Hello,
‘Is BYOND doing enough to motivate developers’, is a query I have always asked myself; however I have never been able to arrive at “realistic” answer. On one hand you can say BYOND is providing complimentary advertising, program tools and a “vast” community. But on the other hand you can say BYOND isn’t providing any “key” support. Nevertheless, isn’t motivation down to the developer? Let’s have a debate…
ID:260953
 Jul 1 2011, 9:43 am
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I see this as more of a community and developer thing. Most people coming onto BYOND don't have all the skills to make a game so they seek people to help out. Unfortunately we have lot's of coders and a lack of iconers. This probably discourages some people. Then for those games that do get made I will agree with Silk that it's up to the makers of that game to promote it. BYOND's only real job in all of this is to provide the tools. It's up to us what we do with them.
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It's the developer's job to keep up their motivation to work on a project. What "key" support are you suggesting BYOND provide?
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I don't think it motivates enough. But it's only my opinion and I'd prefer not to provide any arguments as it'll start useless discussions.
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Dpheonix7 wrote:
I see this as more of a community and developer thing. Most people coming onto BYOND don't have all the skills to make a game so they seek people to help out. Unfortunately we have lot's of coders and a lack of iconers. This probably discourages some people. I agree but its not like you can learn to icon like you can learn code. Code you can get down guild-lines and know rule but when it comes to learning about iconning you can't make rules or major guild-lines. | |
I can assure you, from a fair amount of experience, that you can't learn to program by that method any more than you'd learn to do pixel art by guide-lines on shading etc. That's how we get pillow shading.
What is more likely to be the case here is that it's easier to bodge copy/paste code and claim some expertise than it is with art, so you have more people claiming to program. Further to that, the site obviously caters for the programmer far more than the artist. | |
i have to disagree with on this i believe its easier to gain icons then code. For an icon all you have to do is take screenshot and pull the out in paint and edit them in byond icon creator. with code tho you need to get a socrse code witch i believe is hard seeing as you would need to have some skill in the first place to become a code and get the sorsce. even theirs is screenshot protection on a game you still get icon
gtg i'll edit later | |
Dpheonix7 wrote:
I see this as more of a community and developer thing. Most people coming onto BYOND don't have all the skills to make a game so they seek people to help out. Unfortunately we have lot's of coders and a lack of iconers. This probably discourages some people. Then for those games that do get made I will agree with Silk that it's up to the makers of that game to promote it. BYOND's only real job in all of this is to provide the tools. It's up to us what we do with them. There are plenty of icon artists, the problem is that most programmers on BYOND expect work for free, which is just absurd. | |
Zelda123 wrote:
i have to disagree with on this i believe its easier to gain icons then code. For an icon all you have to do is take screenshot and pull the out in paint and edit them in byond icon creator. with code tho you need to get a socrse code witch i believe is hard seeing as you would need to have some skill in the first place to become a code and get the sorsce. even theirs is screenshot protection on a game you still get icon Isn't this called ripping? You are telling that you just need to make an in-game screenshot, edit the icons out and use them as your own. Then, when talking about coding, you said you need some experience to become a coder and then steal their source for your own purposes. Is that correct? | |
Decent Icon artists don't like working for free because their art will more then likely be ripped via screenshot and others will end up claiming it. If they get paid for it then they will get a reward for the time it takes to make a good icon. If you want Solid color blocks that don't look good then get a free iconner. As Space Station 13 showed Icon's do not matter as much if the game is super addicting. What recently they started getting some better icons and a character that had 4 directions rather then facing south constantly.
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Neither Iconning nor Coding are "hard" to learn. It just depends on a person's natural abilities. Some people are better at making art, some people are better at making code. Then these people expand on their natural talent because I'd rather be really really good at code and make a ton of stick figures in my game (because graphics don't matter so much, right?) than be really good at iconning, and lack the ability to put it to use without someone wanting it and then I have to icon what they want instead of what I want.
It just depends really. I feel sorry for people that can only do one or the other (including myself). If you ever feel that your icons are inadequate, you can just use a disclaimer saying, "I AM NOT AN ART MAJOR!" | |
The peoples republic of china wrote:
There are plenty of icon artists, the problem is that most programmers on BYOND expect work for free, which is just absurd. How is that absurd? The idea is if they like your project, they will icon with you. It is a combined effort to make a good game. I've met iconners who will make icons for people without even actually being part of the project. I also know tons of other iconners who will help someone out if they like the project idea. I have been asked to help people out with coding(in PHP, not DM), and I did so because I liked their project. Actually, sometimes I don't like their project and I help them out of niceness. A huge portion of the BYOND forum is helping people with coding. I've seen people make 100 line systems and give them away to people who are seeking help on these forums. Not to mention the libraries, where people just give away systems coded from scratch. People even occasionally release the source for their entire game. Is this absurd? No, it is just being nice. And it's not that coders are nicer than iconners, at least I don't think so, I think it's that a lot of iconners aren't interested in making a project, while pretty much every coder is(otherwise why would they learn to code?). | |
The best of my projects have had Zero community influence except for How-To's and Problems. That's saying something...
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Two original games on BYOND have made serious attempts at advertising and promotion outside of the BYOND community: NEStalgia and Space Station 13. The results speak for themselves.