Re: How easy would it be to create a king of sun country game?

From: David Dunham <david_at_...>
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2004 10:38:19 -0700


A few points:

Creating a game takes a lot of time and resources. If you haven't done it, it probably takes more resources than you expect. (King of Dragon Pass was no exception.)

I don't believe that selling an add-on to the existing fans is the best use of resources. (I'd rather create a new game and expand the number of fans.) True, an event builder would be a smaller project than a new game, but it would still need to be a professional, polished product (with lots of documentation), and it would require a number of changes in the core game. For various reasons, this wasn't a feature in the original design, so it would require a lot more work than a game designed to be modded.

I'm aware that mods can be very popular (or even new games in their own right). For a certain type of game. I don't believe anyone's done them for a story-oriented game. To sell, I think that a KoDP editor would need to come with a number of new events, which would all need new art, writing, and QA. (This would pretty much be needed to test the editor in any case.)

Most computer games don't make money. The ones at the top make a great deal, of course. It's sort of like the movie industry (but without video stores for B movies to end up in). An add-on is a great way to make more money off a hit game, but I'm not aware of a case where it created a hit game.

To me, this all points to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to allow player expansion in a future game, but not worthwhile adding to KoDP.

Finally, we're always happy to take random donations (including Shiner Bock), and if anyone wins the lottery or becomes a major league sports player, we'd be happy to develop your choice of sequel, if we're assured of a way to pay the dozens of people who'll be involved. Be sure to include a photo with your check, so you can be one the of the characters...

-- 

David Dunham     A Sharp     david_at_...
Voice/Fax: 206 783 7404     http://a-sharp.com
Efficiency is intelligent laziness.

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