5 ms·

Indie game made by 2 people out-selling Spore, Left 4 Dead, & Fallout 3 at Amazon

69 points by jim-greer 18y ago

toby 18y ago
That's very cool -- has it been like that for a while or is it temporary spike? I remember when my book hit #56 on Amazon for one hour, right after it was reviewed by Slashdot. I was so happy to have a screenshot where I was just ahead of Michael Pollan.
- henning 18y ago
  World of Goo has been consistently well on Steam, so I think it's a general trend. For every World of Goo there are many other indie games that languish in obscurity.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
tptacek 18y ago
It's World of Goo, right? (The title could be clearer, for those of us who don't play). Anyone played it? I was thinking about grabbing a copy for the boy.
- loire280 18y ago
  There's a good demo at their site http://2dboy.com/games.php http://2dboy.com/games.php (you can also get it through Steam). The presentation is very slick (atmospheric, with a dark undertone reminiscent of the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and the puzzles are interesting and varied.
  - DLWormwood 18y ago
    > with a dark undertone reminiscent of the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I'm confused... I thought the Burton/Depp version was more recent than the Stuart/Wilder version? Or are you referring to the original novel?
    - jcl 18y ago
      Both movies had somewhat dark undertones. I know many people were freaked out by the Wilder "tunnel" sequence -- apparently enough to get the movie on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments list.
      - pchristensen 18y ago
        Don't forget the "We'll be chopped up by the exhaust fans unless we start burping" and the "fat kid gets stuck in a pipe until the pressure blasts him out". Oh, and Wonka's creepy counterspy guy.
      - DLWormwood 18y ago
        I can understand that, but I read the novel in childhood. To me, the 70's film's scariness seemed superficial and insincere compared with the 00's version. (Which is not what you'd expect, given that I was still a kid when I saw the first film version.) Maybe it's just Depp's portrayal pushing the "creepy" meter to 11 is what did it for me. (Wilder's seemed resigned to each child's fate, while Depp's possessed morbid fascination with each "accident.")
        altano 18y ago
        I found Wilder to be significantly creepier than Depp
- PaddyTheMapper 18y ago
  Yeah, it's referring to World of Goo. It was one of the most enjoyable games I've played in years. If you want to try it out before you buy, there's a demo that spans the first chapter/~25% of the game here: http://2dboy.com/games.php http://2dboy.com/games.php
  - aaronblohowiak 18y ago
    It isn't really 25% of the game if measured by playtime.. by a LOT.. or maybe i'm a dullard and spend way too much time trying to get the OCD rewards on the higher levels ;)
    - PaddyTheMapper 18y ago
      haha no, you're right, it's less than 25% of the content. It is a pretty generous demo, though.
- msbmsb 18y ago
  It is World of Goo. I own it and love it, the game idea and environment are very nice, the physics engine makes the game truly interesting and trying to hit the "OCD" bonuses, which are advanced goals like collect 21 goo balls or complete the level under a certain time, are challenging in a thoughtful way. You can try out the demo first to see if you like it, that's what I'd recommend. It's available on steam as well.
  - wesley 18y ago
    And let's not forget the user shared levels, available at http://goofans.com/ http://goofans.com/ -- extending the playtime immensely.
wesley 18y ago
If you haven't already bought it, you should do so right now. A downloadable, DRM free version is available at 2dboy.com -- support these guys. Btw, this game was supposed to have a 90% piracy rate.. Though their method of calculation wasn't very scientific.. http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/ http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/
- aaronblohowiak 18y ago
  It is the only game i have on my mac. it is engaging, thoughtful and emotionally engaging. truly superb work of craft.
Dauntless 18y ago
If you look carefully you'll notice quite a significant price difference.
- lanaer 18y ago
  The price difference is really small compared to the different amounts of money thrown into the games in that list.
- symptic 18y ago
  The difference is most of those games realistically cost over $100M to develop, and World of Goo most probably cost under $100,000. Just goes to show how stale the gaming industry is; even when a large-scale game like Mirrors Edge is released, it's bashed for not being realistic enough.
azsromej 18y ago
i bought the Wii version (it's online in the Wii store or whatever it's called) for $15. It's a lot of fun.
- cbarning 18y ago
  I also bought the Wii version, makes great use of the Wiimote. Lots-O-Fun, Highly recommended.
euccastro 18y ago
And this is how it all started: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051026/gabler_01.shtml http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051026/gabler_01.shtml
- angstrom 18y ago
  I still have that in my downloads folder. Hopefully we see a shift that brings the focus back to game play and away from vertex crunching/pixel pushing. If i wanted realism I'd go outside. I'm sure that's heresy in the halls of nVidia.
ram1024 18y ago
i suggest people buy left4dead to catch it up. because THAT game is funtastic. you have no idea
- Freaky 18y ago
  Shame it's massively overpriced for what it is. The only reason I bought it was it was sub-£20 from Amazon at the time, and even that's pretty steep unless they're planning some epic free expansions for it.
jamesbritt 18y ago
" ... coming soon for Linux..." :(
- judofyr 18y ago
  Cheer up! At least it's coming to Linux :-)
  - jamesbritt 18y ago
    This is true, and that's encouraging. In the meantime, I may just grab it for win32, see if it plays OK under Wine, and if not use it on a VMware image of XP.
DarkShikari 18y ago
Shockingly popular indie games aren't really anything new--its just that people seem to be noticing them more, especially in this day and age of extremely high budget games. People are always surprised to see one or two-man projects earning money on the same level as games like Crysis, but it seems to have been going on for quite a while. See my post at http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=398305 http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=398305 for another example of a very successful indie game developer.
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
jim-greer 18y ago
Update: now it's #1! http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/229575/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_vg_1_2 http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/229575/ref=p...
stick_figure 18y ago
I feel like Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead are probably moving better through retail and Steam. Amazon isn't exactly the marketplace where gamers go to order games so they can wait a few days to play it. Most games I buy are impulse purchases, and if I can't have it now then I can't be bothered to get it. World of Goo seems like the kind of game that parents and non-gamers would buy, and I would guess that that demographic shops more on Amazon.
nihilocrat 18y ago
Rapid-iteration and rapid-prototyping seems to be slowly gaining traction in the gaming industry. The high cost of game development plus high risk makes for an environment where trying out things in small increments and with quick turnaround is very valuable. This dude talks about it a lot: http://lostgarden.com http://lostgarden.com
st3fan 18y ago
Well, I guess they are not Indie anymore!
truebosko 18y ago
Is there a mailing list for Linux users who want to be updated when a linux version comes out? Edit: Nevermind, kind of found it http://2dboy.com/mailman/listinfo/announce_2dboy.com http://2dboy.com/mailman/listinfo/announce_2dboy.com

