Donations

[vic20-ian]

Ref Guyfawkes rant on the homepage


Please consider donating if you enjoy the game,

Fair enough


I have spent many hours working on this game and I think the end result is worth it.

Not everyone will share your enthusiasm for your Noel Edmunds based game. As far as i can tell it has the same appeal as a fruit machine simulator i.e. no money comes out when you win.

All donations go towards the costs of getting a new host for my website, so far I have only received 4 donations (thanks Dodgyville, Sir Dragoon, Cakey and DisgruntleElf!).

That's Four more than you had.

I am not forcing or expecting everyone to donate,

Good, you can't force donation only entice it like Mame does.

but I expected more

Contradiction of previous sentence and against the spirit of donation. If you are not happy make it Shareware or commercial like Vektar

and so do a few people who were surprised when I told them how many people have donated.

Did they donate?

To be honest I wont bother making any more games and spend my time working on my site instead.

Stop being mardy or nobody will donate to you because you rub them up the wrong way. Donation is voluntary if people like your game. If you are upset because you haven't achieved the donations you expected then maybe you do not understand your market. I asked the author to set up donations for the first working version of Vice because I personally enjoy the Vic 20. I donated to Franxis once GP2X Mame had sound working on Galaxians and Invaders and not before because it became usable for me at that point. Maybe your game is not mature yet. Also your game has little appeal to me, I didn't even download the demo yet. I am sure many people feel the same. If it was an emulator I am sure the support would be rolling in as this is the main GP2X market. The homebrew is more of a minority market IMNSHO unless it is something like Vektar which is retro anyway.

Support your homebrew developers (if they ask) or they will bugger off and do something else! Rant over

Support your market with mass appeal software and support is usually more forthcoming

/End of rant reply

 

[bacteria]

I agree with you. I have posted a couple of times on the News section already, on this topic.

 

[AcidiC]

My exact thoughts.
I admit that the game is very nicely done, but perhaps GuyFawkes could have focused on something a little more... fun to base a game upon.

Bargain Hunt would make a good game

 

[Gadget]

I agree with most of this. His points are valid, it's frustrating when you create something with expectations of donations, and I think this is going to be the case with Ghostbusters when I have finished porting it. You work your arse off on something that you think people will enjoy, and they do, for 2 minutes and then forget about it =/

People need to start thinking about micro donations instead. If every member donated £2 for a game they enjoy there would be many many more games for the GP2X!

I just donated £7.50, and will donate more later as newer revisions come out. I will also be visiting the MAME site later and DrMD.

 

[bacteria]

There is another point of view to this "donations" line.

If people made games, applications or how-to guides purely for love, it would be far, far better. We all benefit from more things to play and do on the GP2x, so the more things which are around the better. If we all took the view that if we can contribute, we should do, and the praise and buzz from people making nice comments about the work should be enough. What I mean is if someone contributes to the community with their work for free, it is reasonable for them to benefit from others in the community for free - a bit like peer-to-peer sharing. The view of only making games for profit and "buggering off" if this doesn't happen is daft, and not community spirited. (off hugging trees now).

For months now, I have been posting guides for making D-pads and how to rig up the wiring for such projects, and many people have benefitted with their various projects; I think it is fair to way that it has encouraged people to try, and given them inspiration to do so (judging my the comments posted). I am also posting about the "Super GP2x mod" project (incidentally, I have sent my unit to EvilDragon who has very kindly offered his services to repair it for me :wub: - if it is in fact repairable: - if it is I will reserect my project again when I get the unit back ) for people to view its progress and give them the information they need to do it themselves if they want to. I am providing all the information for free on my projects and I am not interested in any donations even if offered for my work - my view is that I am having fun, I get my buzz (reward) for seeing the number of reads of my topics raise, and comments people post (especially the supportive and the funny off-the-wall ones) - that is enough for me - gives me a warm feeling (like some would say, peeing in your trousers apparantly also gives a warm feeling) . If people like my work, I contribute postings; if they don't like my work, I could easily keep it to myself. I share my work with others freely, many others do too - on the other hand, some people want to sell things or ask for donations so are doing it more for financial reasons rather than the community spirit. If people want to donate, that is great, after all it gives the author added incentive to keep the work updated, but a donation has to be considered as an unexpected gift rather than the reason, or a contributing reason, for doing it in the first place. Do people agree with this opinion?

