md5i
Level: Master Delver
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Malarame wrote:
Erik, would you be able to keep us posted on the number of copies of JtRH you've sold/given away?

Also, keep us up to date on any reviews you might receive. Has the game been announced anywhere other than drod.net and primus yet, or are you waiting for us to root out most of the remaining bugs?

____________________________
Michael Welsh Duggan
(md5i@md5i.com)

ErikH2000
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Malarame wrote:
Erik, would you be able to keep us posted on the number of copies of JtRH you've sold/given away?

I don't mind sharing for a little bit. In fact, I love to do it. But keep in mind that in the long run it is probably a poor strategy to advertise our numbers as it might inspire some cheap efforts to compete against our type of product. So in the future, you'll probably just hear vague things like "we had a good month".

We had a great first week of sales by indie developer standards. At time of writing, we've had 88 orders grossing us just under two grand. The big order rush has come to an end, and now orders are trickling in at maybe 1 or 2 a day. That money gets cut up different ways: some to shipping, some to Plimus, individual tax obligations, expenses like the web server, and other things. So by "making a living" standards it isn't close to where Mike and I want to be. Taking everthing into account, I am very happy with how we've done so far. Something like 30% of our active forum members chose to order a copy. That's a great turnout--more than I expected! It means people looked at the demo and were excited--not disappointed. And it means people wanted to help us. Don't let me at all sound like I'm coming down on people who decided not to buy the game; I am just grateful for those who did.

Yes, Michael, to some extent we are ironing out problems before making the big push outside of our player community. We are relying (and I hope not too much) on the good will, trust, and patience of our fans while we fix problems that will be a larger barrier to acceptance with people who aren't familiar with us. These are things like bugs in DROD/CaravelNet, poor copy on the website, or elements on the order form that give a bad impression.

My goal is to be ready for promotion and announcement outside of DROD.net, CaravelGames.com, and Plimus by May. We will have thousands of people downloading the game and trying it out, and out of those we should pick up some more DROD players and make more money. I don't expect to make a lot in sales this year--in fact there is a good chance this will be our best month. But Mike and I are in it for the long run and realize it may take years to reach the point where it can be our fulltime business instead of a moonlighting project.

A while back, I told myself I needed at least a hundred DROD orders to keep working on it as a commercial product. I decided that if I didn't get a hundred orders, I should look at doing something else--possibly a closed source product that didn't need to give away as much functionality in the demo. We will make that number without much trouble, possibly this month, so DROD definitely has a future.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Phweengee
Level: Delver
Rank Points: 66
Registered: 03-02-2004
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I've got a couple of questions.

What are the lyrics to the JtRH title screen song? I can only really make out "Within these halls.....knowledge....."

What are the letters/runes/characters on the border of the title screen?

____________________________
-Phweengee

md5i
Level: Master Delver
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Phweengee wrote:
What are the lyrics to the JtRH title screen song? I can only really make out "Within these halls.....knowledge....."

That is a Level 1 Secret.

____________________________
Michael Welsh Duggan
(md5i@md5i.com)

Abbyzzmal
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For a while, I thought it was all about tar.

Within these halls great mothers grow,
Outside the walls to where tar flows,
To seep although that, we propose,
Let each not speak that which he knows.

It didn't make much sense. I was glad to see the actual version written out. Also, the song's last line is "let each not speak," but on the scroll in level one it says "let each speak not." Which is correct? I like "let each not speak" better myself.

Phweengee
Level: Delver
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Thanks md5i. I found that secret, but didn't make the connection, then forgot about it.

____________________________
-Phweengee

ErikH2000
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Abbyzzmal wrote:
Also, the song's last line is "let each not speak," but on the scroll in level one it says "let each speak not." Which is correct? I like "let each not speak" better myself.

The correct lines are:

Within our halls, great knowledge grows.
Outside the walls, there wait our foes
To steal all thought that we compose.
Let each speak not that which he knows.

The "not" is intended to rhyme with "thought", which accounts for the unnatural positioning. Our musician oopsed it a tiny bit, after spending a great deal of time getting the vocals sounding just how he wanted. No big deal.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Phweengee
Level: Delver
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Right, so what about the letters/characters on the border of the title screen? Any significance?

____________________________
-Phweengee

rowrow
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The characters are of Beethro, Halph, and The Slayer.

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B'hakhgra Du S'tra Moth'ness Ti!

agaricus5
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rowrow wrote:
The characters are of Beethro, Halph, and The Slayer.

I believe he's referring to the Sihmpuhl Englihsh characters around the border. I'm intrigued now. Erik, what do they mean?

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Resident Medic/Mycologist

Dali
Level: Master Delver
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Ok erik, I red your long reply, but I didn't understand all (you must know why). I think you meant that you need money and you hope that orders will increase. But sorry I can't order this great game because of some reasons (not because i don't have money!) just I want to ask : in 2 or 3 years the game would it be free? I've already asked MattCrampy and he said he don't know.

Mattcrampy
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Or, more accurately, we have no plans. and I wasn't willing to speculate.

Matt

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ErikH2000
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agaricus5 wrote:
I believe he's referring to the Sihmpuhl Englihsh characters around the border. I'm intrigued now. Erik, what do they mean?

Sorry, they're just randomly placed to add a little flavor. If I had more time, I might have made them more meaningful.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

ErikH2000
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Dali wrote:
Ok erik, I red your long reply, but I didn't understand all (you must know why). I think you meant that you need money and you hope that orders will increase.

I don't really need the money, but it affects how much time Mike and I can spend working on DROD and possibly other games of our own design. Our goal is to support ourselves from selling games, so that we don't need other jobs to live from.

But sorry I can't order this great game because of some reasons (not because i don't have money!)

I hope I didn't sound like I was pressuring people to pay. It's no big deal, really.

just I want to ask : in 2 or 3 years the game would it be free? I've already asked MattCrampy and he said he don't know.

It's unlikely we'd give JtRH away for free, but I suppose it's possible.

Have you considered the contests? If you win a contest, you can get a free copy. If you simply participate in eight contests, you can also get a free copy (or something else from the Prize Pile). I don't know if I will keep this offer open forever, but it's definitely a way to get a free copy in eight months.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Dali
Level: Master Delver
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So there is another way to get the game? all right, just show me how and I will try to do my best to win. You know, if you try to publish over the net 'posters' of Jtrh, maybe you can 'attract' more people who will may buy the game.
So good luck for your 'future requests'!!

ErikH2000
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Dali wrote:
So there is another way to get the game? all right, just show me how and I will try to do my best to win.

You could enter in this month's contest, the Secret. If you win it then you can choose any item from the Prize Pile. One of the prizes in the Prize Pile is a DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold CD. So that is one way to get the game for free. If you don't think that contest suits you, you could just wait for another contest. There is a new contest every month.

If you participate in eight contests, (doesn't matter if you win or not) you can also get a prize from the Prize Pile. I don't want people to enter in contests in a fake way just to get the eight-contest prize. You should make a good effort to be fully involved in any contest you enter. If we have problems with this, I'll discontinue the eight-contest prize, but it should be fine.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)