Launch HN: Dropleaf (YC S17) – subscription service for indie PC games

Re:Launch HN: Dropleaf (YC S17) – subscription service for i... by quadcore on Monday August 07, 2017 @02:21PM (#14949844)

One of the most common mistakes in the industry is to think that games are different than other types of software. That people "consume" them and move on to the next game. That's wrong. Only a very few games get all the play-hours. Most people ever really play one game. The "game of their life". For some it's starcraft, for others it's minecraft. Games are software, the same rules kind of apply: there are only 15 (say) unicorns per year.

A subscription service doesn't make sense in this context because it doesn't make sense for the unicorns to collaborate with you.

What I wish would exist however, is YC for games.

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Re:Launch HN: Dropleaf (YC S17) – subscription service for i... by VikramR on Monday August 07, 2017 @02:28PM (#14949920)

That's definitely an interesting perspective, but I think steam stats say something a little different, there are hundreds, if not thousands of games that move 100K+ units (and see significant played time from their users) each year. That's a whole bunch of games that a significant number of people fall in love with.

But beyond that, I think you just made the case for those games to sign up for a subscription model! If someone's playing a game, say minecraft, month over month, then that developer is getting paid month after month. In other words, if a game takes over someone's life, it'll almost definitely do better per-user on a subscription platform than on a store front.

By the way, check out Flare: http://www.flaregames.com/flare-accelerator/

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Re:Launch HN: Dropleaf (YC S17) – subscription service for i... by quadcore on Monday August 07, 2017 @04:21PM (#14950928)

You - and your YC partners - gonna learn again what a killer app is :)

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Re:Launch HN: Dropleaf (YC S17) – subscription service for i... by VikramR on Monday August 07, 2017 @04:48PM (#14951136)

I totally acknowledge that we're going to need to find a couple of those to get really big, and it's something we're working on!

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Re:Launch HN: Dropleaf (YC S17) – subscription service for i... by wybiral on Monday August 07, 2017 @02:52PM (#14950154)

Totally anecdotal, but... I'll rarely try new mobile apps, especially the ones that cost. I will pay for new games here and there though.

If I factor in Steam and Humble Bundle it's safe to say that I don't consume games the same way that I would "consume" a web browser or text editor.

That being said I'm also not in the high spending "hardcore gamer" segment and smaller indie games are more my flavor.

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Re:Launch HN: Dropleaf (YC S17) – subscription service for i... by VikramR on Monday August 07, 2017 @03:14PM (#14950328)

Hopefully you'll give us a try! I strongly recommend checking out Cluster Truck or following Warcube through it's development. This thing is going to be the next indie breakout megahit, and you can get the hipster cred :D

https://dropleaf.io/Catalog/Game/?Id=57&GameTitle=Warcube

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