A disturbing trend I'm seeing in the rpgmmag community is the lack of (or in some cases, completely lack of) big releases. From what I've seen, most games are released without so much as a whisper. What the hell? Didn't you guys make this so lots of people would play it, and not get swept under the rug? I mean, how many people would notice that The Dragon Child and Who Did This? even were released unless Ixzion pointed this stuff out in an announcement? That doesn't even count some releases from some members. Exactly why haven't we heard from games like Monster Football, Duel?

What I'm trying to say is, we need to add hype and release dates to games. The fact that there isn't a good method to doing this certainly contributes to the problem (what happened to the development news section anyway?), but most members don't seem to give a shiz on whether people know their own game even exists.

I want to hear opinions about this, particularly Duel and Bo.

I already made topics about Monster Football a few months ago but it certainly did not grab much attention ^ ^

The Dev Studio News section is open to anyone who has a Dev Studio. You can put any news about game development in there, but it doesn't seem like too many people are utilizing the forum.

I asked for a preview of "The Dragon Child" back in Feb 2007. But I do not have AIM So I could not get it previewed. I wish I could have uploaded a Preview like the way you can upload a game.

True, but how many people are going to view it when it's been moved to the bottom of the main page?

I would think it would be more than if it was just a forum.

I sorta, kinda, somewhat have a reason. My demo was released on the pav way before I joined here so... I guess the main reason I don't hype my game up that much is because It most likely will get even more critisism when people play it then. I'll have to keep this in mind when I release the full game.

Well mine is a special case. Part of my being Anonymous is that I want to create a work put it out there, give a forum for it (which I did in my development studio-2 forums actually) and stand back and let whoever wants to play it play it and whoever does not, not. I also want whoever wants to get feedback feel free, but otherwise the only way I would advertise it is by listing in the "Completed Works Companion Topic" that I updated my card to indicate the game was submitted.

As a matter of fact it is actually the wrong title in Ixzion's post, but my concern is not to modify what people are saying about it, but rather let it be whatever it is going to be.

That is how I prefer to go about it but I realized that isn't for everyone.

I was actually tremendously happy to know that vanquish3000 played my game. I also plan on playing the Dragon Child immediately when I'm done playing the games for sequelpalooza. My point is that I have informed everyone who's game I played (Kittykicker and Pagerron via the card if they scan it). I've also posted in Pagerron's nearly empty development studio topic for his fantastic demo. So yes, I think people know of each other's games (and maybe are playing them) but other than the card, there is no buzz, so the gamemaker doesn't know WHO is playing them. I think it is more on those who play the game to announce it.

Would more buzz lead to more playing the game for those who do want it? Probably. But part of me thinks that whoever is going to play it will and others won't so people need to give EVERY game more of a chance in this community.

I talked about my first game quite a bit at the Pavilion. I don't remember talking about it all that often. Just now and then. But my detractors will say that I talked about it incessantly. People would regularly show up with questions like "How do I make my dungeons interesting?" and "How do I make battles interesting?" and other such questions. In response, I talked about my game. I said "Well, here's what I did. If you'd like to use my ideas, go ahead. If you don't find them helpful, that's okay too." It was as much a form of advertising as it was an attempt to be helpful with useful ideas (which, I remind you, is what people were asking for). I also have a direct link to my game's info and download page in my signature. It's that picture. I also had a link to the PNG forum when it was active.

And I got called a "self congratulatory egotist" for it by some. You want self promotion, but there are some people who get tired of seeing it. There's just no way to please a community of self involved people who think their opinions are the most important thing in the universe.

So no, I don't care anymore about advertising or self promotion. My next game is gonna be released with zero fanfare and no advertising. Then I'm gonna confront my detractors and ask if everyone's happy.

The lurkers and passersby will continue to play my games regardless. And the vocal regulars will continue to not play my games, for the most part. The fanboys will continue to like my stuff, and the haters will continue to gnash their teeth, regardless of what I do. So why bother?

I will release the game, let the audience decide if they want it, and then provide gameplay FAQs and walkthroughs a few months later for those who are interested.

Fixed.

It's hard to coordinate a 'big release date' on 2 different websites. I uploaded my game at both places at about the same time, as I always do, but unlike here, my game is still awaiting an upload at the PAV. It's really kinda sketch to have a big announcement that basically says 'This game will be released soon...I hope!'

Don't get me wrong, I know that they'll get to it when they can over there, and I don't mind waiting, I'm just sayin'.

I also don't like to exclude either place, because I like both a lot.

Since I did bring it up, I appreciate you fixing it. Thanks.

*wonders at the thought of not mentioning the release of his seemingly highly anticipated game*

Actually, that's not a bad idea. Will I remember to keep quiet? Probably not.