Weekly Links #33

I'm forcing myself to write this newsletter tonight so I don't delay it any more than it already is. A while ago I was noticing how when I have a lot of links it's hard to write a lot about any of them, and last week seems intent on proving that. On the plus side, pretty much everything I have this time directly pertains to game development. So let me see...

The big story of last week was of course -- yet again -- how the glut of indie games, bundles, sales and so that marks the market these days is "killing the industry". You know, just like it did last time. And the time before that. Always the voice of reason, The Rampant Coyote points out we've always had boom and bust cycles. Less charitably, Retro Remakes dismantles the complaints in an epic rant. And to be frank, I found said complaints simply incoherent. As for this argument about prices... Um, dude. Economics 101. You don't decide the value of whatever you're selling, the buyer does. If they think it's not worth the price you're asking, they won't pay it, period. Or if they do, but they can't afford paying that much for a game at the time. (And if you think $10 is always affordable for someone in a developed country, you don't know how most people live. Sorry.) Would you rather prefer to make a little money, or none at all? Because the buyer sure doesn't care how much you have invested. And they have many, many other options for entertainment.

And now for articles that are about the actual craft of making games. The same Rampant Coyote points at a story about changing game engines. And if that sounds like a crazy thing to do in the middle of a project, consider that you want one that helps you with the hard slog through the last 20%, not the easy first 80%. Which are, you know, easy.

Last but not least, here's yet another voice joining the chorus. Yes, better graphics means less choice. Exponentially so, in fact. And since games are all about choice...

Always consider the point of what you're doing. See you next time.