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    The Humble Indie Bundle and the growing exasperation behind it.

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    zolkowski

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    #1  Edited By zolkowski

    I've noticed a startling number of people become upset of the humble indie bundle and other similar kick-offs. Complaining of too much frequency, too much greed, and that it's just a scheme. If the end result is that these are all true, but the result is also getting an obscenely good deal on games on top of a charity donation is there really any room to complain?

    I know, I know, the people involved with these bundles are out for money as are the developers, and I am sure they are gaining huge profits from them - at the same result without these profits we would not get deals like this anymore and the benefit of a charity behind the works would not be there. Most of us don't donate, and we will only donate (see: kickstarter) if there is something out for us to gain. In this case we gain many indie games. I honestly don't care if that's what forces to people to give in some way shape or form so long as they are giving.

    The reason for bringing this up was reading reactions for the debacle on the latest HIB raising the minimum to $1 dollar after there were people abusing the system to make new accounts on steam and enter the hopeless wishlist giveaway. http://blog.humblebundle.com/post/14549340777/1-min-price-for-getting-steam-keys We get quotes like:

    Oh please. If the HIB folk are so concerned about the charity, then let them give /all/ the money collected to charity. The indie bundle are quite happy to abuse charity for their own financial gain. And, TBH, it's getting quite boring, especially as other indie developers jump on the bandwagon. I'd much prefer them to write decent games that sell without them needing to pretend it's all for charity when it clearly isn't. We don't need games in exchange for donating to a worthwhile cause - of which there are plenty but "indie gamers" are not one of them

    It scares me more and more how people defend the humble indie bundles, don't you realize it's just mass relief? it's shit marketed as holy and everybody falls for it because it's "indie", "indie" is not sinonim with puppies or love or what's left of good in mankind, indie just means the people making those games don't want to work for no fucking company and would rather stay independent, it's NOT a fountain of goodness, it's NOT the answer to everything, so stop defending these over glorified platformers for fucks sake they're just using YOU.

    And posts like this are getting a lot of support. What good would it be if the HIB kept letting people abuse the steam system, steam pulls it support for the bundles, the bundle sells less, and people are grabbing at such a low cost it's not even covering the bandwidth usage on their website let alone download costs? We would not see deals like this anymore because everyone would know people would just abuse the system. As for those getting sick of seeing all the bundles - really? You are discontent because of websites you don't even have to visit has too many obscenely good deals?

    I can't even fathom this line of thinking, and I am hoping it's not just me. Even if you don't like these games you can at least acknowledge the good coming from it and shun those who abuse it. It's like someone invites you to their fridge to have whatever you like, and some fuckface packs a bag full of their food. You are literally costing them money when you pull shit like the steam scam and it's a disgrace.

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    spazmaster666

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    #2  Edited By spazmaster666

    You CAN give your entire donation to charity though. It's one of the options you can pick when you choose where you want your money to go to. So I don't see how that guy's argument is at all valid when in fact, it is the donating person that chooses where the money to they donate will go.

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    alistercat

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    #3  Edited By alistercat

    Some people are so scared of not being in the loop, of being caught out that they nay say, doubt and act suspicious, paranoid and cynical about everything so that they won't be caught out and that they'll be the only ones who know the truth and really know what's going on while the rest of us idiots get scammed or tricked in to believing others.

    Pathetic.

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    EightBitShik

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    #4  Edited By EightBitShik

    As a person who raises money for Child's Play all year it was nice to be able to get free games and donate again to that charity. Sorry to the devs but it went 100% to CP. I don't know if that is worse then people giving absolutely nothing but to be honest at the end of the day these companies donating know what they are getting into and they came out a head from what I read so win win for everyone.

    CP brokes crazy records this year too btw.

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    trace

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    #5  Edited By trace

    The logic behind those quotes -- if you can even call it logic -- is incredibly silly, especially given that donators can direct their donated money however they please. The fact their complaints are getting any support is beyond sad.

