Super Meat Boy-esque platformer 14px now permanently free on Android
"People playing my game is much more important to me than making $1 per sale."
Indie developer Rob Allison has decided to make his "ultra fast-paced platformer" 14px permanently free on Android.
The developer made the announcement on Reddit, where he noted, "People playing my game is much more important to me than making $1 per sale."
"I spent six months developing 14px. I poured my life into it," Allison told me in an e-mail. "I also work full time, so ALL of my spare time went into this game... It was really bumming me out that no one was playing the game, when that was my main reason in making it. I could not justify spending money on paid promotion."
He noted that a few weeks ago he decided to make the iOS version free for a limited time, but it still wasn't getting noticed. "Even putting that for free didn't seem to get any attention, so I thought 'to hell with it, I'll make it free on android too!', knowing that I wouldn't be able to change it back."
Since the Android version is now free, Allison just bumped the iOS version back up to 69p, the cheapest price point you're allowed to use, but he may decide to make it free again later.
"It felt really important to get people playing the game, more so than making money from it. It would be such a shame to spend so long developing it, but no one to be playing it," Allison lamented. He explained that he has a day job, so he doesn't rely on app sales, but he would like to break into full-time development.
Reception to 14px has been strong with an average review of five stars on iTunes from a sample size of 30. The response on Reddit to 14px has been very positive as well, leaving many to wonder how to support Allison. He suggested people show their support by purchasing one of his earlier titles like Stay Alive Pro, but he is considering implementing a donation option too.
"Many people on Reddit suggested putting a donation button in the app, which I think I will do," Allison added. "I'm currently working on a bug fixing release that I will send out later tonight."
See 14px in action in the trailer below or give it a go here.
