RujiK
Member
Wow, I haven't been in this thread for awhile...
First, I have a very large ego. So when some one publicly asks to buy my old game that makes me happy. I feel no disrespect but I can understand why some of you would. So thanks to @Cpaz @Roa and @RichHopefulComposer for sticking up for me
Also I have been talking to @Master Maker via PM so I haven't been silent for the past few weeks.
...
When I first saw the offer for $300 dollars I thought, "Ha ha! Yeah right!" but then I went and ran the old project for the first time in a long time: Ouch. Blame nostalgia or self-bias, but Pale Meridian is much worse than I remember it. There are so many weird decisions I made that probably made sense 3 years ago, but drive me up the wall now. If I did return to Pale Meridian it would be DRASTICALLY different. I'd keep the story, but probably 95% of the existing project would be changed. Here are a few of the changes I would have to make:
PROBLEMS WITH PALE MERIDIAN
Do I hate everything about it now? No, there are still some great things about this project:
I can't really show how much I've changed as a programmer, but I can show how much my art has changed. Compare some old vs new:
A street scene:
An interior shot:
I would basically need to redraw the entire game, and rework almost all of the code.
Is it 100% Dead?! Yes and no. A lot of the ideas (And code) are already seeping their way into my Sock-Sock game, so it still lives in a way, but if the project is truly continued it would look much different. It would basically be a different game with the same story.
I do regret abandoning the project, but I like my newer game better.
So where does that leave the old project? I guess there are three options:
And that's also the downside of giving it away to everyone. When anyone can download it, the project is kind of devalued. Sort of like a stock asset, when everyone has access to it, it seems cheap to use it in your final game.
I'd rather have a single person take the project over and finish it in some form, but I think that's a super long shot. It's hard enough to finish your own game, much less a game someone else started.
So I guess that's it. Give it away to one person, or everyone? I'd appreciate your feedback.
First, I have a very large ego. So when some one publicly asks to buy my old game that makes me happy. I feel no disrespect but I can understand why some of you would. So thanks to @Cpaz @Roa and @RichHopefulComposer for sticking up for me
Also I have been talking to @Master Maker via PM so I haven't been silent for the past few weeks.
...
When I first saw the offer for $300 dollars I thought, "Ha ha! Yeah right!" but then I went and ran the old project for the first time in a long time: Ouch. Blame nostalgia or self-bias, but Pale Meridian is much worse than I remember it. There are so many weird decisions I made that probably made sense 3 years ago, but drive me up the wall now. If I did return to Pale Meridian it would be DRASTICALLY different. I'd keep the story, but probably 95% of the existing project would be changed. Here are a few of the changes I would have to make:
PROBLEMS WITH PALE MERIDIAN
- WORLD SIZE There is no way a single dev can make a 16x16 km map have meaningful content in a story based game. Most AAA studios can't even do it.
- SEAMLESS BUILDING INTERIORS Although it is really cool to walk into a building and have it load seamlessly, it means your exteriors need to be drawn in scale. This means you have sprawling roof textures that go on forever. This is very boring to look at when your outside and have a top down perspective. It would probably work better in a 3d game.
- ANIMATIONS Because I wanted the player to be able to change into about 40 outfits, the animations really suffered. Everything the player does looks really stiff.
- UNORIGINAL LOOKING Although it definitely has some original ideas, if you judged the game by a screenshot, it just looks like your typical SNES inspired JRPG. It doesn't stand out unless you really read about it.
- I'VE GROWN TOO MUCH (The biggest reason) When I look at the code, I think "????" when I look at the art, I think "Yuck..." I would pretty much rebuild and redraw this game from the ground up if I returned to it.
Do I hate everything about it now? No, there are still some great things about this project:
- Code is still super optimized. I can have around 100 active enemies running at over 150 fps. No enemies runs at almost 300 fps.
- The inventory screen (functionally) still looks really good to me.
- The dialogue engine is pretty robust, but it still needs a code cleanup.
- I still love the story I had planned for this game. If anything, it's grown on me over time.
I can't really show how much I've changed as a programmer, but I can show how much my art has changed. Compare some old vs new:
A street scene:
An interior shot:
I would basically need to redraw the entire game, and rework almost all of the code.
Is it 100% Dead?! Yes and no. A lot of the ideas (And code) are already seeping their way into my Sock-Sock game, so it still lives in a way, but if the project is truly continued it would look much different. It would basically be a different game with the same story.
I do regret abandoning the project, but I like my newer game better.
So where does that leave the old project? I guess there are three options:
- Leave it to rot on my HD.
- Sell/give it to some one
- Give it away for free, to anyone who wants it.
And that's also the downside of giving it away to everyone. When anyone can download it, the project is kind of devalued. Sort of like a stock asset, when everyone has access to it, it seems cheap to use it in your final game.
I'd rather have a single person take the project over and finish it in some form, but I think that's a super long shot. It's hard enough to finish your own game, much less a game someone else started.
So I guess that's it. Give it away to one person, or everyone? I'd appreciate your feedback.