-
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.
So how well did Dust: An Elysian Tail do saleswise?
- Thread starter Ghost_Protocol
- Start date
Not to derail the thread, but it's amazing how many people just don't have 360s on Gaf. It's probably one of the most common utterances.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
I feel bad that I started the game, enjoyed it, but drifted away not far in. To my credit, this is probably because my Xbox sounds like a fucking jet harrier and I feel like I just want to play Halo 4 and then gracefully accept its fiery explosion. The furry-ness does grate a little though, its hard to describe. Theres a very specific school of artwork where certain snout styles and body proportions takes it from "theyre just stylised animal characters like Sonic or Tom Nook!" to "oh, its... that stuff".
XBLA sure took a massive fucking nosedive in awareness and market viability over the last few years, huh. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the shit-ocean that is the 'Indies' section (nice gesture, but it almost goes to show why you don't do this) and the confusing as fuck layout for even finding game content these days!
XBLA sure took a massive fucking nosedive in awareness and market viability over the last few years, huh. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the shit-ocean that is the 'Indies' section (nice gesture, but it almost goes to show why you don't do this) and the confusing as fuck layout for even finding game content these days!
Goldenroad
Member
Amazing game.
To be perfectly honest, I gave up on the last boss. Well, not gave up, but moved on. Either way, up until that point, I was having the absolute best time I've ever had in that kind of game. The combo system and the beautiful animations worked so well together. I need to go back and beat that boss, just for the resolution, but it's kind of a chore, and I hate when a game becomes that.
To be perfectly honest, I gave up on the last boss. Well, not gave up, but moved on. Either way, up until that point, I was having the absolute best time I've ever had in that kind of game. The combo system and the beautiful animations worked so well together. I need to go back and beat that boss, just for the resolution, but it's kind of a chore, and I hate when a game becomes that.
Damn shame if anyone with a 360 passed on this because of some quibble with the art style. This is a fantastic game, easily one of the best I've played this year. Not only because of the great combat and collectibles, but it has a fascinating story that gets surprisingly dark towards the end.
Seriously, buy this shit. It's great. Hope it comes to PC or PS3 so people without a 360 can check it out soon.
Seriously, buy this shit. It's great. Hope it comes to PC or PS3 so people without a 360 can check it out soon.
XBLA games still sell the most out of all the online stores for games of that type. And the new Dashboard is pretty great at getting XBLA content out there.
ChosenPredator
Banned
sounds like the next game will be a pc one 
I just picked this up a few days ago, and loved every second of it up until the final boss. I don't know if I'm just severely under-leveled (32) or what, but after trying 10 times and not getting passed what I read was only the first phase of the fight it kinda killed any desire I had to try and finish it.
I'll probably go back and try and finish it before long, but that one fight pretty much killed the game for me.
I'll probably go back and try and finish it before long, but that one fight pretty much killed the game for me.
Haunted
Member
Sounds pretty middling.
But if he can't complain... well, at least it didn't bomb. I think porting his work to other platforms so more people can play it would be his best option now.
It's more like XBLA used to be THE thing a couple years ago, but now that spot has been taken by Steam. XBLA isn't dead per se (that'd be something like WiiWare), but it's clear that the money is in going with the PC and Steam. And that's just the sales aspect, not counting Steam being easier to work with, MS' lengthy certification process, prohibitively expensive patches etc etc
Not... yet. Believe me when I say I'd love for everyone to have a chance to play the game
Well if it was on PSN I would buy it.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Not... yet. Believe me when I say I'd love for everyone to have a chance to play the game
Thanks!
I'll interpret that as "there's hope."
Haunted
Member
I'm expecting an announcement on February 16th, then.Not... yet. Believe me when I say I'd love for everyone to have a chance to play the game
(standard XBLA 6 months exclusivity window)Considering how much work he put in, sure it's probably less than he wants. It's still gotta be around 400k in earnings after MS takes their 30% cut. That's pretty awesome assuming that he'll be porting the game to steam and getting a sale on the XBLA store in the future to further generate profits. Being a mostly one man job enabled him to make the game profitable even at 50k sales.
Rather, I think we should interpret it as, "as soon as the Microsoft exclusivity contract is up, I'll port it".
