• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Valve is blocking publishers from helping indies bypass Steam Greenlight

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
So, I just beat the the iOS version of Talisman Prologue, and decided to go see when the PC version of the multiplayer game is coming out.

Clicking on the Steam Greenlight link, I found this fascinating statement:

Steam Greenlight said:
...

At Nomad Games, our ultimate goal is to release Talisman and many expansions. The more successful the game is, the more expansions we can make! We have the rights to every Talisman expansion pack, so whether you want to visit the City, run away from the Reaper or go Dungeon delving, vote for Talisman DE and we can make it happen!

To PRE-ORDER your copy, go to
http://www.talisman-game.com/talismande

Talisman Prologue has now been available on PC through our own web site for six months. Two publishers have offered to back our product on Steam, but Valve has made very clear this is not an option.

The next release will be the multiplayer DE version, available around the middle of this year. We have therefore decided to consolidate Talisman into our multiplayer product. We will also be offering many more platforms and languages, including Mac and Linux.

Prologue on its own will never be available on Steam. The length of the Greenlight process erodes the value of the product when it is available elsewhere. If you want to see Talisman in all its glory on Steam, this is now the place to vote!

Talisman © Games Workshop Limited 1983, 1985, 1994, 2007. Talisman: Digital Edition © Games Workshop Limited 2013. Games Workshop, Talisman, Talisman: Digital Edition, the foregoing marks’ respective logos and all associated marks, logos, characters, products and illustrations from the Talisman game are either ®, TM and/or © Games Workshop Limited 1983–2013, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. This edition published under license to Nomad Games Ltd. Nomad Games is the registered trademark Nomad Games Limited. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners.
Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=97489182
 

linko9

Member
I just cannot fathom why Valve thinks this greenlight thing is a good idea. Good, established developers, and promising new games get shafted while dodgy crap gets voted through (along with good stuff, of course). Leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
 

gngf123

Member
Why the hell would they do that? Does every small indie game have to go through Greenlight?

Nowadays, yeah pretty much. Unless you have had a game on Steam before, Greenlight is about the only way.

Valve need to change things. Greenlight is a good concept that is currently hurting more than it is helping.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
I just cannot fathom why Valve thinks this greenlight thing is a good idea. Good, established developers, and promising new games get shafted while dodgy crap gets voted through (along with good stuff, of course). Leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

I would like to note that Talisman Prologue was quite good, and it's a popular board game from Games Workshop that has even appeared on The Big Bang Theory so it's not like something no one would want here.
 

Fjordson

Member
I'm sure Valve meant well when they originally conceived Greenlight, but in practice it's been an annoyance. Not sure why they continue to be so adamant about using it.
 

1-D_FTW

Member
I don't think you should be able to by-pass quality control just by getting hooked up with a publisher. Nor do I think it's great for developers to have to give away control/money to sign with a publisher just to get onto Steam. Valve just needs to fix greenlight. It sucks in its current form and is way too inbred in the types of games it greenlights.
 

Zia

Member
I guess they think it would set a precedent, if successful, where developers with really polished games would seek publishers and leave Greenlight an XBLIG-style wasteland? Don't know, but there's very little I like about Greenlight.

Valve really is starting to become part of the big 4.

I don't know about that. Valve has a tendency to make money by expertly catering to the customer, developers and publishers. Something the "Big 3" don't always do (and rarely, in Nintendo's case). Greenlight is an unfortunate blip, though I do think it could work.
 

jbug617

Banned
I would like to note that Talisman Prologue was quite good, and it's a popular board game from Games Workshop that has even appeared on The Big Bang Theory so it's not like something no one would want here.

Dave Lang said on Giantbomb they were also having problems with Greenlight in regards to Divekick. It was about not getting picked but having a good amount of votes.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Huh, what could the reason for this be? Seems silly. Are they worried about the service being bombarded with garbage or something?

I still don't see how this would fit with that concern though.

It's a Games Workshop boardgame. You know, the people who make Warhammer.
 

Valnen

Member
Valve really is starting to become part of the big 4.

Hell it sounds like Sony has indies handled better than Valve at this point for next gen. That should be horribly embarrassing for them. The only thing they're good for at this point is sales.
 

Shoyz

Member
I just cannot fathom why Valve thinks this greenlight thing is a good idea. Good, established developers, and promising new games get shafted while dodgy crap gets voted through (along with good stuff, of course). Leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

Was super hyped to play Gunz 2, waited until April 18th's Greenlight list..only to see a Slender clone and already-available Elsword. What a load. Screw Valve.
 
