2 reviews
  • Add Review
  • Subscribe
  • Nominate
  • Submit Media
  • RSS

Going, Going, Gone

After seven years, I figured it is time to hang up my game development mantle and focus my creative energy on pixel art and creating resources for the greater RM community.

While it is painful to let go of a project I've been working on for close to three years, I've never felt more free, more happy and so unrestrained after I cancelled LoTL.

Now as to why I cancelled it:

I don't think any of you realise just how difficult it is, or how emotionally draining it is, to work on something you care about so much, only for it to be forgotten by the greater masses. I've been putting out demos to receive feedback for this game ever since June and the feedback, if I am frank, was pathetic. Now, I am not an attention whore, but how on earth can you expect a game developer to continue with his or her project if they have absolutely no clue as to how they faring without C & C?

Yes, to some of you, the project looks grand, an epic in the making, and sometimes I told myself that, just to give myself a bit of a confidence boost because despite what you may think, I have very low self-esteem in RL. No matter how awesome or epic LoTL may have seemed, I was still a human being who craved just a little bit of recognition of my work. And a video game, no matter how great it seems, will amount to nothing if its developer feels like an ant. Being human, we all crave a little warmth and attention. It is human psychology.

I was always under the impression that this community operated on the 'scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours' mentality. I.o.w, if you expressed interest in someone else's work, they would probably return the favour and support your own project. That's what I've picked up after studying 100s of blogs on this site. And it's always the same people who respond to certain game projects. To an outsider, this creates an almost 'elitist' mindset, and also explains why the vast majority of games on this site go unnoticed because the cool cats were too invested in their own work and the works of their friends. That's honestly how I feel, and my lack of inactivty on this site stems from that exact same mindset.

That subscriber count? Those profile views? They meant nothing to me. I would have exchanged all of it, for a few simple sentences of constructive criticism. Only my testers ever gave me that.

But the damage is done. I don't need anyone's sympathy or pity. I will stand on my own two feet, continue with my pixel art and maybe one day, just one day, sell them. Then I can finally have peace of mind from earning money from something
that I love doing.

Posts

Pages: first 123 next last
author=I don't need anyone's sympathy or pity.

And you won't get it.
unity
You're magical to me.
12540
Do what makes you happy. If making games doesn't make you happy, then don't do it.

By putting your success and failure totally in the hands of the community, you have put your own happiness in the hands of others. If you cannot enjoy making games just for the sake of making them, then perhaps its best you move on.
I can totally relate. Been in the scene since 2009 and I often feel ignored, it doesn't bother me too much. From what I've seen, the attention usually comes pouring in once you've completed a game, that's where you get all the reviews, downloads and long overdue feedback. The important stages such as releasing a demo, often get overlooked from players and developers alike. And to be fair, I'm guilty of this as well.

There have been mini feedback events in the past but for some reason the momentum never usually carries on after it's over.

I was always under the impression that this community operated on the 'scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours' mentality. I.o.w, if you expressed interest in someone else's work, they would probably return the favour and support your own project. That's what I've picked up after studying 100s of blogs on this site. And it's always the same people who respond to certain game projects. To an outsider, this creates an almost 'elitist' mindset, and also explains why the vast majority of games on this site go unnoticed because the cool cats were too invested in their own work and the works of their friends. That's honestly how I feel, and my lack of inactivty on this site stems from that exact same mindset.

It does help to have friends but I wouldn't say there's a elitist mindset here. I would say it's a visibility issue however there are two games currently on RMNs front page Nightkeep and Super Toaster X that seem to be going under peoples radar right at the moment, especially with the latter where the developer pops out quality blog posts on a weekly basis. So you might be on to something there.

EDIT: Wow you have like 16 pages full of comments and two reviews. Didn't read them all so I'm not 100% sure if there was any constructive criticism hidden away. You did seem to be really popular at some point.


