Sunday, March 06, 2011

FLARE leaping forward to 0.11 .. and problems with FOSS games

Flare v0.11 gameplay (spoiler warning)

v0.11 of FLARE got released and developer Clint Bellanger writes in the FLARE blog about how it is tempting to add features (like adding more skills or replacing old ones) instead of moving to the next target (in this case vendors and action bar customization). Luckily what leads to a complete game wins in this case. :)

Note: polish != re-inventing/re-creating.
FOSS games are vulnerable to feature-creep and in many cases just don’t feel “finished” because they never really are. [...] It may be more fun to add new features than it is to polish those you already have, but polish is far more important if you want your game to be any good.
- William
In his 4 problems with FOSS games the author identifies following weaknesses of FOSS:
  1. Technical problems
  2. Lack of originality
  3. Lack of personality
  4. Design by committee
By the way: if you haven't read the challenges of developing long, plot-heavy FOSS games by OpenGameArt-admin Bart K yet.. you should.