Rambling thoughts of an indy software developer
You know its kind of hard for a single person to develop anything. Or at least for me it is. You have the wonderful ideas and the desire to get things done but once the realization of what it takes to get a game of any kind from start to finish sets in it becomes an overwhealming thing. You have to worry about the coding, the art, the advertising, the bug testing, the support, the web page development. The small things that most people take for granted pile up into a mountain of details.
And to top it off you have the end user. Those people who always she dog and moan about how they could do it better, or they would have done this and we should have done that. I run a small independent software company. Heh. Small wonderful idea. More like a single man company. At present I develop screensavers. I have had the wonderful oppurtunity to learn more about the development of independent games and am now learning more and more. I thought screensavers were hard to develop. My goodness games are even harder. While being a fan of all the bells and whistles that modern games have I realize more and more why it takes teams of 20-50 people to produce such games. Its just the amount of time involved. That and talent. To see small groups of people come togethor and work on games as a group and expecting nothing in return is a wonderful thing. As long as the communities stay open and friendly to the newcomers then that community will continue to grow and develop. A good example of that and bad also I should say is Neverwinter nights. I remember hearing about it years ago and just salivated at the idea of the promised product. And I waited.. and waited.. and waited... When it finally hit it wasnt everything they promised but I could deal with that. And I was a faifthul on their forums for months after the release. And then the community there began to just eat each other alive. At that point I lost hope and pretty much shelved the game. I dont really know what it is about people that make them turn and burn the very community that they strive to be a part of. But that is one of the "minor" things an indy developer has to keep in mind. From dealing with people who despise your prodict and are very vocal about it to people who email you for support and then never tell you if they recieved your email but just keep griping. ahh.. the wonderful world of independant games.....
And to top it off you have the end user. Those people who always she dog and moan about how they could do it better, or they would have done this and we should have done that. I run a small independent software company. Heh. Small wonderful idea. More like a single man company. At present I develop screensavers. I have had the wonderful oppurtunity to learn more about the development of independent games and am now learning more and more. I thought screensavers were hard to develop. My goodness games are even harder. While being a fan of all the bells and whistles that modern games have I realize more and more why it takes teams of 20-50 people to produce such games. Its just the amount of time involved. That and talent. To see small groups of people come togethor and work on games as a group and expecting nothing in return is a wonderful thing. As long as the communities stay open and friendly to the newcomers then that community will continue to grow and develop. A good example of that and bad also I should say is Neverwinter nights. I remember hearing about it years ago and just salivated at the idea of the promised product. And I waited.. and waited.. and waited... When it finally hit it wasnt everything they promised but I could deal with that. And I was a faifthul on their forums for months after the release. And then the community there began to just eat each other alive. At that point I lost hope and pretty much shelved the game. I dont really know what it is about people that make them turn and burn the very community that they strive to be a part of. But that is one of the "minor" things an indy developer has to keep in mind. From dealing with people who despise your prodict and are very vocal about it to people who email you for support and then never tell you if they recieved your email but just keep griping. ahh.. the wonderful world of independant games.....
I get the same feeling whenever I get this awesome idea for a game. It just isn't feasible to develop something nice with just one or two persons (unless one is extremely good at programmig and the other a graphics mastermind). And if you do undertake such a project, chances are it'll take you years to complete and the risk of, giving up on it increases by the day.
And then theres the interruptions<sp?> of everyday life. I find it highly frustrating to be working on an aspect of a project, to be at a point where your creative juices are flowing and then, WHAM! Your cat knocks over something and breaks it, your spouse/sibling/parent/etc, calls you needing something done. Not sure about others but it throws me completely out of the mindset needed to be creative. The flip side of that is trying to work at night when others are asleep and you get complaints from said inturruptors of creativity for staying up all night/being antisocial/running up the power bill/etc.. Its like ya just cant win no matter what. The pay off comes to all the nightmares and depression and urges to kill your entire family so you can work in frickin peace (just kidding.. I think); when you see your game being played by others. I know for myself that the few emails I have recieved from people who really like what I have created balances out the negatives experienced during the process.
