Hi

I think people are really important, and I think feedback is really important. Once upon a time I read that, after the release of Braid, Johnathan Blow would often google his game and engage players in discussions on forums etc… I really respect that. Super Plumber Bros has been a labor of love on the part of @nomoon , @clang and I, and the last few days have been really rewarding. My perspective is that I want to share that reward: I want everyone who plays a game I worked on to feel engaged and connected, and to feel like they aren’t just playing a game but are “collaborating” in a sense with the devs. Games are an interactive experience, and not just in the sense that we push buttons to make Mario jump, but also in the sense that they are a way for people of all kinds to interface over any distance.

This is something indie games can do way better than big AAA games. Those big games have the benefit that a ton of players play them and can interface with each-other, but for the most part the “devs” are like, a team of 200 coder-wizards and faceless beurocrats. It isn’t the same when a faceless beurocrat retweets you as when someone who you know loves the game they made retweets you. Or shares your let’s play. Or whatever!

I love to get feedback from players, but that’s not where it ends: a lot of folks make let’s play videos, or write a blog, or make games themselves. I want to share the joy of receiving feedback, and that’s what really drives me to google my games, and watch all the let’s plays.

2.5K folk have played SPB so far, and I expect another 500 downloads before the end of this long tail. Seven or eight let’s plays, some critical some pleased. High scores by enthusiastic players in a tight community. I really hope that in the future, when I work on games that get 10K downloads, or even 1.5 million downloads, that I will still be able to keep up, chat with players, and watch let’s plays.

#indielife #reasonstobe #indiedev

Thanks,

z.

PS make sure to checkout MrScotsMan’s new SPB let’s play.