Avadon: The Black is an old school crpg game created by the legendary Spiderweb Software which created many other old school crpg’s.
Avadon was recently featured on The Humble Indie Bundle.
For everyone who might missed this great offer there is the chance to buy the GNU/Linux version from Gameolith.
I’ve spoken a bit with Jonathan Prior from Gameolith on why should we buy Avadon now, after the HiB is over.
He said that the sales from the Humble Indie Bundle have already covered the cost of the port and that the GNU/Linux version will only be available from Gameolith for the time being.
He also said that this is a test for Gameolith to see if there is money to be made out of GNU/Linux games outside the Humble Indie Bundles.
If they can shift enough units, they can get money from investors for new GNU/Linux ports.
If not, GNU/Linux will cease to be their primary platform and they will concentrate on Windows and MacOS.
So to conclude “If we can get enough sales, then we’ll be able to fund new GNU/Linux ports”.
About Avadon: The Black Fortress
Avadon: The Black Fortress is an epic, Indie fantasy role-playing saga. Form a band of skilled warriors, explore dungeons, hunt for treasure, learn many unique and powerful skills, and attempt to unravel a conspiracy to destroy your homeland!
Five great nations have banded together to form The Pact. The Pact is defended by Avadon, a secretive sect of spies and assassins. Its agents are everywhere. Its word is law.
You have been recruited as a Hand of Avadon, charged with missions that require swift action and a heavy fist. However, the enemies of the Pact have plans of their own, and Hands of Avadon are being picked off one by one. It will fall to you to struggle to survive and to reveal that plot that could shatter the safety of The Pact and plunge your homeland into chaos.
But beware. Allies are few. Traitors are everywhere. And the closer you come to the truth, the closer their assassins will come to you.
Key features:
- Epic, Indie fantasy role-playing adventure in an enormous and unique world.
- Four different character classes, with dozens of unique spells and abilities.
- Uncover the fascinating history of Avadon and the land of Lynaeus.
- Many different endings. Your choices will change the world.
- Dozens of side quests, hidden dungeons, and secrets to discover.
- Hundreds of magical items to find. Use enchanted crystals to make your artifacts even more powerful.
- Huge adventure with lots of replay value.
So they sold it to the bulk of the Linux market and now they want to see if they can sell it to a substantial portion of the Linux market? Hey remember that bridge I sold to that small island no longer off the coast of Costa Rica; you think they’ll wanna buy it again?
That said, I will be funding Linux development via Spiderweb. I just wish they had actually thought this through.
The “Test” is if a GNU/Linux games that were already in the Humble Indie Bundle and were offered at “pay what you want” price, could sell later at full price.
If developers who offer their games in the Humble Indie Bundle could make money after the bundle is over.
And how, exactly, would they fail at making money after the bundle sale is over? They have no more costs, so even a single sale would mean money for them. Put it on Desura or find some other Linux-friendly outlet (better yet, find all of them!) and enjoyed the revenue. It’s not really probable it’s going to be a huge amount, but like I said, someone who’s game had been featured in the HIB has nothing to lose. The real mindfuck are the tons of indie devs who go “hmmm, I think I’ll make a OS X port, that’s maybe 20% sales more”. Look at the HIB results – if OS X is 20%, Linux is 15% – since when is that kind of money unappealing to indie devs? I swear some say “I need to eat”, and then miss a chance to fatten themselves by being fuck yeah lazy.