STATUS

Entering month... ??? (I've lost count) of almost zero gamemaking.

I've been wondering about this "destiny" of most RPG Maker users to eventually stop creating games. Is it because there's no payback? Have all of the ideas been satisfied? What is it?

...Have you tried selling one? I've heard that a place called GOG (Good Old Games) allows people to submit their games for sale. Money is a good motivator... ...if this pursuit truly cannot carry itself.

author=SnowOwl
Some people probably go to other more "serious" engines, some probably tire of it. As for if there's payback or not, I guess that depends on what you're going for. Here's my thoughts on it:

I'll admit, gamemaking takes really long for there to be any sort of audience payback compared to most other stuff. You can spend years making a game, after all.
If that's the only thing you're going for, you're probably not gonna be making games for long.
You can always put out a demo or maybe screenshots and trailers, but they won't really bring the same sort of attention a completed game will pull.

It's also a creative outlet for alot of people, but even here it's somewhat inferior to for example making a painting, you really need to be multitalented since you need to make alot of different stuff for a game (some of which are plain tedious and not creative at all). You can rely on other people to do stuff, but unless you're paying them to do it for you, it will probably be hard to find something that is a perfect match for what you had in mind.

Not to mention, people are usually really critical of games compared to alot of other artforms. I've seen people call shitty paintings great things, but when was the last time you saw someone call a shitty game good things in a non-ironic sense?

That said, it's a wonderful feeling when you finally complete that game. It's just a shame that that feeling is oh so fleeting compared to the amount of work you put in.

Very true. I don't know how much this is a consolation, but your work has has touched and inspired me deeply, and I'm sure the same is sure for countless others who have played.

Ultimately, I don't know if that should figure into whether you make games or not, as you should do it for the enjoyment you get, but rest assured, the work you do reaches far beyond just the games themselves, and inspires people even after they've closed the game window.

It's true that there are sometimes multiple outlets that serve as motivators for you to complete your games, and we should be taking notes from you since you are such a prolific outputter of games. Games do take very long to complete but I don't agree with the fact that people are more critical of games than any other medium, in fact I believe that they are less critical of games in general.

I'm a music producer on the side and I gotta say the amount of musicians who have put hundreds of days into their album for only less than 100 people to ever listen to it is astounding. Even if a song is original, they'll point out the "mud" or every other little mixing issue that it has, which is good, because constructive criticism is required, but what I'm saying is it takes a LOT (just like in game-making) to stand out from the crowd. But the way I'd say game-making is different is that someone can make a decent-ish game in this community, publicize their game just a little bit, and they will get recognized. This is simply because the game *does* take so long to complete, and a decent completed game is actually rare. But completely achievable! Whereas an instrumental beat can be made in a few minutes, but those are being churned out hundreds by the minute, and your "decent" song may get lost in the sea of decent songs. I believe the same is with art or any other medium. The only medium that perhaps eclipses games in terms of getting almost guaranteed publicity, would be films because they require so many resources and effort to do that they are more likely to get noticed. But they are also harder to create.

But in terms of what you have said (and getting back to the topic at hand) it would be sad to see you not make any more games (for me, because I love them), but also I would encourage you to do whatever you feel passionate to do. You are a great artist, and you have achieved good popularity on this site, and that hasn't been for nothing, because you've worked hard to achieve that vision.

Not sure what else to say but I'm a big fan and it'd be sad to see you not create but it would make me happy if you were happy.

Maybe make a game that isn't on the horror genre? I'm not really into horror games myself so I haven't played any of your games (sorry!) but I'll try Miserere in the near future (since I've been hearing a lot of good stuffs 'bout it :))

And I thought that going at least a week without doing anything was bad enough…

Maybe you just need to take a break or, like what ivoryjones said, find something else to do that it isn’t a horror specific game and maybe that might kick start the ol’ furnace a bit. Listening to all kinds of different music might help… Maybe even going for a long walk or doing some light exercises might also help.

I think you’re just a bit tired, personally. Give it some time and I’m sure the creative juices will start flowing again!