Nowadays, yeah pretty much. Unless you have had a game on Steam before, Greenlight is about the only way.

Valve need to change things. Greenlight is a good concept that is currently hurting more than it is helping.

Sounds like they've taken a page out of Microsoft's playbook with green light.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
I guess they think it would set a precedent, if successful, where developers with really polished games would seek publishers and leave Greenlight an XBLIG-style wasteland? Don't know, but there's very little I like about Greenlight.

Yeah, this probably. But overall it still would HURT Valve all that much, since publishers would still try to get good games on the service that actually sell for them. >_>
 

ezekial45

Banned
Damn, I'll admit I had the wrong idea of how Greenlight works. I just thought it was a way for indies to get their games on steam when they don't have the backing previously. I didn't know that Greenlight was meant for ALL indie products, and that they have to go through some trial period to get a spot on the store.

That's just unfortunate.
 

Odrion

Banned
Now I'm starting to think that Valve is actively trying to bottleneck indie games coming onto their service. Are they afraid they'll saturate their marketplace?
Nowadays, yeah pretty much. Unless you have had a game on Steam before,
Nope, there's been several instances of devs that had games on Steam before being told that they need to go on Greenlight.
 

gngf123

Member
Hell it sounds like Sony has indies handled better than Valve at this point for next gen. That should be horribly embarrassing for them. The only thing they're good for at this point is sales.

and Nintendo.

Really, the only one who handles indies worse than Valve at the moment is Microsoft. Even then, you could make an argument for Microsoft being better. (Although that is really pushing it, I don't actually believe this).
 
Hell it sounds like Sony has indies handled better than Valve at this point for next gen. That should be horribly embarrassing for them. The only thing they're good for at this point is sales.
Yeah, this is not a good look at all.
and Nintendo.

Really, the only one who handles indies worse than Valve at the moment is Microsoft. Even then, you could make an argument for Microsoft being better.
Yeah... no.
 
I still don't see how this would fit with that concern though.

It's a Games Workshop boardgame. You know, the people who make Warhammer.

This is why I find it strange. Were Nomad just unlucky to be lumped into the same pile as other, not do great games or are we only getting half the story?

It's a very strange situation, certainly not one I ever expected to see from Valve.

Who cares if it does get bombarded. It goes against Valve's vision of letting the user control the marketplace. It makes no sense.

Indeed.
 

HoodWinked

Member
its the indie support cycle.

XBLA/XNA first, steam second, sony third, nintendo forth?

start off by welcoming indie developers
indie developers feel like they're important
indies flock to that platform
platform gets overwhelmed with indie games has to budget their digital store fronts.
have to put up release gates and screening process
indies trash platform
indies move on to next platform
the cycle continues
 
What the actual fuck? I worry Valve don't want too much cheap content competing with F2P and their microtransaction model frankly...

So fucking bizarre.
 
I always found it dodgy that valve started using greenlight to basically outsource their own damn jobs for free. While the idea of getting lesser known indie games through is good, they really started abusing it by basically cutting the job of looking through some reputable indies by farming it out to to the community.
 
this is like people complaining dlc has to be sold directly via steam. what would be the point of having the system in place if people can just bypass it like that?

valve needs to fix greenlight or find a better way to let games into the store. they rely way too much on the community and ai aided systems because they don't want to pay more people, but at the same time, it's understandable that they have a system and can't just let people go around it easily
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
This is why I find it strange. Were Nomad just unlucky to be lumped into the same pile as other, not do great games or are we only getting half the story?

It's a very strange situation, certainly not one I ever expected to see from Valve.

Nomad is a studio formed of people from THQ's shutdown studios who made games like Juiced and some of their digital initiatives.
 

Hofmann

Member
Nowadays, yeah pretty much. Unless you have had a game on Steam before, Greenlight is about the only way.

I remember reading somewhere that Kairo has been released on Steam outside of greenlighting procedure. So there are exceptions to the rule.
 

Meelow

Banned
Hell it sounds like Sony has indies handled better than Valve at this point for next gen. That should be horribly embarrassing for them. The only thing they're good for at this point is sales.

How did both Nintendo and Sony end up being better players in the Indie game than Valve?

This is why nobody should try to predict the gaming industry because it's impossible.
 

DiscoJer

Member
Hell it sounds like Sony has indies handled better than Valve at this point for next gen. That should be horribly embarrassing for them. The only thing they're good for at this point is sales.

People only see the good side of Sony and indies. For the bad side, look at Playstation Mobile.
 

Platy

Member
A friend pointed me an interesting point : WHICH 2 publishers ?

Barely indie publishers or EA like publishers ?
 
Top Bottom