Well, congrats on your resolution. It's honestly better to let it go if you can't have fun with it. While I can totally sympathize with being overlooked, and being overlooked does matter to me, even if I do enjoy making games, since how would I know people are enjoying it or not if I can only see the views and download counts? Even if it kind gets me down, the only place to go back to get comforted
to make my game :D


Edit: I did the line cut format again... damnit. Fixed
@atasuke10 On the flip side, it might be a blessing in disguise. Won't feel under pressure if your game is getting overly analysed and placed under scrutiny all the time =P
author=StarSkipp
@atasuke10 On the flip side, it might be a blessing in disguise. Won't feel under pressure if your game is getting overly analysed and placed under scrutiny all the time =P


Fair enough :D
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
Whatever feels right to you is the best path you can take. It's just a game afterall (I know it's more than that and I know the feeling) but it isn't something worth to stress yourself over.

If you ever feel you want to come back to it then my advice is to cut down on content. That's what I did with my love project Infection. with work and life back then I knew I would never finish it if I kept just adding storyline and content so I eventually cut the story down and finished it. People always say it ends too fast and that they would have liked more and I would have too but in the end it was for the best.
It's like making a movie instead of a tv series with multiple seasons.

But anyways, we support you in any decision you feel is right. :) Best of luck with your endeavors and I will always advocate for people doing what makes them happy and what they are truly passionate about in life.
So, with that in mind it's not about the masses and others feelings and opinions but yours that matter.

You've done a lot of good work and a lot of developers can't even say that. You always strived for excellence and did your best and it shows.

Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
You got a demo out and that definitely is something.
Personally I'm fan of your graphics and happy to hear that there will be more of it. And why do you want to focus on RM users with it? I feel, that it has broader appeal and I would love to see it in Game Maker, Adventure Studio and other engines games.
Also, I hope you will come up with a new project eventually.
...or you can be like me and let all of your in progress games wallow for years without telling anybody anything
Guys, this needs to change, seriously.
Uhm, I'm really upset about this. -___- Luchino, I think you should sleep on your decision; modify and shorten this game if you need to, but please don't cancel it. I would be willing to donate money to somehow see this completed.

I can totally relate. Been in the scene since 2009 and I often feel ignored, it doesn't bother me too much. From what I've seen, the attention usually comes pouring in once you've completed a game, that's where you get all the reviews, downloads and long overdue feedback.
Hm, you might be the outlier in this case. "Self-starters" are pretty rare. Most people who use RMN are aspiring artists, writers, programmers...we're all here because we want to create compelling games and hone our skills. Game Designers NEED some kind of feedback; whether that be positive or negative.

The "wait until the project is finished" paradigm is part of the problem. How can anyone expect Luchino to finish a 40+ hour game (something that takes YEARS of work), when there's hardly been any thorough feedback? Unfortunately I haven't played the demo yet but I'm sure it was lengthy and polished enough to constitute feedback.

author=Luchino
To an outsider, this creates an almost 'elitist' mindset, and also explains why the vast majority of games on this site go unnoticed because the cool cats were too invested in their own work and the works of their friends. That's honestly how I feel, and my lack of inactivty on this site stems from that exact same mindset.

I wouldn't say RMN is "elitist" but yeah, there's definitely an inner circle of sorts; there are certain games (or members) who get relentless attention, while other deserving projects are left in the dust. I can't bring myself to be one of those members who says "do what makes you happy XD" because it's a real shame this happened in the first place. If a community drives someone to quit doing what they love, there's a serious problem.

Maybe you should showcase it elsewhere and see what the results are? I think you'd be surprised. My only other advice is perhaps take a serious hiatus from Tristian for a while. Don't concern yourself with release dates. Work on your pixel art, or explore a different hobby. If you're anything like me (or BadLuck), if/when you ever come back to your game, you'll rediscover what made you love it in the first place.

Punkitt
notorious rpgmaker 2k3 shill
3341
Now don't get me wrong, I am glad that you're gonna do what makes you happy, and I respect your decision, but I think it's kinda uncool to tacitly hold others accountable for that decision; as the fate of your project is your hands ultimately.

