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Socoder -> On Topic -> Gamedev is all bollocks now, and I'll tell you why.

Wed, 23 Mar 2016, 06:02
GfK
WARNING, RANT.

OK, there is something quite specific that's set me off on this. I'm not going to say what because it wouldn't be really fair to single out the trigger when there's plenty of other stuff contributing to it as well.

So, what's my beef? Fresh-air peddlers, that's what.

If you don't know what that means, and you won't, because I just made it up, it's a name I've given to people who expect people to empty out their pockets and/or bullshit on their behalf for no fucking reason at all.

I'm a moderator on Indiegamer - have been for many years, and I utterly despise threads that are basically somebody begging for Greenlight votes, and even worse, on a couple of occasions people are offering to trade votes be it for other votes, or serials. That's all bollocks. It's taking the piss out of the whole infrastructure and if you're game can't make it on its own merit, it should not be on Steam. THAT IS THE ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF GREENLIGHT!

Another thing is Kickstarter. Maybe it's just me but I do not have the balls to go "hey, I'm making a game and it'll rock. Here's some crayon pictures I drew please can I have some money now"? In my day <old fart mode> you had to make your shit BEFORE you could sell it. THAT IS HOW THE WORLD WORKS.

If you're doing either of the above, you're peddling fresh air. You either have nothing to sell, or you don't think what you have is worth selling so you have to manipulate the system.

That's not to say that things which are Kickstarter-funder never get made - many do. But if they don't, and you've already parted with your cash, you're fucked. They can just go down the pub with your hard-earned and there's nowt you can do about it.

In other cases, and I'm citing Cinemaware here, I've seen them tout for money, and got it (by the hundreds of thousands), finish the game, then start ANOTHER Kickstarter for their next fucking game! Hang on a minute - shouldn't your last game be funding this now? Can you not be fucking self-sufficient??!

This is why gamedev is all bollocks. All of it.
Wed, 23 Mar 2016, 06:15
Jayenkai
This week, I'm making a wonderful little game, which is making me laugh and giggle as the dots do what they're doing.
I am enjoying myself.

That's GameDev.
The joy of coding, and the fun you can have doing it.

Screw what everyone else says and does.
You started down this path for a reason.
Remember that. That hasn't gone anywhere.

-=-=-
''Load, Next List!''
Wed, 23 Mar 2016, 10:34
rockford
Wot Jay sed.

I code purely for the love of creating something from nothing and have that thing that was once in my head, play out on a screen.
Wed, 23 Mar 2016, 23:50
spinal
Yup, make a game because it's a game YOU want to play. If other people want to play too, that's a bonus.

-=-=-
Check out my excellent homepage!
Thu, 24 Mar 2016, 03:48
cyangames
It certainly feels as if the industry is in a very convoluted state currently and yeah, fresh-air pedallers seem to be all more prevalent as avenues open up for them to pedal away. Perhaps it's just a part of kickstarter things that some of them will get through, particularly in it's infancy.

Greenlight just seems to be a mess of a system, people and publishers buying ratings. Seems a bit too similar to the state of the mobile marketplace of late.

I can't be bothered with it currently, so, gameboy it is!

But, I'm coding for the fun of it, and not with grand ambitions of making a living from it currently (unlike the Ryan from a few years back, 2013 Ryan I'm looking at you here)

I'll probably get back into commercial releases later on this year but It's just not appealing to me currently.

echoing what has been said before, always make the games you want to play!

-=-=-
Web / Game Dev, occasionally finishes off coding games also!
Thu, 24 Mar 2016, 14:50
GfK
Yup, make a game because it's a game YOU want to play
When I make games, I'm doing it to sell them so I can feed myself and my family without the need for a "proper job". First and foremost I have to make games that other people want to play.

I haven't coded for shits and giggles for years now. Plus I don't really play games any more, so making games that I want to play is a complete non-starter on every level.
Thu, 24 Mar 2016, 15:29
Hotshot
That Desert Strike clone game that you made was looking good and what happened to it? Too much work?
Thu, 24 Mar 2016, 15:35
GfK
A lot of work. Too much? Not really. Crime Solitaire 3 is more work.

I tried to talk to two publishers about it (T17 and Mastertronic), just to open the lines of communication - neither replied. Not even a polite fuck off.

Given that I don't know shit about marketing (why I emailed them in the first place), I didn't want to waste six, twelve, 18 months, whatever, only for it to sit on a hard drive not played by anybody and not be paying its way.
Thu, 24 Mar 2016, 15:35
Dabz

That Desert Strike clone game that you made was looking good and what happened to it?


I was sooooooooooooo looking forward to that as well!

But perfectly understand where Dave is coming from... If it's a job, any job, usually, its not cos you like doing something, its, well, you've just got to!

Dabz

-=-=-
Intel Core i5 6400 2.7GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB), 8Gig DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 64bit
Thu, 24 Mar 2016, 15:38
GfK
That and I'm too thick to do anything else.
Thu, 24 Mar 2016, 15:51
Jayenkai
I think a lot of us are in that particular boat!!!!

-=-=-
''Load, Next List!''
Thu, 24 Mar 2016, 19:17
9572AD
Greenlight has been a completely broken system from DAY 1.

It was supposed to be a community saying, "yeah, I'd be interested in that" to things that interested them.
Instead it was an army of Indie-game-hating AAA-FPS-worshipping Valve-o-philes shrieking about how none of this crap belongs on their precious Steam.
And from there it degenerated into the current system of essentially buying votes to get in, which seems to somehow be just fine with Valve.

-=-=-
All the raw, animal magnetism of a rutabaga.
Fri, 25 Mar 2016, 00:12
cyangames
Yup i t is completely different when it's your full time job GfK, apologies didn't mean to offend with the poast up there, I did omit that it is completely different if you are a fulltime indie dev. My brother is in the same boat and tends to rely on project work more nowadays for regular monies also. Hope it's all okay over there.

-=-=-
Web / Game Dev, occasionally finishes off coding games also!
Fri, 25 Mar 2016, 00:59
therevillsgames
Greenlight is all about getting votes anyway you can! And thats why its crap!

I try to make my games to a decent standards in game-play and graphics, the amount of shit that is now on Steam due to Greenlight is ridiculous!

I'm very happy to have my games on Steam and the extra income of course helps, but the process is very much broken.
Fri, 25 Mar 2016, 05:14
spinal
I don't have the guts to attempt coding for a living, lack of confidence in my ability mostly, that and I know what my graphics/audio capabilities are.

-=-=-
Check out my excellent homepage!