Demo question

[Ghost Dancer]

Hi

I've been lurking here for some time now and thought it was about time to come out of the woodwork and say hello to you all ;)

I will be releasing my first game very soon now (hopefully in a couple of weeks) and I have a question about demo versions.

Now I know this has been discussed several times before, but I also know that opinions change over time and from what I have seen, this is slightly different to the usual discussions (those that I could find anyway).

Basically, instead of having the usual 60 minute demo and the pros's & con's that go with it, I was thinking of doing something slightly different.

Due to the nature of my game (it is a strategy board game) one go can take quite a while to play so for the demo I was thinking of going straight into the tutorial, then straight into a "proper" game, then a "buy now" / "exit" screen. Playing through the tutorial and 1 game would probably take 45 to 60 mins. They could play it as many times as they like but would have to go through the whole process each time.

The full version will have other styles of play, difficulty levels and other features not available in the demo so there should be plenty of incentives to get the full version.

Does this seem like a good idea or not? My thinking behind it is that on a time restricted demo, people can feel rushed. As this is very much a "thinking" game, I want people to take as much time as they like and not feel that the clock is ticking and get kicked out before they have had chance to have a proper go on it.

Your opinions would be very much appreciated. Thanks :)

[tolworthy]

My thinking behind it is that on a time restricted demo, people can feel rushed. As this is very much a "thinking" game, I want people to take as much time as they like and not feel that the clock is ticking
My only experience is with adventure games, and adventure demos are never timed (for exactly the reasons you give). With an adventure it is pretty straightforward to let the user play just the first chapter.

[ManuelMarino]

Hello, I'm curious, which kind of music did you put in the soundtrack?

[Bernard François]

It's a good idea, but I wouldn't force the player to play the tutorial again every time. Maybe there could be a way to skip the tutorial, there are always people who just want to figure out everything on their own. It also wouldn't be nice for a player to have to play the tutorial again after purchasing the game.

[Ghost Dancer]

Thanks for your relpies.

It's a good idea, but I wouldn't force the player to play the tutorial again every time. Maybe there could be a way to skip the tutorial, there are always people who just want to figure out everything on their own. It also wouldn't be nice for a player to have to play the tutorial again after purchasing the game.

That was one of the things I was thinking about. However, if they can skip the tutorial, then they would be able to keep playing the game so I could lose sales.

Maybe if I allow them to play 2 or 3 games after the tutorial? That should give them time to get to grips with it, and hopefully get hooked and buy it :)

ManuelMarino: The music tracks are Ogg format.

[Sillysoft]

Definitely you should go your own route with your game, and not stick to the 60 minute timed demo which has been optimized for casual puzzle games. In my turn-based strategy game the demo is limited to a total of 20 games played (once you start a game it counts it), and this has worked well for me.

I'm always interested to see new turn-based strategy games, and would be happy to take a look at a beta version if you have one.

[ManuelMarino]

Ciao Dustin! :)

Hey Ghost Dancer, I'm interested too in your game, put a link so we can download the demo... by the way, I didn't mean the format, but the style of the soundtrack.

[Ghost Dancer]

Hey Ghost Dancer, I'm interested too in your game, put a link so we can download the demo... by the way, I didn't mean the format, but the style of the soundtrack.

Sorry, the music style is Chinese/Oriental to fit the theme of the game. The demo will be available next week so I'll keep you posted ;)