 

[ste_167]

ok, ok, I get your point....


What's your PayPal account...?

 

[dontspam]

There is another point of view to this "donations" line.

If people made games, applications or how-to guides purely for love, it would be far, far better. We all benefit from more things to play and do on the GP2x, so the more things which are around the better. If we all took the view that if we can contribute, we should do, and the praise and buzz from people making nice comments about the work should be enough. What I mean is if someone contributes to the community with their work for free, it is reasonable for them to benefit from others in the community for free - a bit like peer-to-peer sharing. The view of only making games for profit and "buggering off" if this doesn't happen is daft, and not community spirited. (off hugging trees now).

For months now, I have been posting guides for making D-pads and how to rig up the wiring for such projects, and many people have benefitted with their various projects; I think it is fair to way that it has encouraged people to try, and given them inspiration to do so (judging my the comments posted). I am also posting about the "Super GP2x mod" project (incidentally, I have sent my unit to EvilDragon who has very kindly offered his services to repair it for me :wub: - if it is in fact repairable: - if it is I will reserect my project again when I get the unit back ) for people to view its progress and give them the information they need to do it themselves if they want to. I am providing all the information for free on my projects and I am not interested in any donations even if offered for my work - my view is that I am having fun, I get my buzz (reward) for seeing the number of reads of my topics raise, and comments people post (especially the supportive and the funny off-the-wall ones) - that is enough for me - gives me a warm feeling (like some would say, peeing in your trousers apparantly also gives a warm feeling) . If people like my work, I contribute postings; if they don't like my work, I could easily keep it to myself. I share my work with others freely, many others do too - on the other hand, some people want to sell things or ask for donations so are doing it more for financial reasons rather than the community spirit. If people want to donate, that is great, after all it gives the author added incentive to keep the work updated, but a donation has to be considered as an unexpected gift rather than the reason, or a contributing reason, for doing it in the first place. Do people agree with this opinion?

I agree.

When my N64 emu is released I won't expect any donation.

Did I really tell people about my N64 emu?

Oh no, the madness is starting again.

 

[garengarch]

From GuyFawkes homepage:

"On this site you can find all the software I have wrote for the handhelds I have been involved in. I write the games for my own enjoyment as it is a good feeling to code "

slightly out of context - but then thats the beauty of quotes

 

[jbrodack]

if a developer of a free homebrew game that I really enjoy asks for donations I might give a donation but usually I just try to show my support with comments, praise, feedback, testing, and things like that. deal or no deal is very well made but unfortunately no matter how well made it is its still deal or no deal and its not something im going to be obsessively playing over and over. maybe if you asked what game show past or present we would like to see on the gp2x and would consider donating towards then maybe you could "expect" donations, however a lot of people have already said that deal or no deal just isn't terribly interesting which limits the appeal of the game. great job and very professionally made just subject matter keeps it from being anything really exciting and is just a fun game to play on occasion.

 

[Parkydr]

I agree that you shouldn't expect donations, though it's really nice when it happens - thanks Yono

If you want money, you should charge or release it as shareware.

I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for donations, some people want to make donations, that's why the Donations topic was started.

All my projects have been things I wanted to do for myself and then released. There are a number of reasons for this:

• I'm a strong believer in Open Source
• Ego trip - it's good to get positive feedback
• I enjoy coding, why not let eveyone share the results

 

[Guyfawkes]

I posted a reply to my first post at http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?s=&am...st&p=459732, answers a few questions here as well.

 

[Guyfawkes]

Back from watching the latest episode of Lost, been dying to watch it all day Heres some replies from some points made above.

Not everyone will share your enthusiasm for your Noel Edmunds based game. As far as i can tell it has the same appeal as a fruit machine simulator i.e. no money comes out when you win.

