Why the game won't be free

It dawned on us that we haven't really made any clear statement as to whether the game will cost money or be free. So in the interest of clearing things up a bit, here's the model we're currently considering:

The first chapter will be released for free, to give everyone a fair chance to try the game and see if they like it. The following four chapters will cost money, however if you pre-order them before the game is released you will get them at a discounted price. The system for pre-ordering will come online sometime next week hopefully. Pre-ordering the game will let you play the second chapter immediately.

Though we'd like to release the game for free, we simply can't afford it. We're only two guys working from our homes. We don't have any investors or publishers backing us up. We've been working on The Dream Machine for almost two years now, and we've put a lot of time and soul into making it.

We'd also put the money we hopefully make into working on another game like this. So if you like this type of game, why not vote with your money and support the makers? If you don't support this type of niche games, they will vanish and be replaced by bland same-y shooter clones, like Call of Honor™, Medal of Duty™ and Modern Halo™.

In an effort to make everybody happy, we will release the game as cheaply as we possibly can. That is the best we can do without going bankrupt. If you'd like to chime in on what you think is a fair price, feel free to do so in the comments. We will keep your opinion in mind as we decide on the final price point.

More about that next week.

Cheers,

 – a

Would you buy a used car from these guys?

Just a quick heads-up to say that development on Chapter 2 is almost complete, and we're gearing up to launch the first two chapters in the coming weeks. It's a frightening – but very exciting – prospect. We've been working on this beast for two years now, and being at a stage where it's time to release it into the world, makes us feel like nervous parents seeing their kid off to their first day of school.

The beta testing of Chapter 2 is now over and we thank everybody who helped us break the game! There's still some minor tweaks to fix, but the bulk of the chapter is robust.

We also had the chance to talk a bit about the game when we where in Texas. If you feel like hearing what we have to say, you can find a stellar write-up/video interview here:

IndiePub interviews The Dream Machine team

Cheers,

 – a