Posts: Diary
Fellow Australian gamers! It’s time to act. Let parliament know that that we deserve to keep our purchases and preserve video games for future generations. #stopkillinggames
Closing date for signatures: 20 May 2024 11:59 PM (AEST)
Where do I begin? I started developing Zombie Jack more than 10 years ago, it was a learning experience and went through many itterations. The game has taken shape into it’s final form and while unfinished, it has amazing potential.
On the 13th of August 2023, Unity, announced their new payment model, namely the Runtime Fees, which would theoretically charge the developer (me) up to 20 US cents (0.31 AUD) per install of my game. Which means, if you install Zombie Jack after purchasing it on your PC and your Steam Deck, I will be put of pocket 62 cents. On top of this, if you uninstall and re-install, I will be charged again. At least, this is how I and many others understand the current situation. We are all still waiting for more clarification from Unity.
Regardless, one thing has been made perfectly clear. At the end of the day, the product I produce does not belong to me. So even if they decide to retract some statements and walk back on their decision/s, we all know now that they can never be trusted.
What does that mean for Zombie Jack? At this stage, I’m not sure. I will probably continue development but with great hesitation until more is known. I will also be looking into alternative open source engines.
Here is a video I found on YouTube that pretty much sums up the recent events nicely.
I took a little break this week from working on Zombie Jack to give the website a slight update. It’s still early days, but I felt like showing off a little bit of ZJ gameplay in the form of a video banner.
Next on the ZJ to-do list is to fix some bugs, yay, and add a Power Swing ability. I’m still striving to get a playable version of the game out there as soon as possible. So. Much. To. Do.
The Rustbox Games official Discord server is here! If you’d like to stay in the know, follow the development of Zombie Jack, or just hang out, you can find us on our Discord.
On the 25th of April, my best friend and co-developer went for a walk and never returned. I’ll probably never know what happened to him, which makes it so much harder to say goodbye.
He was always there for me and I appreciated every moment with him. I’ve known him for half of my life and there will forever be a piece missing.
To a better year. Cheers. 🍻