Operation Backlog Completion 2025

A Full-Priced Game With a Free Start Isn’t the Same as F2P

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jun 022017
 

Yesterday, a game developer worked to make things more convenient and natural for fans, while also letting new players try the game for free.

This upset many people.

The visual novel Dies irae ~Amantes amentes~, which was translated into English after a successful Kickstarter campaign was originally released in two parts.

This meant you’d need two separate game files, each of which would contain the same common route, but separate character routes. A bit awkward, right?

Fortunately, they found a solution and released it on Steam as a single game. Instead of two separate game purchases, you can download the common route for free and then buy each half of the game as DLC.

It’s convenient. It solves the problem of having one game split into two. And it gives fans what is essentially a large demo, to try the visual novel before paying.

But it reminded people of the dreaded free-to-play model where DLC microtransactions force you to buy the game in pieces.

That is not what this is. Not at all. If Act I and Act II were released as separate games, like they initially planned, you’d pay $20 for each and have them as separate files. Instead… you’ll pay $20 for each and have them as one file.

Yes, it’s technically “free to start” with DLC, but only to make it more convenient (one single game file) and give players a chance to try it. Unless you think demos are bad, there is no reason to object to the structure of Dies irae ~Amantes amentes~.

Mobile gaming has given free-to-start games a very negative connotation, but it’s not always like that. Sometimes, rather than being a F2P game with microtransactions, it’s just a demo that lets you buy the rest of the game once you’ve tried it. So the next time you see that alarming term, DLC, slow down and check the situation before you get upset.

Kickstarter Launches for Dies Irae Localization

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Dec 212016
 

A new Kickstarter has begun to localize the highly-acclaimed visual novel Dies Irae.

Dies Irae is described as “an urban fantasy battle opera,” although I’ve also heard people say its tone is quite literary.

From my understanding, a secret group of men and women known as the Longinus Dreizehn Orden perform a dark ritual during Berlin’s fall in 1945. Several decades later, in the modern era, they return and start the apocalypse.

It sounds very crazy and very interesting, and people say the villains (who are… superpowered Nazi sorcerers/demons?) are one of the game’s main highlights.

The Kickstarter is to translate the game and release it on Steam in two parts. Part 1 will have Kasumi and Marie’s routes, and Part 2 will have Kei and Rea’s routes. It takes 60+ hours to go through the whole thing, so each half will be quite substantial. According to the Q&A, choices will not be altered. You can still make choices in Part 1 that relate to a route only in Part 2, even though the Part 1 routes are your only options.

It will uncensor the violent scenes that were censored in the Japanese release, and there will also be an 18+ patch released later if you’re concerned about that. Finally, they’re hoping to release a digital PS Vita version as a stretch goal.

Currently, the Kickstarter is a bit over halfway to its funding goal.

I haven’t backed it yet, because I’m a little wary of those “literary” comments. Literary fiction and I often don’t get along. On the other hand, it sounds cool and I watched (read) some of the prologue and it seemed interesting.

What are your thoughts on Dies Irae? Are you going to back its localization? And if you’ve already played it, share your thoughts on it in the comments below. Convince me!

Update: I went for it.