One of the creators behind the recently-released indie game Before Your Eyes has submitted a new game to Steam in response to a player taking advantage of the platform’s refund policy. The narrative adventure game details Benjamin Brynn’s journey after his death and features an intriguing mechanic that allows players to interact with the virtual world by blinking in real life. Though rich in story, the game is not long, and many players have been able to complete Before Your Eyes in less than two hours.
Unfortunately, at least one player has taken advantage of the game’s short length to request a full refund of the title from Steam – essentially getting to play the entirety of Before Your Eyes for free. The popular digital storefront typically allows automatic refunds for games if a player makes the request within two weeks of purchasing a game and the game has not been played for longer than two hours. As demonstrated in this situation with Before Your Eyes, this policy can often unfairly affect shorter, indie titles. Games like A Short Hike, which can take about an hour or two to complete, can be refunded according to Steam’s rules, creating an untenable situation for developers behind brief titles.
After reading a positive review whose writer openly admitted to gaming Steam’s refund policy, Before Your Eyes’ lead designer Bela Messex, decided to bring attention to the situation by creating Refund This Game, as reported by VG24/7. The developer posted a screenshot to Twitter showing viewers that Refund This Game had been officially submitted. In the tweet, Messex explains that the object of the title is simple: the player watches a two-hour countdown clock and attempts to exit the nearly $100 game in the last five seconds.
Successfully quitting the experience on time will net the player a fun achievement while still remaining under the two-hour limit for reimbursement. Though it is unlikely that the game-as-protest title, Refund This Game, will inspire any real change in Steam’s policies, the original reviewer that kicked everything off has apparently offered to re-purchase Before Your Eyes.
Steam may not overhaul its rules after this incident with Before Your Eyes, but it is not the only platform for indie games. The industry’s major companies, like Nintendo, which revealed Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals this morning during its Indie World showcase, are continually looking to partner with independent developers. It is possible that this continuing trend will help smaller creators avoid problematic situations like this in the future.
Before Your Eyes released on Steam on April 8, 2021.
Source: VG24/7, Bela Messex