Fwd: Re: Fwd: Sv: Re: Library/Tool database

[Christian Reiniger <warewolf@mayn.de>]

----------  Mail forwarded (Author is Steve Baker)...  ----------
Subject: Re: Fwd: Sv: Re: Library/Tool database
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 15:33:02 -0500
From: Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>


Christian Reiniger wrote:

<lots of good stuff>

Well, I think you have the answers to my concerns.  I'm still
skeptical that the amount of effort it will take to collect all
this information in a fair and up-to-date manner will be justified
by its benefit to others.

> >Just do it!  Write great games.  Everything you need to do that
> >is here -- a dozen times over.
> >
> It is my understanding that you are a library developer?

I have developed one library - and am past that and into the
more enjoyable and productive game writing phase. The library
is not exactly "finished" - but then what program ever is?

> >My kid had a great strategy game idea last night. After about
> >20 hours of work, it's nearly finished.  It has GUI, sound,
> >3D graphics, joystick support, etc, etc, etc.  The only code
> >I had to write was stuff that you couldn't possibly abstract
> >into a game library.  I could probably have used any of a dozen
> >SDK's and gotten much the same results.
> >
> Hmm... It seems to me that the requirements for a game it takes only one man
> 20 hours to create is pretty limited.

Well, it's a game of similar complexity to Tetris - but is a relatively
novel concept - so I don't regard it as a waste of effort.

> Besides, you seem to be a very
> informated individual in this regard, so it is not that surprising that you
> shoud know how to do things somewhat quicker than many other people,
> especially if you used the same lib you yourself are developing...

Well, certainly using my own library helps...but not *that* much I
think. 

> (the last think I heard was that only 1 in 20 projects succeed).

I'd heard that figure too.

Which is actually not such a terrible statistic when you consider
that of commercial games, only one in 32 turns a profit (ie succeeds).

It's a lot harder to measure success in freeware projects.

-- 
Steve Baker                  http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
sjbaker1@airmail.net (home)  http://www.woodsoup.org/~sbaker
sjbaker@hti.com      (work)
-------------------------------------------------------

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