I just picked up the World of Goo demo from their website.  It's available in a format for Linux, Windows, and Mac.  The game has had many good reviews and I can't say anything more than it's amazingly fun.  The game feels like the computer games from the 90's, less focus on flashy graphics and more on clean, simple fun.  It's addictive in a way that few have managed.  In addition, the music sounds like something that one of my favorite composers, Danny Elfman would have written.  It matches the mood of the game perfectly.

Included in the demo is a level featured on Youtube

The really cool thing about what they have done though is how they put out a demo that's plainly available for people to try.  The hallmark of a quality product is one that you are not afraid to reveal to customers until they have seen it.  On top of that, their demo encompasses almost 1/6th of the entire game.  I beat most of the levels a couple of times and played for well over 45 minutes.

Today's culture all too often is forced to buy a product to try it.  Software makers lock down their products so you get a brief sample, sometimes as short as a few seconds to see their work.  The reasoning behind that is solid.  Many games made today are repetitive, soulless, and boring.  If they offered longer demos, that would become apparent.  Also, the risk for a game is that people will get their fill after a demo and simply keep that, instead of purchasing the entire game.

They also use things like DRM, copy-protection, activation codes, and even used things as annoying as making someone dig out a manual to look up what word 48 on page 53 was, lug CD or DVD's around with you, etc.   It may prevent a few people from stealing their software but there's a better way.  Some good manufacturers have put out fantastic games http://www.stardock.com/ (who makes Sins of a Solar Empire, a game I would emphatically recommend) entirely free of DRM and anything more than pasting a code once.  You can make backups of the DVD, play the game on a laptop without taking a CD, download the game digitally if you like. 

As it turns out, many people appreciate that ability.  People like me that are on the road often are then able to enjoy downtime without bringing a CD-case with games. You've expanded your market from kids to very non-stereotypical adults

Sure someone can copy your game easily.  The payoff is an entirely new market of people that trust you because you trust them.  Feeling like a criminal every time you use software is a huge turnoff for consumers.  There's no amount of advertising that will overcome the negative feedback that will generate.  It means that people will buy their software much more freely because of the relationship that was create.

Because of the demo and the fact that they actually trust me to own software I will be purchasing the game as soon as I'm done writing this post.  At $20, it's a steal and I want to support the work of those two fine makers.  If they had made the demo shorter or had had DRM, I would have been much more skeptical with purchasing their product.  The very fact that they were proud enough of their work to let me see most of it before they had me on the hook for the cost sold me.  The decision to purchase was made within 30 seconds of loading the first map.  Take note of that attitude companies, and the way it resounds with customers and reap the rewards.

Ironically, the creators of this game left a company reviled for their soulless behavior, way of treating customers like dirt and absolutely ruining the creative talent of many a fine game studio.  Hopefully companies learn from the example being set here and consumers support the hard work of people like them.

If you want to support the movement, download the demo from http://2dboy.com/games.php play it, and then purchase the game.

Treating customers like friends is a bad idea, but treating them with the respect they deserve (they are your employers) is necessary.