This is incredible. I have shown a few people, and they just keep playing and trying to fix their buggy "spells". Nice job guys!
CodeCombat in Y Combinator
71–80 of 85 posts
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let me make one counter-point here though. > Gamers may be fickle, but they are loud and they are loyal. Zynga. Zynga has made a fortune profiting off of other smaller outfits, just merely by studying and copying. They didn't have source-code (to my best knowledge), but they knew how to make a game mass-appeal. This happens more often in gaming than you'd like to think. My advice (I work at a gaming company) is to ho…
Zynga. Zynga has made a fortune profiting off of other smaller outfits, just merely by studying and copying. They didn't have source-code (to my best knowledge), but they knew how to make a game mass-appeal. This happens more often in gaming than you'd like to think. I don't share your point of view. Zynga - which is what I consider a web startup - has been at the origin of a revolution in the game industry . At the…
Their game is inextricably linked to how well it teaches people to code. Lets consider that their "game engine" is their competitive advantage. If they open-source their game, they are giving away that edge leaving another company with more money easily able to take it and run.
That said, I'm not sure how many gaming companies would actually do that, since they are not in the recruitment business.
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#73in-browser programming seems like a great way to get people interested in how code works.
here is an earlier site called RubyWarrior that works similarly.
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#74I can help you guys match people who have gone theough the game with the right startups: facebook.com/davefontenot
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#75Hi, gamedev here. At one point on stage, you brought up the possibility of open sourcing your code, and Paul cautioned you that you may want to follow game industry conventions. There are two reasons the game industry tends to keep their code closed-source. 1) It has been lucrative for game studios to sell licenses to their closed-source engine. Some game studios, such as Id Software, have made hundreds of millions o…
Let me make one counter-point here though. > Gamers may be fickle, but they are loud and they are loyal. Zynga. Zynga has made a fortune profiting off of other smaller outfits, just merely by studying and copying. They didn't have source-code (to my best knowledge), but they knew how to make a game mass-appeal. This happens more often in gaming than you'd like to think. My advice (I work at a gaming company) is to ho…
Your main point seems to be that opening their source code will make it easier for someone else to clone their idea:
Zynga. Zynga has made a fortune profiting off of other smaller outfits, just merely by studying and copying. They didn't have source-code (to my best knowledge), but they knew how to make a game mass-appeal. This happens more often in gaming than you'd like to think.
But that's wrong because, as you say, if some company wants to clone an idea, they're not even going to bother reading the code, let alone steal the code. And I know of no one who's ever stolen code for a game since, say, 2003, and gotten away with it. Reddit changes the game. You can crucify a competitor for such behavior, and gamers will shun them.
My advice (I work at a gaming company) is to hold all your IP close as possible. Game design, art assets, source code, whatever. You have a right to own it so why not hold on to it for a while until you establish a solid competitive advantage.
I think your advice is coming from a gut feeling or intuition rather than experience. But empirically it's mistaken. It's a natural reaction to be hesitant to release code powering your product, but I'm pretty sure it's never been a problem in practice. They will get major major PR and respect, both of which can only help a fledgeling startup.
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let me make one counter-point here though. > Gamers may be fickle, but they are loud and they are loyal. Zynga. Zynga has made a fortune profiting off of other smaller outfits, just merely by studying and copying. They didn't have source-code (to my best knowledge), but they knew how to make a game mass-appeal. This happens more often in gaming than you'd like to think. My advice (I work at a gaming company) is to ho…
Your main point seems to be that opening their source code will make it easier for someone else to clone their idea: Zynga. Zynga has made a fortune profiting off of other smaller outfits, just merely by studying and copying. They didn't have source-code (to my best knowledge), but they knew how to make a game mass-appeal. This happens more often in gaming than you'd like to think. But that's wrong because, as you sa…
Competitors with lots of money and who have most to gain from squashing competition, won't be affected by Reddit or bad reviews. They can just buy more traffic (we're talking studios with tens to hundreds of thousands in ad budgets per week).
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let me make one counter-point here though. > Gamers may be fickle, but they are loud and they are loyal. Zynga. Zynga has made a fortune profiting off of other smaller outfits, just merely by studying and copying. They didn't have source-code (to my best knowledge), but they knew how to make a game mass-appeal. This happens more often in gaming than you'd like to think. My advice (I work at a gaming company) is to ho…
Zynga. Zynga has made a fortune profiting off of other smaller outfits, just merely by studying and copying. They didn't have source-code (to my best knowledge), but they knew how to make a game mass-appeal. This happens more often in gaming than you'd like to think. I don't share your point of view. Zynga - which is what I consider a web startup - has been at the origin of a revolution in the game industry . At the…
The concept of limiting a user's action with an energy bar should not be attributed to Zynga. I played games before Zynga that was limiting the number of "turns" I would have access to.
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#78For graphics, you guys should look at the RPGMaker community. There are plenty of sprites ready to use that would match the universe you have chosen. I am trying to find an adaptation of the http://terrariumjs.wiselabs.net universe where I could use these sprites instead.
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#79Hi, gamedev here. At one point on stage, you brought up the possibility of open sourcing your code, and Paul cautioned you that you may want to follow game industry conventions. There are two reasons the game industry tends to keep their code closed-source. 1) It has been lucrative for game studios to sell licenses to their closed-source engine. Some game studios, such as Id Software, have made hundreds of millions o…
professional gamedevs are NOT going to care, not unless your game (using your engine) reaches $1 million in revenue.
real time simulations are hard. professional game devs need technology that enables them, and right now the engine-of-choice is unity (or some other 'real' engine).
Now hobbiests/hackers, sure, maybe they might find interest in your engine. But really no professional will care unless you can prove it's benefit.
Making a fun game is hard, making a good engine is damn near impossible.
PS: i am a game industry professional, and I've created my own engine.
Re: CodeCombat in Y Combinator
#80I tried it out briefly, and it came across as extremely buggy and unintuitive.