Fair enough. It’s a bit of an awkward (and unusual) request, but in context I didn’t find it excessively unreasonable. Had they said “No talking about the game, period” as if early access backers had signed into an NDA that would be one thing. They’re not saying that, though.
See, triggercut, I’m not irritated by having to wait two weeks for official reviews. It doesn’t change a thing for me since I backed it and already have skin in the game, and I’m not in the review business. DF’s free to set any embargo date they want for review code they send to press people. But this thing is nonsense: “This embargo also applies to any of you backers who are in the press or have blogs—we are requiring all formal reviews be held until January 27 at 10am Pacific time (6pm GMT).” Nope, it doesn’t, nope, you can’t. It’s like trying to retroactively modifying a transaction that has already happened. And the way it’s phrased it doesn’t come along as “asking nicely” - it’s simply “Here’s how it’s going to be.”
@Rock8man: Pretty much, yeah. Except that the message feels to me more like someone sending along arbitrary conditions rather than asking politely. I wasn’t the only one because I know two mags who received that emails and had the same reaction.
Ok then, be outraged as hell at this affront to decency.
Hm it only seems to apply to gamers with a blog (just read the email again):
This embargo also applies to any of you backers who are in the press or have blogs
They also ask to refrain from spoilers in “Let’s Play” videos up from a certain point:
Note: I put “x” in for people / places in the quote below to ensure there aren’t any spoilers.
To that end, we are requesting that any videos you release of the game be cut off after the xxxx xxxx xxxx’s Feast in xxxx’s world and upon meeting xxx in xxx’s world. (We don’t consider identifying these parts to be spoilers; you’ll know what we mean when you reach these points in the game.)
I wasn’t the only one because I know two mags who received that emails and had the same reaction.
Well if they want to break the embargo they can. As has been said, there’s almost certainly nothing DF can do, legally speaking. But really, what’s the point? The only thing embargoed is “formal reviews”. If you’re doing a formal review, you are to all intents and purposes press, not a private backer posting your thoughts. And if you’re working for a magazine, you’re definitely press. Again, go ahead and break the embargo if you want to. It wouldn’t be the first time. But don’t expect DF to like you.
How dare they, or something. ;)
Like I said, my first concern was whether we’d be allowed to talk about it (if so moved) in a forum setting or social media setting, as requesting otherwise suggests them trying to retroactively force some sort of NDA on early backers.
They’re clearly not trying to do that, so no big whoop to me.
I don’t have a problem with DF saying “You can play and talk about it in your capacity as a private backer, but not in your capacity as a member of the press”.
I know that the lines between personal and professional lives are more blurry than ever, but it doesn’t seem like an insane request to make.
They’re not even saying press can’t talk about it. They’re just saying not to do a formal review.
Well, that’s coincidence. I was checking my email to see if the game was out already, and 10 seconds later I received it in the inbox. You can download it now!
Key Features:
• Pointing
• Clicking
• Original soundtrack, composed by Peter McConnell, recorded by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
• All-star voice cast, including Elijah Wood, Jack Black, Jennifer Hale, Wil Wheaton, and Pendleton Ward
• Dialog Trees!
• Some jokes. Unless you don’t think they’re funny, in which case we totally weren’t trying to be funny.
• A whole bunch of awesome PUZZLES
• This one really hard puzzle that you won’t get but you’ll look it up online and not tell anybody
• All your hopes and dreams
I like the
5 first minutes spoilers
pre-school toy-starship controls. And the Soylent Dreams.
No fair, I haven’t gotten my download link yet :(
I just got mine. So when I get home tonight, I can start downloading. I wish there was a way to tell Steam to start now.
I thought their mobile application provided the ability to initiate downloads on a remote computer. I haven’t used it though so maybe I’m thinking of something else.
Only played around with it for a few minutes so far, but I’m really digging the art-direction and the general atmosphere. Those who are still waiting for your notification emails, make sure to check your spam folders - happened to a friend of mine.
I’ve been able to get that working through their website. The only catch is you must already have Steam running on the remote computer. In this case, Steam keys were distributed but those keys cannot be activated through the app/website.
And yet right now on the Qt3 front page, Telefrog’s story on the release of Act 1 gets it fairly wrong. Which is a little frustrating, since a ten minute scan of the first page of this thread would’ve prevented it.
Oh well.
Still waiting for my code here, so I guess I’ll get some work done!
They lumped anyone posting to blog in with the press. That’s pretty vague and sweeping.
But specified with the specific wording “formal reviews”. You wrote that they’d asked folks “to hold off on posting anything about their experience”.
Those two things are fairly mutually exclusive, no?
Are they? I mean let’s break that down. What makes it a review?
If I post a front page article expressing my thoughts on the game, assessing the quality, and judging the content, is Double Fine going to be cool with that as long as I don’t put a star score on it or label it “review?”
Nobody in the press or any of the early backers can post a review until the 28th. As far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t leave much else on the table.