Hi all,

My name is Matt and I am the sole developer on Montague’s Mount.

Firstly, many thanks for the discussion and I would just like to say that I am listening to each of you and will do my best to address any issues.

With regards to the story, as people have mentioned Montague’s Mount sets the scene, introduces the story threads and end at a pivotal point – the future part will tie everything together. As a solo developer who is self-funding a project, it is always a difficult decision as to when to release and what to include into a title. To include everything and make a single title with approx 10hrs gameplay would have taken an additional 9 months. The knock on effect of this could have ultimately doubled the price of the end product. I understand the concerns of splitting the game into two, but this has many positives for a sole developer (getting the product to the players, getting feedback on additional functionality, generating an income to help further development). I understand that the game’s description text has not have made this clear; this is currently being amended and will be updated on stores just as soon as they can implement the description changes.

Over the coming weeks we will be releasing updates to address issues that have been raised, plus including additional requests made by players (i.e. inverted mouse, disabling Achievement text etc). I am also working very hard implementing the Oculus Rift into the game; this too will be coming in the upcoming weeks.

I would like to re-iterate that I am listening to the players out there, and will do my best over the coming weeks to address issues.

Regards,
Matt (Developer)
Polypusher Studios.

I actually wanted to inform my fellow GOGlodytes that the developer replied to the mini-review I posted on Steam Greenlight, but it seems that he already found his way here. Hi Matt, welcome to GOG! :)

Thanks Psyringe, and Matt for replying about our concerns and issues.

I think the best time to release a product is when it's complete. We technically played the beta version of the game with all those bugs and so many questions left unanswered. The game has received stern critiques from many of us, both regarding the title, description, story-telling aspect and the quality of the final product.

It does not matter if the title and description are currently being amended, we already purchased a game that promised a full experience, and we also expected the game to have been through a rigorous quality control process. But we had none of that, and our money went away.

I have yet to play my own copy of the game, but judging by the screenshots it looks mighty impressive for a small ( one-man? ) team production.

I'll give the game a go during the next few days. Good luck with the patches/tweaks, and the development of any potential sequels.

The game's description has been updated. It now reads:

"A disturbing psychological thriller set in the bleakness of an abandoned island, combining exploration, puzzle solving and a poignant story line with a shocking conclusion.

Montague’s Mount is a standalone game with a self-contained story. Another game in the series is planned… "

I have to say I'm rather ... speechless.

The description still mentions the "building on top" that only exists in the sequel, btw.

"Montague’s mount is a stand-alone exploration game with a story that leaves questions unanswered and open to interpretation. We plan to return to Montague’s Mount in one art form or another. "

It leaves questions answered, right..... I wish i could get my money back for this game, but GOG gives no refund, right? Still waiting for a patch that fixes the damn resolution problem and gives the option to invert the mouse controls.

Update: The gamecard has been changed again. The part about "self-contained story" and a "conclusion" has been taken out, as has the mention about that "house on top" which doesn't actually exist in the game. I was told that that description was written by the dev or publisher btw, it didn't come from GOG.

The description now reads: "Montague’s mount is a stand-alone exploration game with a story that leaves questions unanswered and open to interpretation. We plan to return to Montague’s Mount in one art form or another. "

This acknowledges the unfinished story, and I think it does so in a way that's okay for an advertising text. Any further disagreements that I may have with the gamecard are in the range of "different opinions", not any more in the range of "objectively misrepresenting the game". GOG has no obligation to write an advertising text for which I agree 100% with every single statement made. They do (imho) have an obligation to not misrepresent the game, and I think this has been fixed now.

Thanks to the people at GOG who I may have annoyed with my forum posts and PMs. I hate to be "that guy" who keeps pushing questions like I did, but I felt that due to having completed the game very quickly, and having done some additional research, I was probably the guy with the biggest chance to present arguments to fix the issue, and to prevent unnecessary customer frustration. Special thanks to TET who replied to my PM on a Saturday evening.

Yep. Since the games are sold DRM-free, and GOG has no control over them once they are downloaded, GOG is running an (imho understandable) "no refund" policy. You can of course still contact their support and ask for one, but since the game is (technically) playable and the dev has stated that he's working on fixes, I wouldn't expect one.

The dev has stated on Greenlight that he'll work on both. While the problems of the _story_ are very unlikely to be fixed (they are too fundamental imho), technical issues such as these can, and hopefully will, be addressed.

Update: Once again GOG outperforms my expectations. ;)

Read TET's post here, and then decide whether you'll apply for a refund. Personally I won't - for one, I received the game as a prize in a giveaway, and second, I believe that the game is "only" a bad game. While it's flawed in several ways, I also did enjoy the atmosphere, and I wouldn't feel comfortable requesting a refund. But others' mileage may vary, of course.

Thanks Psyringe, your efforts no doubt played a significant part in this refund action. You are now the Paladin of Montague!

Liked the game. The only thing I would improve is remove the achievement popup texts. They're mood-killers.
As for the episodic nature: I do not demand from artists to tell me if their work has any continuation before I support the art with money. I sure felt my money was not wasted in this case. Hoping for a continuation of the story.

Better late than never? It seems like a sequel has just started being worked on, according to the game's Twitter account (see the three latest tweets): https://twitter.com/montaguesmount.