ILLY'S PROFILE

So with the end of my semester here, I have about a month worth of free time and I was considering the concept behind what it takes to build a Free Game team.

I'm sure a lot of us have had this problem before. You want to design a game with custom graphics, music, and sounds - but find yourself at the wrong end of the artistic stick. A lot of us have no skill in developing artwork or music for games, so we're forced to default on the skills of others in order to truly build something unique. In the case of the commercial game, it's entirely possible that you and the people working with you will make back the money you put into the game.

But what of the individuals who want to release a game that's free to the public with no profit of their own? This is where the difficulty of being a game designer with no inherent artistic or musical talent rears its ugly head. I understand that artists and musicians work hard on their creations and deserve to be credited for their work, but that all comes at the cost of the individual making the game and, to that end, simply costs them money that they will never be able to be credited for for their free release.

Now there's the obvious solution. "Simply get together with your artistic friends and build a game together!" This is a perfectly viable option, and the one I see most individuals shoot for. However, some of us aren't particularly good at making friends, and even so a lot of artists and musicians have a lot on their plate already. Another conundrum seems to be the minority that is artists and musicians; Does it make you a terrible person to try to make friends with someone in order to get the possible access to their skills you want to make a great game together? It seems like the skill of creating games via RPGMaker or whatever engine you want is exceedingly easier to master than being a great artist or musician, so the majority of them already have this skill at their disposal and haven't the need for an extra hand to utilize the program necessary to make the game with.

I know it doesn't seem like there's a lot of options other than to suck it up and fork out the dough to hire skilled artists and musicians, even for a free game, but I just felt like spreading this to you all as one of those worried individuals who doesn't want to spend the rest of his years using ripped resources in a poorly executed manner. (I'm not the greatest mapper out there) I come for advice or suggestions more than anything else!

"Pardon me, Miss Argentina." A nearby creepy comb over enthusiast croaked at Layla.

"Would you care for a slice of gum?"

"So he decided to build a raft out of soda bottles and aluminum foil."

Aug 23rd

This one was the pride of my collection.