[Freeciv-Dev] the lack of respect for cloners

["Brandon J. Van Every" <vanevery@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: John Goerzen [mailto:jgoerzen@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
>
> What difference does it make if someone is a "Game Designer"?
> Professional "Game Designers" do not have a monopoly on writing fun
> software.

In single player Freeciv, you haven't written fun software!  You've
written Civ II, and it's fun-and-not-fun for almost exactly the same
reasons.

> All this "fat lot you know" and "people at GDC would think this sucks"
> doesn't contribute to anything but your ego.

"Fat lot you know" was in direct response to someone claiming that the
Infocom guys wouldn't get a standing ovation at the Game Developer
Conference.  It shows a complete lack of understanding of what
professional Game Designers respect and what they don't.  Here's the
short course: they don't respect projects like Freeciv that just clone.

> Let me point out something: you are obviously wrong.  If you
> were right,
> and FreeCiv sucks as much as you say it does, then FreeCiv
> would not be as popular as it is.

And this is why they don't respect you.  Because you are taking bows for
someone else's game design work!  You are simply riding the coattails of
Civ II's longstanding popularity.  Maybe you get some credit for
implementing a good multiplayer, I haven't looked at it yet.  But if you
think you deserve to take bows for the Freeciv game design itself,
you're a thankless jerk.  We'll be thanking Sid Meier and Brian Reynolds
for the game design, thank you very much!

> And there is one thing we have that a professional Game Designer would
> never have -- the ability to make a fun, but unpopular, game.

You've gotta be kidding me.  You have the audacity to straight clone one
of the most popular commercial games of all time, make absolutely no
major game design contributions of your own, and then preach about what
*you* as freeware cloners can accomplish that the mainstream industry
cannot?  Clearly, you've got it backwards!  I'd *love* to see you
deliver such an argument to people at the GDC.  Maybe it would come to
blows.

> However, complaining about it forever -- without lifting EVEN
> ONE FINGER to make the matter better -- is.
>
> BTW, I do not code for FreeCiv nor do I generally participate in
> discussions about the game's future.  I'm merely a happy user.

Wonderful!  I'm so impressed by your Doership!

I've offered to add Python.  Turned down.

I've suggested Migration rules.  Rebuffed.

Now I'm forcing the issue of whether this project will ever do anything
but clone.  I DON'T CARE if some game design idea isn't mine.  I want to
see SOME KIND OF PROGRESS IN THE GENRE, NOT STAGNATION.

And while you continue to contemplate your happy usership, I will be
implementing Ocean Mars, and possibly even BetterFreeciv.


Cheers,                     www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every           Seattle, WA

Taking risk where others will not.