

Rob Lach has created a “Bribery Scheme” to get his 2012 released POP: Methodology Experiment One through Steam Greenlight by offering it for free in exchange for votes on Valve’s system. Once the game hits Steam, those with Humble copies will also be sent Steam keys.

Several developers have practically given away their game for free before, in torrents or rock-bottom priced bundles to raise awareness of their game. Rob makes it a three-step process (that does work!) and discusses here why he thinks the end may justify the means, even if he doesn’t see a financial profit.



“When it comes to the dirtier side of game development, business and marketing, I always tend to try something slightly more interesting than the usual,” Rob shares. “The thought of e-mail blasting or tweet barraging ‘Hey go here and vote for this! Thanks’ makes me feel a bit nauseous. Furthermore I think the audience that responds to my work feels similar.”

He says his “Bribery Scheme” is a way for everyone to feel “less horrible about it. That’s the thought process behind it.” His motivations behind giving away the game are not profit driven, either.

“I primarily want to put the game in front of a larger, more mainstream, audience and getting onto Steam is a great avenue for that. Making money was never a goal I had in mind when I was creating POP:ME1. I just wanted to create an interesting experience that nudges on the boundaries of games as a medium, and putting this work in front of as many people as possible is sort of my duty as an artist.”

He’s optimistic about the whole effort, whatever the outcome. “Even if this endeavor isn’t enough to get through Greenlight, it’ll put the game in the hands of an audience who might have missed this, so really it’s a win/win on my end.”

[Get POP: Methodology Experiment One for free]