Buy Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Horror-adventure Amnesia: The Dark Descent releases tomorrow. But it almost wasn't to be, according to developers Frictional Games.

"There have been several occasions when we seriously considered dropping the project," Thomas Grip told BeefJack today.

The game's been rather a financial struggle for the small independent developer, whose previous game – the three-part Penumbra series – was something of an overlooked gem. "We have had to cut salaries almost in half – and they were low to start with," said Grip. And the troubles aren't over just because the game's finished: "Our future as a company depends on this game not flopping, so plenty of butterflies in the stomach."

You can read more of Thomas' thoughts on Amnesia's development, as well as our review of the game itself, tomorrow on BeefJack.

Source: http://beefjack.com/news/amnesia-the-dark-descent-was-almost-canned/

Yeah, Activision will live if you happen to download Call of Duty 4. Bethesda won't die if you decided to pirate Fallout 3. They have sales through the roof either way. But Frictional Games won't sell truckload, nor will they survive if they don't get sales with this game. Before Amnesia was released they were close to shutting down the project, as you might be aware Penumbra didn't quite sell as much as Dead Space. Hell, you might not even have heard of it. The developers went for a different route of marketing than most will do. They said if they manage to get 2000 pre-orders (at a 50% discount!) they would add extra content to the game. Lo and behold, they got their pre-orders.
http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2010/05/2000-pre-orders-reached.html

This won't be charity either, if you're a fan of horror games you've most likely enjoyed the Penumbra series. If you didn't play it, what the hell are you doing? Go play it. If you're still skeptical to the quality of the game, guess what, there's a demo out on Steam. The only reason not to get this game is if you're a bedwetter, because odds are, Amnesia might just increase the potential of yellow bedsheets.

This game will get pirated, it'll probably be illegally downloaded more times than it will sell. But goddamn it, do the right thing and support a developer who deserves it and PC gaming as a whole. Every sale matters, and judging from the quality of the demo Frictional haven't disappointed. If there's anything that would be ****ing ridiculously sad is if this company dies. Time to bloody prove the moron from Epic games wrong. There are still PC gamers willing to buy good quality games.

[spoiler] Right? [/spoiler]

The moron from Epic being Mark Rein, who made a very valid point regarding indie marketing? And the same man that supports the indie market with his competitions and free engine?

I'll buy Amnesia after I'll finally finish the Penumbra trilogy.

Pre-ordered a couple days ago. I was really impressed by the demo, and it was much cheaper than I expected. Couldn't pass on a deal like that.

They're a good developer, hopefully they get enough sales to stay afloat.

That's some interesting backstory that I wasn't aware of. Makes me feel all the happier that I bought the game on Steam today. Can't wait to play tomorrow and I hope this game will give them their well deserved paycheck.Karl319

[QUOTE="Karl319"]That's some interesting backstory that I wasn't aware of. Makes me feel all the happier that I bought the game on Steam today. Can't wait to play tomorrow and I hope this game will give them their well deserved paycheck.Vfanek

Reminds me of Introversion Software, another indie developer. They were close to going under, until they put their games in a Steam sale which kept them going.

Hopefully Steam will work its magic again and these guys will stay on their feet. Haven't played any of the Penumbra games yet, but from playing the demo of Amnesia, I think they are more deserving of income than the majority of developers/publishers.

Kudos to you Vfanek for making this post. There's not enough true modern horror games out there that have the same atmospheric quality of the Penumbra games or this one. I've been waiting for Amnesia for a while so I'll most likely be pre-ordering this today. Other than the game itself, I'm really excited about the level editor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XojVUZJPmc, I'd like to take a try making some mods for it :).

I've already played the Demo and, Like Penumbra its one of the scariest games around, And I would have Ordered it sooner but I was too scared to get through the demo, so once I brave my way through the demo, I'll probably order the full game.

Preordered it on Steam, so I've done my part, so to speak.

I'll get it, but I'm in no hurry. Gonna wait for a Steam deal.

Hmm, I was thinking about skipping the game, since I did not find Penumbra very scary, however readig that, I think I will just go ahead and order it off steam, At best case it will be more in my taste, in worst case I will not like that game either, but the company that makes game alot of other people like will not crash and burn.

Afterall, its something like 11 measly bucks right now, less then what I payied for me mediocre dinner.

*scuffles off to preorder through steam*

I'll get it, but I'm in no hurry. Gonna wait for a Steam deal.

UpInFlames

It already is a Steam deal. :|

20% off of $20, if you buy it right now. That's incredibly cheap for a game like this.

