Humble Indie Bundle #2

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Normally we showcase one specific game each Friday, but this week is special. Not only are there two different games that we have not featured before, they’re part of the special limited-time offer known as the Humble Indie Bundle #2. This pay-want-you-want deal gives you 5 indie games that are all top-notch quality, and part of your donation goes to charities.

But let’s talk about the games, then we can talk about the deal.

There are 3 games that we’ve already featured on Fringe Busters, or we’ve talked about extensively elsewhere on Gamers With Jobs. There’s also 2 new ones which are definitely worth checking out.

1) Braid – This time-manipulation based platformer was almost a drinking-game title on the podcast for a while. Seriously, the gameplay is brilliant.
2) Machinarium – A point-and-click adventure game with a brilliant art style and a wordless but moving story.
3) Osmos – Physics based, electronica-infused, dream-like game based around growing your organism and destroying others on the level.
4) Cortex Command – A newly featured multiplayer, side-scrolling strategy game in the vein of Worms. You control soldiers that can attack enemy units and gather resources to purchase more soldiers.
5) Revenge of the Titans – A brand-new game released simultaneously with the HIB#2, this tower-defense game has a strong real-time strategy influence and a really fun pseudo-8-bit art style.

The best part, you can own all these games for whatever price you want. Not only that, you can see exactly where your money is going right on the page before purchasing. You get to control how much goes to developers and what goes to charities. You can also see what others have contributed and total contribution stats on the same page.

Normally I try not to feature games without a demo, but since you can pay as little as $1 for the entire bundle, I’ll let it slide. Of course, I’d encourage you to pay more. But in the end, it is a pay-what-you-want scheme. So go pay what you want.

Why You Should Check This Out: It’s he cheapest price you’re ever going to find for 5 spectacular indie games, and part of the proceeds goes to charity. Go get it already!

[size=20]Humble Indie Bundle #2[/size]

Comments

Not a bad game in the bunch.

Revenge of the Titans is really cool. It definitely needs some tooltips or a long tutorial or something, but it's really cool anyway.

Now that I've sort of figured out what half the stuff does I'm having a pretty great time with it, especially in endless mode.

I already own Osmos, and I wasn't that big on the demo for Revenge of the Titans, but I think I'm in for this, anyway. I'd been sort of hoping to get Braid and Machinarium on Steam, but what the heck, it's charity.

So...how does it work with the Humble Indie Bundle...is it just a straight file download, do you have to use some sort of installer, can you re-download as often as you need to...what's the haps?

Mytch wrote:

So...how does it work with the Humble Indie Bundle...is it just a straight file download, do you have to use some sort of installer, can you re-download as often as you need to...what's the haps?

They give you a link to where you can download the games and some of the soundtracks. And as far as downloads:

Please save this email so that you can download the games again whenever you'd like in the future. We will keep your copies online at the above URL for the foreseeable future. Please make local backups though, to save bandwidth.
Mytch wrote:

I already own Osmos, and I wasn't that big on the demo for Revenge of the Titans, but I think I'm in for this, anyway. I'd been sort of hoping to get Braid and Machinarium on Steam, but what the heck, it's charity.

They just sent out Steam codes for the first humble indie bundle, so that might not be a problem.

I am finally playing Braid for real (not just the Xbox demo). It is really cool, but I still feel like I'm a little too thick for it. A bit too much of hard work to make progress, mostly because in addition to figuring it out, you also need the platforming skills.

I was initially let down by Revenge of the Titans, because it felt like a fuzzy tower defense, like it's hard to get a grip on anything. I was lured in by the super pretty graphics and the game just wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's actually pretty smart, but you need to play a bit to understand how it all hangs together. The pace can get quite hectic.

I'm a bit put off that two of the games are being sold unfinished. On the one hand, that gives them the funds they might desperately need in order to finish their games. On the other hand, they're selling me a product that's incomplete with no information on when it'll be finished.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'm a bit put off that two of the games are being sold unfinished. On the one hand, that gives them the funds they might desperately need in order to finish their games. On the other hand, they're selling me a product that's incomplete with no information on when it'll be finished.

So you're mad they're admitting it beforehand, unlike the big publishers?

Cortex Command has an amazing game underneath it, but it's really *really* unfinished right now. Judging by their forums there seems to be a bit of drama going on. I'm looking forward to future updates though!

PyromanFO wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'm a bit put off that two of the games are being sold unfinished. On the one hand, that gives them the funds they might desperately need in order to finish their games. On the other hand, they're selling me a product that's incomplete with no information on when it'll be finished.