    I certainly wouldn't be against a minimum price for the Humble Bundles, and setting a minimum for Steam keys is a good idea, especially given the potential for abuse during this holiday sale, with abusers trying to constantly roll that awesome free game they can gift themselves (or coal, like you say). I understand that the "pay what you want" quirk really adds to the bundle's image of an outrageously good bargain (since, y'know, it is), but adding a payment level for the convenience of Steam is certainly reasonable, much like their "beat the average" bonuses. Small donations get eaten up very easily by transaction fees, and were I in charge of the Humble Bundles, I'd want to discourage that in a way where you're not taking too much away from cheap assholes people who somehow believe your bundle's worth less than a buck.

    I have to imagine most of the backlash is just people being cheap or throwing a fit because their little contest-abusing scheme's been ruined. Outrageous bargains bring out the worst people...at least, I hope that's the case here.

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    benjaebe

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    #6  Edited By benjaebe

    I like the Humble Indie Bundle, but I do wish they'd space out time between the bundles a bit more. It seems like every other week they're coming out with a new one. I like donating and all, but a little time between bundles would be nice and it would probably give them more time to get more indie devs on board.

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    MariachiMacabre

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    #7  Edited By MariachiMacabre

    @PsEG said:

    The logic behind those quotes -- if you can even call it logic -- is incredibly silly, especially given that donators can direct their donated money however they please. The fact their complaints are getting any support is beyond sad.

    I certainly wouldn't be against a minimum price for the Humble Bundles, and setting a minimum for Steam keys is a good idea, period, especially given the potential for abuse during this holiday sale, with abusers trying to constantly roll that awesome free game they can gift themselves (or coal, like you say). I understand that the "pay what you want" quirk really adds to the bundle's image of an outrageously good bargain (since, y'know, it is), but adding a payment level for the convenience of Steam is certainly reasonable, much like their "beat the average" bonuses. Small donations get eaten up very easily by transaction fees, and were I in charge of the Humble Bundles, I'd want to discourage that in a way where you're not taking too much away from cheap assholes people who somehow believe your bundle's worth less than a buck.

    I have to imagine most of the backlash is just people being cheap or throwing a fit because their little contest-abusing scheme's been ruined. Outrageous bargains bring out the worst people...at least, I hope that's the case here.

    Pretty much this. People who complain about the Humble Bundle don't understand what the bundle is about.

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    Akyho

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    #8  Edited By Akyho

    The recent HiB I saw no games i cared about. Know what I did? I didn't buy it at all. A choice people seem to forget and instead its Buy it or try and destroy it.

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    Ben_H

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    #9  Edited By Ben_H

    Firstly, the person in that argument is too stupid to spell synonym  correctly and claims the people working on those games do in fact want to work a game company while staying independent at the same time (IE: he's too stupid to check for double negatives, something you learn fairly early on in school).  Secondly, 30 seconds of research would have 100% destroyed his entire argument. You can donate all or none of the money to charity, based on your preference. I usually lean it so charity gets slightly more. It even shows this on the front page at the bottom where you enter your billing info.
      
    In regards to that thread topic, it should be Steam keys only for those who beat the average.  If you're paying a penny in the first place your an asshole abusing a company trying to do a nice thing and raise money for a good cause in a unique way. The saying "This is why we can't have nice things." is a direct result of jerks that do stuff like the stuff people are doing to Humble Bundle.
     
    Also, lots of people are calling for them to have a minimum to cover costs of credit/debit transactions and whatnot and I think that is entirely fair. It would only be about $0.50. 
     
    For the record, I've bought every bundle other than the Introversion one (I already own all of those games), and have always paid at least $10 or $2 per game, which ever is more money and buy an extra for my mom if there are games she would like in it (I got her hooked on Osmos, and a couple others).  It is one of the best values you can get for games.

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    Choffy

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    #10  Edited By Choffy

    A little unrelated, but I always read it as the "Indie Humble Bundle." Seems to flow off the tongue much better.

    Anyways, I get good games, Child's Play get $16, and the other $4 is split however they want to do it. I don't see how anyone loses.

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    Nottle

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    #11  Edited By Nottle

    I always like to pay a dollar or two more than the average. I feel like this is a win win for everyone. I get games, developers get money and recognition, and we can all feel good knowing we helped someone less fortunate.

