How much would you pay for a roguelike? (USD)

[Ex]

Just curious.

[Z]

Depends on the quality of the roguelike of course.

Also depends on the payment model (i.e. copyright, paid service, donation, crowdfunding, ...).

[getter77]

It depends, but I've certainly paid over $20 before and likely will again when money and targets avail.

[Skeletor]

As Z said, this depends on the quality of the game.

For quality games such as Adom, DoomRL, DCSS I'd be ready to pay up to 100 bucks; why be tightass when roguelikes are so important for me.

[Pteriforever]

$0.00 AUD. I've only like, bought three games in the past two years and I intend to keep it that way.

[TSMI]

Nothing. Not only am I poor, I have no credit card or any other way of transferring money internationally.

When I graduate and (hopefully) have a job, I'd probably shell out up to $50USD for something awesome.

[Rabiat]

I'd be willing to spend more on a good roguelike than the average retail price of good games in other genres (>$20). Some RLs would be a bargain at $100, given the hours of gameplay they've offered me.

Problem is that so many RLs are unfinished and gradually developing products. For the price of an average computer game, most people would expect it to be feature complete, tested, and polished.

[K.I.L.E.R]

People spend $120 on really bad games these days, if a roguelike was good I would spend money on it, heck I have even donated to roguelike devs in the past for $20.00 AUD a pop.

Dwarf Fortress is a game I would spend $50 on. Most games now days, especially AAA titles, are not worth more than $5 - $10.

[jim]

I've probably spent about $300 on donations and registrations so far. Blue collar background, so I'm not rolling in it. Then again, it's all very relative. USD = you've got money to spare, generally, even if it's just beer money. I'm not trying to act like I've got some kind of moral highground - I've probably yoinked about $300 in mainstream games and movies off the web - but what can I say? Roguelikes are all about the underdog. I can't bring myself to be part of the problem in those situations.

Plus, I just feel it's very important to support entrepeneurs. The few times I've really tried to build a game, it's been a grueling experience that left me drained and frustrated. People who can keep the vision of a finished project in their imagination while they're slogging through code have my utmost admiration, and the fact that they're doing it all pro bono means that they're all the more deserving of support, since we all get to enjoy the fruits of their labors.

[MJG]

My up front limit is probably about $10. There are many games worth more than that, but I don't know that until I've actually sat down and played them for awhile. I've been burnt a few times too many on mediocre games at $15+ to be willing to take that risk any more.

If there actually is some way for me to sink my teeth into the game up front for free though - either an extended demo, or the game itself is free with the author just asking for donations - then I'll generally go up to $25 after the fact. More than that can and has happened, but that's really the exception, not the rule.

One thing I'll note is that this isn't really specific to roguelikes, but how I handle indie games in general. I wouldn't treat roguelikes any better or worse than others when it comes to my money.

[Cap n Crunch]

I pay whatever for a good RL, but i think there's constraints on what you can do with the UI before it's not a Roguelike anymore and you are getting more into Diablo style delving. I thought that Dredmor was a bargain for 5 bucks, i've played 280+ hours and i anxiously await the expansion.
The GFX on Crawl are pretty sweet as is.
My opinion is that a better thing to do would be a RL construction kit with some example games.
I'd buy that for 30 or 40 bucks.

Crunch

[Lord Blade]

Depends entirely on the quality of the game.

ADoM I'd happily pay $20.

DoomRL, maybe a buck. :p

Dungeon Crawl I'd probably give $10 for.

A lot of Roguelikes out there are simply not worth much. Not to offend their developers. It's just that a lot of them don't really offer much new. And are often indefinitely "in development". A nice finished product (which would then get updates) that provides a unique experience is something I'd pay for.
Another variation on Nethack or Angband... no chance.