Sorry to reply to such an old thread, but I had a question after reading through all 7 pages.
Is the only advantage for Starfarer joining the humble bundle just to get free publicity for your game? I'm sure the "humble tip" can't be enough to make that much money off of, since most of the money goes to charity.
As someone who buys indie games all the time, I like how these pay what you want charity bundles get indie games attention, but I can't help but feel that they cheapen the value of indie games. I know many of my friends now consider whether an indie game will be part of the humble bundle before purchasing it (and deciding to wait if they think it might be). I really think indie developers should *NOT* put new games in these bundles (new games meaning less than a year old). I like supporting developers, but I can't help feeling a bit irked that a game I bought at launch a month ago is already part of a humble bundle (and still bug ridden, I'm talking to you, The Binding of Isaac). I almost bought Nuclear Dawn the other day, but sadly I'm now kind of glad that I didn't since it's part of the Indie Royale bundle launching this week.
Hi! Hmm, this is something I've been mulling over for a while. My thinking on it mirrors what you've said, mostly. It makes good sense, but unfortunately we don't have the hard data to say whether it's actually true or not.
It certainly seems like a mistake for a new game to be in a bundle, but how do you really weigh the added publicity vs the reduced per-sale amounts? Also, using the HIB as an example, I have no idea what actual percentage ends up going to each dev. There are certainly a *lot* of ways that money gets split, though.
To a large extent, I think the market is also getting over-saturated with these bundles too, just like what happened with Groupon and its clones. They are no longer as unique or as exciting.
Sorry to rant, but I just see all these indie bundles as a downward spiral for devaluing indie games and creating a "wait and see" mentality for people who frequently support them. I'd honestly be much more likely to purchase Starfarer if it didn't make its way into a bundle.
Well, the last HIB was the biggest one to date... there are lots of other bundles springing up, though, so I guess it is getting crowded, especially for any newcomers. I wonder, how many people actually don't play most of the games they get in a bundle? I'd wager that's a lot. Of those, how many *forget* they own a certain game, and buy it again? I got one of the first few HIBs myself, and I certainly don't remember everything that was in it.
So, I can't really say whether Starfarer will end up in a bundle at some point. It's definitely not something I'm actively seeking, though. For me, the goal is to end up on Steam, even though I realize it's difficult, and far from a sure thing.
It would be foolish to put a new game on the bundle. I think TotalBiscuit said it pretty accurately: indie games go to the HIB to die. And make a bunch of money while doing so.
Again, sounds sensible. But I know of at least one game that got on Steam right after being in the HIB, and ended up being *very* successful. I don't know if being in the HIB actually helped get it on Steam, but it seems like it. If so, that's definitely a case of the added exposure being well worth it. That's just a single example, though, and far short of any conclusive argument.