Do you have what it takes to save the Gnrblexian mind-maggot from total extinction?
DOWNLOAD HERE (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1060560/GNRBLEX/)
Take on the challenge and preserve both the species, and humanity's fragile sense of self-worth, in this retro-inspired point and click adventure game.
Features:
- Traditional point'n'click game-play
- Retro-inspired visuals and art
- New, original soundtrack by http://jothmusic.com/
- Full voice acting by four talented voice actors
- A dark sense of humor
- Math!
- Extra wriggling
(Game originally released in 2016 as part of the "Monthly AGS" -competition on the Adventure Game Studios -forums. This old version lacked the full soundtrack, voice acting, and some puzzles, and used older, cruder graphics.)
(Below: comparisons between the old and new background visuals)
(http://whamgames.com/images/AGS/Gnrblex/comparison_a.png)(http://whamgames.com/images/AGS/Gnrblex/comparison_b.png)
EDIT 2020:
GNRBLEX is now also available on itch.io. LINK -> (https://wham.itch.io/gnrblex-2019-final-version/).
This game is fantastic and free! If you've never played it, do it.
I've just played this and thought it was very good. A very smart design, where you learn something when things go wrong...
Wonder if it's worth putting free in the topic title - I assumed Steam meant commercial.
Quote from: Privateer Puddin' on Wed 31/07/2019 10:22:38
Wonder if it's worth putting free in the topic title - I assumed Steam meant commercial.
That is actually a good point.
Thanks to everyone for the comments so far, much appreciated!
Spread the word! :)
Can you upload it somewhere that's not steam, so we can get DRM-free?
Quote from: Frodo on Wed 31/07/2019 11:11:33
Can you upload it somewhere that's not steam, so we can get DRM-free?
Sorry, but no. I wish to keep the game to one distribution platform for now. I'd also have to go in and take the time to re-write the achievement code so those would work in a non-Steam environment again, though admittedly that's a fairly minor bit of work.
Quote from: WHAM on Wed 31/07/2019 11:18:02
Quote from: Frodo on Wed 31/07/2019 11:11:33
Can you upload it somewhere that's not steam, so we can get DRM-free?
Sorry, but no. I wish to keep the game to one distribution platform for now. I'd also have to go in and take the time to re-write the achievement code so those would work in a non-Steam environment again, though admittedly that's a fairly minor bit of work.
Not everyone cares about achievements.
And not everyone likes steam-DRM. It's a shame you're going down that path. Many of us won't download it because of that reason.
Quote from: Frodo on Wed 31/07/2019 21:53:53
Not everyone cares about achievements.
And not everyone likes steam-DRM. It's a shame you're going down that path. Many of us won't download it because of that reason.
Considering how widespread Steam is nowadays, I can't imagine this limiting the audience too much. I am sorry to hear you'll be skipping the game, however.
Why cut off so much of you audience by forcing DRM into the game? It makes no sense.
Quote from: Frodo on Thu 01/08/2019 17:08:02
Why cut off so much of you audience by forcing DRM into the game? It makes no sense.
I doubt I'll lose more than a handful of people at most, all things considered. The reason I wanted to put my game on Steam was the decade-old dream and goal of having my game on that platform, and GNRBLEX fulfilled that goal at last.
@WHAM: A quite interesting and beautiful game! I'm also really surprised about the great voice acting! And all for free! Thank you! :)
@Frodo: I know what you mean, but as far as I see it the game is DRM-free as it doesn't need the Steam client to run and your are free to do whatever you want with the game folder after the download. I was a real zelot against Steam for many years, but when I discovered that many games on Steam (especially indie games) don't need the client to run I was really surprised. It's always up to the developer to implement the Steamworks-DRM and fortunately many decide against it, so the game is basically playable on every other computer without any need of the Steam client. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to figure out if a game is infested with Steamworks-DRM or not before getting the game - but if I buy a game and it needs the client to run I simply use my right to get a refund - no questions asked, I get my money back.
Steam offers really good tools for developers and it's really supportive of open source. If you don't want to use the client, use this tool -> https://github.com/berenm/steam-cli
Odd thing I noticed, wasn't sure where to post so I'll stick it here and hope someone wiser notices: this game doesn't seem to show up in my profile, under the list of games I've worked on, unlike my previous games.
Anyone have any ideas on what I might have done wrong in adding the game to the AGS database?
Quote from: Athanor on Thu 01/08/2019 20:50:52
@Frodo: I know what you mean, but as far as I see it the game is DRM-free as it doesn't need the Steam client
The game
DOES need the steam client installed on your computer. You can't even access the game otherwise.
There are so many good DRM-free options out there, so why try to force someone to install an annoying bloatware?
I think the information about Steam got a bit mixed up.
So let me try to clarify:
You just need an account on Steam to get access to the download for the game. It is the same like you need an account on GOG and all the other sites that sell games to be able to download their (free) games.
Afaik you don't need to install Steam itself for to use it because you can go there via a usual browser, too.
