Valve take 40% last I heard from insider info. I know Cliffski of Gratuitous Space Battles fame said he makes a LOT more from direct sales on his site than he does from distributors.
A lot of people just don't pay attention to games not popping up on Steam or Gamersgate though, sadly.

No no, I meant, it was $5 on Steam and $15 at his site. I was considering buying it on Steam due to the lower price, but now that he's selling it for $5 -at his own site-, I think I'll go buy it over there.

I bought it from Terry's site eventually, for $5. You just get a link to .exe installer, download it and install. Looks DRM-free to me (which is a great reason to pay the extra 50 cents, I believe).
Anyways - I keep forgetting about the bloody VAT, so I ended up paying $6.10. We get royally screwed with the taxes...

Well I finshed off the game. I certainly don't feel like playing the main game ever again. 1386 deaths and some serious abuse. Well at least I went from agressive kick a chair anger to casually swearing to the beat of whatever tune was playing for the level.
Still recommended for platform gaming fans. I suppose I should be so lucky there was infinite continues. A similar game from the 80's would probably give three lives and only allow you to restart from your last teleporter save.
Time to just casually listen to the awesome soundtrack without the abuse of playing the game.

Terry's store didn't keep it archived for me, so now if I want to play it again I have to buy a second copy. That's why I'm buying it off Steam this time around. I paid full price when it came out, so I feel like I'm entitled to buy it from a store that keeps my copy locked in a special bank for me.

So e-mail him and tell him about it. He'll fix it.

But how then did his game became known enough for people to get it from his site?

Why didn't you... you know... made a backup copy of it ?

Why didn't you keep the original email or the .exe or .dmg installer on your hard drive, external flash or even msn live skydrive or equivalent?
Anyhow, as someone mentioned, send him an email with your order # and he'll fix it.

You get a reliable online backup and Terry gets more money for making a great game. It sounds like a win-win situation to me.

In a word, "Yes." After finishing Eversion, I didn't really get into any of my big PC backlog (DQIX has taken its spotlight, though *is a handheld gamer*), but VVVVVV, for the few days it lasted against me, fit the spot. I've got its soundtrack playing now.
EDIT: I have some 'cash' 'on' me, so I picked up Myst for the same price I payed for VVVVVV and Eversion. We'll see how well a full-retail game satiates me compared to a couple low-key indies.

Yay, Terry renewed my download! That's customer service for you!
Not only that, he gave me a code for a Steam copy as well! Whatever he makes next, I'll be sure to buy directly from him.

Yesyesyesyesyesyes!!!!!!!1!!one!!!
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/2650/hardway.jpg

Took me 45 minutes on this one. My tears are bitter indeed.This thread deserves a bump. VVVVVV is one of the best indie games I bought this year. I still wouldn't have paid the original full price for it, but I certainly would pay $15. My main issue with the game is that it's far too short. Everything else fits very nicely, including the retro graphics and the superb soundtrack, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The game's biggest achievement is that the game constantly challenges you; there's no "difficult" in an absolute sense, because the levels are challenging in their own terms.

If you haven't bought it, you need to do so now. I have to admit I had my reservations about buying VVVVVV at first. I tried the demo, and I thought it was charming, but I couldn't see myself paying the full $20 (I think it cost $20 when it was first released). The demo didn't do justice to the full game, as it felt like paying for a Miniclip game. Well, I have to say, I'm really glad I bought it.

Total necropost, but YES YES YES YES YES FINALLY.

EDIT: I am so happy. ;o;

EDIT2: It's 07:12, I should go to bed...