Welcome Back GarageGames!
by Eric Preisz · 01/20/2011 (4:27 am) · 553 comments

You've been patiently waiting and the time has come. GarageGames is back! We've changed our name back to GarageGames and we are dropping the prices on all products to $99.00 to celebrate our new direction and return to our indie roots. It's been a storied ten years for the GarageGames name and we are looking forward to ushering in the next decade.
The return of GarageGames is much more than a $99 price point. It's a commitment to the community who grew with us over the years. It's a return to the values that brought people together to make great games without the burden of unbearable pricing or royalties. Our community is a diverse group of people who are willing and able to help each other grow as game developers and we can't wait to take that community to the next level. So before I dive into details, let's put some stakes in the ground:
We are committed to delivering you a full source solution without royalties at a price that indies can afford,
We are committed to a better out of the box experience: more intuitive tools focused on design, better tutorials and documentation, and web-site updates that support our most valuable feature…our community,
We are committed to bringing in more talent that can help us execute reliable processes, provide better quality, and set higher standards that exceed your expectation ( btw…we are hiring ).
You will find real evidence of our commitments scattered through this site that we updated late last night. The most obvious is the $99.00 price tag. We believe that this price makes the Torque product line available to everyone with a serious itch to make a game without opening the flood gates for free users who may not be as committed to the same goals as paid developers who rely on our support in the forums. You will notice that we are sun-setting TorqueX and providing refunds to those who pre-ordered iTorque 3D. We know that what we need more than anything is a more focused roadmap and these choices are a difficult, but necessary, step in that direction. You can find more product updates on this blog.
You may be wondering who the new owners are. First off, they are modest, so they asked that I not make them the focus of this blog. I'm guessing; however, that you do want to know that we are in good hands. Trust me...we are. Over the past couple of weeks I talked with dozens of interested parties but none of their values aligned as closely as they do with Graham Software Development. I can't thank them enough for suggesting and supporting the low price-point and the resurgence of the GarageGames brand. These guys are just like us; they are indie developers with the drive and desire to build something that changes the way people make games.
There's a lot for us to do. Setting and achieving a new, higher standard for game development tools won't happen overnight. On top of that challenge, we are switching over to new services ( web hosting, payment processing, etc. ) and moving into a new building (we are staying in Vegas, just moving to a bigger location ). We are also hiring and will be adding new people to the team ( did I mention that we are hiring? ). So you may see a few fresh company faces in the forums. Because of these moving pieces, you may notice the occasional web-site glitch or other disruption. So thanks, in advance, for your patience as we make these changes.
In closing, I can’t thank you enough for sticking with us during this time. The team stayed together through the transition and I can't help but think that your enthusiasm and kind words played a big role in making that happen. We look forward to meeting our new goals so that we can continue to deliver on the promise of bringing royalty free, full-source, game engines to everyone!
So let’s hear it in the comments. It's time to make some noise for GarageGames!
~Eric Preisz
CEO, GarageGames, LLC.
About the author
Manager, Programmer, Author, Professor, Small Business Owner, and Marketer.
#462
01/25/2011 (10:38 pm)
great !!!!! and I with all of my student are hoping for a wonderful tutorial of Torque .Good luck!!!!
#463
01/26/2011 (4:01 am)
@Erik - Studio licencing is definately a plus point. I'd happily pay a one off charge for the licence at $99 and then a modest $25 admin charge every time the licence needed to be re-allocated to someone new which shouldn't be very often, this would then cover your time in developing the system and go towards the upkeep of the website (web dev staff). Perhaps a credit based system where people can buy a batch of re-allocation changes, and also use the credits for other services/products. You could even send these credits as gifts in the way of a coupon code that is specifically assigned to a set email address for added security.
#464
01/26/2011 (4:21 am)
Awesome idea, Julian!
#465
Making the engines robust with a smooth learning curve, proper documentation and with an effortless art pipeline, should be the thing in focus to earn them the greens to pay for a proper CMS/CRM system, not inventing fluffy coupon or credit systems.
01/26/2011 (6:58 am)
Charging for a feature that the DBMS ought to handle in a single query, would be sort of <insert (rnd) word here>. This should simply be part of the service a studio owner gets for free, as this bloke is the one doing the 'selling' job.Making the engines robust with a smooth learning curve, proper documentation and with an effortless art pipeline, should be the thing in focus to earn them the greens to pay for a proper CMS/CRM system, not inventing fluffy coupon or credit systems.
