new post from Aaron at Big Finish Games

It's been an interesting couple of months for us. I think 3 Cards to MIDNIGHT stirred up a lot of interest because it was the first game Chris and I had done for a long time. People tried it out and, while a lot of people liked it (some even LOVED it ), it wasn't as close to a Tex Murphy game as some had hoped (even though we'd tried to make clear that it wasn't going to be).

We've learned some important things in the past year, the biggest one being that, while the casual games market is huge, it's not good for 3rd party developers like Big Finish, Inc. We've had literally hundreds of thousands of people download our games for the free 60 minute trial; of those, less than 5% actually purchase the game. And that's TYPICAL. As far as I know, games rarely get even close to a 10% attach rate.

Then, when you factor in the tiny cut we get from the distributors - usually 30% or less of the discounted purchase price - the "huge" casual game market does not pay off at all.

Our hope with the 3 Cards series was to create a game that would be casual enough to appeal to casual gamers, but offer enough story and challenge to please the more core adventure gamers; after making these two games, I'm not sure it's even possible. Many casual gamers aren't patient enough to get into the story and think even the easiest difficulty levels are too hard, while many adventure gamers find the structure too restrictive and repetitive. We used to think that there was some crossover there (and maybe there will be in the future), but what makes a successful casual game is mostly a direct contradiction to adventure design.

At this point, Chris and I in deep discussions about our future. Unless something significant changes in the casual market, it's just not viable for us as a 3rd party developer. The only way to make any money at all is to do contract work (which we are doing) and get paid to develop a game for a publisher. It doesn't pay much, but it's guaranteed income and that keeps us in business.

In the near future, expect to hear an announcement about a return to our roots: a traditional (though updated and contemporary) adventure game. This may be our swan song, but we're not going to die on the vine without shooting off all our ammo in one last attempt. We feel a bit like Butch and Sundance down in Bolivia...let's just hope for a happier ending!

To everyone who reads this: Thanks for your support - we're doing this for you guys!

Aaron