Until next time. These are the rambling thoughts of an indy developer.
Until next time. These are the rambling thoughts of an indy developer.
As a personal blog some stuff makes sense only to the aurthor, and some not even to him....
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Christmas is a wonderful time of year. You remember the joys of childhood and figure out how to pass them on to those you love. Its hard to decide whats more fun; Figuring out new ways to get the kids to believe in Santa one more year, or watching the expressions on their faces when they open the gifts that "Santa" brought them. Its also the one time of year when people tend to think more of others than themselves. If nothing else I love this time of year for that reason. Its a time of year when hope seems to be a realistic feeling other than a whimsical thought. That there is good in the world. Sadly though its also one of the worst times of year for thousands of people. The ones who have lost loved ones or are struggling to make ends meet have a terrible time of dealing with holiday seasons. I have been through the highs and lows of Christmas and its always nice to be in the middle when Christmas rolls around. This year is a great year though. With the proceeds from registrations I am actually able to do something for some needy kids this year. Making tons of money is great ( Heck who doesnt like money?) but if all I did was hold onto it whats the point? Oddly enough the majority of money I have made from my software has went to charitable groups. As long as I can pay for site costs and such then I am happy. Jeesh I do tend to ramble dont I? Heh. I guess I should go now. All play and no work makes CyberDoc a poor boy.
Until next time, these are the rambling thoughts of an Indy Developer...
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Christmas is a wonderful time of year. You remember the joys of childhood and figure out how to pass them on to those you love. Its hard to decide whats more fun; Figuring out new ways to get the kids to believe in Santa one more year, or watching the expressions on their faces when they open the gifts that "Santa" brought them. Its also the one time of year when people tend to think more of others than themselves. If nothing else I love this time of year for that reason. Its a time of year when hope seems to be a realistic feeling other than a whimsical thought. That there is good in the world. Sadly though its also one of the worst times of year for thousands of people. The ones who have lost loved ones or are struggling to make ends meet have a terrible time of dealing with holiday seasons. I have been through the highs and lows of Christmas and its always nice to be in the middle when Christmas rolls around. This year is a great year though. With the proceeds from registrations I am actually able to do something for some needy kids this year. Making tons of money is great ( Heck who doesnt like money?) but if all I did was hold onto it whats the point? Oddly enough the majority of money I have made from my software has went to charitable groups. As long as I can pay for site costs and such then I am happy. Jeesh I do tend to ramble dont I? Heh. I guess I should go now. All play and no work makes CyberDoc a poor boy.
Until next time, these are the rambling thoughts of an Indy Developer...
I want to love Neverwinter Nights, but I can't. It may not have fulfilled it's promises, but it's still the most dang customizable RPG out there.
But the community is just wrong, it doesn't feel like a community, but like you are all forced against your will to get along, and people always snap and hurt one another.
The Dink community has always been fantastico.
But the community is just wrong, it doesn't feel like a community, but like you are all forced against your will to get along, and people always snap and hurt one another.
The Dink community has always been fantastico.
Just a question: how would all work and no play make you poor? Aren't you paid for your work?
As a personal blog some stuff makes sense only to the aurthor, and some not even to him....
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Its ALL play and no work makes CyberDoc a poor boy. Heh. One of the wonderful(Or horrible depending on how you look at it) things about being an Indy developer is that I dont answer to anyone or have a strict deadline to meet when it comes to projects. The downside of that is I also have no one I can turn to for input or support when a problem arises. The creative freedom is great at times and a curse at others. Unless you are really dedicated(Which I am.. Most of the time)things tend to take longer than they would if you had a boss to answer to. Also its pretty cool to be able to wake up at 4 AM and decide to go to work on something. All in all I enjoy running my own software company. Hell with the job market the way it is today its about the only place I can find work. Heh. And the bonus is I cant be fired. So far I have had alot of sucess with dealing with customers. Out of all the registrations for my savers I have had so far only one has had issues. And wouldnt you know it they had to be on AOL. Little background so you know where I am coming from: I have been a PC tech since I was roughly 12. Theres very few things I cant do when it comes to making a PC get up and go. I have extensive retail and commercial experience as a certified tech and enjoyed the experiences I gained over the years.
