🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <6606@apple.UUCP> rmh@apple.UUCP (Rick Holzgrafe) writes:

> I'm a shareware author ("Scarab of RA", a graphics adventure game
> I think I did a pretty good job (if I do say so myself. :-)

> I asked what I thought was a good bargain price, ten dollars, and released
> it in February 1987. To date, I've had slightly over fifty sales.

> So why doesn't it sell?  I dunno - could be
>     a) poor distribution ...
>  or b) it's not as hot as I think it is :-(
>  or c) people are playing it in droves, but not paying up,
>  or d) it just takes time to get noticed...

I am one of the many people who acquired Scarab of Ra when it appeared on
usenet in comp.binaries.mac.  I was immediately impressed by the unusual
professionalism of the product, which includes well-executed graphics, and
a very carefully thought out and constructed user interface.  The on-line
help feature which Rick also mentions is both effective and comprehensive.
I truly believe that anyone familiar with the Mac could be comfortable 
playing this game in a very short while, and the richness and variety of
its features make it quite a lot of fun.  I particularly enjoyed the humour
that pervades much of the text.

But I am also one of the people who hasn't paid my $10 to Rick!  One reason
is indeed the laziness factor.  I can't write Rick a cheque and mail it,
because I don't keep a bank-account in US funds; I have to physically visit
a bank during *its* business hours and get a US money order.  This is a real
hassle, because our offices are out on the edge of town.  [When, oh when, will
ATM's provide more than the basic services? :-( ]

The other reason is that, after mastering the controls of the game, you quickly
discover that any one game is random in terms of where various objects have
been placed in the pyramid.  So what?  Well, there is no guarantee that the
game is soluble, and it is more than just irritating to die from hunger simply
because there literally was no food within reach.  As far as I was concerned,
the game was extremely pretty to look at, but no fun to play, and it is no
longer present on my system.  I know I have a copy somewhere, because I am a
compulsive hoarder, but I sure haven't seen it in months.  Had I been a little
less lazy about the bank, I might have sent Rick money in that first week, but
after that it wasn't worth it.

Rick - tell me I'm wrong, and I'll dig the game out and send you $$ - promise.

Value for money is in the eye of the beholder, and I suspect that most
shareware users who don't pay either figure it isn't worth it (but may well go
on using the thing occasionally, anyway), or let payment slide so long that it
simply drops off the things-to-be-done stack.

So, what's the answer, since most of us appreciate the enormous effort that
goes into creating a quality product?  Perhaps an irritating inclusion which
counts the number of usages and quietly says NO (or something) when the limit
has been exceeded.  Payment/registration would yield the magic word to unlock
the program.  I know, easy to get around, but the *fact* that you have to get
around it will a) remind you that you haven't paid, or b) stop you using it
when you haven't paid.

Robert_S
-- 
Robert Stanley           Cognos Incorporated     S-mail: P.O. Box 9707
Voice: (613) 738-1440 (Research: there are 2!)           3755 Riverside Drive 
  FAX: (613) 738-0002    Compuserve: 76174,3024          Ottawa, Ontario 
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