After you installed the game on your hd you don't need Steam to run it. 8-)
... and btw. Steam has a lot of DRM-free games. In case there is a game that has it, it is noticed in the description - so you can avoid those easily ;)
happy gaming, GNRBLEX included :-*
GOG and steam and not the same at all, so I'll clarify further.
Yes, you need an account to use either places.
However, GOG is DRM free. They give you the game, and that's it. Away you go. You don't need anything else.
But steam forces you to install a useless bloatware client before even allowing you to download a game. It doesn't allow you to download a game without having steam installed.
Try just downloading a game from steam without having steam installed on your computer. You won't get very far.
Quote from: Frodo on Tue 06/08/2019 23:03:41
... Try just downloading a game from steam without having steam installed on your computer. You won't get very far.
I finally was able to try it and you are correct :-[ I was asked for if the Steam client is installed and otherwise it wanted to force me installing it first. (It just works for me because I have it and therefore I can download from a browser without opening it, too.)
Sorry for not recognizing that earlier on my side. Also sorry that you'll miss nice games like this one just because you hate the Steam client that much - but of course the decision is absolutely yours (nod) :kiss:
Can you tell us how many downloads this game is getting via Steam? I'm just curious.
Quote from: Tabata on Wed 07/08/2019 17:19:29
Also sorry that you'll miss nice games like this one just because you hate the Steam client that much
It's a shame many of us will miss this game because Wham hates DRM-free that much. :undecided:
It would be so easy to offer Direct Download, Itch.Io, or Humble Bundle.
Quote from: Frodo on Wed 07/08/2019 22:21:15
It's a shame many of us will miss this game because Wham hates DRM-free that much. :undecided:
It would be so easy to offer Direct Download, Itch.Io, or Humble Bundle.
By my estimate, releasing on Steam means that you and maybe three other people in the world will miss the game. A reasonable loss, I think. :grin:
Quote from: Durq on Wed 07/08/2019 21:39:55
Can you tell us how many downloads this game is getting via Steam? I'm just curious.
Thanks to Steam, I actually can.
About 800 people have clicked to add the game to their games libraries, but just under 100 have downloaded AND played the game so far, which seems roughly accurate considering I haven't done any marketing aside from posting here and the Whamgames Facebook page.
Quote from: WHAM on Thu 08/08/2019 11:05:08
By my estimate, releasing on Steam means that you and maybe three other people in the world will miss the game. A reasonable loss, I think. :grin:
And how exactly do you know the number of downloads you've lost for not offering DRM-free?
Did you just pick a number from the air?
Did you just guess a number because you don't like DRM-free?
Quote from: Frodo on Thu 08/08/2019 11:30:31
Did you just pick a number from the air?
Did you just guess a number because you don't like DRM-free?
Well, yeah.
Just like you declared that "many of us will miss this game" because it's on Steam. At this point the confirmed number of people missing the game is 1 (one).
I'd be happy to see some actual statistics on how many people pass on a free game due to Steam as a platform, of course.
Until then all we have to work with are gut feelings and guesses, which work just as well for me as they do for you.
I pass a free game if it's on Steam as well.
I personally have 0 problems with Steam whatsoever. The majority of games I own are on Steam.
And I admit, I'm one of the 700 or so people to have added this game to my library and not downloaded or played it yet.
Quote from: VampireWombat on Thu 08/08/2019 14:21:21
And I admit, I'm one of the 700 or so people to have added this game to my library and not downloaded or played it yet.
Do you feel like you're being judged right now?
Because you are!My goal for this game is to accumulate 1000 lifetime downloads at some point down the line. If I can reach that, I'll feel the project has been fully worth all the time, effort and money!
Well, if it helps, I did actually download it since I posted. Sure, I haven't actually played it, but maybe one day...
Good luck with reaching the 1,000 downloads.
Well... releasing a direct download would have allowed me to provide you with a macOS version. ;)
Anyways, please add a macOS version.
Thaaank you.
Kind regards
Dennis
Quote from: Dennis Plöger on Sun 11/08/2019 13:44:29
Well... releasing a direct download would have allowed me to provide you with a macOS version. ;)
Anyways, please add a macOS version.
Thaaank you.
Kind regards
Dennis
Any suggestions on how to make a Mac version? I know Steam has options for uploading one, but I've no idea how to make one since I don't dabble in the Apple machines.
I have created a precompiled version of AGS 3.4.4 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DrnbmHUKiR1WQLbjdCpXAkR4aH0iJRnO/view?usp=sharing), in which you only have to put your game files. But you obviously need a beta tester for that.
Applications on macOS are actually directories with a certain structure. You may have to zip that for distribution.
Kind regards
Dennis
Quote from: Dennis Plöger on Sun 11/08/2019 20:38:14
I have created a precompiled version of AGS 3.4.4 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DrnbmHUKiR1WQLbjdCpXAkR4aH0iJRnO/view?usp=sharing), in which you only have to put your game files. But you obviously need a beta tester for that.