Servbot #42
Unconfirmed Member
I feel pretty sad for the people that skipped Dust because of the art style, they missed a great game. They should try to let go whatever issues they have and just give the game a chance.
Also reading that postmorterm was fucking insane! the bit where Noogy had to almost cut all of the voice acting before cert was bananas among many other things. That the game came out so well despite the behind the scenes crazyness is actually pretty impressive.
Also reading that postmorterm was fucking insane! the bit where Noogy had to almost cut all of the voice acting before cert was bananas among many other things. That the game came out so well despite the behind the scenes crazyness is actually pretty impressive.
MoonLightWave
Member
Release it on steam/pc and I'll buy it.
I have the game and I'm kind of on board with this. I really dislike the characters, and it does kill part of the game for me. I haven't even beaten it yet but I also don't see myself picking it back up anytime soon.
I get that it's pretty shallow. I'm honestly surprised I'm so put off by it.
I wasn't really hooked by the game itself either though.
John Rabbit
Banned
i found the art (specifically the character profits) a bit amateurish in their style and coloration, but i wasn't totally put off by the "furry" vibe. just had a bit of "sonic fanart" reek to it.
game was ok. obvious SOTN/metroidvania clone, good music though. wish it had more replay value than just collecting/crafting a bunch of crap.
game was ok. obvious SOTN/metroidvania clone, good music though. wish it had more replay value than just collecting/crafting a bunch of crap.
While personally I wasn't the biggest fan of the art style, it didn't deter me from enjoying the game. In fact I enjoyed it a lot and would highly recommend it to anyone who like 2D Metroidvania-like games. I really hope it comes out on Steam because the game really deserves the extra exposure that would give.
It's very hard when half the people say the game is too hard and the other half too easy. I always recommend one of the higher starting difficulties for seasoned action gamers, but I will be addressing some of the harder 'hits' in the end game in a Title Update.
Remember, you can always change the difficulty at any time. Just know it will null one of the high difficulty achievements.
I'm actually on Normal already, I usually always play on Normal first and if I really enjoy I'll go back on a harder / hardest difficulty for a second run so I'm familiar with how things work. I'd only died a few times before due to missing a parry or something on the larger enemies but that final boss just frustrates me. I don't know if it's because I'm not that good at the combat (I'm decent, I'd say. I got the 1,000 combo achievement / quest by cheesing it.)
I seem to do so little damage to the boss. I can kill most everything else in a few hits, but you can slam on the boss and it just doesn't seem to do nothing while I die in 3 or 4 hits once I run out of health items.
I know I just need to get better at rolling out of the way, but because it seems like all normal attacks get blocked I'm trying instead to get a parry so I can get a few hits in. So when the boss does that little hop behind you, I'm trying to instantly turn direction and parry and I either mess the parry up and get nailed or it works and we both get thrown in opposite directions and its back to the block / dodge / parry game because I can't get close enough in time to score a few precious hits.
That aside, I do love the game and don't regret getting it. Fidget is awesome.
Noogy is bound by a contract agreement, but assuming he knows what's up, this is what he's thinking:Not... yet. Believe me when I say I'd love for everyone to have a chance to play the game
"I'm contractually bound to keep Dust a platform exclusive for a period of about a year, during which I can't tell anyone or announce any future plans for ports. However, considering the track record of indie successes on Steam, I fully plan to either communicate directly with Valve, or at least put the game up on Greenlight."
Dust should have no trouble getting on Steam; hell, I'll vouch for it myself if I need to. He'll likely sell over 50,000 units lifetime on the platform, and if he manages to get it out in time for some sweet Winter Sale action, even more. At a $15 price point, well...you can do the math. = D
The know the dude who worked his ass off on that art for three straight years is the digital equivalent of right behind you, right? Don't be a dick.
RSLAEV
Member
Noogy, please ignore this idiot.
Unfortunately I no longer own an xbox the two I had broke. but when there is a chance for me to buy this on a platform I own I will.
Soo... Are you back at work on the movie or what?
Nocturnowl
Member
That's actually a damn shame, it seems animal main characters are becoming a rarity these days and fear of furry is like often the driving force behind it whether warranted or not.
