My thoughts on the latest Humble Bundle

[ELD]

Just to highlight this http://www.gamingonlinux.com/index.php?threads/humble-not-so-friendly-anymore-bundle.1490/ I did a write up on the recent controversy of Humble Bundle doing a Windows only bundle from a not very friendly developer.

[dmn_clown]

Just to highlight this http://www.gamingonlinux.com/index.php?threads/humble-not-so-friendly-anymore-bundle.1490/ I did a write up on the recent controversy of Humble Bundle doing a Windows only bundle from a not very friendly developer.

Instead of supporting a disaster relief charity and giving your friends or family members free games, you've chosen to uphold the linux using fundamentalist stereotype.

You should be be proud of yourself.

[timetopat]

Is it really the end of the world? I mean all of my friends are so happy this bundle exists. I guess gamers are the ones who are happy and those who put entitlement and their own principles first are not.

In that thread I see someone talking about how windows users are cheap and how this is more than games. But the thing is, to practically everyone, it is just games.

[ELD]

@dmn_clown (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=18326)
Hello Mr keyboard warrior!

My post is nothing to do with bashing charity I guess you didn't read it thoroughly as I make that point.

If people want to donate to charity then they can easily and directly to the charity, it's never been hard to donate to charity. That way you also know exactly how much goes to them without middlemen ;)

The whole point of the post...to repeat the post...they have done a DRM filled bundle from a company that supported shady internet bills that would have lost us a lot of freedom if they went through.

Sorry if I sound rude but try reading before you bash me.

Why would i support this? There is no good reason, no Linux support, DRM, shady developer.

@timetopat (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=1662658)
Are your friends windows users by any chance to like this bundle?

[rudeboyskunk]

I agree with ELD re: charity. Several people have been fence-sitting on this issue..."Well, it's from HB who usually do everything cross-platform and DRM-free, but it DOES go to charity, so if I say this is a bad idea then I'm anti-charity, right?" Wrong. Charity existed before HB, charity will exist after HB. If you feel that strongly about giving to charity, then you don't need the reward of a game to give money.

What irks me about the whole situation now is that Windows owns the gaming market and if a game maker wants to sell their product on the Windows platform, they have a much larger potential customer base and an industry of support (read: graphics card makers) behind them. Why would they try to move in on one of the few small things Linux users have?

[Sableyes]

Humble Bundle don't look so Humble. :(

[Am Elder]

I was taken aback by the Windows-only, DRM-ridden, totally-non-indie bundle too. But I think we're looking at this from the wrong angle. The Humble Bundle guys have earned a bit of trust from Linux gamers and we should give them the benefit of the doubt for a while, for a long while, actually.

A recent interview with Linux porting expert Ryan C. "Icculus" Gordon (http://cheerfulghost.com/panickedthumb/posts/771) shows why. In the interview, Icculus credits the HIB with being one of the driving forces behind advancing Linux as a gaming platform in the eyes of the industry. For instance he says "No one is advocating the Linux platform more than they are." He's on the inside a bit and he sees that they have an ongoing commitment to bringing games to Linux.

So this sale is bringing revenue to the bundle, and bringing new gamers to the Humble site. It's good for Humble guys so it's good for Linux gaming because they're going to continue to bring more gamers, companies, and games to our platform of choice and what helps the Humble Bundle flourish also helps the the best advocate for Linux gaming.

[Carborundum]

As a consumer, I don't really have a problem with the THQ bundle. What bothers me about it in the message it sends to indie developers. They have all had to invest considerable amounts of time and money into porting their games to get into one of the previous Humble Bundles. Now all of a sudden THQ gets a free pass from that. Why? Is it because their games are better? Is it because they can't afford it? Is it because it would be difficult? I am genuinely curious about what the Humble Bundle's reasons are.

Furthermore, if I were an indie developer wanting to get my game into a future bundle, I would be considerably less inclined to put serious effort into my ports, knowing that the same rules apparently do not apply to everyone.

[ELD]

Well they actually have an in-house Linux porter now so it won't usually be down to the original developers it seems to port to Linux.

