Friday, March 4, 2011

The frustrations of game development, chapter 1: Knee Deep In Singapore ...

Just recently, a video game I worked on, Avalis Dungeon, was released on the XBOX 360. Gamers have given it a solid 4/5 rating, whereas on-line reviews and word has not been kind. Totally understandable, the game is interesting, has great artwork, but overall, it's the first entry to a larger story, so I fully understand why people may be frustrated by the lack of character and overall story development.

Or whatever.

That said, I receive the analytics from the dude who hired me, a very level-headed Frenchman named Louis. Every day, I pour over the sales results of the game I was lucky enough to work on, and while the game itself seems to be selling pretty well (priced at 240 Microsoft points, the equivelent of three actual dollars) with one notable country not purchasing more than one copy.

Singapore. How is this possible? Anime-inspired graphics, an over-the-top, highly sexualized story and characters not selling in a country known for cleanliness and censorship?

Certainly this is an abberation.

One sale in Singapore. I salute you, one man who plays Avalis Dungeon. I salute you, mightily. Thank you for buying our game. You may not even be a man. You may be a woman. Still, thank you for buying our game. Spread the word. I get ten percent of the game's sales.

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