edit : ( why don't we have a same thread for GOG games )
Several reasons, among them:
1) Two competing Secret Santa events would be a bit ridiculous for a community of this size.
2) GOG isn't properly set up for such a thing, really. There are no public wishlists on GOG, and the gifting system as a whole doesn't allow the sort of intermediary system we've got going here.
3) This secret santa is spurred directly by a major sale event during which MANY things will be 75%+ off. As far as we know, GOG has no real competitor in this field. During the sale, someone can purchase several games for $20 that have a regular prices of $80+. Even though none of us quite knows how much $80 is, our mathmagicians are narrowing it down and we now know it's a bigger amount than $20.
4) Steam has a bigger catalog with newer stuff on it. Getting stuff released in the past year for deep discounts is really cool.
5) Steam is running an event that asks us to add to our wishlists anyway, so anyone who uses Steam will probably have a 10+ item wishlist already due to contest requirements.
Just to throw an actual date/time out there, entries end as soon as the sale starts (so if it doesn't start today, which'd shock me, you've got a few more days)
And if anyone at all needs to befriends Divisionten on steam, here's the link to her profile
5) Steam is running an event that asks us to add to our wishlists anyway, so anyone who uses Steam will probably have a 10+ item wishlist already due to contest requirements.
Are you talking about the daily wishlist giveaway? I hadn't heard of the event before, but that's what I got googling Steam wishlist contest. Has there been an announcement regarding that for this summer?
There was something similar during the last Christmas sale, IIRC. Basically it's a lucky draw. If you have 10 items in your wishlist and join the Sale Group, you have the chance of winning the first 10 items on your wishlist.
I think that's how it goes. Something like that, anyway.
I'm having to keep myself in check to not buy the games on my wishlist myself. There's some good deals this summer (most of the games in my wishlist are 50% off or more).
It's worth nothing that DLC bundles can't be added to your Wishlist, so if you have to buy something for yourself, then you're probably safe with those.
Say I want to get someone something like Half-Life*. So I go to buy it as a gift, ready to send to division-ten. But it turns out that division-ten already has Half-Life. Which means I can't gift it to her.
Say I want to get someone something like Half-Life*. So I go to buy it as a gift, ready to send to division-ten. But it turns out that division-ten already has Half-Life. Which means I can't gift it to her.
What do I do then?
*It's not actually Half-Life.
If that's an issue, I *believe* the trading system can be used. I think you can trade for extra copies, but not be gifted them.
Somehow I ended up being gifted 2 copies of a game that I thought I only received once for resending. Please send me a PM here as well (since they disappear on Steam after being redeemed) to make sure that I did not screw something up.
I think Steam actually is the problem, giving me two copies of the game (one of which was already sent to the proper recipient), but I'd like to cover my bases. So do me a favor and PM me here after every game you send so I can keep tally.
TO EXCEL SPREADSHEETS AWAAAAAAY!
(Also, 'gag gifts'- that is- really really crappy games that the recipient has no mind wanting like Barbie Horse Adventures- are acceptable but do NOT count towards your $2.50. Feel free to send a joke or two if you so desire. I know I might, to scare my target before hitting him/her with the goods.)
I already got a gift, and I've played it for a bit, so hey I'm going to talk about it!
I was given the Dream Machine Bundle, which gives me the already-released first three episodes and the yet-to-be-released episodes 4 and 5. It's a gift that keeps on giving! But in a good way, not like, in a fruit cake sort of way. Unless you like fruit cake(why?!).
ANYWAY.
I haven't played this nearly long enough, but I'm already really in love with it. As anyone who knows me should know very well by now, I'm something of a fan of stop motion as a medium, so right off the bat there's something really engaging for me here. The characters have a very unsettling uniqueness about them that I love, and all the sets are gorgeous and well-realized, and there's a style and consistency that gives this game a real sense of self.
What I wasn't expecting was the really good design behind this. The way objectives are communicated to you though gradual discovery, the fact that puzzles sometimes require you to manipulate the world, and just this game's outright REFUSAL to give you bullet-point frontloaded exposition makes this a real pleasure to play. I got far too happy when I figured out my character's name by putting together a couple pieces of flavor text when examining the world. This is a game that fully embraces that sense of mystery and discovery that has always made adventure games so engaging in the first place.