[holastickboy]

I agree, I hate DRM. I went to play Bioshock 2 the other day, and was annoyed at the 15 minute after the installation setup just to play it (had to activate, had to register the same serial on games for windows live, had to manually download games for windows live, retrieve account, update the game, restart games for windows live, redownload profile after update, then play).

I don't like DRM because it makes games harder to play, and seldomly does the quality of the DRM match the quality of the game. That being said, however, I do have over 200 games on my Steam library, so I don't boycott DRM games (except ubisoft ones, they are a mess). I also have several dozen games from Gog.com, so I do support DRM free when it's available.

The THQ bundle was nice for me, because I didn't have the games on the bundle. It's a shame that they weren't cross platform, or DRM free, but my guess is that Humble Bundle didn't have much choice on that. Nonetheless, if it means that people give to charity, who would've just given the money to Valve, then things are a little bit better, imo. It's not like most of the people who bought the bundle were going to give money to charity and just bumped into the bundle ;)

[weasel fierce]

It does kind of defeat the point of the humble bundles. It used to be that every bundle was DRM free, every bundle was indie games, every bundle was multiplatform and that was how it worked.

So I am a little disappointed. In the end, the charities will still make out, and it's hard to argue against that. I guess just shrug and send a donation to something of your choice.

I hate to sound like a linux zealot, but does THQ really need a humble bundle? Maybe we can do an EA bundle, or a Halo bundle.

[JDShu]

I hate to sound like a linux zealot, but does THQ really need a humble bundle? Maybe we can do an EA bundle, or a Halo bundle.

Giving to THQ is pretty much giving to charity ;)

[kchaosrei]

Anyone who thinks that the humble bundle is for the linux crowd is very foolish. It has never had to do with drm free, cross platform, or anything else. humble bundle is about giving incentives to gamers to help those in need. remember that you can choose to give it all to charity and when i do a purchase i do just that.

You may not like the company that made those games. Fine don't contribute this time. But to cry that humble bundle is selling out is a retarded. A few people may think the humble bundle was made to be for everyone, Its not! Its to help those in need, not some guy that can spend his free time writing bias dribble.

Humble bundle has to get permission and make deals to provide these games for this purpose. No game manufacture has to allow humble bundle to make these deals. Why would humble bundle group say to a company" Sry you dont do cross plat form or drm free games".

This christmas i hope that the orginal poster/ blog writer will look back at his writing and see how wrong the article is. This could of been a story of how an AAA company gave a little back in the time of being thankful of what we have. how they are helping good charities like child play and red cross earn funding. Instead its a piece about how he views a betrayal of his ideals. Get over your self.

O so people don’t think i am a THQ fan boy or something. I am going to state the obvious here. The goal of THQ is obviously to get some good will with the gaming crowd and help there rep in the eyes of the public. the company is doing this for there own reasons like most do. But that doesn’t mean that there aren't good people there either that helped make this package happen.

I hope that this season we all remember that there always people in need and one shouldn't bash others for doing what they can to help.

[Grenage]

To be honest, when I think of the Humble Indie Bundles, charity doesn't even cross my mind.

I've previously used them simply because it allowed me to a) buy some games that run on Linux, and b) let me specify what I think the game was worth (which to be fair, is hard when you haven't played it yet). I don't have a problem with DRM, as long as I don't find it too restrictive.

Charity donations are something I will always do separately, where I decide exactly what charities the money will go to.

For the record, while I didn't buy this bundle, I did once purchase a THQ mega pack on steam.

[JDShu]

Anyone who thinks that the humble bundle is for the linux crowd is very foolish. It has never had to do with drm free, cross platform, or anything else. humble bundle is about giving incentives to gamers to help those in need. remember that you can choose to give it all to charity and when i do a purchase i do just that.
.

Are you kidding me?? Of COURSE it had to do with DRM. Of COURSE it had to do with Linux support. Did you even follow what these guys have been doing? Yes, giving to charity was important too. Giving indie game developers a much needed income boost was also part of it.

