Okay, now that I've recovered from bribing a vampire today (well, actually just donating a pint of blood), it's time to address a few issues.
DEMO/FULL VERSION SETUP
As much as I want to give everybody a great gaming experience, I also need them to actually
pay me for it if I'm going to turn this into a business. Here's the setup I'm considering: the demo will be able to run 15 levels (chosen by the DM) of any dungeon. Only the full version can play the rest. This way, every dungeon made larger than 15 levels becomes an incentive to buy.
As for getting the full version, having a $19.95 pay version is obvious. However, I thought of something else that would allow me to deal with people who can't (or won't) pay: adware. I was thinking of having a free adware-using version of the full game. This would be available in addition to the pay version, not instead of it. So those who dislike adware have another option.
I admit I know very little about adware, though, and whether this can be done in a way that's both safe for the users and profitable for me. So I wanted to ask for opinions on this as well as on the 15-level limit for the demo.
FILE FORMATS AND MAC/LINUX/WHATEVER VERSIONS
I need to decide soon what file formats to store the graphics, sound and dungeon information in. Since I've already had a request for a Mac version, I figure it would be wise to keep my options open by picking formats which all operating systems can use. So for those of you who've done cross-platform work before, I'm asking for advice. Are certain file types well-suited for this job, such that I could write mac/linux versions later that use the same dungeons?
For that matter, is there any game-making IDE or programming language I could use which would automatically handle mac and/or linux platforms
without my needing to actually own (and test on) those platforms? I know Java aims for this, but I've heard that its "
write once, run everywhere"
schtick actually works more like "
write once,
debug everywhere."
SHAMELESS BRIBERY
Being a one-man operation, trying to do everything myself will result in the final product taking much longer to come about and being of lower quality when it does. And being on a shoestring budget, I can't just hire the help I need.
But what I
can do is offer free copies of the full game (the ad-free pay version,
if I end up doing an adware version) to those who make significant contributions to creating it. There are various ways you can help, if you have the right skill-set. The two main kinds of help I forsee the need for are sprite work and dungeon-making.
..SPRITE WORK
While the public domain graphics I'm currently using are fine for a free alpha demo, I expect a commercial version will need a bit more polish. And not only could I use a much better swords-and-sorcery tile set, but having graphics for other genres - modern, sci-fi, wild west, cyberspace, etc. - will greatly increase the storytelling potential of DMs.
So if you're a skilled sprite artist and are willing to make a tile set for one genre (your choice, unless I get multiple offers for the same genre), I'd be willing to show my gratitude in the form of a free copy.
Check out David Gervais' tile set:
http://pousse.rapiere.free.fr/tome/tiles/AngbandTk/tome-angbandtktiles.htm
These are the tiles I originally wanted to use and which I developed the demo with. This is the minimum level of quality I'm looking for. If you're willing and able, please PM me and be prepared to show examples (32*32 and 16*16 sprites) of your work in the genres you're interested in doing.
..DUNGEON MAKING
While I expect the users to eventually build many dungeons once the editor is released, having a stock of quality dungeons ready to go from the start would be a big draw. But I can't work on the engine and editor
and make dungeons at the same time.
So if you're a DROD architect in good standing and are willing to commit to giving me a certain minimum number of levels (ballpark figure: 100) during the beta, I'm willing to give you a free copy. The details are up to you: one giant dungeon vs. several smaller ones, easy vs. hard, story-oriented vs. puzzle-oriented... Whatever your specialty is. All I ask is that they be quality gaming, not just something you threw together while testing how the game/editor works.
____________________________
My gaming blog is at
http://dungeon-games.com/blog/
[Last edited by DGM at 02-04-2007 05:01 AM]