WTF Humble Bundle?! "Indie" my ass.

Scizophrenic Llama

Is in space!
Dec 5, 2007
1,147
0
0
EA had minimal part in the project, it was really only responsible for making it fiscally possible for Shank to be on the consoles(or at least the 360, don't know about the PS3) as well.

I personally was more annoyed by the atrocious load times the game had than I was it being published by EA. I can load any area of Skyrim in about 20 seconds, but load times on Shank always run at least a minute and a half.
 

veloper

New member
Jan 20, 2009
4,597
0
0
xXxJessicaxXx said:
veloper said:
xXxJessicaxXx said:
''Shank is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Klei Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts.''

Indie developer, with EA as publisher, no problem there right?

Here is their website http://kleientertainment.com/ They are definitely indie I'd say.
Indies don't have publishers by definition. They self-publish. Indies don't go to a publisher to borrow money for their project.
Maybe there needs to be a new definition of indie then.. Because they are hardly Bioware.
Plenty of useful definitions around already.

Bioware are a large game studio: they're big and a part of a publisher.
Bioware used to be a big developer: big and working with a publisher (atari back then).
Mojang are indie: they self-publish.
 

repeating integers

New member
Mar 17, 2010
3,315
0
0
targren said:
Richard Humphries said:
Hell, I thought this was going to be interesting. I get that EA isn't indie, but what do you have against it as a company? They make sequels because the previous title sold successfully, that's what companies do. Plus, when indie companies get big, it can happen, you'll probably just go and start talking bad about them too.
What do I have against EA? Either you're new to gaming, or a BF3 fan... They're the Microsoft of the gaming world (though Sony is trying to catch up in the race to the bottom).
Actually, I'm pretty sure Microsoft is the Microsoft of the gaming world. Not that I like EA.

But don't you think you should just enjoy the games you got with this bundle on their own merits as games, no matter who's publishing them? It sounds like the kind of thing to get annoyed about, but you seem to be overreacting (no offence meant).
 

Moonlight Butterfly

Be the Leaf
Mar 16, 2011
6,157
0
0
veloper said:
xXxJessicaxXx said:
veloper said:
xXxJessicaxXx said:
''Shank is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Klei Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts.''

Indie developer, with EA as publisher, no problem there right?

Here is their website http://kleientertainment.com/ They are definitely indie I'd say.
Indies don't have publishers by definition. They self-publish. Indies don't go to a publisher to borrow money for their project.
Maybe there needs to be a new definition of indie then.. Because they are hardly Bioware.
Plenty of useful definitions around already.

Bioware are a large game studio: they're big and a part of a publisher.
Bioware used to be a big developer: big and working with a publisher (atari back then).
Mojang are indie: they self-publish.
Errm I kind of meant that the current definition puts Klei on the same level as Bioware which seems kind of skewed since they are clearly a relatively tiny company yet they have a large publisher.
 

Fappy

\[T]/
Jan 4, 2010
12,010
0
41
Country
United States
xXxJessicaxXx said:
Fappy said:
xXxJessicaxXx said:
Fappy said:
xXxJessicaxXx said:
''Shank is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Klei Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts.''

Indie developer EA as publisher, no problem there right?
EA's name attached = auto-bad.

It's like if you hate Quinton Tarantino you shouldn't watch the film "Hero" because his name is on the poster.
But they had nothing to do with the content of the game apart from it's distribution?
That was kind of my point. I was being sarcastic :p
Oh lol sorry I thought you were saying they were like the director of the game :p (I know Hero wasn't directed by him lol but yeah...derped)
I admit it was kind of a vague comparison lol.
 

The Madman

New member
Dec 7, 2007
4,404
0
0
If you disagree with it then just adjust the payment methods so that all your money goes directly to charity as opposed to the developers. That's one of the novelties of these bundles I really enjoy; the ability to decide where your money goes.
 

targren

New member
May 13, 2009
1,314
0
0
believer258 said:
2K Games published/is publishing Bioshock, Bioshock 2, The Darkness, Borderlands, Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, and the XCOM remake (reimagining?), as well as many others.


THQ published Saints Row The Third, Homefront, Darksiders, Darksiders 2, Red Faction Armageddon, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl, Warhammer 40K Space Marine, and many others.
Fair enough. I admit I'm looking forward to Borderlands 2, and I think Gearbox rather than 2k (I know, dev vs. publisher). Same with Darksiders 2.

Still, the entire point of the HIB is to push indie games, to promote new ideas and new games. Shank isn't indie (It doesn't matter how small the dev house is, if they have big publisher money behind it, as explained elsewhere) and it's not all that new of an idea, either.

I wouldn't say I'm overreacting. I'm not frothing over it, but I don't think 'annoyance' is quite enough of a reaction to what is essentially being lied to. If I just wanted games for cheap, I could go to GoG instead.
 

Adam28

New member
Feb 28, 2011
324
0
0
Am I wrong or right?

EA was only responsible for the marketing of the game therefore the game was still created independently without financial support?

