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It seems The Witness may one day see a Linux release, although the developer expects to make a loss on it, it may come to Linux "for fun or for ideological purposes".
Writing on the official Steam forum, the developer reiterated previous statements.
I think the developer is still basing the majority of their thoughts on some pretty outdated information, like Ubuntu Software Centre sales statistics for Braid (I don't know anyone who purchased anything using the USC):
QuoteOn Linux we would be in for a much worse mess, and then on top of that, many fewer people would buy the game. (We know approximately how many because we released Braid on Linux, it was even directly in the Ubuntu Software Centre for a while). In terms of work invested versus money earned, it would be a substantial loss financially, and it would reduce our quality of life since we would be kind of miserable.
They did ended it on a lighter note which was great to see:
QuoteThis is not to say we won't try a Linux port sometime; we might do it for fun or for ideological purposes, but we would not try to support it seriously and we would expect to lose money on it.
While it's still true it wouldn't make a lot of money, as we all know our market share isn't amazing, it's still nice to see it's not totally ruled out.
Hopefully one day it will happen, and we can test it out.
About the game
The Witness is a single-player game in an open world with dozens of locations to explore and over 500 puzzles. This game respects you as an intelligent player and it treats your time as precious. There's no filler; each of those puzzles brings its own new idea into the mix. So, this is a game full of ideas.
Thanks for the link, FutureSuture. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
hardpenguin Apr 5, 2016
That is some good news! I am going to buy it, because the game is good :)
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Kimyrielle Apr 5, 2016
If you support us for ideological reasons, go all the way and support us 100%.
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Quoteit was even directly in the Ubuntu Software CentreI think this just means that they made some extra efforts to package it for the USC (no idea how big a deal that is).
I prefer his honesty with "ideological reasons" than the usual "we're definitely thinking very hard about a Linux version" bullshit (soon followed by results showing the poor extend of said thinking).
Of course I'll wait for signs that it works before buying :) But Braid was a nice game and worked, so there's hope.
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Quoting: GuestI'm sorry, but if you're not going to "support it seriously", then I'm not going to buy it... And no, I'm not going to be a beta tester for you game either...
i might buy it as a joke....
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Oh grow some skin, folks. We're not kids.
This.
We don't need sweet talking, back patting PR press releases. Just tell it like it is. That should always be appreciated even when they don't say what you want to hear. He's just being straight forward about how they see it from their perspective.
Quoting: GuestCalling for PR people? Hmmm... interesting :P. I would much rather listen to an honest developer than a PR bullshitter. I imagine a lot of games ported to Linux have been for 'ideological purposes'. It can't always make financial sense to support <1% of your audience when you could otherwise move onto your next game. Its not like the other >99% are going to care :P.
But yeah USC is not an ideal gauge. However, I doubt that is all that is being taken into account considering the game is on Steam / Humble.
The fact that the developer knows they will make a loss, but is still considering it is great isn't it? Imagine if EA were like that.. well, they wouldn't be EA, but it would be great!
This.
We don't need sweet talking, back patting PR press releases. Just tell it like it is. That should always be appreciated even when they don't say what you want to hear. He's just being straight forward about how they see it from their perspective.
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Watch carefully.
That's what you become if you've been patted on the shoulder too many times.
That's what you become if you've been patted on the shoulder too many times.
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Unfortunate. Braid wasn't my type of game, so I never bought it. The Witness is precisely my type of game, though, and I wish I'd had a chance to play it. But it sounds like I could buy it now and have my sale counted as a Windows sale and that would just give this guy further confirmation that he doesn't need to make anything cross platform.
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I've watched gameplay of The Witness, and while I like the exploration of all the cool areas, the puzzles are just the sort of thing that would frustrate me immensely, and the rest seems like an Automatic Pretentiousness Generator. Random quotes from Einstein or James Burke or for all I know Deepak Chopra doesn't add depth, y'know. If that's my primary reward for solving frustrating maze puzzles, I'll pass on a port, thanks.
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Save me from devs who release a port months or years later, when their game is old hat and everyone who wants it has already bought it, and then whines "Linux sales are bad, I'll never make a port again!"
Y'all suck at business, dissolve your company.
Y'all suck at business, dissolve your company.
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rustybroomhandle Apr 5, 2016
Quoteit would be a substantial loss financially, and it would reduce our quality of life since we would be kind of miserable
This is a dev who proudly boasted about being connected via tube to a bottle so he could piss without leaving his desk.
As for the port - I bet he could ask someone less dramatic to port it and he can spend quality time with his bottle of piss.
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