DEMONOFELRU'S PROFILE

I've been a frequent visitor of this site, but have had no need to introduce myself or really take part in any of the discussions (i.e. most of them are silly anyway) so I'm just going to make this comment, and then disappear entirely. This is entirely for your benefit, I have no stake in any one game or developer on here.

If you want to be taken seriously as a community, then stop downgrading your own games, and put an end to the "it's only a hobby" crap that has kept your community from being formally recognized for so long.

I'm not going to say much about myself, only that at where I work your community is usually laughed at because not a single game listed in your database would ever be accepted by an IGN staff member for digital distribution if any of your developers wanted to sell their products.

It's not because the games are crap, they're not. It's not because your community is crap, your community is definitely not that.

Here's the #1 secret to why not ONE game in your database would ever be considered "fit for commercialization"...you're not promoting your games to the general public correctly.

Here's a brief list of a few RM/Indie (all turn-based RPG) games that are doing very well, are commercialized, and that certain staffers would and have taken notice of:

Laxius Force Series
Aveyond Series
Winter Voices Series
Chronicles of a Dark Lord Series
King's Bounty Series
Disciples Series
Spellforce Series

You may loathe every game on that list, you may despise the developers, or you may like them or even love some of those games, but one thing they all have in common is that they have all been professionally reviewed by internet/tv/radio shows like G4TV, Just Press Start, IGN, and so on. Not just once either, but multiple times, and their games have stood up to professional scrutiny.

Not only have they have been professionally reviewed, they were generally (consensus-wise) well-liked by a majority sampling of customer data and sales figures. If you want to be taken seriously outside of the RM community, then start holding yourselves up to the par those developers have set, and exceed them.

Those professional reviews go a long way with businesses and distributors, and that is why they are successful while your games...unfortunately...are not so much. If your only audience is the "RM maker audience" then don't expect to be taken seriously outside of that audience. It's a cold way of thinking yes, but it's the absolute truth, and it does a disservice to those on your site who are thinking or who want to get in on the indie gaming scene as actual game developers.

They were promoted to the public correctly, and now they're all generating a buzz because of the way they were promoted. If you all truly want to be taken seriously as a community, to get your games out there, free or otherwise, then the day you stop seeing yourselves as "this is only a hobby" is the day you'll be taken seriously as game developers. Until then, don't expect to be. Or do what your predecessors have done, and don't be part of this community and distance yourself from it.

Put it this way, there are some great games on this site that could make some good money on the market if they were promoted correctly. Here are a few of the games on this site that could do quite well if promoted correctly in the 'real' business world:

Legionwood: Tale of the Two Swords

Alter A.I.L.A. Genesis

Leo & Leah: A Love Story

Obviously, if you are one of those developers then any and all rips from past games would have to be re-designed with standard/edited RM or original graphics, though games like those would likely do very well if they were put out on the market correctly.

You want your game to be "fit for commercialization"? Then get your game ready with all RM/edited RM graphics/original graphics, RM/edited RM music/royalty-free music/original music and such, then go to an entity like IGN, Game Informer, Just Press Start, and try to have your game reviewed (usually a demo works fine). Then go to any number of digital distributors (i.e. Gamersgate, GoG, Steam), submit your game, and hope it gets accepted. Distributors can be very picky, so even getting on just one distributor is a big deal, it means that they can expect sales from your game because it meets a certain quality of standard. Remember that.

If you have a comment to make, don't make it to me on here, for as soon as I click "logout" you'll never hear from me again more than likely, though as I said in the beginning this is for you all to know. Take this advice, don't take it, up to you.