Anyway, just remember that by choosing to give no money to the developers, you are not helping both Shank's developer and the other indie developers.
 

ZeroMachine

New member
Oct 11, 2008
4,397
0
0
The whole "boycott big publishers" thing always makes me laugh and weep at the same time.

Me? I play games that I enjoy. I would even if they were published by Kim Jong... ooooohhh...

Too soon?
 

Phlakes

Elite Member
Mar 25, 2010
4,282
0
41
*Really hard facepalm

You see, "indie" games are games made by independent developers. EA publishes games. EA happened to publish a game developed by an indie developer.

Please at least know what you're talking about before you go on a tirade on a public forum. And I mean that in an honest way.
 

NerfedFalcon

Level i Flare!
Mar 23, 2011
7,065
779
118
Gender
Male
The developers are independent, and when you're an independent developer, getting your game out there - even through Steam or other DD networks - can be a pain. That's why you buddy up with a publisher, such as Ubisoft (From Dust), Nicalis (Cave Story) or EA (Shank). All you have to do is read the fine print and make sure you're not being forced to milk your own series and you're good. Besides, the game is still good - that's why you bought Battlefield 3, right? Despite, not because, of the EA label on the box.
 

Revnak_v1legacy

Fixed by "Monday"
Mar 28, 2010
1,979
0
0
You know what would be great? If EA would keep helping developers like this. Allowing them to get their work done while maintaining creative control. That would be great. Good games and new ideas would flourish. I have absolutely no problem with that. I may not like many of EA's business practices, but this is unquestionably a good one.
 

Herman Hahn

New member
Nov 3, 2010
2
0
0
i mean, I hated paolini's inheritance "trilogy", as well as a bunch of other books that they published, but that doesn't mean I hate everything published by Randomhouse. for that matter, it was this kind of idiocy that helped kill POTBS, because they decided to use SoE as their distributor in order to be better able to reach their target audience, except that a bunch of people saw that they were associated with SoE, they spread a bunch of idiotic half truths about the game and helped undermine it from its beginning.

Its all very well and good to demand that all Indies be self published, but thats a losing proposition. distribution and advertisement are not easy things. mojang had a great hit with minecraft, and they got amazingly lucky with all the word of mouth that they recieved from all over the internet, but there are dozens of indie games that are well made, but shrivel up and die because they don't have the funds or the word of mouth to make it big.

mojang is the super indie, and they're not even indie any more, they're turning into a bigger developer, what with them making new games like scrolls under the mojang cover, look at their recent hires, and their recent expansions.

for that matter, there seems to be no complaints about steam being used to distribute all of the bundles, never mind that its pretty much owned by valve, and that its used by all of the major publishers that seem to be hated.
 

Il_Exile_lI

New member
Jun 23, 2010
70
0
0
veloper said:
xXxJessicaxXx said:
''Shank is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Klei Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts.''

Indie developer, with EA as publisher, no problem there right?

Here is their website http://kleientertainment.com/ They are definitely indie I'd say.
Indies don't have publishers by definition. They self-publish. Indies don't go to a publisher to borrow money for their project.
Zantos said:
I love this sort of argument. On one side, you've got people saying that the best way to get innovation into the industry is to increase the distribution scale of indie games using the money of larger publishers, allowing more people access to the new ideas from smaller developers. On the other side, you've got people saying big companies shouldn't get involved with indie games because they're bad.

It's about on the same level of logical response as "Cos I said so."
I know, some people baffle me. In the case of Shank, the developer made two successful self published indie games in the past, and thus gained the industry credentials to to sign on with a major publisher. This should be a good thing! A small developer getting recognized and rewarded for producing quality content. I don't get these people that assume everyone at the developer immediately loses their soul the second they sign a publishing deal. How dare they try to make money, real indie developers are broke and homeless.
 

tycho0042

New member
Jan 27, 2010
154
0
0
ZOMG EA's in mah humble bundle! c'mon people, really. There seems to be enough argument already for the whole developer/publisher issue so I think I'll pass on that one. Why not just sit back and enjoy a fun game? Sorry, but I thought shank was the best 2 hours I spent for 5 bucks since binding of isaac. Though isaac got much more mileage than 2 hours.
It would be nice to see EA and other corps help out devs so we can see some more stuff some out that's new and fun.
 

Vault101

I'm in your mind fuzz
Sep 26, 2010
18,863
15
43
the fact that they have put "humble" on thease things pisses me off

it comes across as pretentious
 

MASTACHIEFPWN

Will fight you and lose
Mar 27, 2010
2,279
0
0
Zantos said:
I love this sort of argument. On one side, you've got people saying that the best way to get innovation into the industry is to increase the distribution scale of indie games using the money of larger publishers, allowing more people access to the new ideas from smaller developers. On the other side, you've got people saying big companies shouldn't get involved with indie games because they're bad.

It's about on the same level of logical response as "Cos I said so."
This.

And that's why we have steam on the PC... Just give valve half your money...

It's a difficult situation, because most publishers take all rights of the series when you side on with them, and that's bad... But you need there money...