That being said, there are tonnes of of self-promotion friendly subreddits:

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/
https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/
https://www.reddit.com/r/RPGMaker/

...And gamesites:
https://itch.io/
http://gamejolt.com/
http://www.indiedb.com/

that will gladly let you show off your pretty gam, and maybe get some feedback.

you could also gauge and pinpoint your feedback by maybe doing a google form. You can even make questions asking about specific parts of the game you want feedback on via mutliple choice or short/long written answer!

also you can make some sexy gameplay gifs (HOWTO) to reel in people on sites like reddit, twitter and what have you.

I think it would be smarter to put LotL on hiatus; because to me it seems too much blood,sweat,tears, and elbow(finger) grease has gone into your game to give up on it permanently, Luchino. I wish you the best,whatever you decide.


I don't think any of you realise just how difficult it is, or how emotionally draining it is, to work on something you care about so much, only for it to be forgotten by the greater masses.

You know what, then f**k those people. You’re making the type of game that you want to make and what makes you happy so does it really matter that much if one of your projects that you’re working on, or most of them, go under the radar a little bit? It really shouldn’t.

Unfortunately, yes, there are plenty of games on here that are absolutely fantastic and deserve to get a lot more attention on here but they don’t for some reason, whether that be the lack of updates and overall content being shown off, being made on a completely different, unfamiliar engine, the overall aesthetical look to it, or, hell, it could even be the freakin’ name of the game and the title page that turns some people off of it, who knows?

I've been putting out demos to receive feedback for this game ever since June and the feedback, if I am frank, was pathetic. Now, I am not an attention whore, but how on earth can you expect a game developer to continue with his or her project if they have absolutely no clue as to how they faring without C & C?

Even if you don’t receive that much - or any - feedback at all, or the type of particular feedback that you’re currently looking for, that really shouldn’t be a valid excuse enough to just flat out cancel a project because of that. Although feedback and criticism does help improve one’s game overall because of it, it’s not necessarily a requirement in order to finish something, especially something that you love to do. Just take what you can get and use your past works and past feedback on your other projects as your main focal point moving forward. Either way, even if you don’t receive any feedback initially or for quite a while, you will eventually get some down the road. Just be patient.

To an outsider, this creates an almost 'elitist' mindset, and also explains why the vast majority of games on this site go unnoticed because the cool cats were too invested in their own work and the works of their friends. That's honestly how I feel, and my lack of inactivty on this site stems from that exact same mindset.

Well, yeah, you may have a bit of a point there about that a little bit, and it may be a bit true at times, but, yeah, some members on here mainly just focus on their own works and don’t have that much time personally to get invested with any other projects on here besides their own and maybe just their closest buds. That’s just how they roll, unfortunately; it’s just how they do things on here. Some members don’t have that much time to do a lot on here so they spend the majority of it working on their own stuff and playing some games on here with other RMNers.

Although you can still have a project thrive here on RMN without being too active in the community or be a lot more active somewhere else, it really rings true, similar to life, that you need to have as many connections and acquaintances as possible in order for you to succeed and move up the corporate latter. That’s just life, unfortunately. You can't really get somewhere without first tempting people with that delicious peanut.

That subscriber count? Those profile views? They meant nothing to me. I would have exchanged all of it, for a few simple sentences of constructive criticism. Only my testers ever gave me that.

I dunno, Luchi, 219 subscribers overall and over two-hundred thousand profile views would still mean something to me in the long run. If anything, saying something like that is definitely a bit of a slap in the face to all of your subscribers and people who have followed or have checked out your project over the years. Yes, feedback is awesome, but you also shouldn’t discount other important statistics like that.

---

Anyways, I’m really deeply saddened, along with everyone else on here, about the cancellation of this game and your untimely decision to step down and focus on other aspects of your career, like creating resources and focusing on doing your pixel art – which, I’m not saying is a bad thing and you shouldn’t follow through with it at all, oh no, whatever makes you happy – I’m just more along the lines with Blindmind and kalledemos that you should at least put this on hiatus for now and just sleep on it for a while. Maybe you need a bit of a break off this game and do something else for a little while to keep your mind fresh. Hey, I recently took a few weeks off of working on my project for a little while and it’s done wonders to keep my sanity and spirits up in high order. I'm sure that everyone here has at least taken some much needed time off once and a while when the going gets tough while working on something just to keep them going.

