Aware Me On Why Homebrewers Need Money For Games That Aren't Complete

[VectorGamer]

Why are some homebrewers taking pre-orders for games that they haven't even finished coding yet? [see Rocketeer (INTV) and Pigs In A Castle (2600)] I can see taking pre-orders once the game has been tested and ready to be put on cart and shipped. Aware me on this process. I didn't think money was required for someone to sit at a computer and code.

[CatPix]

Because you don't just decide to get game shells, print PCB, burn EEPROM and get stickers and maybe boxes made just out of the blue in 2 days.

Usually companies ask to be paid before they start the job.

Plus, this money means that any games the amount will allow to make will sell, and that our homebrewer won't have 200 carts lefts at his cost because suddenly all the people that wanted a game so bad decided there was a better game to buy when it's released.

Also, "sitting on a computer and code" may not need money per se, but it's time that the homebrewer(s) won't have for something else, like family time, or work, or rest, or relaxing.

Plus, maybe our homebrewer is an awesome coder but a poor designer, and need to hire an artist to design the label artwork. Maybe he need money to pay for the website his game will be sold on?

 

Maybe he things that after all, he have the right to receive money for his work, and not just to put the game on a physical support?

[Wickeycolumbus]

It definitely adds unnecessary stress on the developer's part, now something that was supposed to be fun becomes paying back people you owe. Accepting some cash to cover the costs of parts for a game that is finished or very very close to being finished is another story though.

[TPA5]

Large companies have the luxury of sourcing funding from financial backers, homebrew jobs don't have that kind of financial security. I know I wouldn't want to fork out for a run of PCB's, boxes, and cart shells without knowing I can both pay for it, and have people that will for sure buy it.

[VectorGamer]

Large companies have the luxury of sourcing funding from financial backers, homebrew jobs don't have that kind of financial security. I know I wouldn't want to fork out for a run of PCB's, boxes, and cart shells without knowing I can both pay for it, and have people that will for sure buy it.

That's expected to take money once the game is finished to pay for all the supplies to get it on cart. But what's the purpose of taking people's money when the coding isn't nearly complete?

[TPA5]

 

That's expected to take money once the game is finished to pay for all the supplies to get it on cart. But what's the purpose of taking people's money when the coding isn't nearly complete?

 

A gauge of interest? I'm not 100%, it's just my guess is all.

[godslabrat]

Kind of depends on the programmer. If they're a known talent, and people like their work... Sure, why not? But too many Homebrews never see the light of day, I'd never pay money for a homebrew that was less than 90% done unless I had a lot of faith in the programmer.

 

But then, I'm not a fan of making your work public until it's past the 70% mark anyway. Too much vapor ware in the homebrew realm.

[AtariBrian]

Some of them just talk about making new games/clones and show a few pictures but never actually release any after years and years of talking about them . And before you know it instead of them working on the one or two and actually releasing them on cart the list just grows and grows of unfinished games and people just end up forgetting about them . But I have found that you're not allowed to question any of them or say anything . I get that it's a hobby but once money is prepaid the word hobby is out the window . And why bother getting people excited about games if more than likely you're just gonna talk about these new games/clones and never finish them ... unless that's their thing and they just want the attention .

[fiddlepaddle]

Some of them just talk about making new games/clones and show a few pictures but never actually release any after years and years of talking about them . And before you know it instead of them working on the one or two and actually releasing them on cart the list just grows and grows of unfinished games and people just end up forgetting about them . But I have found that you're not allowed to question any of them or say anything . I get that it's a hobby but once money is prepaid the word hobby is out the window . And why bother getting people excited about games if more than likely you're just gonna talk about these new games/clones and never finish them ... unless that's their thing and they just want the attention .

 

Yes. And it's not just confined to software. This is just a common pathology of people who dream, plan, even visualize a final result, but never complete the work required to get there. Most of the time, they want to get there, even think they will get there, but don't. It seems to be far more prevelant today than it used to be, but I have no statistics...