#467
01/26/2011 (7:59 am)
@Christian - yes understand what you mean. I'm a web dev too so understand how long it would take, but it wasn't the point I was trying to get across. If the price of the licences is going to stay at $99 then GG may need to make their money though value added services, and I'm sure Erik would like a return on his investment at some point. It may be a change that would only take half a days dev time including testing, but one of the reasons why they may be getting rid of it is because it has scope to be abused or it may be just to keep things simple without any manual admin or rogue licences playing a part in this. So having a price tag associated to this per change will reduce that, and I'd rather see something to keep the studio licence in place than nothing at all. Revenue generated will then pay for the web developer to keep the site maintained (not just for that bit of code), as I'm sure the Torque licences will pay to keep the tech and engine staff in jobs, whilst value added services will cover other salaries which I'm sure will be key to keeping things going, otherwise you may find that they are forced to put the prices up again. Initial cash injection will only last so long before doing the numbers game on how many licences/upgrade or new products it will take to keep salaries paid and keeping this momentum going at events will help. But hey, that's just my business hat on not theirs, they know what direction their heading in. I just don't want studio licences to go :)
#468
Thanks.
01/26/2011 (9:33 am)
@ Michael I'd like a blog post on the future of iTorque3d. Unity3d allows creation of games for many platforms. I want Torque to do the same, ideally. Presumably iTorque3d was in development and in some state of "half-done". Is it going to be completed? The FAQ doesn't address this at all.Thanks.
#469
01/26/2011 (9:35 am)
never mind, just found: http://www.garagegames.com/community/blogs/view/20774
#470
01/26/2011 (4:42 pm)
I'd like to chime in with a "Yes" for the studio license option in some incarnation. I also like binary seats for studio licenses for world builders and art testing. There doesn't have to be a binary download if it's attached to a studio license - chances are I'm building a tweaked version of the engine anyway. Although it might be nice to allow upload of our binary for download from GG for our studio seat-holders.... lol
#471
01/26/2011 (8:39 pm)
Can I please get an answer to my question about getting T2D as an added product to the ones I already own, since, T3D can now be bought at a fraction of the cost I already paid?
#472
I think this situation has been covered a number of times previously. The money you paid for T3D didn't go to the new owners of GG.
In any case its no different than buying any other product and discovering that it went on sale at a later date. If you thought T3D was worth the money you paid for it at the time then you got value your money.
I think a studio license would only be necessary if the price goes up from $99. The overhead of replacing staff is significantly higher than $99 so its a drop in the ocean really, even for us indies. I understand the reason why licenses are attached to individuals. Maybe for commercial license holders a different system needs to be in place, but maybe it already is!
01/26/2011 (8:49 pm)
@Sorin DarabanI think this situation has been covered a number of times previously. The money you paid for T3D didn't go to the new owners of GG.
In any case its no different than buying any other product and discovering that it went on sale at a later date. If you thought T3D was worth the money you paid for it at the time then you got value your money.
I think a studio license would only be necessary if the price goes up from $99. The overhead of replacing staff is significantly higher than $99 so its a drop in the ocean really, even for us indies. I understand the reason why licenses are attached to individuals. Maybe for commercial license holders a different system needs to be in place, but maybe it already is!
#473
I'm glad GG have gone back to the roots that made them popular in the first place, but when you make choices to go away from what worked and charge costumers 10 times the money and then go back to it again and say, oh sorry, you made a decision, live with it, that's not very pleasing. We all live with our choices we make in our lives, so should GG. It's not like I'm asking for a full refund, and I'm not upset, I'm just asking for a compromise that will benefit both parties.
01/26/2011 (9:10 pm)
Thanks Nick for your answer, but the question was directed to the GG employees.I'm glad GG have gone back to the roots that made them popular in the first place, but when you make choices to go away from what worked and charge costumers 10 times the money and then go back to it again and say, oh sorry, you made a decision, live with it, that's not very pleasing. We all live with our choices we make in our lives, so should GG. It's not like I'm asking for a full refund, and I'm not upset, I'm just asking for a compromise that will benefit both parties.
#474
01/27/2011 (2:12 am)
also want free gallons when fuel prices are reduced at the local corner?
#475
What part of new owners giving something away because the old company gouged the customers is good for both parties? The old company got your money not the new one.
