I just bought the early access. Interesting what thoughts go through your head after you read such a blogpost. I had to ask myself ten times if I'm not buying it to give parallel-universe-me a leg up...
Did I just waste 3 years?
201–210 of 582 posts
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#202reduce addictive qualities of the game...
Not sure if applying this strategy to a game that has sold only 4 copies in 3 years would really help the situation.
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#203What is the target market for the game? I played Metroid when I was a kid on NES and the original gameboy. Games these days are a lot about marketing and huge budgets. The indie ones that do well need to be targeted as well as refreshing. Some hard thoughts just watching the video and reading a bit about the game: 1. I don't really like the graphics as much as I liked the original Metroid. This is probably just a per…
I don't know if I'd agree about your dislike of the graphics being because of your own personal preference. The human brain has evolved to find certain harmonies of shapes/colors attractive while others are not. The author undoubtedly has a lot of grit—but, he's not an artist, and his game suffers because of that. Metroid has superior graphics because they had dedicated artists, and surely put a lot of time/thought into the look and feel of the game.
Also, the design scheme between different 'blocks' which make up the platforms in the game is not uniform, which makes the design feel much more disjointed.
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#204That's why addressing a smaller market can be useful. Release your game for Linux and engage with Linux gaming community. You are more likely to be noticed.
Here is an interesting article about it: http://cheesetalks.net/proton-linux-gaming-history.php
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#205Game industry is the economics of superstars. The Macroeconomics of Superstars[1] >Abstract >Recent technological changes have transformed an increasing number of sectors of the economy into so-called superstars sectors, in which a small number of entrepreneurs or professionals distribute their output widely to the rest of the economy. Examples include the high-tech sector, sports, the music industry, management, fna…
Absolutely. All things are turning into the economics of superstars so long as they're subject to network effects and the widest, most fluid and well-informed possible market. Uber drivers will turn into the economics of superstars. Amazon warehouse workers will turn into the economics of superstars. You'll keep on getting individual ultra-high performers who dominate whatever area it is, and more ordinary performers…
Amazon warehouse workers are limited by human physiology to move boxes within 10x of the average box moving speed. That disqualifies them from the superstar economy.
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#206Some people invest 3 years and massive debt in studying in uni but we don't think it is something weird even though I will probably hire you as a developer over someone who just finished uni with no experience. So look at it as something like that, you invested in yourself in some way and you are ready now to reap the rewards.
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#207Don't write a single LOC until you have at least one user.
How exactly would you do that for a platform game like we are talking about here?
Assuming you have a tight budget (no budget for marketing or user testing) pick someone, yourself, a friend, or relative, then make some concept arts, and show it to them, if they like it, continue iterating, if they are not interested you have to pivot. Note that the user can also be yourself. It's unlikely that you would make a game that you yourself love to play but no other one does. It's however likely that you love developing it much more then playing it, then you are not the user! And you have to find an actual user. Test the game/product on your target user(s) throughout the development process to see what works and what doesn't. If the "users" are engaged they will have suggestions, actually you will get flooded with suggestions, so it helps if you also is a user yourself so you can prioritize features according to your vision and not just the most popular.
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#208Game industry is the economics of superstars. The Macroeconomics of Superstars[1] >Abstract >Recent technological changes have transformed an increasing number of sectors of the economy into so-called superstars sectors, in which a small number of entrepreneurs or professionals distribute their output widely to the rest of the economy. Examples include the high-tech sector, sports, the music industry, management, fna…
Absolutely. All things are turning into the economics of superstars so long as they're subject to network effects and the widest, most fluid and well-informed possible market. Uber drivers will turn into the economics of superstars. Amazon warehouse workers will turn into the economics of superstars. You'll keep on getting individual ultra-high performers who dominate whatever area it is, and more ordinary performers…
I'm not sure how your conclusion follows. Uber drivers and warehouse workers are unlikely to undergo this effect because no matter how good an Uber driver is, they can't be in multiple places at once. Similarly, there's a limit to how much one warehouse worker can do.
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#2097672 games released in a year still seems so, so low to me. How many books are published in a year? How many albums? I don't say this to minimize the pain of indie devs that find themselves suddenly deluged with competition... but that's where things are headed, yeah?
Around 2,256,508 books (data is not up to date https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_published_per_country_pe... ) But I guess it will be fair to compare also with Movies. As some games have budgets on that scale. That is around 730 movies per year for USA and Canada. https://www.statista.com/statistics/187122/movie-releases-in... > I don't say this to minimize the pain of indie devs that find themselves suddenly delug…
> 730 movies per year
Is that apples to apples? A 'movie' release could be anything from a quick short on YouTube to a $x00 million blockbuster, and everything in between. The same goes for games.
Re: Did I just waste 3 years?
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
- Linux desktop market share is tiny. My own app supports Linux, but I'm 100% aware that I'm doing it at a loss in every possible way, it's a passion project. Bang for buck is terrible, so you need to justify as a labour of love. - The amount of pain one needs to endure to get a Linux desktop to work as it should is huge, and there are several competing packaging providers with no clear winner, and all have very much…
I disagree with your assertion Linux desktops are hard to set up. You plug in your Ubuntu drive and install it, it detects your video card and install the drivers. Everything just works, when people rag on Linux desktops they are talking about Linux from 6 years ago. A ton of effort has been put into making the experience smooth and there are multiple projects to make it even more user friendly like elementary os and…
I think your parent meant "The amount of pain one needs to endure to get a Linux desktop [app] to work as it should is huge"