I’m hoping that you do manage to come to your senses eventually and continue the good fight until then end, but if this truly is the end of your gaming making career on here, Luchi, then you, madam, have done yourself a splendid job over the years. You really should be proud of yourself of what you have been able to create over the long amount of time and really hold your head up high. Not everyone on here can make three completed games and get one of them featured on the front page as well. Even though you’ve never received that precious Misao that's alluded you all of these years, in hockey that’s like winning three scoring championships and making the Stanley Cup Finals at least once in your career. That’s not too bad at all.
The only way I'll possibly save LoTL from being lost into the RM game graveyard is if I take it to Patreon, make it commercial and kill two birds with one stone. That way I'll still be doing my pixel art, getting funded for it, and finishing this project once and for all.

It's a win-win for me.

Tell me your thoughts on it.


unity
You're magical to me.
12540
author=Luchino
The only way I'll possibly save LoTL from being lost into the RM game graveyard is if I take it to Patreon, make it commercial and kill two birds with one stone. That way I'll still be doing my pixel art, getting funded for it, and finishing this project once and for all.

It's a win-win for me.

Tell me your thoughts on it.


You say the problem is that not enough people gave you feedback and you didn't get enough warmth from the community.

How is getting people to pay for the project via Patreon fixing the underlying problem at all?
I'd think that after 7 years of doing this, I'd certainly want to be earning a penny or two from doing something I love. Money can be a strong motivator, however small it is. We work because we want to earn money, money that promises us a better life for the future. Money gives us stability, freedom, security. And Patreon might, just might, give me that.

How is working on an RM project any different from working a day job? But don't get the idea that I'd solely do RM projects just for money now. LoTL just happens to be so ambitious, that it would take an incredible amount of willpower to complete without some form of funding.

But I most certainly will not bust my behind, working for nothing on a project that may not even see the light of day, when I can be doing something else ( and earning money from it ). I will not, I repeat, will not, be a slave to LoTL for the next five years. This game sometimes requires more work than my actual day job, for God's sake. Yet I do it, day after day, night after night, trying chase a dream that I may never see fulfilled.

But for now, it is still, firmly, a Cancelled project. I will just quietly work on my resources, post them up on RMW, and take things from there.

InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
You aren't gonna post your resources here? ;_;
There's nothing wrong with wanting to go commercial. Considering how much of a time sink game development is, it's really easy for this "hobby" to consume your life, especially if you're not just making short games with rtp. If you want to go the Patreon route, that's fine, but I think RMNers have a tough time getting funds on Patreon since our games take so long to complete. Since the product is infrequent, it's hard to justify giving monthly payments; that's what I'm observing, at least. So, test it out, but don't be surprised if that route doesn't bear much fruit; selling on Steam is probably the way to go, I think.

Anyway, good luck with this. I'm one of those guilty people who don't give much feedback, especially since I started working on Jimmy. It's hard for me to justify playing people's games when I have so much left on the to-do list, and I imagine that's the case for a lot of people. I did play Enelysion, though, so I know you have some good potential as a developer, especially with mapping/atmosphere/level design. If you want really solid feedback, I suggest that you contact people whose opinion you trust (or whose viewpoint is much different than yours) directly and offer them some quid pro quo.
I think this site has become too much like facebook/social media. People are too busy making pointless statuses, playing forum games, and posting non-RPGmaker related stuff. The gamepages and games have taken a backseat. There used to be much more commenting on gamepages, especially images!, and topics about game stuff. I don't know if it's because of the changes to the site or maybe it's a natural evolution after so many years of the same stuff. Because truthfully when I see a topic about something like random battles, I think "man, that has been discussed to death".

But still, I wouldn't quit because I make games for myself. Well I used to make games xD I come up with game ideas for myself!

edit: I mean, just look at the latest posts. That is how I've always browsed the site. You might see 1 comment on a game per page, if there is one at all. It's half non-game related stuff. And a few game related topics, like currently the villain one.
Pages: first 123 next last