I have said in every release notes that if you *enjoy playing* dond then please *consider donating*. This pretty much means if you dont like the show or the game then you probably did not download it and you are not going to consider donating. I said from when I first announced the game that not everyone will like it, the game is made for fans of the TV show to play, and maybe for people that dont like the lengthy show but a condensed version to play. Isnt the majority of games the same principle, all you get in most games if your lucky is a name in an highscore table?

..and so do a few people who were surprised when I told them how many people have donated.

Did they donate?

The people that I spoke to were some beta testers and several other people from this forums or have GP2Xs etc, I wont mention any names as I dont wont to bring them into the discussion unless they want to. I dont expect or want the beta testers to donate, they have more than done enough to help support the game. Also as my own rule (feel free to flame me over it) I dont think that people that are actively developing or involved in contributing to the 'scene' should donate, I have seen a few times that devs seem to donate more when in my opinion they shouldnt need to.

Support your market with mass appeal software and support is usually more forthcoming

I agree, but like I said I make the games that I enjoy playing and that I think others will enjoy too. Alot of people have downloaded and commented on, all of which has been very good feedback. Theres alot of interest in the game when it was first announced, see http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=26672 which spans several pages. In my opinion the only true mass appeal software on the GP2X is an emulator (see number of emulation related posts vs games posts for example) which I dont have the knowledge to write and if I did I probably wouldnt anyway as I like making games.

I agree with most of this. His points are valid, it's frustrating when you create something with expectations of donations, and I think this is going to be the case with Ghostbusters when I have finished porting it. You work your arse off on something that you think people will enjoy, and they do, for 2 minutes and then forget about it =/

People need to start thinking about micro donations instead. If every member donated £2 for a game they enjoy there would be many many more games for the GP2X!

DOND was never made originally in order to get donations, I decided on this a few months ago about halfway into development. But I do agree with what you say. BTW: I havent checked out Ghostbusters yet as I am waiting for the next release which should have the new stuff. I had this game on the CPC and it was a great game so I am looking forward to it.

I bought up a similar idea about micro donations in my other post. Even £1 from the people that downloaded and enjoyed the game will go a long way.


Theres a few posts on making mass appeal games. The problem here is that making games takes alot of time and resources. I am sure other games developers will agree that even getting a game started is alot of work and then you have to try and find graphics designers, people to make music/sound etc. There are a few here that do it for free but the poor things are already inundated with other projects so you are very lucky and very grateful to get someone to do them. The only resort is to draw them yourself, rip from other games or pay someone to do it. I suck at drawing graphics so my games will look rubbish and lowers the quality, ripping sprites is fine but looses the originality you need in a homebrew game, and paying someone to draw the graphics means you are out of pocket and will probably try to get some back from making it commercial which means its no longer a freeware homebrew game. Emulator authors on the other hand have it easy in this way (if you understand the above) as they dont have to worry so much about finding gfx/sfx people.

Then theres the time it takes to code the game. I am sure some people think writing games etc happens by magic I personally spent many many hours over a period of seven months to code DOND. This is of course in my free time but I could just as easily spend it doing something else, its an hobby at the end of the day and it doesnt affect my job etc.

What I am basically trying to say and what gadget mentioned above is that if there was more support for developers, better games would be made for the GP2X.

Hope this post and the other one clears it up, feel free to reply with your own thoughts.

 

[PokeParadox]

The mirco donations thing... I suggested the idea of a mini-shop. where to download a game, a token payement was needed, but you could optionally donate more. No one really commented on the idea. But I think it's a fairly decent thing if someone wants something back for the game.app they made, and don't want to have to sound like a beggar asking for paypal donations.

 

[Guyfawkes]

I dont get a chance to read through the forums much, usually only the developers forum or if something catches my attention. I will check out the post in a bit.

Looking back at my posts it does sound like I am begging for money It wasnt supposed to be like that but I stand by what I said as I think it needs to be said.