(Also, 'gag gifts'- that is- really really crappy games that the recipient has no mind wanting like Barbie Horse Adventures- are acceptable but do NOT count towards your $2.50. Feel free to send a joke or two if you so desire. I know I might, to scare my target before hitting him/her with the goods.)
I've already been gag gifted once. By a forumite not even participating in the secret santa, who acted like they were my secret gifter.
(Also, 'gag gifts'- that is- really really crappy games that the recipient has no mind wanting like Barbie Horse Adventures- are acceptable but do NOT count towards your $2.50. Feel free to send a joke or two if you so desire. I know I might, to scare my target before hitting him/her with the goods.)
I would like to add to this to keep everything balanced: Gag gifts should NOT cost more than the actual gift. You can't buy someone a four-pack of Revelations 2012 and a $2.50 indie game they had near the bottom of their wishlist.
This probably won't happen, but it's good to keep things even.
(Also, don't forget, you can add the gag gifts straight to your Inventory instead of redeeming them, to regift!)
Other thing: successful trade with one of the Santas. So here's the deal:
IF YOU ARE TRYING TO GIFT A GAME THAT I OWN:
Don't send it as a gift; Steam won't let you. Invite me to a trade. Give me the gift in there and I don't give anything back. Then I can gift the game to your target as normal.
PM me and we'll find a time for this, because we both have to be on Steam to approve it.
I am somewhere between cackling at your pain and buying the game to see what in the unholy f*** you are talking about. I'm trying really hard to resist in the name of better sales, but MAN are you making it tough.
I am somewhere between cackling at your pain and buying the game to see what in the unholy f*** you are talking about. I'm trying really hard to resist in the name of better sales, but MAN are you making it tough.
That game is completely made in clay and paper. The real stuff and it looks gorgeous. I feel I ripped them off even at full price for the work they are putting in it. That also explains the long wait between episodes.:D
(Also, 'gag gifts'- that is- really really crappy games that the recipient has no mind wanting like Barbie Horse Adventures- are acceptable but do NOT count towards your $2.50. Feel free to send a joke or two if you so desire. I know I might, to scare my target before hitting him/her with the goods.)
I wanted to send my target Secret Of The Magic Crystals at first but then I remembered that it actually is a really good and addicting game that I had to stop playing before the accumulated playtime would stain my Steamaccount in the eyes of others.
I have something else in mind for that user. But that will have to wait for a flashsale (I doubt it will get a daily deal).
Comments
1) Two competing Secret Santa events would be a bit ridiculous for a community of this size.
2) GOG isn't properly set up for such a thing, really. There are no public wishlists on GOG, and the gifting system as a whole doesn't allow the sort of intermediary system we've got going here.
3) This secret santa is spurred directly by a major sale event during which MANY things will be 75%+ off. As far as we know, GOG has no real competitor in this field. During the sale, someone can purchase several games for $20 that have a regular prices of $80+. Even though none of us quite knows how much $80 is, our mathmagicians are narrowing it down and we now know it's a bigger amount than $20.
4) Steam has a bigger catalog with newer stuff on it. Getting stuff released in the past year for deep discounts is really cool.
5) Steam is running an event that asks us to add to our wishlists anyway, so anyone who uses Steam will probably have a 10+ item wishlist already due to contest requirements.
And if anyone at all needs to befriends Divisionten on steam, here's the link to her profile
Are you talking about the daily wishlist giveaway? I hadn't heard of the event before, but that's what I got googling Steam wishlist contest. Has there been an announcement regarding that for this summer?
I think that's how it goes. Something like that, anyway.
Yep. Keep an eye out.
Oh god yes. I'm glad that I cannot buy a lot of the games on my wishlist myself.
Good. And then I plan how to kill it
Thanks and happy gifting!
Say I want to get someone something like Half-Life*. So I go to buy it as a gift, ready to send to division-ten. But it turns out that division-ten already has Half-Life. Which means I can't gift it to her.
What do I do then?
*It's not actually Half-Life.
*It's still not actually Half-Life.
Buy it as a gift and store in your inventory. I can manage the next step with you tonigt. But it can be done.