69 points by jim-greer 18y ago

toby 18y ago

That's very cool -- has it been like that for a while or is it temporary spike? I remember when my book hit #56 on Amazon for one hour, right after it was reviewed by Slashdot. I was so happy to have a screenshot where I was just ahead of Michael Pollan.

henning 18y ago
World of Goo has been consistently well on Steam, so I think it's a general trend. For every World of Goo there are many other indie games that languish in obscurity.
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]

tptacek 18y ago

It's World of Goo, right? (The title could be clearer, for those of us who don't play). Anyone played it? I was thinking about grabbing a copy for the boy.

loire280 18y ago
There's a good demo at their site http://2dboy.com/games.php http://2dboy.com/games.php (you can also get it through Steam). The presentation is very slick (atmospheric, with a dark undertone reminiscent of the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and the puzzles are interesting and varied.
- DLWormwood 18y ago
  > with a dark undertone reminiscent of the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I'm confused... I thought the Burton/Depp version was more recent than the Stuart/Wilder version? Or are you referring to the original novel?
  - jcl 18y ago
    Both movies had somewhat dark undertones. I know many people were freaked out by the Wilder "tunnel" sequence -- apparently enough to get the movie on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments list.
    - pchristensen 18y ago
      Don't forget the "We'll be chopped up by the exhaust fans unless we start burping" and the "fat kid gets stuck in a pipe until the pressure blasts him out". Oh, and Wonka's creepy counterspy guy.
    - DLWormwood 18y ago
      I can understand that, but I read the novel in childhood. To me, the 70's film's scariness seemed superficial and insincere compared with the 00's version. (Which is not what you'd expect, given that I was still a kid when I saw the first film version.) Maybe it's just Depp's portrayal pushing the "creepy" meter to 11 is what did it for me. (Wilder's seemed resigned to each child's fate, while Depp's possessed morbid fascination with each "accident.")
      - altano 18y ago
        I found Wilder to be significantly creepier than Depp
PaddyTheMapper 18y ago
Yeah, it's referring to World of Goo. It was one of the most enjoyable games I've played in years. If you want to try it out before you buy, there's a demo that spans the first chapter/~25% of the game here: http://2dboy.com/games.php http://2dboy.com/games.php
- aaronblohowiak 18y ago
  It isn't really 25% of the game if measured by playtime.. by a LOT.. or maybe i'm a dullard and spend way too much time trying to get the OCD rewards on the higher levels ;)
  - PaddyTheMapper 18y ago
    haha no, you're right, it's less than 25% of the content. It is a pretty generous demo, though.
msbmsb 18y ago
It is World of Goo. I own it and love it, the game idea and environment are very nice, the physics engine makes the game truly interesting and trying to hit the "OCD" bonuses, which are advanced goals like collect 21 goo balls or complete the level under a certain time, are challenging in a thoughtful way. You can try out the demo first to see if you like it, that's what I'd recommend. It's available on steam as well.
- wesley 18y ago
  And let's not forget the user shared levels, available at http://goofans.com/ http://goofans.com/ -- extending the playtime immensely.