However in dealing with customers on a day to day basis in the PC world you come across some bona fide MORONS. People who should never be allowed to handle delicate electronics. Whats so sad is that the majority of people I have dealt with who know the least about computers have been AOL users. Dont get me wrong I am not trying to say ALL AOL users are morons. Its just my luck that I got to deal with them on a day to day basis. Back to the user on AOL.
The newer versions of AOL I was told have a setting that blocks all email not from an aol mailbox. For the love of god. If your gonna email someone for tech support have the common sense to allow responses! After 12 emails from 5 different email addresses I was finally able to help the poor lady. But jeesh! And most people think making games and such is all about coolness and making money.. HAH! Deal with people like that enough and you wanna commit hari kari with your keyboard! Its either that or beat said morons to death with their expinsive glass sided mid-tower case which they cant even cut on without calling you for tech support. Sad but I have fielded those calls. "Sir.. Is the power cord plugged in?"
click... "Sir?....."
Yea yea.. I know what your thinking.. But What about the money! Ok.. Lets go over that one. Think about this: How many games are out there in the electronic sea of the internet that ;A- You think are cool, B- Would be willing to dload to try out, C-Would be willing to pay for.
For myself A and B are easy to answer.. Tons. As for C. Hmmm so far since the internet hit big I think I have purchased maybe 10 items that were not released by a "True" software dev. The issue always being that I know nothing about the company, the software was lacking, the graphics sucked, etc.. Always a reason. All of that ties in to the question But what about the money. Most people I have found are reluctant to buy from unknowns. And the main methods of becoming known are people buying your software, spending tons to advertise, or just dumb luck. And in the meantime while your scratching to develop your next project your praying that you have the cash to pay the hosting bill so your site doesnt go down. Yep Indy developers are just raking in the cash.. heheh. Until Next Time.. These are the rambling thoughts of an Indy Software Developer...
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Its ALL play and no work makes CyberDoc a poor boy. Heh. One of the wonderful(Or horrible depending on how you look at it) things about being an Indy developer is that I dont answer to anyone or have a strict deadline to meet when it comes to projects. The downside of that is I also have no one I can turn to for input or support when a problem arises. The creative freedom is great at times and a curse at others. Unless you are really dedicated(Which I am.. Most of the time)things tend to take longer than they would if you had a boss to answer to. Also its pretty cool to be able to wake up at 4 AM and decide to go to work on something. All in all I enjoy running my own software company. Hell with the job market the way it is today its about the only place I can find work. Heh. And the bonus is I cant be fired. So far I have had alot of sucess with dealing with customers. Out of all the registrations for my savers I have had so far only one has had issues. And wouldnt you know it they had to be on AOL. Little background so you know where I am coming from: I have been a PC tech since I was roughly 12. Theres very few things I cant do when it comes to making a PC get up and go. I have extensive retail and commercial experience as a certified tech and enjoyed the experiences I gained over the years.
However in dealing with customers on a day to day basis in the PC world you come across some bona fide MORONS. People who should never be allowed to handle delicate electronics. Whats so sad is that the majority of people I have dealt with who know the least about computers have been AOL users. Dont get me wrong I am not trying to say ALL AOL users are morons. Its just my luck that I got to deal with them on a day to day basis. Back to the user on AOL.
The newer versions of AOL I was told have a setting that blocks all email not from an aol mailbox. For the love of god. If your gonna email someone for tech support have the common sense to allow responses! After 12 emails from 5 different email addresses I was finally able to help the poor lady. But jeesh! And most people think making games and such is all about coolness and making money.. HAH! Deal with people like that enough and you wanna commit hari kari with your keyboard! Its either that or beat said morons to death with their expinsive glass sided mid-tower case which they cant even cut on without calling you for tech support. Sad but I have fielded those calls. "Sir.. Is the power cord plugged in?"
click... "Sir?....."
