A day or two ago I was on a GOG game forum. The game is in early access but plans to move into a full release this month. I've followed the project closely and specifically held off purchasing until the devs announced the 1.0 launch window (because I've been burned on one too many early access games that never saw a full release). Anyway...

... since the game released into early access with a discount...

... I asked whether a similar discount would show up prior to 1.0?

Instead of something like...

... "I'm sorry. We've put a lot of hard work into this project and just can't offer a deal like that at the moment..."

... something I would 100% understand...

... the dev made a snide joke (with an emoji no less) that I should look at the the full early access price as a discounted "sale price" compared to what the game will sell for after 1.0!

I sat at the computer a bit miffed. Again, I would understand if he just stated that they couldn't discount the game again, but instead the snide, insulting joke?

I asked my wife to read cold his reply to my question. Maybe I was overreacting? She didn't know anything about the situation whatsoever, but when she was done, she said...

"What a jerk."

I guess community managers just don't care anymore.

Too bad. I'd waited for that game... but don't want to play it now. I've reached out to MANY devs in the last few years and have MANY who are pretty cool and straight shooters. I'd rather buy from them.

He is kind of right though. Early Access games are usually cheaper than the final 1.0 version.

True. EA games tend to go up in price along the way, possibly even multiple times during the EA phase and almost always when they leave EA, so technically the game during EA tends to have sort of a pre-order discount even at full price.

Well, a dev actually caring about GOG's forums is quite a rare occurrence, to start with...

I think you made up the whole story :)

I understand how the pricing tends to work on EA games into release (and this dev always made it known the release price would be higher than EA). My point as stated earlier was:

"Instead of something like...

... 'I'm sorry. We've put a lot of hard work into this project and just can't offer a deal like that at the moment...'

... something I would 100% understand...

... the dev made a snide joke (with an emoji no less) that I should look at the the full early access price as a discounted "sale price" compared to what the game will sell for after 1.0!"

Yes.

Yeah, i simpathize with the dev.
I would not like it if my boss asked me to take a paycut, because of "reasons".
But these days people get offended by something or anything, even like mentioned in earlier posts, a rare dev interacting on gog foruns, telling something wich i consider true for many EA games, with an emoji?
I would understand being angry, if said dev replied, with something like "cheapskate", "stingy", but an emoji??

Well, I obviously disagree. IMO this situation is exactly what's wrong with a number of community managers... they don't know how to communicate truthfully yet effectively. No joke.

He took a situation where I simply asked a question and made it into a joke at my expense. I have no intention of making that literal.

Why exactly are we supposed to discuss your description of the "incident" instead of just providing a link to the relvant thread?

Buying a game that is in early access is paying to participate in an open beta. You're supporting them financially and taking a risk that the final release version of the game might not be something that you will enjoy. Even if you enjoy the release version, there may have been a beta build that you liked more. It's not unreasonable for the price of the game to increase when certain development milestones are reached or the release version is published, and plenty of developers have been upfront about this being true. There is nothing to be angry about, especially when they are honest about this.

I too sympathise with the developer, but this is a different relationship. This is how a businessman is choosing to conduct himself to a potential customer. I'm not an indignant and entitled fool, expecting to be treated with the maxim "the customer is always right", but do expect to be treated with a certain respect, as dictated by "the customer is always right in matters of taste." I would certainly be giving it if I were the developer.
It seems rather petty at first of Kai2 to be annoyed byt this, but I have to agree on the principle, the developer has a burden of professionalism

Seconded.
Motion approved.

Without seeing your discussion in full, it is rather hard to judge.

And the fact might be that he was tired, had been working long hard days, perhaps even nights, and so was somewhat robotic in reply, perhaps even somewhat annoyed by what he thought should be obvious. Perhaps you were the 100th person to ask that question ... who knows really. And he could have just been in a mood, had a bad day etc. Anyway, it doesn't seem like much to get overly excited about.

Depending where the Dev is from that is quite a normal way of communication.
Answering with a little wit and irony.
Personally I have learned, that this can be over the head for people from the USA.

And this answer is even more ok, because you could have bought already for a lower price while you actually asking for "more discount", something that could be seen as kinda demanding and unfriendly to begin with.

This is the thread in question:

https://www.gog.com/forum/wizardry_proving_grounds_of_the_mad_overlord/roadmap_to10