    Also my computer is a mac, half the time some of the games I get don't work, (shank, Nightsky, Cogs, and Crayon Physics Deluxe all crash as soon as I try to play them.) I see it as I'm paying for a few games I really wanted, that I would have bought on sale anyway.

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    McShank

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    #12  Edited By McShank

    I love the indie bundles... If it wasn't Xmas and I wasn't already strapped for cash, I would buy more of them to give away through the forums or to friends as gifts later down the road. I put most towards developers and 1/3 to charity but Who cares if they are in it for the money.. Most of the money goes to charity / developers anyways and the bandwidth to host that site and the dl's is probably alot more then what they rake in.

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    shikon

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    #13  Edited By shikon

    people complaining about geting good games for 1e....

    they even let them email humble for steam keys ? if i was them i would look at the email and go yo son 1 cent for all these games and charity have fun with a banned email adress.

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    WickedCobra03

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    #14  Edited By WickedCobra03

    I bought the indie humble bundle this year and ended up paying $15 even though I already own like 2 or 3 games out of the original Indie Humble Bundle 4. I already own the humble bundle 3, so that wasn't a huge attractor. I mean I do see where being a jerk and only paying $0.01 is kind of a jerk move in that you are not really supporting anyone, but you are not even covering bandwidth costs...

    ...on the other hand, they say that these games are well worth over $100 for the original 5 games, I might put that at more like $50, and that would be pushing it really. I am not saying these are not great experiences, but if someone doesn't like the gameplay out maybe 2 of the games, those games just sit there. And sure, a dollar for steam keys sounds fair just to keep good graces with steam. Now if people share their steam keys with others, I think that is what their main problem is, I feel like that is pretty dirty overally and I would never do it, but the more restrictions you place on things, the less sympathetic I become.

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    WickedCobra03

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    #15  Edited By WickedCobra03

    @Nottle said:

    I always like to pay a dollar or two more than the average. I feel like this is a win win for everyone. I get games, developers get money and recognition, and we can all feel good knowing we helped someone less fortunate.

    Also my computer is a mac, half the time some of the games I get don't work, (shank, Nightsky, Cogs, and Crayon Physics Deluxe all crash as soon as I try to play them.) I see it as I'm paying for a few games I really wanted, that I would have bought on sale anyway.

    Same deal here. I think it was Nightsky and Crayon Physics on my Macintosh that crashed... and if I paid well over their value at $100, I would be livid, let me tell you, but only paying $15, I am not going to be the most mad, as long as they update them I guess. I am lucky enough to have a windows and linux box as well, but for people that don't, that is a shame, and I would really hope that they can patch them up a bit, and put those up for download for free.

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    misterhaan

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    #16  Edited By misterhaan

    i bought all the bundles: humble indie, indie royale, and indie gala. indie royale doesn't support charity but their first bundle had 2 games i wanted. i figure $5 for at least 4 games is something i can afford to encourage more cheap bundles, and when it's a numbered humble indie bundle i send $50 - $100 extra to eff, except for 4 where eff wasn't an option (i'll do it next bundle, even if it's not a numbered one). i figure $5 is a pretty good deal for me and enough that they're still making money (though probably not much), so even if i have some of the games i'll still buy for at least $5.

    since i've bought all of them and can't afford to drop $50 - $100 to eff with as often as the humble bundles come out, i understand people saying there are too many bundles coming out. i wouldn't have to buy them all, but it's oh so tempting! it's the best kind of problem to have though -- too many great deals. it also leads to the problem of acquiring new games faster than i can play them, which is another good problem which insulates me from spending a lot on steam sales.

    i've been introduced to some really great games through humble bundles (haven't actually played any of the others yet), like aquaria, penumbra, trine, and osmos; which i may not have tried or even heard about otherwise. so overall the abundance of indie bundles is a very good thing for me!

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    koolaid

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    #17  Edited By koolaid

    @Akyho said:

    The recent HiB I saw no games i cared about. Know what I did? I didn't buy it at all. A choice people seem to forget and instead its Buy it or try and destroy it.

    Amen duder.

    I see a lot of people on here say they like to give it all to charity. Funny, I always give it all ( or most ) to the devs. I feel like that's a charity too in it's own way.

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