Indie games website, and friend of the Cliqist family, IndieRuckus.com has launched something that’s put me into a spiral of self-doubt and anxiety. The IndieTron is a tool that’s been long overdue for fans of indie games. At its simplest The IndieTron tracks upcoming videogame release dates, as well as current Kickstarter videogame campaigns. Big deal, right? Actually, it is. The way Steam shows upcoming release dates is a mess. Tell it to list upcoming releases in chronological order and it’ll sort of do it. It makes it difficult to actually see what comings out:
That’s Steam listing out upcoming releases. That’s the first page by the way. Why would I want to know what’s coming out in 2017 before I’d want to know what’s coming out next week? The IndieTron, on the other hand, lists things out logically:
Sure, it’s not the prettiest thing to look at, but I’d rather have the information I want than an interface a team of graphic designers worked for years on.
Now for the upsetting part, The IndieTron’s Kickstarter calendar. Like our own calendar it provides a customizable listing of current Kickstarter videogame campaigns. However, whereas the Cliqist campaign calendar is manually curated to only include what we consider those campaigns worth tracking, the IndieTron Kickstarter calendar includes all videogame (and mobile!) campaigns. It even lets you filter them according to their perceived quality. In addition to that, IndieRuckus’ tool gives users an at-a-glance view of how the campaign is progressing. It’s a quick and easy information delivery system that neither Kickstarter nor Kicktraq have implemented yet, and one that we’re not likely to be able to add ourselves any time soon.
When I see other sites scoop us on crowdfunding related news I typically have a mini panic attack, but quickly calm myself with the pride of knowing we do a solid job of going deeper than the other guy. However, The IndieTron has had me down in the dumps since I saw it last week; and it’s not because I’ve had this stupid cold. IndieRuckus focuses on the wider world of indie games, while we only focus on crowdfunded games, and yet they’re the ones with such a great crowdfunding tool? Lust. Greed. Envy. If I obsess over The IndieTron much longer I’ll be handing Brad Pitt a box.
There is a light at the end of the end of my insecurity tunnel though; one of renewed purpose. The mission isn’t to crush the competition, but to recognize there are things that Cliqist does well, and things it struggles with. Don’t worry, Cliqist isn’t going anywhere or changing dramatically, but expect to see more of some things, and less of others. In the mean time I appreciate your continued support, and encourage you to check out The IndieTron.
Any thoughts on what Cliqist should be doing more, or less, of? Let us know in the comments below!