wesley 18y ago

If you haven't already bought it, you should do so right now. A downloadable, DRM free version is available at 2dboy.com -- support these guys. Btw, this game was supposed to have a 90% piracy rate.. Though their method of calculation wasn't very scientific.. http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/ http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/

aaronblohowiak 18y ago
It is the only game i have on my mac. it is engaging, thoughtful and emotionally engaging. truly superb work of craft.

Dauntless 18y ago

If you look carefully you'll notice quite a significant price difference.

lanaer 18y ago
The price difference is really small compared to the different amounts of money thrown into the games in that list.
symptic 18y ago
The difference is most of those games realistically cost over $100M to develop, and World of Goo most probably cost under $100,000. Just goes to show how stale the gaming industry is; even when a large-scale game like Mirrors Edge is released, it's bashed for not being realistic enough.

azsromej 18y ago

i bought the Wii version (it's online in the Wii store or whatever it's called) for $15. It's a lot of fun.

cbarning 18y ago
I also bought the Wii version, makes great use of the Wiimote. Lots-O-Fun, Highly recommended.

euccastro 18y ago

And this is how it all started: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051026/gabler_01.shtml http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051026/gabler_01.shtml

angstrom 18y ago
I still have that in my downloads folder. Hopefully we see a shift that brings the focus back to game play and away from vertex crunching/pixel pushing. If i wanted realism I'd go outside. I'm sure that's heresy in the halls of nVidia.

ram1024 18y ago

i suggest people buy left4dead to catch it up. because THAT game is funtastic. you have no idea

Freaky 18y ago
Shame it's massively overpriced for what it is. The only reason I bought it was it was sub-£20 from Amazon at the time, and even that's pretty steep unless they're planning some epic free expansions for it.

jamesbritt 18y ago

" ... coming soon for Linux..." :(

judofyr 18y ago
Cheer up! At least it's coming to Linux :-)
- jamesbritt 18y ago
  This is true, and that's encouraging. In the meantime, I may just grab it for win32, see if it plays OK under Wine, and if not use it on a VMware image of XP.

DarkShikari 18y ago

Shockingly popular indie games aren't really anything new--its just that people seem to be noticing them more, especially in this day and age of extremely high budget games. People are always surprised to see one or two-man projects earning money on the same level as games like Crysis, but it seems to have been going on for quite a while. See my post at http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=398305 http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=398305 for another example of a very successful indie game developer.

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

jim-greer 18y ago

Update: now it's #1! http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/229575/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_vg_1_2 http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/229575/ref=p...

stick_figure 18y ago

I feel like Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead are probably moving better through retail and Steam. Amazon isn't exactly the marketplace where gamers go to order games so they can wait a few days to play it. Most games I buy are impulse purchases, and if I can't have it now then I can't be bothered to get it. World of Goo seems like the kind of game that parents and non-gamers would buy, and I would guess that that demographic shops more on Amazon.

nihilocrat 18y ago

Rapid-iteration and rapid-prototyping seems to be slowly gaining traction in the gaming industry. The high cost of game development plus high risk makes for an environment where trying out things in small increments and with quick turnaround is very valuable. This dude talks about it a lot: http://lostgarden.com http://lostgarden.com

st3fan 18y ago

Well, I guess they are not Indie anymore!

truebosko 18y ago

Is there a mailing list for Linux users who want to be updated when a linux version comes out? Edit: Nevermind, kind of found it http://2dboy.com/mailman/listinfo/announce_2dboy.com http://2dboy.com/mailman/listinfo/announce_2dboy.com