15 replies to this topic

[Random Terrain]

What is your preference? Do you want to see all of the ugly, unfinished, unplayable versions of a game or would you rather wait and see a more finished version? I can see the good in both choices, so I don't know which is better. What do you think?

[Pixelboy]

Random Terrain, on Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:05 AM, said:

What is your preference? Do you want to see all of the ugly, unfinished, unplayable versions of a game or would you rather wait and see a more finished version? I can see the good in both choices, so I don't know which is better. What do you think?

I can only speak for myself, but I usually find early demos mostly uninteresting, and even worse, such early work usually dampens my interest in later versions of the same project. I prefer that a homebrew author put some time into his work on his own as much as he can, so that the first public version shown is worth getting excited about. In that situation, when a homebrew project shows real potential, the hype that is generated in our community helps to motivate the author to continue and finish his work.

All this to say that I just don't see much good in showing early demos, not to the general public anyway.

[Atarius Maximus]

Pixelboy, on Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:02 PM, said:

Random Terrain, on Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:05 AM, said:

What is your preference? Do you want to see all of the ugly, unfinished, unplayable versions of a game or would you rather wait and see a more finished version? I can see the good in both choices, so I don't know which is better. What do you think?

I can only speak for myself, but I usually find early demos mostly uninteresting, and even worse, such early work usually dampens my interest in later versions of the same project. I prefer that a homebrew author put some time into his work on his own as much as he can, so that the first public version shown is worth getting excited about. In that situation, when a homebrew project shows real potential, the hype that is generated in our community helps to motivate the author to continue and finish his work.

All this to say that I just don't see much good in showing early demos, not to the general public anyway.

Personally, I've always posted early versions of my games because the feedback I get during the development process helps make the game better, and of course encourages me to keep working on it when I know there are people interested. It's also fun to share ideas with the public to see if what you're thinking is even a good idea, which is what I did with my "Space Run" demo here: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...=127799&hl=. I decided not to pursue that project. I could definitely see both sides to it though. It depends on how interested you are in playing early demos and making suggestions to the author, I suppose.

Steve

[Random Terrain]

That's pretty much the conflicting thoughts I have. I'd rather wait until I have something that's worth looking at, but if you do that, you'll also miss out on ideas from others and sometimes just talking 'out loud' in a post about the work in progress can spark ideas and help you figure things out even if you get zero replies. Getting it out there in public can flip a switch in your brain and get the game ideas flowing and provide motivation.

[Byte Knight]

I think you should release a "What do you think of my game?" once the game has a definite start and an end, or when a high score can be played for.

If a programmer is stuck and needs some help with some aspect of the game, then posting an incomplete demo is fine...

[gambler172]

Hi RT
I prefer to see the ugly,unfinished games too.
greetings walter

[yuppicide]

I like you releasing early stuff because we always have new things to try out. Look at the earlier version of Armageddon Complex. Man, did that change. The first version was looking to be great also.

[Piggles]

Random Terrain, on Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:05 AM, said:

What is your preference? Do you want to see all of the ugly, unfinished, unplayable versions of a game or would you rather wait and see a more finished version? I can see the good in both choices, so I don't know which is better. What do you think?

I love seeing anything you have to show us.

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

All stuff is welcome..........

[Impaler_26]

I like to follow the development of a game from the first demos to the final game. So come on, show us what you have already!

[Propane13]

For me, it depends on the developer.
There's a lot of.... crap out there. There, I said it.
Don't get upset, cuz we all know it's true.
It's not disrespectful to those in the hobby-- you'll see what I mean below.

In the Atariage forums, there are 3 types of early development posts that I see:

1) Joe Newbie creates a kernel in one day that's red and says "hey, it's red."
Then tomorrow says "hey, I made it change to blue when you push the button".

2) Joe Newbie says "hey, I made this kernel. I got pretty far, but I got stuck. Can you help?"

3) Someone who has coded/released something good before posts a new demo, and says "hey, I'm trying something new. Could it work?"

On these 3 cases, I am most likely to look at posts from 3). It's interesting to me, since it's made by someone who can complete/polish a project. The potential here is very high. Case 2) is my second choice to look at-- this is someone struggling, but they are trying. I like that. And, with a little bit of feedback, some of these projects have become great, but the rest generally die out due to the author's lack of interest. For case 1), I don't even bother.

-John

[roland p]

In my homebrew, I started with posting small updates, since it wasn't my intention to create a full game. But the great feedback pushed it further. Now I post less frequent updates, since the project is in a stage where a lot of work is needed for just minor visible changes. But when I have some substantional changes made, I like to post it as a sort of milestone.

[Byte Knight]

Propane13, on Fri May 15, 2009 9:38 AM, said:

1) Joe Newbie creates a kernel in one day that's red and says "hey, it's red."
Then tomorrow says "hey, I made it change to blue when you push the button".

Damn, there goes my idea for my next game!

[GroovyBee]

Byte Knight, on Fri May 15, 2009 7:53 PM, said:

Propane13, on Fri May 15, 2009 9:38 AM, said:

1) Joe Newbie creates a kernel in one day that's red and says "hey, it's red."
Then tomorrow says "hey, I made it change to blue when you push the button".

Damn, there goes my idea for my next game!

Then the next day its in the 2600's 128 byte game contest .

[BDW]

Random Terrain, on Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:05 AM, said:

What is your preference? Do you want to see all of the ugly, unfinished, unplayable versions of a game or would you rather wait and see a more finished version? I can see the good in both choices, so I don't know which is better. What do you think?

Out of the few times I actually post about a demo, it's usually about constructive criticism, some good words, or muse on how shitty it is. Just tell it as it is.

[potatohead]

Post it.

Others see the activity and you get feedback. Good, bad, ugly, funny, sad, doesn't matter. Feedback is good because it makes it easier to focus down on a good path.