Manifesto Games is now offering 1893: A World's Fair Mystery for download. This is the first time that 1893: AWFM is being offered as a downloaded purchase -- up until now, purchasing required a physical object to be mailed the old fashioned way to your door. I was simply not equipped to handle downloadable purchases, and in any case, it was not the business model I was particularly interested in. But then an article in WIRED Magazine about a new online game distributor called "Manifesto Games" made me change my mind.
The magazine article talked about Manifesto Games' vision, which is worth quoting from their site:
Manifesto Games is in part a wild-eyed, radical and utopian attempt to transform the game industry by recapturing the creative vigor, willingness to experiment, and exciting potential of its youth--and in part a sober, carefully planned ecommerce venture.For years, we've been looking for ways to break free of the constraints of the conventional market and create for the game industry what independent music and independent film create for their own fields: a way for individual creative vision to reach a market, and for the field as a whole to be able to innovate and take risks at lower costs than conventional game development now demands.
In essence, we, like many developers, have become increasingly frustrated with the contraints forced on gaming by ever-spiralling budgets. Massive bureaucratic teams make it hard to sustain creative vision; risk averse publishers become less and less willing to risk experimentation; and independent developers find it harder and harder to get to the point of being self-sustaining, because at current budgets it takes a miracle for a game to sell well enough to generate actual royalties.
After reading the article, I immediately got into contact with the folks at Manifesto Games and basically told them: I want to be a part of that! We have a shared vision. And as it turns out, they agreed. While my general rule follows Groucho Marx in never wanting to be part of a club that would have me as a member, I take exception here. Manifesto Games is trying to make a difference. Here's hoping our partnership can help us both succeed.
As an added bonus, I've asked Manifesto to sell 1893: AWFM at a substantial discount: $14.95. That's five dollars less than the CD version. And while there's still nothing quite as satisfying as holding a phsyical copy of a game, immediate gratification and a nice discount rank up there pretty close.
You can buy 1893: AWFM at Manifesto Games here. And while you're there, be sure to look around at all the other cool Indie games available.