And here I thought maybe I’d found the secret to a new career without needing experience.
There have been a number of games in the past 2-3 weeks that have released in just buggy states of being (Crimson Desert, Pokemon Champions, etc) but this apology letter from the Samson developer made me laugh.
“We have been having a lot of fun watching folks have fun with the game and we released a game with flaws for a number of reasons.”
What? You released a game with noticeable flaws for… reasons?! What reasons? Tell me the reasons!
Was the reason “we don’t care, we know some of you are going to buy the game anyway, and that’s all we need?”
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lol, true that, but a video game takes much longer than a dinner.
I’m not sure this is a great analogy. It’s steak… you really don’t want to overcook steak.
What I’m really saying is… I’d probably still eat that.
They’d love you in France
That’s true (from France)
I literrally eat raw meat (tartare and carpaccio) so yeah we would
I know you need to monetize the web, but lately some of the banners even block the comic page when using the cell phone…
I’ll take a look. I keep some ads here to help neutralize what I pay in hosting each month, but these ads these days “decide” for themselves where to be. It’s not code I place in a specific part of the website design. I don’t want them totally in the way though, so I’ll see what I can do.
I honestly expected a Helldiver to appear in this comic.
Practically raw is how steak is supposed to be…
Well, that is definitely how some people feel. And obviously some people buy video games before they’re done, too. Otherwise this wouldn’t keep happening.
Big studios have taken advantage of the fact that small studios need the early access funding (which they rightly release as early access).when AAA studious do it, it is to meet shareholders expectations of time based profit goals. (And maybe to judge if they can get away with not spending anymore money on a project…..)
Depends on how much you trust the butcher (aside from taste obviously). It’s not always a good idea.
Almost word-for-word the press release Sports Interactive put out regarding this year’s Football Manager game, which was a disaster of bugs and removed content.
The reason is – money.
“We need money. Sooner.”
Yes, likely it’s either “shit, we’re running out of money and need to release soon if we wanna keep the company afloat” or “publisher is running out of patience” or a combination of both.
Releasing a statement saying “we released a game with flaws for a number of reasons” without listing any of them is fucking ridiculous, though.
Technically, “our testers didn’t find this bug in time to fix it before release” is a reason. Not a good one, because ffs schedule your QA properly, but still.
I suspect companies knowingly release games with glitches because it gets YouTubers to show it off and it gets them free advertising
Doubt it helps them out much nowadays. Starfield’s bugs and glitches might’ve been funny every now and then, but it did stop a lot of people from getting the game. It got so bad that the most of the modders abandoned the game.
Well yeah, if they don’t wind up fixing those bugs once the initial wave of streamers playing wears off it’s going to cause problems, I won’t pretend to know when the free advertising of funny glitches should end and actually fixing it should begin, but they gotta learn it at some point
Those ‘reasons’ are generally the stakeholders, not the people actually creating the game. Would have been more accurate to portray the restaurateur in this position and the chef also annoyed.
In an alternate universe, the steak is a lump of charcoal and the kitchen is actively on fire due to the time constraints, as the restaurant is owned by ATVI.
It might be how companies (try to) get away with it… but to be fair, if this was a video game analogy, the steak should also be infested with bugs. That being said, I noticed a significant shift in buyer mentality in my circle of friends. Almost no games are bought on release, unless you trust the developer to deliver a finished product and fix the bugs, and you want to support them. Else you wait for bug fixes… and when waiting for that, wait for a sale as well. The last two games I bought on release for full… Read more »
Nah, a steak with bugs is inedible. A game with bugs, is still playable, and even completable. Unless there are common bugs that are game-breaking.
Also, a game with bugs is unfinished, a steak with bugs is trash.
So this comic from early April was just released to the general public on June 12. By this time in 2027, free readers will be reading January’s comics. By 2029, the comics will have a full year gap. That’s not a big deal when it comes to the storyline comics, but the topical comics will be out of date before they’re even released. The real bummer is that there is no real incentive to join Patreon. Yes, you get an initial bunch of comics to read, but then you must stay subscribed for eternity or face the increasing gap should… Read more »
yeah, cant have tim actually being able to provide for his family…
In what kind of world would we live in then?
I’m not complaining about Patreon. I’m a big fan of supporting artists. I’m just pointing out a couple of flaws with this specific Patreon system.
I guess I would argue that, since people subscribing since the change has helped to stabilize revenue and ensure I can keep making this comic… there apparently is incentive, for a lot of people. I’ll also point out that most tiers have additional content that doesn’t go free. But ultimately… yes, this is a consequence of making this change. It’s not just an adjustment of a release schedule, I have shifted my perspective about who I’m making this comic for. It’s the people keeping food on my kids’ plates. That is who I make this comic for now. And so… Read more »
Having read your comic since the early days, I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did before having to change your business model.
And I fully support you needing to be paid for your work as well.
And I hope your new model will make it possible for you to keep going for a couple of decades more.
That said, I’m afraid today’s comic will probably be just as topical in a year or two, as it is today 🙂
Meh.
Go out and touch grass.
But. . . Then again, I am reading a comic about video games.
So, NO, the irony is not lost on me.
This steak was clearly early access….
Triple A studios shouldnt get a pass on this, but small studious absolutely should, V Rising is one of my favorite games, and I dont think the studio could have afforded to get the game to where it got without it.
mechanicus 2 big rush felt pushed out for skulls is a good example
Do not be afraid, citizen! I bring you facts in the guise of mustard pudding.
…oops, wrong chef.
Sorry, Tim, but the ads here are starting to be really invasive, to the point of actively interfering with reading and navigation, not to mention the dodgy things being advertised sometimes. I’m taking this site off my ad blocker’s whitelist until you’ve announced changes in this area.
(I am aware that this will attract downvotes, but at least I’m a] upfront about blocking ads, b] at least making an effort to whitelist independent content creators. Pretty sure that places me in the top tenth percentile in both categories, at the very least.)
You missed the most important step. You need to charge them before they get the product. Then it doesn’t matter if they leave or not.
Weird, it’s like comparing apples to oranges, they are basically the same!
So I suppose, how well done does Tim get his steak?
Reminds me of the whole “animation is hard” argument for taking 3 years to make 10 episodes. B*tch, 30 years ago animation was hand-drawn and cranking out 28.6 hours of content in the same amount of time. Tools have been developed over those decades to speed things up. If animators are cleaning their driveways with toothbrushes in the name of quality, that’s on them, not animation in general.