I'll get it, but I'm in no hurry. Gonna wait for a Steam deal.

UpInFlames

I would have thought they'd be too small a company to have been struggling with sales, I guess not.

The Penumbra trilogy is 6 dollars on Direct2Drive.

The Penumbra trilogy is 6 dollars on Direct2Drive.

Baranga

[QUOTE="Baranga"]

The Penumbra trilogy is 6 dollars on Direct2Drive.

Elann2008

Ive already brought it and well i dont need you to tell me its good but kudos for throwing this out there i guess.

I really hope the game dose well to be honest. Penumbra was a great experience one of the best in fact. Well ive mentioned this game a few times on my FB to try and get people to experience what i have. A shame almost all of my freinds dont give a damn about my nerdy rants :( Oh how i wish i had a PC owning Nerd Freind :(

[QUOTE="UpInFlames"]

I'll get it, but I'm in no hurry. Gonna wait for a Steam deal.

Nagru

It already is a Steam deal. :|

20% off of $20, if you buy it right now. That's incredibly cheap for a game like this.

I was looking at it yesterday, I think, and it wasn't discounted. Still, I really have no time to play it right now and it's still not at the pricepoint I'm looking for (I'm thinking below 10€, at least). Gonna wait for a bigger discount.

I was looking at it yesterday, I think, and it wasn't discounted. Still, I really have no time to play it right now and it's still not at the pricepoint I'm looking for (I'm thinking below 10€, at least). Gonna wait for a bigger discount.

UpInFlames

If the company dies I'm blaming you :evil::P

Nah, that's okay; no sense in buying it if you can't play it. I still think it's a steal at $16, but I suppose I should hold my tongue 'till I've played it through. The game could be painfully short, or have some other major flaw.

oooh, was 11,99 € it cost, meh no biggie, now I just hope I will be entertained :P

On a more serious note, whil I do support keeping the smaller ones alive, anyoneelse noticed how many games one ends up having on our accounts that we never really playied? :S well, atleat I will be entertained enough if a massive storm hits my country...

Not really like I will allow Pubs to go down under for making a good game, anyways, the Reviews looks really good.

Just bought my copy on Steam. Super stoked! :D

I didn't even realize the developer was having financial troubles; I was under the impression they were doing well with the Penumbra series. I'm very glad to have been able to help them out, and I am absolutely thrilled to finally own this game.

Now I'll just have to see if I can muster up the courage to play it. :lol:

I didn't know about that.

But anyway, I never -- EVER -- play anything I haven't paid for.

And Amnesia was no exception. ;)

Long live Frictional Games! 8)

.

[QUOTE="UpInFlames"]

I was looking at it yesterday, I think, and it wasn't discounted. Still, I really have no time to play it right now and it's still not at the pricepoint I'm looking for (I'm thinking below 10€, at least). Gonna wait for a bigger discount.

Nagru

If the company dies I'm blaming you :evil::P

Nah, that's okay; no sense in buying it if you can't play it. I still think it's a steal at $16, but I suppose I should hold my tongue 'till I've played it through. The game could be painfully short, or have some other major flaw.

Regarding Amnesia, my opinion is that its not a good as penumbradakan45

[QUOTE="dakan45"] Regarding Amnesia, my opinion is that its not a good as penumbraLithos_

[QUOTE="Lithos_"]

[QUOTE="dakan45"] Regarding Amnesia, my opinion is that its not a good as penumbradakan45

Just downloaded the game. Will be playing tonight, with headphones, with the lights off.

Just downloaded the game. Will be playing tonight, with headphones, with the lights off.

hoola

Me too. :D I'm psyched.

I almost pooped my pants playing the demo last night. Gonna pick it up tonight.

I just purchesed it off of Steam. Great game so far, even though I've only played about 20 minutes or so. Gotta wait till it gets dark.

Ive already brought it and well i dont need you to tell me its good but kudos for throwing this out there i guess.

I really hope the game dose well to be honest. Penumbra was a great experience one of the best in fact. Well ive mentioned this game a few times on my FB to try and get people to experience what i have. A shame almost all of my freinds dont give a damn about my nerdy rants :( Oh how i wish i had a PC owning Nerd Freind :(

Just bought the game on steam. I've been looking for a scary game and this looks great! I really hope lots of people buy this. I feel bad when small developers can't go anywhere because of piracy. The game is only 20 bucks. BUY BUY BUY BUY NAAAAAAOW

[QUOTE="dakan45"][QUOTE="Lithos_"] And how could you know? The game launches tomorrow.

Vfanek