Re: Direction of Linux games...

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Erik wrote:

> My argument isn't that people usually won't contribute to a
> project unless they benefit from it (get to use it). If you have both windows
> and linux, and you like the tools in windows more than linux, you should use
> windows to contribute to the linux project.

That's not the reason.  My Tux game works on practically every
machine and OS you could imagine...and still no artists have
ever contributed.

> A quick observation: When projects I've worked on have been in dire need of
> programmers, they drift in without even having to be asked. I get emails out of
> the blue with patches and/or requests for rights to a certain part.

Yes - exactly.

> When
> projects I've worked on have been in dire need of a graphic artist, I posted
> requests in public forums, begged for help on the webpage and in the apps
> themselves, etc, and the only response there I've gotten was a contribution
> from non-artist as a placeholder to make something work right... Due to my
> limited experience, that's probably an extreme, BUT if you look on most game
> pages, there's usually a flock of people contributing to code and MAYBE one who
> does some gfx...

Yes - that's exactly my experience...and the same goes for
Musicians - except that (curiously) whenever I ask for help,
several Musicians will offer to help...but so far, not one
has ever contributed anything.

> I beleive most commercial game production entities have more
> graphic artists than programmers...

I think that's true.

Perhaps, the difference is that in commercial production, the
programmers earn relatively big $$$ and the artists and musicians
get paid a pittance. I believe that the artists and musicians
are often straight out of college and prepared to work on anything
that gets them a portfolio and job experience - so that they can
go off after a year or two and earn BIG $$$ designing soup
labels (or whatever it is they do).

On the other hand, games programmers generally do it for the
love of it. Most could earn MUCH more doing accountancy
software - but they don't because games are more FUN.

I guess a lot of amateur/freeware games programmers are also
doing it for the fun of it (that's my motivation) because
they are already earning good money doing a less interesting
day job.

-- 

Steve Baker                (817)619-2657 (Vox/Vox-Mail)
Raytheon Systems Inc.      (817)619-2466 (Fax)
Work: sjbaker@hti.com      http://www.hti.com
Home: sjbaker1@airmail.net http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1