Cheap games and charity

I've found a way for you to get some sweet indie games on Steam. For cheap. If you don't have Steam yet and you haven't heard of this, you may want to jump on it!

If you're into indie games and/or Steam, there's a good chance you've heard of the Humble Bundle. Essentially, you are given the opportunity to buy a collection of Steam games at a price that you set. When you purchase this bundle, you are giving money directly to three parties: the developers, the charity, and the Humble website through a "tip". The tip is the smallest suggested contributor, with the developers being typically at the top and the charity not far behind. You can customize where you want your money to go, though.

There is only a $1 minimum donation, however if you reach the suggested minimum, you will often unlock better games. With the Humble Origins Bundle, you will unlock Battlefield 3 and the Sims 3 after the suggested minimum donation of just $4.82, which is the current average of what people are giving. That is a very, very minimal price to pay! If you look at the "top contributors", some people have paid thousands of dollars to contribute to the charity, developers and the Humble website. These people deserve extra thanks, because I doubt Humble would be able to function in such an inexpensive way if those few didn't contribute so much.

A new feature to the Humble website is the Weekly Sale, which has a different bundle posted every week. This sale is courtesy of PewDiePie, who you've likely heard of in some capacity or another. Love him or strongly dislike him, Pewdie has been using his fame to help get funds for his Charity: Water campaign, bringing clean water to those in need. The Humble Bundle Weekly Sale provides a different set of games every week and a great deal, plus you get to contribute to the ongoing clean water campaign. It's an all around win situation. A win-win-win-win, really.

The current weekly sale is 5 games. Amnesia, well known title that it is, is the unlockable one in this bundle. After paying the donation average of just $2.74, that title will be yours, along with the other 4. Amazing.

If you can spare the extra, please do donate a little more. It's a great cause all around--you're helping indie game developers, charities, and the kind folks who are allowing you to purchase these games at such reduced cost.

I'll be back to reviewing games again very soon. You can blame Animal Crossing for this dry spell...

Also, I finally got Steam! Add me!

-K8-bit

Greetings from Harbour-Con!

I'm a guest at this year's Harbour Con-Fusion. If you're there now, chances are you've already been by my table.

This is a public call to all game devs and creators present this weekend. Come by and say hello! Maybe I could do an interview with you or play your game. Don't be shy.

I'll be live tweeting throughout the weekend, so join me @KCooperWriting. Enjoy the event!