So you're mad they're admitting it beforehand, unlike the big publishers? ;)

http://instantrimshot.com/classic/?s...

El-Taco-the-Rogue wrote:
PyromanFO wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'm a bit put off that two of the games are being sold unfinished. On the one hand, that gives them the funds they might desperately need in order to finish their games. On the other hand, they're selling me a product that's incomplete with no information on when it'll be finished.

So you're mad they're admitting it beforehand, unlike the big publishers? ;)

http://instantrimshot.com/classic/?s...

The rimshot is usually used when it's a joke. In this case, the joke's on the customer.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'm a bit put off that two of the games are being sold unfinished. On the one hand, that gives them the funds they might desperately need in order to finish their games. On the other hand, they're selling me a product that's incomplete with no information on when it'll be finished.

You can set the price. If you don't want to pay for games that aren't done, just think of them as throw-ins and you're buying the other games.

I totally forgot that this is the Humble Indie Bundle time of year.

Cool games...yes, please!

I liked Osmos a lot. Wish there were more levels in it.

Got to love these!! I'm going to give a few out to friends for Christmas as gifts..

thanks!

PyromanFO wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'm a bit put off that two of the games are being sold unfinished. On the one hand, that gives them the funds they might desperately need in order to finish their games. On the other hand, they're selling me a product that's incomplete with no information on when it'll be finished.

So you're mad they're admitting it beforehand, unlike the big publishers? ;)

You can now activate the games on Steam

They recently gave out codes to people that bought HIB1 to register all the games on Steam. I thought that was pretty classy all around, as that promotion was over and done with. A very nice surprise indeed!

Bought it twice. Almost 8$ spent, anyone want a gift?

Lothar wrote:

You can now activate the games on Steam :)

I'm seeing some headlines about this, but haven't heard an official how-to. I assume you activate with the code you got when purchasing HIB2.

wordsmythe wrote:
Lothar wrote:

You can now activate the games on Steam :)

I'm seeing some headlines about this, but haven't heard an official how-to. I assume you activate with the code you got when purchasing HIB2.

They email you a link with all the stuff in it. It's really well put together, actually.

And it's just ONE code, so you can't give games you already have to other people. I think.

This'll help:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/qnEaS.jpg)

That's where the link takes you.

Yeah, I bought before the Steam news dropped. Got my email with details today.

They've just packed-in Humble Bundle #1 to bundle #2.

They should really make those offers up in advance. I'm not buying it for the third time (btw still have that gift for HIP2 if anyone's interested).

wordsmythe wrote:

They've just packed-in Humble Bundle #1 to bundle #2.

You need to donate more than $7.50 in order to get B#1; if you're just buying it now, since I donated $20.00, I don't know if people that go it for less than $7.50 will be eligible.

[url=http://www.humblebundle.com/bundle-i... in Bundle[/url] wrote:

A word about Steam
Our Steam keys for the Humble Bundle #1 are a little glitchy: they don't unlock Samorost 2 or the Mac versions of Gish and Aquaria. We will try to fix this but since it's ultimately out of our control, we can't make any guarantees. Additionally, we only have about 150,000 of them. I believe we will be able to get more, but currently, they are on a first come first serve basis. Also, no promises about activating your HIB #1 games on Desura at the moment.

What I can't tell for sure is, if I've already activated Bundle#2 in Steam (which I have), and I'm getting Bundle#1 for free for donating more than $7.50 (which I did), how much wood would a wood-chuck will the games of Bundle#1 also be automatically activated in Steam?

I just got an email with a link to my download page and Steam key for the first bundle (since I spent more than that on both copies).

Dear Humble Indie Bundle customer, I would just like to personally thank you for your support in making the Humble Indie Bundle #2 even more successful than the first one. As thanks, I have added the Humble Indie Bundle #1 into your bundle. If you go to your personal download page, you will find the following games waiting for you:

By clicking on the Unique link you get from purchasing Bundle#2, a new section for Steam Activation for Bundle#1 is now available.

Sweet! Free games!

Hobbes2099 wrote:

Sweet! Free games!

Indeed! In the email that they tell you that they've given you bundle #1, they tell you how you can add to your donation, so I gave another $10 and earmarked it all for charity, whereas my first donation all went to the devs.

It's interesting that they've pegged the first Humble Bundle as a reward for paying higher than the average donation as it's created a floating value for when buyers will get a bonus that increases slightly with each person who goes for the extra games.

tagged for later review