Hello BYOND, I decided to put together a list of the top 10 Game Developers on BYOND.
To be clear,
this list will include those who are active and inactive. It will also include a brief explanation of why I think they deserve that particular rank. This post is also my personal opinion, so take the list with a grain of salt.
I also apologize for any errors as alot of the information I include will be drawn from memory.
1)Forum_Account
It was a tough decision to place the #1 spot! Forum is easily one of the oddest characters of BYOND in my opinion. His account was what appeared to be a throwaway account to make some forum posts, he actually ended up sticking around and producing some of the best libraries and demos on BYOND, many of which are a godsend for developers - alot of developers still use his work to this day. Forum has made some nice gems that seem to have one mostly unnoticed such as RPG Sweeper,Exordium & Terminus and A Miner Adventure. One of the first developers to create pixel movement and platformer systems. Forum consistently pushed BYOND's limits and is easily the #1 developer in my humble opinion simply because he not only made some neat games, but also helped other developers spawn a generation of better games for BYOND.
2)Ben Mallahan(Silk Games)
Silk Games has been around for about a decade at the time of this post and so far has been one of the most influential developers on BYOND. The first (and only, to my knowledge) BYOND Developer to successfully green light and release a BYOND game(NEStalgia) on Steam. Silk Games has easily been the most commercially successful team on BYOND. NEStalgia is one of the most popular games on BYOND.
3)Aaiko/Iccusion Entertainment
An amazing developer I originally completely overlooked. When I first tried BYOND Feval was one the best games to play. It had good graphics and good design - A great combo. Teridal is also a game I recommend checking out, its a classic that has been around since 2003 and has been maintained well. Teridal is easily one of the most polished games around. Aaiko has put out some quality content and it's a shame I forgot to include him on the original post.
4)Developers of Space Station 13
Space Station 13 has consistently been the most popular game overall on BYOND for about as long as I can remember. The game has transformed into a living zombie, because this game really should have been dead awhile ago.
(it's been over a decade since it's release!) The game has helped keep BYOND alive by bringing in new people but it is also usually riddled with bugs and bad design(lag). To my knowledge, the game is fragmented into several different servers that are each developed seperately, It is truly the zombie of BYOND. I was originally going to award this spot to the creators of SS13 but the real people keeping it alive are the people who still develop the seperate servers for it. It should be noted that each server is/could be different as there are completely seperate groups working on each one.
5)Darker Emerald
Darker Emerald developed The Last Conflict, a (still) popular zombie shooter that has been around since 2007. Aside from developing The Last Conflict, Darker Emerald has also released a nice slew of developer resources, which benefits BYOND as a whole. For putting out good, solid work and maintaining it for so long, I believe Darker Emerald deserves this spot.
6)YutPut
YutPut is easily one of the most productive developers on BYOND, having released 20+ different game projects on the portal. Yutput has participated in game contests such as Ludam Dare and remains one the most active developers to this day. Some of YutPut's notable projects include : At First Glance, Footrace for the Holy Grail, Zen and Epic. Despite having a large pool of game projects and experience, YutPut hasn't released any demo's or libraries (to my knowledge). I personally would like to see a long-term game from YutPut because he usually produces some interesting work and I would like to see what he can do on a larger scale. Overall he is still a solid, active developer on BYOND who has produced some nice gems.
7)D4RK3 54B3R
This guy needs more attention. I remember playing Andromeda awhile back and thinking back to games like Escape Velocity. Andromeda has a very nice interface and gives you a nice smooth experience and I recommend you check it out if you haven't already. D4RK3 54B3R has also created some developer resources, most notable is his lighting library which is both visually pleasing but also fast enough to use in an actual game.
8)Eternia Development Team
The developer(s) of Eternia. Eternia is an awesome, polished roleplaying game that has been one of the top games on BYOND since it's release. So far the game has only been a roleplay game but I have heard that there is a possible PvP version coming out. Eternia features solid graphics and a nice experience overall and has been maintained since 2011.
9)Devourer Of Souls
The Developer of Sigrogana Legend - a popular roleplaying game. The game features some nice graphics and roleplay elements. Devourer Of Souls also created Mitadake High which is an anime - horror game and Duel Monsters Expert an anime-trading card game. Overall I think Devourer deserves this spot for putting out some solid work over the years.
10)Pride Ravanok
Developer of Rise Of The Pirates. Rise of The Pirates is basically a god send to one piece fans. The game features crafting, grid inventory and a sturdy class system. The game is visually appealing and is still being actively maintained and developed. There is also a seperate title called Magic Awakening that Pride Ravanok developed but unfortunately fell through(?). Overall Pride Ravanok's work features some nice artwork and design.
EDIT :
Because I make mistakes (quite frequently) I may adjust the rankings because I forgot some key people, any original top rankers will be given honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Kaiochao, Berlin2222, Fugsnarf, Crazah, Travylleb, Falacy, Ter13, IainPeregrine, Teka123, Oasiscircle, Straw Hat Creations, Mr_Goober, OneFishDown
Alot can be said about these developers individually but collectively they have all brought some quality content to BYOND in some way. If I had made a longer list these are the people who had have probably been considered first and foremost.
Anyway it was kinda fun making this and I hope you enjoyed the list.
Please also remember that this was my personal opinion. :-P
I am not perfect (sadly). So If I overlooked an awesome developer - mention them!