Somehow I ended up being gifted 2 copies of a game that I thought I only received once for resending. Please send me a PM here as well (since they disappear on Steam after being redeemed) to make sure that I did not screw something up.
I think Steam actually is the problem, giving me two copies of the game (one of which was already sent to the proper recipient), but I'd like to cover my bases. So do me a favor and PM me here after every game you send so I can keep tally.
TO EXCEL SPREADSHEETS AWAAAAAAY!
(Also, 'gag gifts'- that is- really really crappy games that the recipient has no mind wanting like Barbie Horse Adventures- are acceptable but do NOT count towards your $2.50. Feel free to send a joke or two if you so desire. I know I might, to scare my target before hitting him/her with the goods.)
I was given the Dream Machine Bundle, which gives me the already-released first three episodes and the yet-to-be-released episodes 4 and 5. It's a gift that keeps on giving! But in a good way, not like, in a fruit cake sort of way. Unless you like fruit cake(why?!).
ANYWAY.
I haven't played this nearly long enough, but I'm already really in love with it. As anyone who knows me should know very well by now, I'm something of a fan of stop motion as a medium, so right off the bat there's something really engaging for me here. The characters have a very unsettling uniqueness about them that I love, and all the sets are gorgeous and well-realized, and there's a style and consistency that gives this game a real sense of self.
What I wasn't expecting was the really good design behind this. The way objectives are communicated to you though gradual discovery, the fact that puzzles sometimes require you to manipulate the world, and just this game's outright REFUSAL to give you bullet-point frontloaded exposition makes this a real pleasure to play. I got far too happy when I figured out my character's name by putting together a couple pieces of flavor text when examining the world. This is a game that fully embraces that sense of mystery and discovery that has always made adventure games so engaging in the first place.
In other words, I'm pretty happy.
I've already been gag gifted once. By a forumite not even participating in the secret santa, who acted like they were my secret gifter.
Everyone is in the spirit!
I would like to add to this to keep everything balanced: Gag gifts should NOT cost more than the actual gift. You can't buy someone a four-pack of Revelations 2012 and a $2.50 indie game they had near the bottom of their wishlist.
This probably won't happen, but it's good to keep things even.
(Also, don't forget, you can add the gag gifts straight to your Inventory instead of redeeming them, to regift!)
IF YOU ARE TRYING TO GIFT A GAME THAT I OWN:
Don't send it as a gift; Steam won't let you. Invite me to a trade. Give me the gift in there and I don't give anything back. Then I can gift the game to your target as normal.
PM me and we'll find a time for this, because we both have to be on Steam to approve it.
Gifts:
Petz Pack
Dream Machine
Indie Bundle 2
Indie Bundle 2
Legend of Girmrock
Legend of Grimrock
(yep, two of each were sent out to different targets. You guys are so original
News as this develops!
Shaddup. I use speech-to-type and it isn't in their dictionary. :-P
I finished Chapter 1 and got partway into Chapter 2. These episodes are roughly about an hour long. Really brilliant stuff so far!
Grimrock is great. Everyone must own it.
And the pack has my personal game of the year (so far) in it.:D
Out of morbid curiosity, are you referring to Botanicula? I loved that game to death.
Yes. I haven't smiled that much playing a game in ages.
MOON, STAR, SUN, HEART, MOON, WAVE, HEART, 1972...1975.....I found the light switch to the sun? AAAAAH.
You are on Chapter 2. Well keep looking in the back room.
*sorts books chronologically, omits stars*
....
Okay! Well! I'm certainly not GOING INSANE.
I am somewhere between cackling at your pain and buying the game to see what in the unholy f*** you are talking about. I'm trying really hard to resist in the name of better sales, but MAN are you making it tough.
That game is completely made in clay and paper. The real stuff and it looks gorgeous. I feel I ripped them off even at full price for the work they are putting in it. That also explains the long wait between episodes.:D
I wanted to send my target Secret Of The Magic Crystals at first but then I remembered that it actually is a really good and addicting game that I had to stop playing before the accumulated playtime would stain my Steamaccount in the eyes of others.
I have something else in mind for that user. But that will have to wait for a flashsale (I doubt it will get a daily deal).