 

[PokeParadox]

Hmmm you will have to do a search to dig up that post... I'm talking about a while back I suggested this idea...

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

Well here's my view:

I am developing Myriad, for free, end of story. I NEVER expect anyone to give me money for something I am writing for free. It's not like I have written a killer app for the GP2X, it's just another game that people seem to like. For me giving something to the community that is fun is the reward in itself. Isn't the whole spirit of our little section of the web? Support each other and share our spoils?

 

[psj3809]

To the 'neutrals' reading this thread after reading the 'hissy fit' by the original author i doubt it will encourage many people to donate.

Just donated some money to Franxis for MAME as i play it a ton and wanted to say thanks , Deal or No Deal i tried, yeah it was okay but the fun factor was low (not the same when you dont win real money !). Very surprised the author is upset by a lack of donations though ! Many writers of emulators dont get tons in donations so a game like Deal or no Deal i cant see getting a ton.

If i created a game for the community i would love to know people were playing it, i wouldnt expect tons of money in return specially if i did my homework already and knew that a lot of emulator authors dont get donations anyway so i wouldnt expect hardly anything

 

[gaterooze]

Even £1 from the people that downloaded and enjoyed the game will go a long way.

I strongly agree with that in principle; I don't have a lot to splash around, so I usually send $5 donations -- however, I send them to quite a lot of devs. (sorry, I don't play DOND--although I did test it and it's a brilliant piece of software!)

The practical problem with micro-donations is that Paypal take their pound of blood, and it's more harsh the *lower* the amount sent so from $1 you would only receive about $0.50 (from $100, it would be ~$95). I'd have no problem sending you a buck just for being cool, but it really irks me that half of it lines Paypal's pockets!

 

[Alex.]

If it was an emulator I am sure the support would be rolling in as this is the main GP2X market. The homebrew is more of a minority market IMNSHO unless it is something like Vektar which is retro anyway.

Support your market with mass appeal software and support is usually more forthcoming

Isn't the GP2X supposed to be a canvas for experimentation to begin with? People shouldn't feel obligated/motivated to code things due to cookie-cutter trends. Innovation, independent efforts, and creativity should be commended. Homebrew games should be appreciated just as much as emulators.

- Alex

 

[Muncher666]

DOND was never made originally in order to get donations, I decided on this a few months ago about halfway into development. But I do agree with what you say. BTW: I havent checked out Ghostbusters yet as I am waiting for the next release which should have the new stuff. I had this game on the CPC and it was a great game so I am looking forward to it.

I bought up a similar idea about micro donations in my other post. Even £1 from the people that downloaded and enjoyed the game will go a long way.


Theres a few posts on making mass appeal games. The problem here is that making games takes alot of time and resources. I am sure other games developers will agree that even getting a game started is alot of work and then you have to try and find graphics designers, people to make music/sound etc. There are a few here that do it for free but the poor things are already inundated with other projects so you are very lucky and very grateful to get someone to do them. The only resort is to draw them yourself, rip from other games or pay someone to do it. I suck at drawing graphics so my games will look rubbish and lowers the quality, ripping sprites is fine but looses the originality you need in a homebrew game, and paying someone to draw the graphics means you are out of pocket and will probably try to get some back from making it commercial which means its no longer a freeware homebrew game. Emulator authors on the other hand have it easy in this way (if you understand the above) as they dont have to worry so much about finding gfx/sfx people.

Then theres the time it takes to code the game. I am sure some people think writing games etc happens by magic I personally spent many many hours over a period of seven months to code DOND. This is of course in my free time but I could just as easily spend it doing something else, its an hobby at the end of the day and it doesnt affect my job etc.

What I am basically trying to say and what gadget mentioned above is that if there was more support for developers, better games would be made for the GP2X.

Hope this post and the other one clears it up, feel free to reply with your own thoughts.

If it's any consolation dude, I am really interested in your Rockstar Ate My Hamster remake, and I will donate once it's playable. I'm just not interested in conversions of gameshows, although it does look very good. Please don't abandon RAMH.

Allan.