 

Someday, for example, I'll finish my book about my collecting...but you might have to ask my heirs to get a copy.

[+5-11under]

At some point in this process, you are going to need money to exchange hands:

 

- Ideally, this point is when you have product built and ready to be shipped out.

 

- Nearly as good is when you at least have all your ducks in a row, and you just need to know how many items to make.

 

- A worse case is at the beginning or middle of a project, rather than at or near the end of the project. If you think you're 80% of the way done, you're probably actually only 20% done.

 

In all cases, there is some risk. A person could get run over by a bus on the way to mailing out homebrews. However, at the beginning or middle of a project (versus at the end), the risk of failure or delays is greater, because there are so many unknowns to consider.

[+Random Terrain]

Why are some homebrewers taking pre-orders for games that they haven't even finished coding yet?

All you need is batari Basic and about one hour and you could be selling carts the next day or maybe even later the same day. I know an hour is a huge investment of time for a lot of people, but it can be done. You can shave off 30 minutes if you don't do any bug testing.

[BinaryStar]

 

That's expected to take money once the game is finished to pay for all the supplies to get it on cart. But what's the purpose of taking people's money when the coding isn't nearly complete?

 

Because it's possible to do things in parallel with each other? A game does not need to be 100% complete before packaging is designed, printed and die cut for example. As mentioned, it may also be to gauge interest so cheaper prices can be sought for components etc. There are a variety of reasons and producing homebrew can be very expensive so preorders are a good way to secure the funding needed to produce it.

[+Atari_Warlord]

Having funded a couple of projects that were canceled or still haven't shipped, my policy is to not order until it is complete. I may miss out, but I'm not an investor. If I was, I would expect some part of the profits.

[Bill Loguidice]

I think that at this point based on the fairly high percentage of homebrew projects that are delayed beyond reasonable time periods that it's probably best to only ask for money/funding when a particular project is genuinely close to completion. I think it's fair that if say a game or hardware project were at a true 90%+ mark, that it would be OK to request the money for production and then give a specific delivery window with plenty of cushion, e.g., within six months. If that window can't be met, then refunds should be provided.

 

Of course, this same principal needs to apply to crowd funded projects. I've scaled back my funding in that area as well after one too many delays and/or outright failures to deliver.

 

Since so much happens through AtariAge, what would be nice is if there was an official AtariAge policy about offering such homebrew items for sale on this site. Naturally, all of the existing stuff would have to be grandfathered in, but any new offerings would have to abide by certain rules. While it shouldn't be AtariAge's burden, it is an opportunity to lead the way with this kind of stuff. I think it would create a better experience for everyone.

[+remowilliams]

All you need is batari Basic and about one hour and you could be selling carts the next day or maybe even later the same day. I know an hour is a huge investment of time for a lot of people, but it can be done. You can shave off 30 minutes if you don't do any bug testing.

 

Which explains why people should be paying zero dollars or less for one of the two titles mentioned above.

[jhd]

Someday, for example, I'll finish my book about my collecting...but you might have to ask my heirs to get a copy.

 

Can I pre-order a copy now and get a better price?

[+adamchevy]

Having funded a couple of projects that were canceled or still haven't shipped, my policy is to not order until it is complete. I may miss out, but I'm not an investor. If I was, I would expect some part of the profits.

Thats what kickstarter is for I thought . Some insentive to the investors. This is sadly a trend amongst major developers as well. Release a crap game that's full of bugs and then try and patch it with dlc.

[fiddlepaddle]

 

Can I pre-order a copy now and get a better price?

 

Thanks for the idea. I think I might put an action item in the marketing plan for my book to sell preorders for a Limited Edition

excerpt of the Advance Praise section that goes on the back of the cover; availability to be announced.

[Cobra Commander]

I think aware is an adjective. But we turn everything else into a verb, why not.