Applications on macOS are actually directories with a certain structure. You may have to zip that for distribution.
Kind regards
Dennis
I'll look into it over the coming week, see what I can do.
make that 3 confirmed people that miss out because of steam. I'd have longplayed it with a version from itch or so...
Minor necropost, but for a good cause:
GNRBLEX is now also available on itch.io. LINK -> (https://wham.itch.io/gnrblex-2019-final-version/).
It has all the same content as the Steam version, but will not have the achievement functionality, as that is bound to the Steam API.
Also of note: if you have downloaded the older MAGS version or the Steam version previously, these may attempt to share achievement and save data. Attempting to load an old save may cause a crash if the save is from a sufficiently old version.
However, the full story, puzzles and experience is intact and, as always, free to experience.
Have fun out there, and keep your brains safe!
That's cool, I'll be downloading.
I don't mind paying for games, I just mind using steam.
Personally I don't mind using Steam as long as the game I download there is basically DRM-free (=playable without the shitty client and on every computer I copy it to. I purchase quite some games on Steam but I demand a refund for every single game that's infested with Steamworks DRM. Such games are worthless for me). But I'm glad you offer it on itch.io now. I definitively prefer itch.io over Steam and so others can enjoy the game as well.
Maybe I don’t play enough games, but I’ve never minded Steam. I actually appreciate having all games organised in one place and automatically patched when needed. Plus I appreciate the suggestions I get for additional games based on my ‘liked’ history. I don’t take advantage of the community options (ie chat with other fans of certain games), but that’s a cool bonus, too.
Some people are a bit paranoid about Steam. To my knowledge Gnrblex doesn't really seem to have any DRM on it, either. In fact I found the easiest way to put it up on itch.io was to download it from Steam, copy the game files into a new .zip and upload those. I had a friend test it for me and it worked fine, sans the Steam achievements.
Quote from: WHAM on Sun 27/09/2020 20:13:41
Some people are a bit paranoid about Steam. To my knowledge Gnrblex doesn't really seem to have any DRM on it, either. In fact I found the easiest way to put it up on itch.io was to download it from Steam, copy the game files into a new .zip and upload those. I had a friend test it for me and it worked fine, sans the Steam achievements.
It's not a question of paranoia, it's about personal principles. But principles can make one blind for facts. I for example detest every kind of DRM and for a very long time I categorically refused to use Steam. But someday I noticed that there are many games on Steam, mostly indie games or older games, that are indeed DRM-free. Now I use Steam and regard it as a simple download platform.
Developers have always the choice to implement Steamworks-DRM, Steam itself doesn't force it on anybody. Your game is indeed DRM-free.
It's not the DRM, it's the download platform itself which sticks in the craw. The fact that you must install this thing or you can't access your games. That accounts for a lot of what makes DRM unbearable, this encumbrance that comes with to solve a problem that wasn't yours.
A lot of my dislike comes from having really expensive internet. Buying a physical game then being forced to spend more downloading updates than you did on the game is something that sticks with you.
Quote from: Jack on Sun 27/09/2020 21:59:30
A lot of my dislike comes from having really expensive internet. Buying a physical game then being forced to spend more downloading updates than you did on the game is something that sticks with you.
Yeah, I can easily understand and agree with that. Then again the modern patch culture has made it possible to fix game-breaking bugs at a rate that simply wasn't there in the past, so every con has a pro and vice versa. I've refused to buy some modern console games for a similar reason: even if i buy a physical copy, I only get a part of the game and have to download the rest online, meaning that if the download server ever dies, my physical copy becomes worthless.
Quote from: WHAM on Mon 28/09/2020 11:49:48
Quote from: Jack on Sun 27/09/2020 21:59:30
A lot of my dislike comes from having really expensive internet. Buying a physical game then being forced to spend more downloading updates than you did on the game is something that sticks with you.
Yeah, I can easily understand and agree with that. Then again the modern patch culture has made it possible to fix game-breaking bugs at a rate that simply wasn't there in the past, so every con has a pro and vice versa. I've refused to buy some modern console games for a similar reason: even if i buy a physical copy, I only get a part of the game and have to download the rest online, meaning that if the download server ever dies, my physical copy becomes worthless.
Indeed, I can't even remember when I last purchased a physical version of a game exactly because they have no value to me (I only purchase physical C64-games nowadays). But you are certainly right about the question of patches. Steam gives developers unique possibilities to update and maintain their games easily. The downside of this simplicity is that there are often so many patches in the first weeks or months after release of a game that I basically wait a year before even attempting to play them. Anyway, first world problems I guess. Enough OT from me. ;)
Yeah the problem is games are so huge now that sometimes the ‘patch’ can be like hundreds of MB large. My son and I bought Overcooked 2, and I swear every week it seemed we’d go to play only to have to wait for some huge file to download and install (which seems to move at a snail’s pace through Steam).