Scratchware

[Akatosh]

http://www.the-underdogs.info/scratch.php

As recommended there, I'm spreading the word around. Also, I think this just perfectly fits to AGS - it's free, you (in general) have very low costs to develop an AGS game, you could run commerical with it (theoretically), it supports/encourages 2D graphics... so, what do you think about that "Scratchware" thing?

[vict0r]

Erm... You wouldn't mind just saying short what it is...?
I really don't have the time/willpower to read that right now

[Akatosh]

Okay, to put it in a nutshell:

Programmers/Game Developers = Slaves without any rights
Companies = Vampires
All games today are buggy, expensive and without any innovations. Let's change that.

[GarageGothic]

Wikipedia sums it up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratchware

I think the replayability criterium isn't too compatible with the adventure genre, but nevertheless I do consider an original and cheap game like The Shivah scratchware (it's even distributed by Manifesto Games - but then, so is Dreamfall).

Essentially, the scratchware manifesto is a bunch of disgruntled game developers claiming the already existing and prospering phenomenon of shareware games as their own revolution. I'm so sick of this "people who want to make money are evil" rhetoric. Sure, EA puts out loads of crap games, but they're not forcing you to buy them. But for every EA and Ubisoft there is a Rockstar or a Bethesda Softworks. I didn't wait around twenty years for PC technology to develop, so I could play Bejeweled. And although I love a game of Armadillo Run once in a while, at 20$ I'm surely getting more gameplay for my money by investing twice that much in a GTA: San Andreas or Oblivion.

I applaud the idea that innovative games can and should be made by amateurs, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for the revolution.

[TheCheese33]

I actually remember reading this article a long time ago. Sometime around 2004. How did it take this long for it to reach the AGS forums?

[Akatosh]

Well, I accidently stumbled over it while browsing Home of the Underdogs, and they either didn't put it there sooner or I just didn't notice it until yesterday. But it eventually reached the AGS forums, and that's what counts, isn't it?

[blueskirt]

The article that ruined my life. Of course, since I read it 5 years ago, I played a lot of AGS and amateur games, but I took it too seriously and I stopped to play commercial games or upgrade my computer completly. And now that I am back in the commercial games loop, I got 5 whole years of great commercial games to catch up with.

I agree with GarageGothic on this one. It may be a nice read but it is too much of a black and white philosophy, because in reality, for every EA, Ubisoft, LucasArts or Vivendi, there is a Hitman Blood Money, GTA Vice City, Spore, Bioshock or Alan Wake game that is worth and must be played.

So think carefully before going into scratchware philosophy. Because personally I lived a scratchware lifestyle for 5 years, completly devoid of commercial games and regret it completly.

[Akatosh]

...and what about missing 5 years of great commercial games ruined your life?

/EDIT: Hm, I just noticed something about that text. "There will maybe be ten different titles at my video games store"? Last time I checked, there were at least fifty, not including budget / Green Pepper versions of old games, with the prices ranging somewhere between 0.99â,¬ (I'm being completly serious!) to 50â,¬.

[blueskirt]

Mostly because when I look at that pile of games I still haven't played yet, and when I calculate the number of interesting games that are released every years, and the number of game I finished this year, then I will be up to date with the gaming world when I'll be 40yo.

[EagerMind]

Wasn't this inspired by the Dogma Manifesto?

I didn't read the whole thing (it is a bit long-winded), but I think the point is less "commercial games are evil" and more trying to shift emphasis away from glitzy (and expensive) graphics and special effects and instead focus on gameplay and storytelling. I think this article does a good job of putting the issue into perspective. Basically, as "glitziness" (graphics, sfx, etc.) go up -> development costs go up -> experimentation/innovation go down.

In a way I agree with GarageGothic. There's a reason why there are so many FPS and RTS clones on the shelves: that's what sells. Supply meets demand. Instead of trying to make developers force new types of games onto the consumer, I think consumers need to be encouraged to ignore all the hype and try something different.

[Akatosh]

Cannot link to them often enough...

http://www.introversion.co.uk/

Uplink! Darwinia! Defcon! Subversion (in development)! These games are quite cheap and their greatness can't be described with words. Especially for Uplink and Defcon.

[GarageGothic]

Wasn't this inspired by the Dogma Manifesto?

I'm not sure if it was, could be, but your mention of Dogma 95 made me remember this Gamasutra article which, to be honest, I found much more inspirational (and less self-righteous) than the Scratchware manifesto.

[EagerMind]

Actually, I think this is what I was thinking of. Thanks for the link!

A game designer's primary concern should be inventive gameplay, not gimmicky interfaces and new technology.

So everyone, go unplug your Wii's and toss them in the garbage.

[edmundito]

I believe that Designer X turned out to be Greg Costikyan, the game designer who runs www.manifestogames.com

Blackwell Legacy and the commercial version of The Shivah are probably considered Scratchware in their own way.

[Dave Gilbert]

Edmundo is correct.  Not only that, but Greg has been working in games longer than most of us have been alive.  He's a bit of a radical, yes, but he's the first to admit that.  I'm willing to take Greg's rants more seriously than others.

I've met Greg on many occasions, and even had dinner with him and the Manifesto folks.  They are the coolest people around.