'd be happy to talk about the subject in a separate thread or via PM!

[m0ds]

$100 gets anyone "on" Steam. Even Icey if he has the money. Upvotes get games selected by valve. good luck!

[Grim]

I agree with most of what you're saying- there's a lot of shit games on Greenlight that kinda clutter it up... Then again, maybe it's just our personal opinions- most likely there are people out there who love their pizza-making simulators and collect-all-green-orbs-to-win-a-red-diamond kind of games and instead see adventure games as pointless clutter... But whatever, it's irrelevant. That's how they set it up, and rules are clear. I have to admit, it is cruel and often feels unfair, when subpar games sometimes get lots of media attention for whatever reasons, not always right, directing thousands of people to vote for them...

And yet, my point is, that if you were standing in the queue in the supermarket and suddenly some person pushed right past you and straight to the till, would you just accept that? 'Cos I'd be pretty pissed off, that's for sure.

Although, I do believe that once you've established yourself as a succesful game developer (like Dave) you shouldn't have to go through Greenlight again. Not sure how this sticks with my "supermarket queue" theory... but maybe it's a bit like letting an old lady go through ahead of you?...

Sorry for raising an issue, though. I know you'll do well regardless:) Just wanted to voice my opinion on this due to personal experience with Greenlight, I think.

For all we know, Greenlight might not even exist in a few months time!;)


PS. And Dave, if you read this... sorry for comparing you to an old lady!;)