The Humble Indie Bundle #4 (pay what you want and help charity)

[citricsquid]

For anyone curious why this is here, Humble Inc is funded by YC -- beyond it being a collection of cool games people might care for.

edit: I was wrong, not just YC. They have $4.7m from Sequoia[1] too.

[1] http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/22/sequoia-capital-ba...

[heyitsnick]

That's very interesting, as I've always thought it was bootstrapped by Wolfire games. Serious question - why does this need funding?

[thehodge]

I just bought this one but wasn't there another bundle just last week? I wonder if too many too soon will lead to bundle fatigue

[benbeltran]

I agree. I used to get really excited about the humble bundle. They had a few noteworthy games per bundle (All the games they have are good, but some are less known than others).

Now that it's a monthly affair I get the initial perception that the bundles have less noteworthy games and that I'm getting tired of so many of them. After a bit of thought I realize I /am/ paying just a few bucks for a lot of games and helping charity and I end up buying them, even if I already own al lthe games. but I fear there's a lot of people who won't make that leap and just say "meh, been there done that". It's sad because the bundle is great for devs and great for gamers.

[sbochins]

I used to pay like $25 for a bundle. But with all the bundles coming out, I don't really feel like paying so much. I want to take advantage of the deals, but know I won't have enough time to play more than %10 of the games I buy. So, I've come to the conclusion I should only pay for the amount of time I'm willing to spend on the game. With so many bundles, that amount of time has gone down significantly. This bundle does have a lot of good games btw.

[listic]

They do numbered bundles AND special bundles. I mean, special bundles do not count towards the number of bundles. I don't know why they do this; looks confusing.

[sounds]

I actually think their business model is perfect for this: right now they get the "honeymoon effect" -- they're new. So every humble bundle is one-time offer.

As time goes by (or maybe it's happening now), they will have to do more market research, find better games, maybe even change their offer so it doesn't expire. I'd personally like to see them directly competing with steam and desura (if the offer doesn't expire, they're directly competing). I think they need that kind of competition to push them.

In short, don't rest on your first success!

[twodayslate]

It was pretty recent, but I think a lot of Indie devs want to get in on these bundles so they won't be going away anytime soon.

[rbugajewski]

I agree that the bundles are run a little bit too often, but supporting indie devs always feels good.

[shangaslammi]

Why did they drop EFF from the charities? :(

[cookiecaper]

I was pretty disappointed to see that, especially at a crucial time for electronic freedom with SOPA and PROTECT-IP looming. I'm sure the boosts from HIB were helpful to EFF, and if anyone needs a boost right now, it's EFF.

[ramidarigaz]

Supposedly the HIB people voted, and the Red Cross came out slightly ahead. I'm kinda bummed. I might go donate a couple dollars to the EFF anyway.

[graylights]

50% to EFF has always been a reason to buy humble bundles for me. With SOPA I'd have probably paid more this time. I half expect EFF to be added back in, so I'll be waiting on this bundle.

[smountcastle]

Anyone else experiencing Humble fatigue? When this was a special once a year deal I supported it regardless of the contents of the bundle. Now I feel that there's a Humble Bundle once a week and I've stopped reading their email.

[scottmcf]

I wasn't planning on buying this bundle either, but not because of the regularity of the bundles, more because of the quality of the content. Some of the previous bundles have contained a little much filler/incomplete games/etc.

They've really stepped up the contents with this pack though, I know myself and a few friends feeling much the same bought it immediately. There's an incredible amount of high quality gaming in this pack.

[tectonic]

A good friend of mine wrote Jamestown- kick ass game, and way to go!

[libraryatnight]

Wow, send him much thanks. I bought it on Steam when it released (because I'm a sucker for shooters), and it's a marvelous game. One of the finest shooters I've played in a long time. The DLC is awesome, too (Guy Fawkes ship!)

[smosher]

I paid the suggested price for this. I'm only running Linux, so it's well worth supporting it.

It's a shame about the EFF though. They're at the top of my list these days.

[ukdm]

I think this might be the best one yet

[nik_0_0]

Agreed, Super Meat Boy alone is worth whatever you may pay, in my opinion :)

[JangoSteve]

I always find it interesting that the Linux people pay the most. Then again, the games are probably most impressive compared to games generally available on Linux, and least impressive compared to those available for windows. Not to say anything about the quality of three games, just commentary on the different gaming markets.

[83457]

I've always assume it is more about supporting developers who support linux, and a competition with the other platforms.

[septicmadman]

It's also a possibility that those that pay below average amounts are likely to signal their contribution being made under Windows. Alternatively, high payers have a higher likelihood of marking Linux.

[forrestthewoods]

Interesting, but the still spend barely $1 per game. After charity and tip it's probably less than $1 per game.

[natch]

Are the Humble Bundles always mostly about games? It would be great to see some non-game bundles.

[Groxx]

And it's a pretty good spread, too, maybe the best yet - the last few bundles & mini-events have been a bit lackluster, IMO. But that's just IMO.

If you've never played it, Cave Story is one of the best platformers ever, and you must play it if you are a gamer in any sense. The original is available for free (though you might have to English-patch it), but I gather CS+ is a pretty good port.

[jamesgeck0]

I don't know; between the last three mini-bundles we've had Frozen Synapse, SpaceChem, Dungeons of Dredmor, The Binding of Isaac, Darwinia, Defcon, Voxatron, and Blocks that Matter.

Four of those are strong candidates for indie GOTY (and the others are still pretty good) so it's not too lackluster yet.

[nyellin]

Does anyone know how to turn off the Paypal "Bill Me Later" popup that appears every time I make a purchase?

I have money in my account. I'm tired of opting out of BML.

[utkarshsinha]

These games always make me want to make some of my own!

[achompas]

Is anyone else not tipping the Humble team anymore? Are you just splitting payment between devs and charities?

[jsnell]

At least I do the opposite. The Humble team are clearly making my life better by e.g. motivating Linux ports of these games. Meanwhile there are much better ways to donate to charity (and "better" charities).

[7rurl]

I usually take the default split. I think the devs deserve most of the money, but the Humble Bundle guys need money for bandwidth and their marketing/support efforts. Charity is also worth a little bit.

[checker]

Can anyone post a list for those of us behind a firewall? Thanks!

[rudyfink]

Gratuitous Space Battles (if pay more than average)

Gave Story+ (if pay more than average)

Jamestown

Bit.Trip Runner

Super Meat Boy

Shank

NightSky HD

[romnempire]

anyone else bummed that this one didn't include desura keys?

[ergo14]

They might appear on desura - just not day one - it was like this with introversion bundle.