gamemakers questionnarie
(c) elfh
while being at cafe'2003 i paid attention to the large amount of games - 6 quite good entries that took part in the game compo, which had never such success before. moreover, we have a contest here called 'your game' and other possibilities to promote your creation. actually, spectrum game making can be easily equated with underground self-expression, and this is a paradox, especially if considering other mainstream platforms, where people make games usually for money by releasing a preview and finding a publisher. so, i've decided to make this situation more clear by taking a poll between the authors of presented games, here they are:
stanly/studio stall arhon/gbg newart/n-discovery kirill kagan
1. it is well known, that there are no acceptable means of earning money currently on spectrum. and the game making is not an exception, while it is an industry in the whole world. what makes you create games for spectrum in this weird time?
stanly> …nthusiasm. nothing to do, so we make different things. as for me, it is the same kind of self-expression as, for example, poems for others. if i have any stupid idea - i can use it in my game. only one amidst 5 our games has no idea -tower pod, the others are build upon a zest which i tried to deliver for the public. unfortunately, gamers are either dumb, or tardy, cos you need to complete the game to comprehend it's meaning, but there are not so much people, who understood something. it's a pity.
stanly> it's quite strange, but sometimes you begin to think about it. the main reason, i guess, is that we want to make a game for spectrum in particular :) financial side of this affair is interesting too, though it's not the leading incentive. however, money is always in need, at least for couple of beer :)
newart> first of all, it's an interesting process. besides, i know spectrum very well, for example, gba, ps and others need a long learning of particulars, also it's hard to promote your game for these platforms.
kirill kagan> love with this wonderful machine, the possibility to gain some experience in game making, animation and drawing. spectrum games are not estimated with quantity of 2. you presented your game at cafe'2003 - why not 'your game'? are you gonna make something for this contest? if not, what stops you?
stanly> it's a pure accident that our game joined cafe'2003 game compo. that won't repeat. we don't want to set the records and to think about what we have to do to make our game win the compo. we create for nothing. we don't expect any reaction in return - not in money, nor in any replies. the only thing, what we are interested in, is the information, that someone has completed our game and understood it. that's all.
stanly> we took part at cafe'03 to show what are we doing on scene now. to learn the opinion of people. to decide which way to go in our development. 'your game' contest, as a manner of distribution is too early to think about. embarrassing is that the right of personal distrubution expires. anyway, it's good alternative.
newart> fire and ice was presented at cafe because it's not my habit to visit the party with empty hands. i had no picture ready, so i took the game, though it was ready only at 95%. i'll try to support 'your game', but it's too hard to make 2 games at the same time and 3rd till the end of november.
kirill kagan> it could be nice, but not this year.
3. there appeared 2 foreign labels, that officially distrubute speccy games thru auctions and mail order during last couple of years - cronosoft and zxif (only adventure games). what prevents you from trying to publish your game with their help?
stanly> we don't need money for our games. i have enough. if we'll make games for money, they'll be double lower in quality and treble less will be the interest that we gain while creating. we make a game when we want just to make it, to make it interesting, beautiful. if we'll do it for money and in rush because of customers and other curious people, we just can leave it saying that we don't really need it. what about distribution... if the game is really interesting, it will be spread very quickly by those who are interested in this, to their friends and others, and so on.
stanly> honestly, we never considered this method of distribution cos we know nothing about it :) we'll see. it's very interesting.
newart> i think everybody except game makers know about those distributors. there are following difficuilties with game publishing:
you don't know, who will buy your game, so it's hard to choose the appropriate computer configuration (memory 128/256, disk/tape) and the game genre.
morever, you can barely gain more than $50 for a game, made by at least 3 people, sold with the help of these distributors. also, there's a confusing situation with the rights, for example, i'll sell the game to a distributor, but it's not clear, when it will be available for free.
kirill kagan> i've never heard of them before. although, i think that our (russian) spectrumists won't buy anything there. anyway, we make games mainly for them...
and in the end there is an alff's word, who's opinion on the subject, summarizes the answers above.
alff> i play games, because speccy is a computer with a great heritage, including games. there is a plenty of games, one can play with a pleasure. laser squad is the one i play more often, last time it was about 3 days ago. there are a lot of step by step strategies, but i think ls was and still the best. this is proved by updates and remakes of this game. it should be mentioned, that i play other games too, that why i'am ready to pay some money for the good done game. but i strongly object the money in this case. doing money on speccy would be dissappointing for the one who'll try and the attempt would be finished in the demoversion stage. another point of paying money is: the game could be downloaded for free faster, than actually bought. but if some cafe games would be finished on a high-quality level, then i should buy it.