McDROID dev: no Steam keys for Indie Royale buyers *Update 2*

I wonder if it can be considered calling out.

EDIT: Either way, that goes to my list of most hated developers.

lol what a joke, I have mcgay bought in IGS but his reasoning is wrong for assuming that IR starts the bundle @ 1$ rofl

Assuming the revenue they got from it was actually that low I can kind of see his point, but I don't think he worded it very tactfully or smartly. Indie Royale is closely tied to Desura, so a lot of times it's some Desura-only games. Having said that, if the developer previously made a public statement suggesting or promising keys for any bundle purchasers, then they should honor that.

With all these greenlight promotion bundles out there that give free pass for even absolutely bad games in the form of "a shitload of votes for free basically", they have the nerve to pull stuff like this off. I wouldn't complain about this if it wasn't actually included in a bundle called "Debut Bundle", with the sole intention of promoting their shit, and after actually promising their buyers the keys, that they will of course get for free from Valve. I hope Desura will blacklist these guys for good from their promotions, as they should do so with Rockin' Android and all the others who pulled this shit off. This goes pretty much against their main idea with those bundles.

Another developer to add to the blacklist.

can we un-greenlight them to show our appreciation for their honesty. :/

Idiot. He lost so many customers now.

Would the game be greenlight if it wouldn't have already "sold/promised" thousands of keys? Probably not.
Would be fun to see all the customers of the bundle ask steam to change their vote for a negative one (I know negative doesn't deduct, but you get my point, right? Basically ask steam to remove the game.

Considering how hard they've promoted McDroid here on SG with giveaways, it's surprising they'd make a comment that far out of touch with the community. I'll wait and see how this plays out, but for now I'm looking at them with a "wtf are you doing?" face.

Indie Royales are never $1 either.

Screw him! I didnt see a IndieRoyale bundle for 1$ in my life. Blacklisted forever.

I just found out that I have this bundle... but I don't care for Steam Keys, if I want to play the game I will just play no matter what platform I use or DRM-Free.

hope his games will be deleted from steam.

Can you blame the developer for wanting to make money? You know, not every developer has provided keys to previous owners in bundles. It has become a standard practice but should they be hated for not doing so? I personally don't think so. The idea behind Greenlight is asking if we would buy a game if it was on Steam. If you liked the game on Desura or elsewhere, then support it on Steam. If not, then don't. Simple as that. I have personally talked to quite a few developers and I can tell you that bundles do not make a lot of money per bundle for developers. Often, bundles are best for exposure and to try to generate interest in their game. A promotion if you would like to think of it that way.

Problem solved, dev's latest response:

"I agree with you guys, that would be a rotten deal and I always keep my word so let me see what I'll do, something that's fair for everyone and I'll get back to you.

Sorry for having screwed this one up and thanks for having kept the hate to a minimum.

(now time to patch that foot)"

Well loads of developers do give Steam keys even when the bundle in which the game was, was for 1$. Not sure why they decided to do that.

The guy just posted this:
"I agree with you guys, that would be a rotten deal and I always keep my word so let me see what I'll do, something that's fair for everyone and I'll get back to you.
Sorry for having screwed this one up and thanks for having kept the hate to a minimum.".
Seems to me he's at least trying to not be an asshole.

The developer has absolutely no obligation to provide Steam keys simply because a game that was bundled before it was on Steam is now on Steam. However, since they said straight up that they would do so, they're entirely obligated to do it. Even so, Laurent seems like a nice enough guy from the glance I've thrown his way in the past twenty minutes, and perhaps the devs get less money from bundles than you'd guess. I have no idea. But this dev probably doesn't deserve a spot on anyone's "worst developer list." Then again, I could be wrong.

Simply don't care about McDroid, and you will be happy :D

Common, someone sue him... he clearly stated there will be Steam keys, that's false advertising and he should burn in hell for it.

Looks like the developer is now understanding his mistake and is trying to resolve the proverbial "foot in mouth" he has done to his reputation.

laurent [developer] 14 minutes ago
"I agree with you guys, that would be a rotten deal and I always keep my word so let me see what I'll do, something that's fair for everyone and I'll get back to you."

"Sorry for having screwed this one up and thanks for having kept the hate to a minimum."

"(now time to patch that foot)"

so much damn hate..

Well, I am glad to see a resolution came about. I am not one who likes to see developers hated on. Some might deserve it but at least this one was willing to see what was happening and try to fix it.

The problem I have with is this, is if you buy a game from any bundle type site, you should definitely have it on the best platform the game is available on, which right now is steam. Steam allows for automatic updates, achievements, possible trading cards, networking/friend features, etc etc. It costs NOTHING for an indie dev to get huge amounts of keys from steam. That is not speculation, it is fact, and I have heard so from numerous indie developers. This is why devs sell steam keys using humble apps and such, because humble takes less than the 30% steam does when sold directly on their store. They advertise it as a way to also distribute a DRM free version, but that is not the main reason. They are simply making more money selling steam keys than they would selling the game directly in the store.

So to say something like he has, where some of his buyers aren't worthy enough to own the game on steam, even though it costs him NOTHING to give those keys out when the game launches on steam, is just ridiculous. If you didn't want to sell your game in a bundle with others for $3-5, then you shouldn't deserve the publicity you got from it either, that allowed you to get through greenlight as soon as you did. People want steam keys because of all the features the service offers, so a desura key is basically useless and a pain to update for anything that is available on both. You can't promise a steam key, and then give them a DRM free + Desura copy, take their greenlight votes, and then tell them that they have to go re-buy the game on steam if they want it. It's absolutely unacceptable, and not only that, he basically lied about the IR bundle being $1. Everyone knows Indie Royale never has a $1 minimum, like Humble or Indie Gala. They are similar to BundleStars in that aspect, except Bundle Stars is a set price, not an average.

The dev did personally give me a copy game to me free on Humble, so he's not outright greedy. But time has passed and I would imagine that he might not be happy with sales and the abysmal result of their kickstarter... ($612 / $35,000) Maybe he was just uninformed about the price of the bundle and was extremely nervous about the thought of fulfilling all of those keys for what is basically nothing. But as I said, even if it was $1, if you aren't okay with selling your game for 20 cents in a greenlight focused bundle, then you are also not allowed the publicity that those bundles offer. IGS promotions show considerable boosts in greenlight boosts. Full Bore for example. It did an IGS sale, and the very next greenlight set, they were accepted.