Filed at 12:51 pm under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
Game servers are infamous for crashing. I’ve heard numerous people claim their servers never crash. It’s always a statement that marks that person a liar in my head. Any server that has code or content changes endangers itself. That’s pretty much all servers on this particular planet.
Most servers are exposed to bad content or invalid commands. This triggers code paths to handle or remedy the problems. However, if these error handling code paths on the server have a problem too, then it’s very likely the server will crash catastrophically. :( Read more »
Filed at 7:00 pm under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
I recently got back from the Independent MMO Game Development Conference. (www.imgdc.com) One of the highlights was to hear Dr. Richard Bartle deliver his keynote on the third day. BTW, the “Dr.” is NOT optional. Read more »
Filed at 8:51 pm under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
I recently got two bad reviews from MMOs sites. After thinking about the reviews for a while, I started to realize that I was being judged as an AAA game – not an indie game.
Being an Indie is a way to let people know that you’re not one of the big boys funded with big bucks. You’re the sexy rogue. Being indie is used as a license for forgiveness as well. Also, the term indie is way overused now days. Even people with investors dare call themselves indie.
As a result, there was no mention of begin indie on my company and game website. I did participate in an indie showcase interview with Escapist, so considering myself an indie wasn’t a big secret. I just didn’t really think that reviewers would be comparing me against AAA MMOs. After all, I’m a little MMO with sheep and wolves. I figured it was obvious I was indie. Bad assumption on my part! I should have shouted it from the rooftops.
So, how do I identify myself legitimately as an indie? After speaking to Brian Green, I realized that there’s no way of officially getting that designation. I figured there had to be an “Indie Council of Truth” that would judge me worthy and brand a letter “I” on my forehead.
We did start to talk about some broad rules that would distinguish an indie from a smaller game company.
Guidelines:
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Does the company have any fulltime employees? My company has 0 full time employees since I don’t pay myself. Also, how many full time employees can you have while still being Indie?
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Is the company living off investor dollars? Raising a few million dollars seriously takes you out of the realm of indie. There’s no good solid figure for losing indie status. After all, it depends on the size of the game you’re making too.
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Is the company self sufficient from the revenue from their game? I’m not counting contracting work. Also, a company could start out indie and lose it once their game becomes successful.
To me, being indie has to do with independence and being self funded. Working on a skunkworks type of game with funding doesn’t make you indie, but the freedom to create your own game is definitely a requirement. Okay, back to reading reviews.
Filed at 8:58 am under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
Recently, someone mentioned to me that the death penalty in Secondhand Lands was too harsh. I was really taken aback. Read more »
Filed at 10:45 am under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
Secondhand Lands was created mostly with volunteer workers. In the past four years, I’ve had a lot of people come and go. Here are some observations that have been useful for me. Read more »
Filed at 11:24 am under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
People who know me understand my use of the word “Clever”. It’s an insult. If I call your code clever, then most likely you have a design flaw. Read more »
Filed at 12:36 pm under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve added any more quests to the game. We’re still in closed Beta, but it was time to put that finishing touch on the Wolf Village. I added three quests relating to the use of toy rats and real rats in Secondhand Lands. They say the devil is in the details. I just want to convey all the steps and details it takes to place three quests in a game. Read more »
Filed at 7:43 am under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
I first got introduced to this term from some super mean friends. Programmar is when programmers (me) try to write sentences. I had written close to 100 quests for Secondhand Lands, and the whole game was riddled with grammar errors, spelling mistakes, and typos. (Oh my!) Read more »
Filed at 10:46 am under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
A good friend of mine use to use the term “Rocking Chair Memories” to describe things you’ll remember all the way to your golden years. You’ll be sitting on the porch all shriveled up and old with some other old prunes talking about stuff. With an ocean filled with mediocre MMOs, there’s one easy way to make your game stick out – Be a Supplier of Rocking Chair Memories. Read more »
Filed at 12:08 pm under Second Hand Lands Status by Bobby
Someone recently changed the quest recipe at Blizzard. WoW mostly had dry, unrelated, pointless quests. It’s all different. Here’s why I think Blizzard is kicking some arse: Read more »
