2013-09-07, 10:26 PM
I find this topic interesting; I think it highlights a big issue in fan made games.
It seems like people who want to make their own game are driven by an artistic vision which they're trying to bring to life. Using pre-made parts works against that since pre-mades aren't likely to match their vision, and if the pre-mades have been used before, they could make a game feel less "unique".
I think those points are valid, but successfully making a game requires compromise between artistic vision and the reality of how hard it is to make a totally unique game. Few people will have the determination Ben has had. So I think an essential part of the development process is learning how to balance the drive to achieve artistic vision with the need to keep things progressing to completion in a timely fashion.
Even among professional developers, there are so many stories where they try to accomplish too much, fall behind on development schedule, and end up either releasing the game unfinished, or the project goes belly-up altogether.
I would say every "game maker" engine is mostly a tool for "making birdhouses"- simply because "push-button" game design limits choices. But the upside is that they are far easier to use than full featured engines. I think SoM could be 'elevated' to making more complex or varied games. But, the more complex SoM gets, the more it becomes a pale clone of other engines that are already on the market. The improvements that Mick has made to SoM's gameplay haven't done much to make the creation process easier. So unless you're an iron-man like Ben, I have to agree that it is more suited to making birdhouses.
It seems like people who want to make their own game are driven by an artistic vision which they're trying to bring to life. Using pre-made parts works against that since pre-mades aren't likely to match their vision, and if the pre-mades have been used before, they could make a game feel less "unique".
I think those points are valid, but successfully making a game requires compromise between artistic vision and the reality of how hard it is to make a totally unique game. Few people will have the determination Ben has had. So I think an essential part of the development process is learning how to balance the drive to achieve artistic vision with the need to keep things progressing to completion in a timely fashion.
Even among professional developers, there are so many stories where they try to accomplish too much, fall behind on development schedule, and end up either releasing the game unfinished, or the project goes belly-up altogether.
I would say every "game maker" engine is mostly a tool for "making birdhouses"- simply because "push-button" game design limits choices. But the upside is that they are far easier to use than full featured engines. I think SoM could be 'elevated' to making more complex or varied games. But, the more complex SoM gets, the more it becomes a pale clone of other engines that are already on the market. The improvements that Mick has made to SoM's gameplay haven't done much to make the creation process easier. So unless you're an iron-man like Ben, I have to agree that it is more suited to making birdhouses.