The Humble Indie Bundle was a whole bunch of good things "bundled" into one. That's why up until now I've purchased EVERY humble bundle, and for quite a lot. I wanted people who were brave and crazy enough to develop indie games with no drm and support a range of platforms.

TLDR: You don't get to define what the humble bundle was about.

[holastickboy]

Agreed, one of their biggest drawcards is that their releases are generally DRM free, and cross-platform.

[Elfy]

Thread moved to The Community Cafe.

[kchaosrei]

[QUOTE=JDShu;12388736]Are you kidding me?? Of COURSE it had to do with DRM. Of COURSE it had to do with Linux support. QUOTE]

This last bundle just proves how wrong u are.

quote from the humble bundle site.

Support amazing charities. Choose how your purchase is divided: to the Child’s Play Charity, the American Red Cross, and/or to THQ. And if you like this promotion, a tip to the Humble Bundle would be greatly appreciated!

They also mention to pay as much as u want and divid the cash. but thats not where we disagree. In the past they advertised that those bundles were linux and drm free. They never said that they were always going to do that.

I am not against Linux people getting games. But thinking you own something cause they did soemthing u liked in the past is foolish. The top donators/buyers understand that this is something greater than them.

JDshu thinks its all about his desires. He missed out on games for cheep this time and he is upset. Also this elitest atitiude and that something is just for one plat form is going have to dispear.

[JDShu]

This last bundle just proves how wrong u are.

quote from the humble bundle site.

Support amazing charities. Choose how your purchase is divided: to the Child’s Play Charity, the American Red Cross, and/or to THQ. And if you like this promotion, a tip to the Humble Bundle would be greatly appreciated!

They also mention to pay as much as u want and divid the cash. but thats not where we disagree. In the past they advertised that those bundles were linux and drm free. They never said that they were always going to do that.


I don't think I understand what you mean by "The Humble Bundle" at this point. The last bundle did indeed show that DRM and Linux is not a concern for the organization behind it. On the other hand, the past Humble Bundles have indeed been about DRM, cross platform, charities and all that good stuff. And that is what I was referring to. Up until the THQ bundle, those principles have been emphasized.

Let me quote what you said again right here:



Anyone who thinks that the humble bundle is for the linux crowd is very foolish. It has never had to do with drm free, cross platform, or anything else. humble bundle is about giving incentives to gamers to help those in need. remember that you can choose to give it all to charity and when i do a purchase i do just that.
Emphasis mine. Clearly what you said there is a false statement. The first Indie Bundle, for example, greatly emphasized cross platform games with no DRM.



I am not against Linux people getting games. But thinking you own something cause they did soemthing u liked in the past is foolish. The top donators/buyers understand that this is something greater than them.

JDshu thinks its all about his desires. He missed out on games for cheep this time and he is upset. Also this elitest atitiude and that something is just for one plat form is going have to dispear.This is called a strawman argument. It is when you put words into the mouth of the person you're arguing with. Read about it on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man). While you're at it, check out http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ for more pitfalls. This will help you make more intelligent arguments in the future.

[JDShu]

The top donators/buyers understand that this is something greater than them.


This is actually a very disturbing statement. What do you mean by this (I assume the Humble Bundle) being greater than donors and buyers? :/

[Trammer]

Anyone who thinks that the humble bundle is for the linux crowd is very foolish. It has never had to do with drm free, cross platform, or anything else. humble bundle is about giving incentives to gamers to help those in need. remember that you can choose to give it all to charity and when i do a purchase i do just that.

How very wrong you are.

Humble Bundle are perfectly within their rights to do as they please, and move in any direction they feel is best, but that doesn't change the fact that DRM free and cross platform were big, advertised attributes of early Humble Bundles.

You can't rewrite history.

[ELD]

JDShu knows what he is talking about and he is right.

The HIB was always about DRM-free and cross platform hence the image i included in the article the owner even said being tied to one service was not what it was about.

This is a money grab and you are being blind if you think otherwise they really let us down. It was never about supporting those in need, Humble is a company out to make money just like all other companies. They used the charity as a hook to get others interested.