Jan 27 2015, 12:01 am
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A.T.H.K
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Chance ie Writing a new one, isn't a dev well wasn't last time I spoke to him and more revolved around project management, I know a few people that worked or are still working on it, one being Nadrew.
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I would put IainPeregrine at the top in a heartbeat. He was always someone I and many other developers looked up to for a myriad of reasons. Casual Quest and Regressia are easily my favorite games on BYOND. Some of his old multiplayer games like Jeet Kune Do and Plunder Gnome aren't even displayed on his site anymore, which is a shame because they are amazing. Did I mention they were made in 05 and 06? His stuff was always impressive when I first joined.
It also seems like a crime not to include Aaiko/Iccusion Entertainment on a list like this. Teridal/Seika was always a great multiplayer RPG option on BYOND, though it's fallen on hard times now and Aaiko's got his own thing going. Startegem is an amazingly fun multiplayer board game, but it is merely the tip of the iceberg that was Aaiko's many arcadey games that he was known for. It always impressed me how many quality games he pushed out, and none of them are listed on his site anymore, unfortunately. Both of these guys consistently pushed out quality and impressive content. Silkwizard is a good developer, but I would go with Aaiko for second place and Silkwizard for third. Nobody else on BYOND really compares to those three, in my opinion, when it comes to pushing out lots of quality games. Somebody may be able to remind me of someone I'd forgotten about, though. I think Forum_account is a little overrated too. He was a decent dev nonetheless. Also, I appreciate the honorable mention. | |
Fugsnarf wrote:
I would put IainPeregrine at the top in a heartbeat. He was always someone I and many other developers looked up to for a myriad of reasons. Casual Quest and Regressia are easily my favorite games on BYOND. Some of his old multiplayer games like Jeet Kune Do and Plunder Gnome aren't even displayed on his site anymore, which is a shame because they are amazing. Did I mention they were made in 05 and 06? His stuff was always impressive when I first joined. | |
This list was made by someone who really really put their opinion in the list, which is obvious by both reading it and the nature of a top 10 list.
Teka is making his attempts, all good and well but we know he isn't a top rated developer at all yet. SilkWizard's team puts out a good game, but I believe the bulk of the game (NEStalgia) was by his programmer and anyone else he places on the team (like Writing A New One). Obvious Writing A New One is a manager. Also "Developers of Space Station 13" is vague as fuck. Development wise, objectively, Forum_Account and Ter13(RIP In Pieces) have pushed out some great utilities while not necessarily pushing out games. Edit: Also GatewayRa for #1. | |
Fugsnarf wrote:
It also seems like a crime not to include Aaiko/Iccusion Entertainment on a list like this. Seika *-* | |
A.T.H.K wrote:
Chance ie Writing a new one, isn't a dev well wasn't last time I spoke to him and more revolved around project management, I know a few people that worked or are still working on it, one being Nadrew. Thanks for pointing this out, I was under the impression he was also a developer. Fugsnarf wrote: I would put IainPeregrine at the top in a heartbeat. I believe that had I had more time to look at this developer I might have considered a top rank, but not #1 - I am going to ahead and give him an honorable mention, maybe later on when I have time to take a better look I can consider a list edit. It also seems like a crime not to include Aaiko/Iccusion Entertainment on a list like this. You are 100% right about this - Aaiko completely slipped my mind for some reason, I loved Teridal when I first started and he definitely deserves a top rank. I am going to correct the list, thanks for pointing it out to me. EnigmaticGallivanter wrote: This list was made by someone who really really put their opinion in the list, which is obvious by both reading it and the nature of a top 10 list. This post is also my personal opinion, so take the list with a grain of salt. EnigmaticGallivanter wrote: Teka is making his attempts, all good and well but we know he isn't a top rated developer at all yet. Teka to me ties with a couple of other developers, in the end I decided based on personal taste because I hate ties on top # lists. SilkWizard's team puts out a good game, but I believe the bulk of the game (NEStalgia) was by his programmer and anyone else he places on the team (like Writing A New One). I did try to indicate that it was a team effort and I believe he is the lead developer - I mentioned him specifically for that reason. Also "Developers of Space Station 13" is vague as fuck. Read the entry and it might make more sense to you, I was referring to the developers of each individual server as a whole. This makes sense to me, because SS13 wouldn't have been as "lively" without those efforts. Edit: Also GatewayRa for #1. 0.0 | |
IchiroKeisuke wrote:
Hello BYOND, I decided to put together a list of the top 10 Game Developers on BYOND. Wat | |
So, is this list the top ten game developers or librarians? If we're talking influencing BYOND in a whole with their GAMES, I can only think of a handful. Falacy probably having the most influential games, causing a great deal of influx in players and subscriptions, almost directly causing the CnD. Whomever started DB Zeta, for obvious reasons. Silk Games, for reasons stated already. Whomever was responsible for the massive spur in popularity of SS13, which was more so advertising than anything. Mind drew a blank on the last one, so I cannot continue my short list. :'(
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Falacy has to be at the top lol, that's if this is a list of GAME developers
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I got honorable mention O.o, wow I'm suprised I'm even on this thread.
I would like to thank jesus christ! | |
i'm actually offended that i'm not on this list
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Falacy should be in that top 10, he basically brought in half of BYONDs community..
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King_LiOnZ wrote:
Falacy should be in that top 10, he basically brought in half of BYONDs community.. | |
Kozuma3 wrote:
King_LiOnZ wrote: He's actually what got me here. HU was my first game. | |
:'(
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