Yea yea.. I know what your thinking.. But What about the money! Ok.. Lets go over that one. Think about this: How many games are out there in the electronic sea of the internet that ;A- You think are cool, B- Would be willing to dload to try out, C-Would be willing to pay for.
For myself A and B are easy to answer.. Tons. As for C. Hmmm so far since the internet hit big I think I have purchased maybe 10 items that were not released by a "True" software dev. The issue always being that I know nothing about the company, the software was lacking, the graphics sucked, etc.. Always a reason. All of that ties in to the question But what about the money. Most people I have found are reluctant to buy from unknowns. And the main methods of becoming known are people buying your software, spending tons to advertise, or just dumb luck. And in the meantime while your scratching to develop your next project your praying that you have the cash to pay the hosting bill so your site doesnt go down. Yep Indy developers are just raking in the cash.. heheh. Until Next Time.. These are the rambling thoughts of an Indy Software Developer...
Yet still we make the games...(well, o.k., just dmods in our case..). Some people just need to create. Its worth it if even a few enjoy the game.
As a personal blog some stuff makes sense only to the aurthor, and some not even to him....
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Ahh.. The joys of starting a new project. I got it into my head to create a game for kids. Now for the fun parts. Trying to nail down the ideas, art, music, and method of building the game. Thankfully I already have a source for distribution. Its just a matter of getting it started and going with the flow. Not sure if theres a market for it or not but time will tell. Game to be 2D based with top down and side scroll. Lets see what happens. heh.
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Ahh.. The joys of starting a new project. I got it into my head to create a game for kids. Now for the fun parts. Trying to nail down the ideas, art, music, and method of building the game. Thankfully I already have a source for distribution. Its just a matter of getting it started and going with the flow. Not sure if theres a market for it or not but time will tell. Game to be 2D based with top down and side scroll. Lets see what happens. heh.
As a personal blog some stuff makes sense only to the aurthor, and some not even to him....
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Wow when it rains it pours. Not only am I working on a new retail project but I am also attempting to do a D-Mod for training and one for the new contest (Curse you redink1 heh...)
The good thing is that I hope to be able to use some of the art from the three projects on each other so I am not trying to recreate compnoets from scratch for each.
Plus with the new Lord Of The Rings movie coming out I may be a "bit" distracted heh.
Christmas, New Gotta see movies, family get togethors, all the wonderful distractions you could ask for. But I wouldnt have it any other way.
I am debating starting a dev blog for the Contest D-Mod. I am afraid my ideas would be used by others to beat me out. So not sure if I will do that or not.
Even if I dont win I hope people will enjoy my concept.
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Wow when it rains it pours. Not only am I working on a new retail project but I am also attempting to do a D-Mod for training and one for the new contest (Curse you redink1 heh...)
The good thing is that I hope to be able to use some of the art from the three projects on each other so I am not trying to recreate compnoets from scratch for each.
Plus with the new Lord Of The Rings movie coming out I may be a "bit" distracted heh.
Christmas, New Gotta see movies, family get togethors, all the wonderful distractions you could ask for. But I wouldnt have it any other way.
I am debating starting a dev blog for the Contest D-Mod. I am afraid my ideas would be used by others to beat me out. So not sure if I will do that or not.
Even if I dont win I hope people will enjoy my concept.
As a personal blog some stuff makes sense only to the author, and some not even to him....
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer.... Sweet jesus exhaustion does funny things to you. Between working on the myriad aspects of multiple projects, straightening up the house and decorating for the holidays, and stressing over trying to get gifts for my family its amazing I dont collapse into a puddle of formless goo. Jeesh ya could have told me I was spelling author incorrectly. I am coming down with this danged flu <modified after incorrect spelling pointed out by Merlin
>that everyone in the country seems to be catching. Makes trying to get anything done hard to say the least. Its at times like this I really hate not having a team I can fall back on to help pull the load. But I wont go into that. Its a sob story no one needs to hear. So onto other things. Besides the delusions from fever and the bone shaking shivers I have managed to get several new pieces of art developed for my new projects. Music I make myself as I also do my own compositions. Midi is a pain in the ass to get to sound realistic at times so I do lots of digital music via Acid and Magix Music studio. I had a wonderful site on mp3.com until the jerks sold out to cnet. But such is life. Hope everyones ready for Christmas and everyones having a great time. Until next time... These are the rambling thoughts of an Indy Developer.
