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'If you can’t show your game to the world without fearing it’ll be cloned, something’s broken' says Moonlighter studio on its canceled demo (www.pcgamer.com)
submitted 23 hours ago by to c/pcgaming@lemmy.ca
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[–] 3 points 17 hours ago (5 children)

I don't think die-hard fans that trade off of established names aren't carrying direct profits. Especially for a franchise/studio as young as Moonlighter.

Die-hard fans keep the game's community alive, which can eventually lead to new people finding it, but I'd be surprised if even 50% of a game's revenue is supported by people that would pick the game out of a line up of all the game they plan in a year. And that other, indifferent 50% could realistically be snapped up by someone who shits out a cheap clone with a similar enough aesthestic.

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  • [–] 4 points 17 hours ago (4 children)

    When I said "fans", I didn't mean literal die hard fans. It was a word as an attempt to distinguish between who doesn't care in any capacity, for lack of terms. Let's take Vampire Survivors as an example. There are many copycats of this game, but most people don't care about them. Most people want to play Vampire Survivors. Or all the Mario Kart clones. Well yes, they are not identical clones, but that's the thing. Those games have an identity and quality "fans" (or just "gamers") enjoy, that they don't get from the clones. The community are playing the main games, and are part of the fun for many. I don't think that we are currently in an especially broken situation of copycats, that dictates the entire industry. We had copycat games since the 80s. Don't get me wrong, it is an issue, but its not a big issue. Now its easy for me to say, because I'm not a small indie developer.

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  • [–] 4 points 17 hours ago (1 child)

    The community are playing the main games,

    People are playing Vampire Survivors because it's Vampire Survivors. No one can say whether it would be the Flagship of its genre if genAI let someone create a passable knock-off in a week. Yeah, we've always had knock-offs but those required some modicum of effort to produce. And that effort took time, time where the original could become entrenched with people that like what it innovated on.

    We can't talk numbers because nobody has them, but I'm pessimistic that the majority of Vampire Survivors (or any game that has reached "mainstream") players are engaging with the game in a way to interfaces with what makes it unique. They would get the same enjoyment out of a shallow rip-off. They're only going with VS or any mainstream because other people have vetted it as "not a waste of money" or out of FOMO. Idk how old you are but I absolutely "enjoyed" N64 shovelware games that were objectively 6 out of 10s because they were good enough. And I have a more discerning palate now, but that's because I'm a fan of the industry. Most people are just consuming content, like watching basic TV. The "fans" you describe are people in these comments. And they are indisputably in the minority when it comes to volume of product sales.

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