Gamer on a budget? How to get 30 games for less than dinner out.

Sometimes in this industry, we can get lost in the news, the drama and the special effects of it all.  Sometimes we lose sight of what the gaming community can really do, not only for each other, but for the world as a whole.  Games have the power to bring each of us individually happiness, distraction, motivation and so much more.  Over the course of the past few years, sites like Humblebundle.com and Indieroyale.com have helped accomplish both feats.  

How Does it Work?

Charity bundles are an ingenious concept, as well as being both lucrative for charities and incredibly good deals for gamers–especially those on a budget.  Generally speaking, a bundle site will work together with developers and package a grouping of games (usually 4-5), all of a similar theme.  The sites clearly delineate how much of the proceeds of each bundle are donated to charity (usually 100% for charity specific bundles), although sometimes the funds may be distributed across multiple charities or may go specifically towards supporting the indie world.  

Bundle sales in general allow contributors to pay what they want (or can), usually starting at $.01 with no maximum contribution.  To encourage higher donations, a minimum donation will usually ensure receipt of 3-4 titles, whereas if you donate at or above the current average donation, you receive the whole bundle.  Some sites will also offer bonus incentives, a soundtrack or a bonus game, if a donation is made above a certain threshold amount, or towards the end of a bundle’s time frame.

In order to keep the bundle affordable, while still allowing larger than average/extreme donation amounts, each time a significantly large donation is made–it works to keep the average price of the bundle down. IndieRoyale does a great job of making this model easy to understand.  When making a purchase, should a consumer choose to donate above the average current price, when entering a purchase amount a line of stars appears on the screen.  The more stars which become illuminated, the more influence your individual purchase will have on driving the price down for others.  

How can small purchases be effective?

The average bundle prices I have seen over the last few months range from $5.00 to $8.00, for as many as EIGHT to TEN games.  If you just thought to yourself, “holy crap, I’ve got an extra $5.00, that’s ridiculous,” I’m right there with you. If you just thought to yourself, “oh, well they must be crap games then, of course,” you’re dead wrong.  Lastly, if you’re wondering how your measly $5.00 can make a difference, what with a gallon of gas costing almost $4.00, and a pint of beer $4.50–prepare to be impressed.

HumbleBundle.com, arguably the most well known of charity bundle sites, brought in over 5 million dollars each on their Humble Indie Bundle V, and Humble THQ bundles.  The Humble Indie Bundle V boasted Limbo, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, Pyschonauts, and Bastion.  Ever heard of those? Yeah, I thought you might have. Each of those games on their own have ranged in price over their lifetimes, but contributors to the Humble Indie Bundle V paid an average of $8.53, with an amazing 599,004 bundles purchased.  Do you think you’d be willing to sacrifice, say a Subway 12″ with a drink and a cookie for five amazing indie games?  I know I would.  Currently the Humble Bundle website states that they are taking a hiatus, which is how Indie Royale’s bundle site came into the spotlight.

IndieRoyale.com, started up by the folks at Indiegames.com, with support from Desura (a DRM free game downloading client), has been selling bundles since March of 2011.  Where Humble Bundle specializes in building partnerships with more well known indie developers and solely supporting charities, Indie Royale brings you the best of the unknowns.  In the current Indie Royale bundle, titled the Lunar Bundle, gamers are able to purchase and receive the following DRM free games:

1. Pid- A space based platformer with gravity defying action-adventure gameplay from MightandDelight.
2. Cargo Commander- Serious Brew/Digital Tribe Games brings us another space based platformer, in this you are equipped with a Fistacannon, that’s all I needed to hear.  
3. Back to the Future- This title from TellTale games pretty much sells itself as a classic title based on the classic sci-fi movie series.
4. Dungeon Hearts- Cube Roots / Devolver Digital brings a new perspective to puzzle based matching games, with a hint of action-adventure thrown in.

Titles 5-7 are still unannounced at this point, however buying early will save you a bundle, where the current average price is a mere $5.43 and counting.  If you feel like an overachiever, and you like a great chip tunes album to rock out to while you game- donate at least $8.00 and receive a full bonus album: Reawakening by TDK.   

Where can I find these ridiculously cheap games?

Different bundle sites run on their own time frames, but all do a great job of showing a “days remaining” countdown, as well as real time reflection of the change in current average pricing.  Bundles are released on an average of one every two weeks, with some sites offering specialized bundles on a shorter time frame, subscribe to each site for alerts on upcoming bundles and special sales!

In the short term however, here is a list of some great Charity Bundle sites to check out:

• HumbleBundle.com: The humble bundle is on hiatus at the moment, but if you need any convincing on why to subscribe to their newsletter, check out their charity stats page here.  Humble Bundle contributes to a wide variety of charities like Electronic Frontier Foundation, Child’s Play Charity, Block By Block, and the American Red Cross.
• IndieRoyale.com: The current Indie Royale Lunar bundle has sold 13,097 units, with five days to go.  Not all of IndieRoyale’s bundles benefit charities directly, but they do help support independent game developers, and give gamers the opportunity to continually find games they otherwise may have never seen. Their current bundle is averaging $5.43 for 7 games, or pay an outright $8.00 and get a great chiptunes album also!
• IndieGala.com: The current Indie Gala Mass Effect bundle has sold over 19,000 units, and with 2 days remaining offers a staggering TEN games with a minimum purchase of $5.89.  IndieGala also currently has an Indie Weekly bundle, offering 4 games and 2 soundtracks for a whole $1.99, come on- really? IndieGala is focused on helping to support and rebuild the gaming development community in Vancouver.  Note: Indie Gala combines games across multiple platforms including Android- pay attention to the symbols for each games delivery system/platform.
• BundleStars.com: These guys are supporting Special Effect Charity, which focuses on enabling children and adults in the UK who are disabled to game to their heart’s delight, and yours.  Their current and sixth bundle titled “Catnip” features ten indie games from varying genres, and is currently averaging $5.08 USD, with the bundle carrying a retail value of over $132.00 USD. 

Bundle-In-A-Box.com is currently between bundles, but subscribe to help them support children with mental health disorders, as well as provide grants to indie developers.  Also, The Humble Brony Bundle is also on hiatus, but those bronies have raised a respectable $35,659 to date, so they deserve some love too. 

One game for $60, or a boatload of karma to go with 10 new indie games for $6- your call.

If you were paying close attention to all those bullet points, for less than twenty dollars, you could own THIRTY ONE new games on varying platforms and DRM free delivery systems, as well as at least THREE full albums of great indie music.  Some of that money would support charities, and the rest would go directly towards supporting (and loving) indie developers and all the good they do.  What have you done today guys?  Because if anywhere over the course of the day you bought a pack of cigarettes, an overpriced latte, a pizza, or took a movie out of a RedBox–you are doing it wrong.

At least, in this writer’s mind, you could be doing it much, much better- and with more lovable indie games and music, and who doesn’t want that?