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer.... Sweet jesus exhaustion does funny things to you. Between working on the myriad aspects of multiple projects, straightening up the house and decorating for the holidays, and stressing over trying to get gifts for my family its amazing I dont collapse into a puddle of formless goo. Jeesh ya could have told me I was spelling author incorrectly. I am coming down with this danged flu <modified after incorrect spelling pointed out by Merlin
>that everyone in the country seems to be catching. Makes trying to get anything done hard to say the least. Its at times like this I really hate not having a team I can fall back on to help pull the load. But I wont go into that. Its a sob story no one needs to hear. So onto other things. Besides the delusions from fever and the bone shaking shivers I have managed to get several new pieces of art developed for my new projects. Music I make myself as I also do my own compositions. Midi is a pain in the ass to get to sound realistic at times so I do lots of digital music via Acid and Magix Music studio. I had a wonderful site on mp3.com until the jerks sold out to cnet. But such is life. Hope everyones ready for Christmas and everyones having a great time. Until next time... These are the rambling thoughts of an Indy Developer.You want spell checkers?
You spelled "flu" wrong. Flue is the vent connecting the chimney and the fireplace.
Let me know if you want grammar too.
You spelled "flu" wrong. Flue is the vent connecting the chimney and the fireplace.
Let me know if you want grammar too.
Sorry for the lack of postings. The flu that has hit so hard here in the states snuck up on me and hit like a pissed off freight train. Went from feeling fine to having a 103.8 temp in a six hour time period. Am feeling somewhat better. Now if I had only gotten the number of the truck that ran me over heh. Pretty much everything I have been working on is on hold till I get to feeling better. Today is the first time I have actually felt like typing. For an internet junkie like myself its a sure sign of how sick i am when i dont feel like browsing the web. Oh well, enough complaining. Until next time...
"I wouldn't call 3 days a 'lack of postings'".
You're just not obsessed enoough.
You're just not obsessed enoough.
December 21st 2003, 09:17 PM
cyberdoc
I have developed 4 screensavers so far for release. Winter Dreamscapes, Christmas Dreamscapes, Planetary Dreamscapes, and a Christmas Gift for user of my site. Your welcome to check them out at http://www.digitaldreamscapes.org
Me? Obsessed with posting? Naaah
Me? Obsessed with posting? Naaah
Digital Dreamscapes is a new company devoted to bringing you high quality screensavers at affordable prices.We hope you enjoy our products as much as we enjoy making them for you. We are a new company with new ideas and hopefully you will share in our growth.
Now tell me, how many people work for Digital Dreamscapes?
Now tell me, how many people work for Digital Dreamscapes?
As a personal blog some stuff makes sense only to the author, and some not even to him....
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Man its amaxing the things you see when your wracked with fever.. Thank God thats over. Christmas preparations are finally back under way. Thank all of you who asked about my health. It was appreciated. To those who didnt.. Bite me.. heh just kidding. I finally felt well enough to finish the last minute decorations and thankfully have almost all the gifts I purchased for family wrapped. Thats one of the oddest danged things about Christmas; Why wrap it all nice and pretty when you know that the kids dont care about the appearance but whats inside (unless its a toddler- They love the pretty paper and bows), and the adults ; if they value the gift on how its wrapped are shallow people you shouldnt be around to begin with? Go figure. People want to be perfect this time of year as it seems to help justify the rest of the year when they are shallow, rude, arrogant jerks. Too bad Christmas doesnt effect everyone that way. Then we would at least have peace SOME of the year hehe. A question about the boards, Is it possible to post images as I would love to show some screens of what I am working on and if not how the heck do I do a link properly on here?
Till Next Time.. Gotta run..
