This game looks great but I no longer do the Pre-Order thing, for Indie Games especially.

I realize it helps the developers but World of Goo really ruined the whole idea of Pre-Ordering indie games for me.

First, there are no set release dates. That's fine, but don't ask for pre-orders until you've focused on a release date, even if you can't pinpoint a specific date, you should have an idea of the Month in which you'll be finished the game (barring unforeseen events).

Second, don't promise things you can't provide. People who pre-ordered World of Goo received nothing extra for pre-ordering. I paid the same price that others paid once Goo was released, unfortunately the guys at 2dboy promised a profanity pack which would arrive shortly after release AND it would ONLY be available to those who pre-ordered... It might not seem like much, but I don't like being lied to just so you can get my money sooner rather than later. Anyway, lesson learned.

Have a clear vision of what your game will be, an idea of when it will be released, and only list the things you will actually provide with the game (especially if you make promises for those that pre-order).

Still looking forward to this game, but I'll wait for it's release. Again, I don't do pre-orders anymore thanks to World of Goo.

Think about it, great game, made a shitload of money, and the developers couldn't care less about the people that had actually pre-ordered the game. An empty promise is an empty promise. Hopefully others have learned, but I know there will always be those who are desperate to part with their money, and that's fine, it's their money. I just plan on being on of the smarter spenders out there from now on. No more pre-orders for Indie games.

The obvious reason to pre-order is if you are excited about the game, and want to play it earlier.

This looks great, I've got to try it.

i'm one of the testers already for this game (i didn't pre-order it, i just know the developer) but i can recommend it, it's pretty good. just be aware it's still very rough.

i wouldn't judge one indie game dev by another: just because world of goo failed to meet a promise doesn't mean cliffski won't; besides, he isn't promising anything, so it's kind of irrelevant what world of goo promised. besides, the world of goo developers aren't a good standard to judge all indie game developers by; they're ex-EA employees with venture capital and a business plan, not bedroom coders. i can understand being burned once makes you less likely to trust others, but people differ from one another.

as an aside, i think this is a pretty good practise and i wish more indie developers would do it; mount and blade did this as well if i recall. i also plan to do this for my game. but i do agree that the price for the preorder should be less, since people are taking more of a risk (no demo).

This game looks very good. I'm not going to Pre-order it for the same reason mentioned above. There's also a forum thread regarding the choice made by 2DBoy to snub their fans (might be more than one) but I've seen it even on the 2Dboy forum, including a number of people upset with the lack of response to tech support and customer service (probably farther into the post-release, but still, I thought indie developers cared about their customers and the product that they were releasing... obviously this isn't always so). I don't have much to complain about the game itself, but I was one of the schmucks that pre-ordered it and was reminding not too long ago that there was supposed to be the extra perks for the people who pre-ordered the game. Namely the "profanity pack". I'm a bit disappointed, especially since I was kinda coaxed by that selling point. I guess they made their money and ran with it.

Just to reiterate my point, I purchased Aquaria back when it came out and I think the most important thing I noticed was how well the developers at bit-blot communicated with their customers ("Audience"). To this day, the devs are willing to help out in any way that they can and I'm sure that they are busy with newer projects (and life in general). If that point doesn't hit home well enough then obviously this sort of complaint is falling on deaf ears...

To be perfectly honest World of Goo wasn't really one of my all-time favorite games AND I did enjoy Aquaria much more than it, but that might be because I'm the type of gamer who enjoys a good story with the game. Still, I feel a little put-off by the fact that I pre-ordered World of Goo on the pretense that I would be receiving a bonus for the game. There's no use crying about it, which is what I'm sure a lot of people might say, especially by those that might be "Fanboys" (or Girls) of the game, but it has taught me a lesson, and because of this lesson I will probably save money in the future before running off and pre-ordering any indie game.

It's kind of a shame because the way I saw it was I was helping the "little guy" out. I think the original commenter stated well when they said "An empty promise is an empty promise". This has just made me think about it more.

However, I know that Positech is a different developer, and I really like their games. But the first comment hit the nail on the head for me. It makes sense and he's got a valid argument. It doesn't mean that I expect anything additional to be offered as was the case with World of Goo if you pre-ordered it, but I think I can wait it out. I'm looking forward to this new game because it does look very good but I won't be picking it up until it is released. That way most of the bugs and annoyances will be fixed and the demo will be a great taste of what the final product will be and I can decide then if my hard earned dollars will be spent or saved for something else.

I do like some of the other Positech games though (I originally got hooked on Space Tycoon and a couple of their other games such as democracy, while Kudos was a little more on-again-off-again for me). The point is, I do enjoy the majority of the games released by Positech but having a negative experience with one indie developer is enough to put people off with others especially in regards to pre-ordering.

Hope that doesn't make me sound like an ass or anything because I really do enjoy a lot of the Indie games out there, more often than mainstream releases. I just don't like the feeling of someone pulling a fast one on me, for whatever reason.
I think that's understandable.

@Paul,

Your comment came up as I was posting my comment so I didn't get to see it before posting.

I think you're right, and I do agree with you. I guess it would just be fair to say that after World of Goo I was left with a rotten feeling of disregard for the customer.

I think everything you said was fair and honest and you're right, Positech has promised nothing - which at the very least, is honest. I would also have to agree though, that the price is a little steep for a pre-order that has no set release, bonuses, or perks. The beta is interesting, but that's also like being able to play with half of a toy you paid for entirely... and then you're left to wait until the rest of it is finished which could be... anytime. I'm not really complaining about this game and I don't want to stray too far off topic, I guess I just want the value and respect as a customer if I'm going to pay for a pre-order and know that I can come back if I do have a problem (and receive a response).

Judging by the forums over at Positechs website it looks like the developer is involved with his customer base and cares about his games and creations. That is great, perhaps I will pre-order the game eventually, but I think I'll wait a little because it is a bit too pricey for me right now.

Good job pointing out that the guys (or guy) at Positech isn't a dead-beat though! :-D Unlike others...

Everyone who pre-ordered World of Goo also got the first chapter of the game 6 or 7 months before everyone else, and the full game, when it was ready, a week before everyone else.

I seem to remember buying WoG only a couple of days after the pre-ordered release. I guess i'd be a little ticked if I paid for something and didn't receiving everything that was promised as well. I don't think Cliffski would do that though. I don't remember any unkept promises for any of his releases. I guess it makes sense to watch who you're buying from though.

Will there be any sort of DRM?