BYOND itself isn't a horrible little community, it's quite the opposite. Dan and Tom have worked really hard to make a great program, that allows freedom is game making. But I think we all need to treat others on BYOND better. Obviously, a lot of us are mad at a lot of other people on BYOND, and I think we should try to become friends and such, or atleast stay neutral with one another. But this poses a problem, because some of the people do not want to change their ways. Some people are full of greed and only make/copy games to make money. Well, if I ever do make another game, I will not charge one BYONDime for anything on it. If BYOND is about freedom, building your own "net dream", then why do people charge money for some of it? Is that all part of their dream? Just to gather money to buy themselves some nicer material possessions? Quite greedy and selfish if I do say so myself. Sure, I've made a good amount of money off of BYOND, but I shall do no more. I just felt like saying that... adios.
-Chris-
ID:190809
 Dec 6 2002, 9:34 am
|
|
Dracon wrote:
building your own "net dream", then why do people charge money for some of it? Is that all part of their dream? Just to gather money to buy themselves some nicer material possessions There are things called gas, car insurance, food, and video games. They all cost money. The more money I can make from BYOND to pay for that, the better. Ok, video games aren't absolutely necessary, but the others pretty much are. If nobody charged dimes, then how would Dantom make money? In fact, I think prices will be going up. Look at Hedgerow Hall and Proelium, they charge 40 dimes (I think), and people pay. They aren't being greedy; they are making good games and generating revenue for Dantom. Yes, they are making a buck from it too, but that's what happens when you make good games. Big companies have the nerve to charge $50 for their games, maybe you should contact them and tell them to stop charging money for their games. | |
For that matter, if charging for games you create is greedy and immoral, how can you justify charging your employer for the work you do? How can your employer justify charging its customers for the products or services they buy? What makes a project on BYOND so sacred as to be above profit that every other consumer good in the world lacks? The short answer is nothing. The long answer is absolutely nothing. Maybe we should stop charging for everything--sounds great, doesn't it? They already tried that over in Russia. They hit a wee snag with it.
My dream is to become a professional computer game designer so that I can do this sort of stuff for a living. I know that it ain't happening anytime soon; there's a pretty good chance it may never happen at all. Plus, trying to make it directly from BYOND is a bit like attempting to make a living as a professional gambler by playing nickel poker. But if I were to become wildly successful within BYOND and start making $100 a month, that's $100 a month more that I don't have to earn by working a day job, and consequently that much more time that I can spend doing the things I love. | |
consequently that much more time that I can spend doing the things I love. Worth mentioning that for people on BYOND, BYOND itself would fall under the category of "things I love". Making money on BYOND lets you spend more time making games. The old adage time is money doesn't make much sense until you get out into the real world, but it's very true. A 10 to 15 year old might consider spending 25 hours making a game and making $10 off it a "profit", but those of us in the adult world know it's not true. My time in my present job is worth around $10 an hour (not great, but not bad for a 22 year old college dropout who never has to take her work home with her.) If I dropped BYOND altogether, I could spend more hours at work, and have more money. I could also seek more demanding employment which would be worth more an hour. I'm giving up hundreds of dollars every month to make games. In a sense, I'm not making money off BYOND, but decreasing the amount its cost me by a statistically insignificant degree. | |
Lesbian Assassin wrote:
In a sense, I'm not making money off BYOND, but decreasing the amount its cost me by a statistically insignificant degree. I have spent many hundreds of dollars on various support applications for game development (sound, graphics, animation) which is a direct cost (I'm the sucker paying extra for the apps because everyone else is ripping them). It would be nice to at least recover the direct costs. I have chosen to forego many thousands of dollars in contracting dollars in order to spend more time doing BYOND stuff. This wasn't theoretical: For a while I had a well-paying contract where I could choose how many hours to put in each week. I put in roughly half of what I could have, since I didn't want to give up BYOND development. This was not financially wise, but was mentally healthy. By spending most of my spare time on BYOND, I have given up financial opportunities that mean it will take me longer to ever own a house, etc. It would be nice to be able to spend time on BYOND *and* be getting those same opportunities. | |
I think your right when it comes to the 'lower class' games. The ones that only charge a couple of dimes for a subscription, or charge for GM.
That is just being greedy, but charging for a subscription to a decent game youve worked hard on is alright in my books. If I could I would gladly pay 50 dimes for a HrH subscription, if not for the bonuses then simply to show my support for LA. -DogMan | |
Lummox JR wrote:
What's so wrong about charging money for things? I bought into Laser Wars and Kwijibo; they deserved it. I guess I was talking about games such as "Final Fantasy ultramegasuperfight of seph die man super hehe" or "DBZ: fight fer yer lfe", but games such as HrH and Kwijibo are great, and I wouldn't mind paying a couple of bucks to access further parts of the game. | |
Dantom gets money from the Dimes. They earn interest. The more dimes there are, the more money Dantom gets.
| |
Dracon wrote:
Lummox JR wrote: Fan games have no right whatsoever to charge, because they're using someone else's intellectual property. Lummox JR | |
If anything we need a more active economy, because that will benefit Dantom as well as the developers. And I, as a developer, do intend to start tapping into that potential.
Lummox JR