by John Hoskin on Oct 02, 2014
Welcome to this second day of October, 2014. I’m John “Boomjack” Hoskin and this is Here Comes The Boom – EP #22.
There has always been a disconnect between those writing about games (whether that be on the Internet or traditional print) and those that are creating them.
The landscape has changed dramatically in the 20 years that I have been fortunate enough to work in this industry, but there is at least one constant, the majority of the people who are reporting on games don’t understand the people who make them and perhaps more importantly the opposite is also true.
Lezek Lisowski, a developer at Wasteland Interactive recently posted an article on Gamasutra with an oh, so, sensational title. “How to get every game on STEAM for free”
I’m sure that Mr. Lisowski had good intentions when he first wrote and then posted his article up to Gamasutra. He wanted to inform other developers about the miscreants who were falsely identifying themselves as YouTubers in order to scam free Steam keys. A noble act, but one diminished by the sensational title.
As a general rule of thumb:
Anyone who won’t spend $9 on a game probably can’t give you much exposure. If you want exposure, spend some time and contact legitimate publishers. Ignore YouTube.Small development studios sometimes have a hard time getting face-time with larger publishers. I understand this and appreciate the mountain that must be climbed. Keep trying and if you can’t break down the walls because your game is perceived as too small to drive traffic then I offer my help. I’ve been around the block (both as a dev and a journalist), so I have a rather unique perspective and rolodex that spans from AAA publishers to one-man-bands (that do it right). Perhaps I can help you. You know where to find me, but please don’t be upset if I don’t answer right away. I receive well over 500 emails a day across all of my accounts and I simply can’t answer everyone. I will, however, do my best, even if my days are sometimes spent feeling like this cat.
If as a dev you feel that you are inundated with Steam key requests, I can assure you that sitting on the other side of the table I receive more Steam keys and free games than I could ever look at, much less play in my lifetime every month. The truth is, I couldn’t even download the games as fast as the keys / requests come in on some days. To many gamers, this may seem Heavenly, but I feel obligated to the people who want me to look at the product that they have put their heart and soul into. The human element of this industry is too often overlooked. It is this element that scammers prey upon.
There are scammers in every walk of life; the Internet just makes it easier for them. If more publishers and developers worked together, rather than living in an “us versus them” adversarial world, consumers would be better served.
Thank you Mr. Lisowski for bringing up the issue; now please, change that sensational article title and contact me if you need help getting the word out about your game.
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Vin Diesel Fact: The Cryptarch always gives Vin Diesel legendary items, no matter the colour of the engram.
Now on to something more entertaining…
10 Tips Every Destiny Player Needs To Know Why You Shouldn’t Try To Reach Level 30 in Destiny Everquest Next’s Consequences and CommunityBecause the real world is usually more humorous than the virtual one. Here are some real world stories. You can’t make this stuff up.
From the Fear-Of-The-Year-Dept. – United Airlines Ebola Alert From the They-Grow-Up-So-Fast-Dept. – DUI At Age 11 From the Honey-Do-Dept. – I, For One, Welcome Our Robotic Swarm Overlords.If you received even an iota of enjoyment from this then please support both myself and TenTonHammer by doing one of more of the following:
Read my previous columnsThanks again. I appreciate your support. Who’s awesome? You’re awesome!