The bottom line: if you enjoy playing this game and plan to keep it for a while, the cost to register is $7. Or, the total cost for BOTH this game and my previous effort, "3d Brick Bash!", is $10. You can send less or more if you wish, but if you do please send an explanation as well.
Of course, if you don't like this game you should not pay for it. But if you don't pay for it, you shouldn't continue to play it either.
Send fee/comments to: Matthew Diamond, 14-12 Beacon Hill Drive, Holland PA 18966, USA.
Please note: I am still in that stage of life where my address changes every year or two. If the version you have is more than two years old, you might look for a newer version on bulletin boards or the Internet. Another way is to subscribe, as I do, to the National Home and School MUG (NHSMUG) or find a recent electronic issue of theirs on the boards or on Internet. They publish a list of last-known addresses for many authors; very handy. (Inquiries can be made via email to: "NHSMUG@aol.com". I am not affiliated with them except as a user of their services.)
The next section describes the origins of 3d Paddle Bash! The third section describes some advantages of shareware, for those who are unfamiliar or undecided about it.
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[A brief history of the game.]
This game was conceived as a companion piece to 3d Brick Bash! My concern was that the first game, though I have enjoyed playing it in its many versions for many years, might not inspire people to send in their shareware fees. I happen to be a break-out fanatic, but not everyone else is.
My thought was to take the ball movement code from Brick Bash, and write a new game that I could send to those who sent in the shareware fee, in other words a nice little incentive.
But I began having fun playing the new game, and I put more work into it than I had originally intended, including the ability to edit the opponents. Now I worried about which game I should release. Which should be the incentive to pay for the other? Which would people enjoy more? In the end, I decided to let everyone choose for themselves. BOTH games have been released as shareware. Whichever one you like best, treat that one as the $7 game. The other one will only cost you an additional $3 to register, if you play it also. Or, treat them as being $5 each.
In return for this trust, all I ask is that you be honest with yourself. Only you know how much enjoyment you get from these games. When you send in your fee, you won't be getting any additional goodies from me, just paying for the ones you already have (and encouraging me to write new ones.)
Thank you for your support; enjoy.
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[Why create/buy shareware? A short essay for the uninformed.]
Shareware has advantages for both the author and the consumer. Without advertisers, package designers, or costs of traditional distribution channels, more money goes to the people who created the products. The author also gets the benefit of direct feedback from the users.
The consumer can also benefit. The cost of the software is usually cheaper (since the savings listed above get passed on.) The software can be tried before it is bought, and is typically not copy-protected. Plus, the user gets a warm, fuzzy feeling from being trusted by the author.
There are less-tangible benefits, too. Shareware allows ideas to be developed that software publishers would not consider. And, shareware is based on the idea that some consumers can be trusted... radical, but kinda nice.
What's this got to do with you? You should send money if you enjoy and wish to own this (or any) shareware game. Or if you just plain feel sorry for me as a struggling shareware author, go ahead, send that money. I'm not proud. If you like, you can forward comments to me as well. I'll definitely use them, either to enhance this game or on whatever new projects I cook up.