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
Man its amaxing the things you see when your wracked with fever.. Thank God thats over. Christmas preparations are finally back under way. Thank all of you who asked about my health. It was appreciated. To those who didnt.. Bite me.. heh just kidding. I finally felt well enough to finish the last minute decorations and thankfully have almost all the gifts I purchased for family wrapped. Thats one of the oddest danged things about Christmas; Why wrap it all nice and pretty when you know that the kids dont care about the appearance but whats inside (unless its a toddler- They love the pretty paper and bows), and the adults ; if they value the gift on how its wrapped are shallow people you shouldnt be around to begin with? Go figure. People want to be perfect this time of year as it seems to help justify the rest of the year when they are shallow, rude, arrogant jerks. Too bad Christmas doesnt effect everyone that way. Then we would at least have peace SOME of the year hehe. A question about the boards, Is it possible to post images as I would love to show some screens of what I am working on and if not how the heck do I do a link properly on here?
Till Next Time.. Gotta run..
"Man its amaxing the things"
yeah, it's amazing... flu isn't over yet?
It's impossible to post pictures other than the emoticons, but you can post a link with the normal HTML-command:
<a href="www.wheredoyoulinkto.com">What's the link text</a>
I hope this one works... it seems it does work. Hurray!!
yeah, it's amazing... flu isn't over yet?
It's impossible to post pictures other than the emoticons, but you can post a link with the normal HTML-command:
<a href="www.wheredoyoulinkto.com">What's the link text</a>
I hope this one works... it seems it does work. Hurray!!
magicman - you need the http:// in front of www.wheredoyoulinkto.com.
Christmas has come and gone again for another year. Hopefully it found everyone happy, with family and lots of love. For myself it could have been better, could have been worse. But it simply was.
As a personal blog some stuff makes sense only to the author, and some not even to him....
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
My god I didnt realize I had missed so may day of posting! See this is what happens when you get something great for Christmas.. It sucks all the free time from your life.. I recieved the expansions for Neverwinter Nights and another RPG called Grom. So far they have managed to decimate all free time I possibly have. That and the fact that my wonderful bout of flu turned into walking pnumonia. When it rains it pours. But atleast now I have something to do other than lay in bed and watch TV while I get over this mess. Heh. God I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday with their families as I know mine turned out to be so much better than I though it was going to be. I couldnt be happier with the way things are going on my projects. My scanner blew up so I am having to do things by hand in Paintshop Pro which is slowing me down but it could be worse. Tune in next time for more rambling thoughts...
Once again we journey into the deranged mind of an Indy software developer....
My god I didnt realize I had missed so may day of posting! See this is what happens when you get something great for Christmas.. It sucks all the free time from your life.. I recieved the expansions for Neverwinter Nights and another RPG called Grom. So far they have managed to decimate all free time I possibly have. That and the fact that my wonderful bout of flu turned into walking pnumonia. When it rains it pours. But atleast now I have something to do other than lay in bed and watch TV while I get over this mess. Heh. God I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday with their families as I know mine turned out to be so much better than I though it was going to be. I couldnt be happier with the way things are going on my projects. My scanner blew up so I am having to do things by hand in Paintshop Pro which is slowing me down but it could be worse. Tune in next time for more rambling thoughts...
I'm considernig geting one of the expansions for NeverWinter Nights, but I'm not sure which one...hmmm. Probably "Shadows of Undrentide".
Good God. I didnt realize it had been this long since I posted.. Shame on me. As you can guess I have been pretty busy. Learning to use a new graphics pad I recieved, working on several game and art related projects, working on a new screensaver for my company, and battling a small addiction known as Neverwinter Nights. Finally over the danged pnumonia. It lessened into acute bronchitis for now. Yipee! My doctor loves me as I am solely putting his toddler through college hehe. But otherwise all is quiet on the home-front. I miss posting sometimes. Feels like I have a nice place to ramble on here and share thoughts about what is going on in my life and the world heh. After all it is a personal blog. So whats the point of having it if I cant ramble? Until next time... These are the rambling thoughts of an indy software developer.
