If you buy a game on Steam and play it for for less than two hours, you are allowed to ask for a full refund with no questions asked. This can be seen as a positive development that will make players more willing to take a chance on an unfamiliar title. But it is also a cause of concern for many developers.
"I think there’s potential there for short experiences to suffer for it," says Sam Beddoes, developer of Manos: The Hands of Fate and Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures. "A lot of short indie games sell at a lower price, but now there’s the concern that people can get the whole experience and get their money back."
Realistically, there is nothing in place at the moment to stop players from using Steam's refund policy as a free rental service. Players can get through their entire gameplay experience, reaping the benefits of years of developer efforts, and then get all of their money back.
This can be even more frightening for developers of non-traditional, experimental games. "We were a bit scared of how it would affect our game." says Denis Asensio, one of the developers of Calendula. Calendula is a horror puzzle game that takes place entirely in a game's menus - far from the average gameplay experience. "We were probably an easy target, since our game has a very particular feeling and a very exclusive target, so it is fairly easy to disappoint the average player who is expecting a more classical gaming experience."
We spoke to eight developers about their experience with Steam refunds and their feelings about the policy. All interviewed felt that the refunds were a positive thing, keeping buyers confident and allowing them to try out a new game with little risk. Even so, the consensus was that the current system has holes in it that can be abused, and these need to be addressed by a policy that is more complex than the one-size-fits-all return system in place now.
Refund numbers have accounted for between 1-7% of total sales for all of the developers contacted for this article, and a not insignificant portion of those had played through most or all of the game before returning it for a full refund.
Sun Dogs
A Useful Tool
"I believe that refunds protect the consumer. We've all read about shady developers who create games that are not what they advertise, are incomplete, broken, or buggy."
The refund process is not something developers we spoke to consider to be bad by default. A refund system helps protect the customer from shady business practices, technical problems, and other issues. These give the customer the confidence to purchase a game without fear of being stuck with it should some unforeseen problem arise.
"I believe that refunds protect the consumer," says Jon Oldblood, developer of Masochisia. "We've all read about shady developers who create games that are not what they advertise, are incomplete, broken, or buggy. These are very valid issues that no gamer should be tricked into being stuck with."
The refund process also gives the developer some unintended boons. In some situations, technical problems can crop up relating to a single user's computer. Without a return system in place, that can force a developer to devote time to fixing a problem that only exists on a single sale. Time and energy that would otherwise be absorbed into making the game work on one player's computer can be saved by simply offering refund, even if the player runs into it later in the game.
"As the only technical developer on the game, I don't have the time or energy to do a lot of troubleshooting as I would like," says Nic Tringali, developer of Sun Dogs. "When problems occur that seem specific to a computer and not the game as a whole, I feel comfortable recommending a refund request to the person. I'd feel bad if I had taken their money and they haven't played the game due to some technical issue.
Customers can also try out a game even if they're not sure if the game will work on their system. "If a user is running a hacked-to-bits Red Hat Linux distribution with weird graphics card drivers and they want to check if the Linux of the game version works for them - great!" says Matt Luard, developer of The Cat Machine. "That's a perfect way to feel safe supporting indie games."
The Cat Machine
With no fear of losing your money over a bad purchase, players can also be encouraged to try out a game they might not otherwise buy. You can get your money back if it doesn't turn out well, so why not try it?
"When the customer knows that they can get that money back, no questions asked, if the game turns out to be a broken piece of crap, that makes them far more likely to take the plunge and give the game a shot," says Beddoes. "I’ve experienced it myself. Since the addition of the refund system I’ve bought games I wasn’t sure about, feeling far more confident to take the risk."
"Not Fun"
"Valve is heavily implying here that games that aren't considered 'Fun' aren't worth buying. Games don't have to be fun, and everyone's concept of fun varies."
Despite its good sides, the return option has resulted in some unpleasantness as well, especially when it comes to experimental games, or ones that don't stray from the traditional idea of how a game should engage you.
"When I look at my stats and see a category called 'Not Fun,' I am disappointed." says Tringali. "Valve is heavily implying here that games that aren't considered 'Fun' aren't worth buying. Games don't have to be fun, and everyone's concept of fun varies."
"The vast majority of refunds are not related to technical issue, system requirements, etc," says Oldblood. "They're simply people not being happy with their purchase after playing at least a portion of the game. The "Not fun" category alone makes up a little over 50% of refunds."
"They can potentially be 'sorta-free', if you're inclined to think of them that way." says Tringali. "I wouldn't consider Sun Dogs a 'fun' game in the traditional sense, and I think the majority of people expect games to conform to their standards of fun. I get the sense that a lot of those people don't see the value in paying for a different experience, usually a short and experiential one. This puts some of them in a moral gray area for refunds."
This could be seen with Calendula, even when the player did have fun with the game. "In addition to people not liking the game and refunding it--which could be arguably fine, even if they finished it--there are cases of people who played the game, liked it enough to participate in the game's community forums, and still refunded it," says Asensio. "We know of at least a couple cases like this one. People who openly admitted it, and there are probably way more who didn't."
Calendula
Other games are seeing the same problem.
"I can read the refund notes and have found notes which specifically cite being displeased with various parts at the end of the game (or the end of the game)." says Oldblood. "I can't speak to how many complete the game before refunding it but based on refund notes, I know it's occurred at least semi-regularly."
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