I found Dust himself pretty fresh as a main character design in this day and age.
The Take Out Bandit
Member
Dust isn't a bad game.
My issues were more with the UI (enemy health bars) and general busy nature of the visuals. It was a little too easy to get lost in the chaos. It's easy for me to get lost in modern 2D games due to the amount of stuff going on and visual effects.
I do appreciate all your effort and look forward to what comes next.
One of my favorite things about the 360 is the indie games, but I fear phone development and the hoops MS and Sony make people jump through is just going to push folks toward Android and Ios.
I'm really sad that people would pass on a game for reasons completely unrelated to the game itself. I knew this mindset existed, I had no idea how bad it was until I read Noogy's post-mortem.
I might as well put it out there. I had plans for a small RPG where some of the characters are anthropomorphic. Now I'm not sure whether to keep it, because it is critical to the story, or scrap it because otherwise too many people would hate it. I really can't believe it's come to this.
I might as well put it out there. I had plans for a small RPG where some of the characters are anthropomorphic. Now I'm not sure whether to keep it, because it is critical to the story, or scrap it because otherwise too many people would hate it. I really can't believe it's come to this.
More like the game is time exclusive and will be release a year later like several XBLA games have.
So he shouldn't be criticized for the bad art style because he worked hard on it? It's not just me that hated the art style.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Being a dick about art direction while posting with a pony dressed as Link avatar that has googly eyes.
Style.
It's an issue of respect, dude. Feel free to say you didn't like it. But I wouldn't walk up to Chris Nolan and say he sucks. Show some class.
Edit: Fuck, my tag got changed = (
Oh please this game wishes it was half as good as MLP art style. Maybe it would have actually sold better. Hope the dude learned he's lesson though.
So you wouldn't say at least to Nolan he's action scenes sucks just because the rest of the movie is good? Same thing with this game, good gameplay but bad art style. There flaws and should be pointed out.
So you wouldn't say at least to Nolan he's action scenes sucks just because the rest of the movie is good? Same thing with this game, good gameplay but bad art style. There flaws and should be pointed out.
The way you're wording this I'm assuming you're just joking and trolling.
If not, words can't describe how much I hate you right now.
You're really missing the point here, buddy. Whatever.
It IS a shame that people will skip this game because of the art style but it is what it is. If you aren't a fan of furry art and the community it represents you will have a hard time getting passed this games art. I'm not a furry myself , it's not so much that I hate this games look either but the specific kind of anthropomorphic characters that Dust presents don't remind of of harmless disney afternoon art , they remind of of the filthy dark corners of deviant art in the worst way.
Skipping the game in my case was moreso due to having TOO many games to play as it is and knowing full well I wouldn't play it much but if I got that vibe of creepiness just watching a friend play I can easily see how many a prospective buyer would be veered away entirely by the art alone.
Skipping the game in my case was moreso due to having TOO many games to play as it is and knowing full well I wouldn't play it much but if I got that vibe of creepiness just watching a friend play I can easily see how many a prospective buyer would be veered away entirely by the art alone.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
Don't know the details but from my conversations with Noogy, the general impression I've got is that he can keep making games and is in no danger of starving but he can't expand his operations and hire a bunch of new people. He's pretty much still a one man team, although he might be up for working with other indie groups in the future.
I think if the game came out on Steam, it would explode in sales but of course there are agreements with Microsoft that need to be considered.
I think if the game came out on Steam, it would explode in sales but of course there are agreements with Microsoft that need to be considered.
To Far Away Times
Member
It's a shame really. I love the way it plays, but I get creepy furry vibes from the art and it significantly lessens my enjoyment of the game.
AcceptableGhost
Member
I think a pretty big problem with small scale independent games is that people are afraid of giving negative comments (and maybe even... negative reviews sometimes) because it feels more personal. It is a strange bias that I don't really like. People will slam bigger games (even with community managers in the thread) but for some reason in this case it is too close to home?
This game looks like something I would play (regardless of art style), but I am not in the business of really turning on my 360 much anymore. Get it out on the PC ASAP.
