Cross-platform Support In Humble Bundles

a talk by Cheese for the March 2013 meeting of
the Tasmanian Linux Users Group


The Humble Bundle Windows, Mac OS and Linux

What Is A Humble Bundle?

What Is A Humble Bundle?

Most Humble Bundle promotions are comprised of six core attributes:

What Is A Humble Bundle?

Since the first Humble Indie Bundle, Humble Bundle has raised over $11m for:

With the remaining $24m divided between individual game developers and Humble Bundle itself via a customiseable "Humble Tip".

Figures current as at the start of the Humble Mobile Bundle.

What Is A Humble Bundle?

Cumulatively, Humble Bundles have also:

Figures current as at the start of the Humble Mobile Bundle.
** This figure is derived by multiplying total purchases against combined separate price values (does not take into account music or ebook bundles, nor less-than-average-price contributors)

What Is A Humble Bundle?

Not to mention:

What Is A Humble Bundle?

Although, there have been a few non-cross platform and controversial promotions:

What Makes A Game Cross-platform,
And Why Is That Important?

What Makes A Game Cross-platform,
And Why Is That Important?

For the purposes of this presentation, "cross-platform" implies that the title in question:

What Makes A Game Cross-platform,
And Why Is That Important?

Cross-platform titles show some level of "platform agnosticism" on the part of developers and can:

What Makes A Game Cross-platform,
And Why Is That Important?

From a development perspective, it can also:

Cross-platform "Debuts"

Cross-platform "Debuts"

Bi-annual cross-platform debuts

Cross-platform "Debuts"

Cumulative cross-platform debuts

Cross-platform "Debuts"

Looking at the rate in which titles have appeared on new platforms for a Humble Bundle, it is clear that:

Previously Cross-platform Titles

The flip side of debuts, titles that were previously available for all three PC platforms are by developers such as:

Porters

Porters

Percentages of titles ported per porter

Porters

Titles ported per porter

Porters

Looking at the numbers, it is clear that:

Technologies

Technologies

Libraries and dependencies can have a big impact on whether a title can be made available cross-platform.

The right dependencies and tools used in the creation of a game can make make well written code portable with little to no effort, whilst the wrong dependencies can require portions or even the entirety of a codebase to be refactored/rewritten.

Technologies

Some technologies which make cross-platform support easier/more well received:

Technologies

Some technologies which make cross-platform support harder/less well received:

Post-bundle Availability

Post-bundle Availability

Post-bundle availability

Post-bundle Availability

From these numbers, it is clear that:

Statistics!

Statistics!

Humble Bundle Stats

Statistics!

Humble Bundle have also highlighted per platform statistics for their promotions which have:

So.

What does all this mean?

Some Conclusions

Some Conclusions

Humble Bundle have:

Some Conclusions

As a counterpoint, Humble Bundle have also:

Looking at statistics from promotions following the first Humble THQ Bundle, it doesn't appear that this has hurt sales figures noticeably.

Some Conclusions

Now seems to be a time of change for Humble, with:

On the cross-platform side of things though...

At this stage, it remains to be seen whether cross-platform support will continue to be a primary focus moving forward.

Some Conclusions

Regardless of where things go from here, Humble Bundle's impact on cross-platform gaming to date has been dramatic and positive and its legacy will hopefully continue to inspire developers and gamers towards a platform agnostic future.

A Quick Note

The bulk of content for this presentation comes from my December 2012 article on the same topic.

Unless otherwise noted, figures should be considered accurate to the most recent revision of that article (2nd of February 2013).

If you have interest and time, please take a look through that article, which includes quotes and input from game developers who have participated in Humble Bundles, Humble Bundle organisers, and game porters in addition to my own research.

This presentation was created using Mike Bostock's Stack presentation library.

Further Reading And References