They just forked out a ton of $$ to revive and restore GG to its former glory and all some people can think of is that someone is getting a better deal than they did. I am not trying to start a fight or piss anyone off but if you have problems with the new lower price then take it to email or offer to pay the old price for anything you purchase from here on out since the $99 price is so offensive.
01/27/2011 (5:13 am)
Quote:It's not like I'm asking for a full refund, and I'm not upset, I'm just asking for a compromise that will benefit both parties.
What part of new owners giving something away because the old company gouged the customers is good for both parties? The old company got your money not the new one.
They just forked out a ton of $$ to revive and restore GG to its former glory and all some people can think of is that someone is getting a better deal than they did. I am not trying to start a fight or piss anyone off but if you have problems with the new lower price then take it to email or offer to pay the old price for anything you purchase from here on out since the $99 price is so offensive.
#476
I recommend contacting GG employees directly through the proper channels regarding your inquiry. Asking a question such as yours via a blog post is not the best way to go.
01/27/2011 (5:22 am)
@SorinI recommend contacting GG employees directly through the proper channels regarding your inquiry. Asking a question such as yours via a blog post is not the best way to go.
#477
01/27/2011 (6:27 am)
@Donald: Now there's a suggestion for the store - if the new price is offensive, you may elect to pay the old amount. Tick this box!
#478
I also feel that studio licensing is irrelevant at $99. If you can't afford to "gamble" $99 on buying a license for someone who might quit your team, then in my opinion something is wrong with your business plan. Why would you want to pay $500 or $1000 for one studio license when you can buy a non-transferable one for $99?
In the old days, before IAC, wasn't studio licensing hardly used because it wasn't cost effective?
Studio licensing only becomes relevant if the people who want it, want it for $99 or for some nominal increase, which I don't think is fair to ask of GG. What the hell more can they do than lower the price to $99?
01/27/2011 (7:47 am)
I still can't figure out how they are gonna make money at $99. I don't want to pay more, but damned if I can see how it will last. I also feel that studio licensing is irrelevant at $99. If you can't afford to "gamble" $99 on buying a license for someone who might quit your team, then in my opinion something is wrong with your business plan. Why would you want to pay $500 or $1000 for one studio license when you can buy a non-transferable one for $99?
In the old days, before IAC, wasn't studio licensing hardly used because it wasn't cost effective?
Studio licensing only becomes relevant if the people who want it, want it for $99 or for some nominal increase, which I don't think is fair to ask of GG. What the hell more can they do than lower the price to $99?
#479
I'm thinking about the same way here.
If they can pull together a buisiness plan on $99/seat, though, that's incredibly good news for indie gaming. And ... well, historically it'd happened before. Wait and watch the experiment.
I sympathize with everyone that wants to do studio licensing, I really do, but... Hell, the old markup over the base price for converting a regular seat to a studio seat was MORE than the price now.
It all comes down to what's a reasonable ante at the indie table. People are going to have different answers, though, based on what they think they can afford. I know even this price is a stretch for some.
Heh, maybe a "pay what you can" system? Now there's a crazy leap of faith. Works for some businesses -- even heard some make MORE money that way, but tricky as hell and hardly appropriate in all markets. I'm not gonna advocate it, I thing GG's already laying a lot on the line as it is.
01/27/2011 (8:06 am)
@SteveI'm thinking about the same way here.
If they can pull together a buisiness plan on $99/seat, though, that's incredibly good news for indie gaming. And ... well, historically it'd happened before. Wait and watch the experiment.
I sympathize with everyone that wants to do studio licensing, I really do, but... Hell, the old markup over the base price for converting a regular seat to a studio seat was MORE than the price now.
It all comes down to what's a reasonable ante at the indie table. People are going to have different answers, though, based on what they think they can afford. I know even this price is a stretch for some.
Heh, maybe a "pay what you can" system? Now there's a crazy leap of faith. Works for some businesses -- even heard some make MORE money that way, but tricky as hell and hardly appropriate in all markets. I'm not gonna advocate it, I thing GG's already laying a lot on the line as it is.
#480
01/27/2011 (8:15 am)
Ok, so is us binary users screwed? Is there going to be more binaries released? Are we gonna get the source released to us? No one as far as I could see of the skim I did has really answered these questions. 
Torque Owner Kaj Wikman
Kwikman
Comming in late to this party! Congratulations to the personell making it,the crew, the new owner and the community not to say the least. Nice work, looking good!
Best regards
Kaj