TaroYamada
Member
I found the furries rather unappealing. I don't find that shallow in the least. In motion gameplay looked nicer, but looked too busy. Overall, some talented workmanship in some areas, and with changes I'd probably be interested in Noogy's next title.
This is honestly the first game where anthropomorphic characters made me uncomfortable.
This is honestly the first game where anthropomorphic characters made me uncomfortable.
To Far Away Times
Member
Yeah. I understand why furries like something like Starfox, and it comes close to skirting the line, but it itself isn't furry. Dust fell on the other side of that line for me. Too many human features and details on the characters. One or two of the poses the characters do in the character portraits made me a little uncomfortable too.
transience
Member
I just beat this 10 minutes ago. After a few months of the game not even loading, I finally broke down and recovered my gamertag and now everything's peachy. I had one crash but nothing serious, just a few screens of progress lost.
Pretty cool game. I had some trouble in chapter 2 (normal) and then utterly destroyed the rest of the game once I started getting regen equips and whatnot. One of my things with games like Castlevania and Dust is that I completely refuse to use healing items if they're not absolutely needed, so I ended up only having like 40% of my life for the majority of the game. Once I started having a regen, I never died again. Last boss made me at least use healing items, heh.
I have a number of issues I could ramble about, but it's not worth it. Props to Noogy for sticking with his vision and delivering. I had a sense of awe when watching the credits because of how limited they are.
Pretty cool game. I had some trouble in chapter 2 (normal) and then utterly destroyed the rest of the game once I started getting regen equips and whatnot. One of my things with games like Castlevania and Dust is that I completely refuse to use healing items if they're not absolutely needed, so I ended up only having like 40% of my life for the majority of the game. Once I started having a regen, I never died again. Last boss made me at least use healing items, heh.
I have a number of issues I could ramble about, but it's not worth it. Props to Noogy for sticking with his vision and delivering. I had a sense of awe when watching the credits because of how limited they are.
Nocturnowl
Member
Cripes, maybe i'm just desensitized to this style for some reason but using terms like creepy and uncomfortable to describe characters in Dust seems a bit excessive.
Disliking the art style is fine, I have my own gripes with it at times but to see that a number of people feel genuinely uneasy when faced with a humanoid animal design is something I can't quite grasp, it's not like anyone in Dust is in suggestive poses or anything like that, it's like the depths of the internet have changed peoples perception permanently.
Disliking the art style is fine, I have my own gripes with it at times but to see that a number of people feel genuinely uneasy when faced with a humanoid animal design is something I can't quite grasp, it's not like anyone in Dust is in suggestive poses or anything like that, it's like the depths of the internet have changed peoples perception permanently.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Have you ever considered that the situation with indie game maybe also highlights a problem in the other direction?
When it's a smaller scale game, made by a more approachable, "real" person, perhaps people suddenly feel a bit bad about the urge to be a dick. When they're reminded that making games is actually hard, and something most of the people criticizing are incapable of doing.
Because honestly, a lot of "slams" and "criticism" that comes from gamers, directed at products from larger companies, comes off as petulant and silly. Nevermind the things people say about gaming personalities, and the bizarre attributes they project onto them - the over-analysis of every statement.
Not to say "indie" games are beyond criticism - far from it. I am just observing that perhaps there are reasons why people cut out the usual, often exaggerated, bullshit when faced with a human element they cannot simply dismiss.
Really? Didn't the SuperMeatBoy guys say they made more money on PC than they made on XBLA? And that was a pretty popular game.
Edit: Yup, it's sold better on PC than it did on XBLA. Not saying this is true for everything, but stating "XBLA games still sell the most out of all the online stores" is obviously not universally true.
transience
Member
Also, it's probably just from reading/discussing this game for the last 3+ years, but god damn am I tired of the furry thing overshadowing all discussion on this game. I wish we could just have a rational conversation on the other aspects of the game without that stuff dominating everything.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
I find it quite sad that the art-style of this game is what generated the most discussion instead of everything else about it that makes it so excellent (although I also happen to like the art-style, myself). I played Dust through to completion and it was a real joy. Hopefully it did well enough for Noogy that he can make another fantastic game!
Yeah, cause ~$700K net for a one-man project is abject poverty. Stop wasting time on GAF, Mitt, you've got campaigning to do!