Tag Archives: frustration

To The Internet…

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Over the last several weeks, we’ve heard of independent game developers getting hacked or harassed unfairly by people online. We’ve seen celebrities hacked and their privacy exposed.

When I first read about one of the developers that was hacked, I saw some articles with comments of pity and disgust of the Internet, and some articles that said “he deserved it.”

The problem is that when you post something online, be it a picture, video or post, it immediately becomes subject to review by the world, and to anyone who actually cares. And in today’s world, EVERYTHING is online, be it your photos or your television-watching habits. Nothing is sacred anymore. And if anyone actually cares who you are, they will comment.

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“Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” v1.03 (bug fixes)

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So far, “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” has sold over 3,000 copies after one week.

… which is a bit unfair, as almost all of that came from Indie Royale, for being included in their latest indie-centric bundle. But it did get me a bit of new attention and a boost of voters of Steam Greenlight (I’ll talk more in detail about this in another article).

I’ve also said that there are at least a few bugs that exist, and I’ve since added some fixes and small features to the game to hopefully make it better. This update will be available on Desura very soon, and is largely based on what feedback I’ve gotten online and from PAX:

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Microsoft Surface Pro 3: A Artist’s / Game Developer’s Review

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Warning: I am a indie game developer and an artist by hobby only. Therefore, your requirements may differ depending on usage.

No doubt you’ve seen many reviews and previews of the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet, which Microsoft claims to be the “true” laptop killer (which they’ve said for versions 2 and 1 as well). I’ve been tempted to buy one… who wouldn’t be interested in a tablet that can do everything your computer can? I remember making fun of the original iPad as a oversized-iPhone, only to realize that the larger touchscreen was the perfect device for note-taking and digital sketching. As an artist-wannabe, that meant something. But the only issues with the iPad were that it didn’t have USB connections, and that the OS itself was different (therefore, not compatible with any software I need to use). In fact, given the iPad’s relatively affordable price, I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple ditches the iMac one day for a “professional” iPad to appeal to more consumers.

So the Surface Pro seemed like a great thing. It was a professional tablet with full Windows OS, and unlike most other tablet-PC’s, it came with a pen stylus and a decent processor and other specs, making it a true replacement hardware-wise for your PC. I was torn between the Surface Pro 1 (nice price), Surface Pro 2 (Wacom-pen with latest improvements to tablet), or the new Surface Pro 3 (even more new improvements). I eventually took advantage of Microsoft’s student offer and got a i3-Surface Pro 3 for about $700 (plus tax). Here are my thoughts after a few weeks.

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Looking Back With Drew…

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As I stand here at midnight at the top of the Seattle Space Needle, looking out at the beautiful city, abuzz with concerts, performers, and geeks, I think about all the crazy stuff that’s happened.

“Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” ended it’s Kickstarter as a failure, earning even less than “James – Journey of Existence” did, by both backers and pledge amount (although the pledge amount was almost matched), which I may never fully understand.

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Press for “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth”

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So “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” will finish it’s Kickstarter campaign in about a week. It only received a few backers in the last couple of weeks, one of which was especially generous. Overall, it still looks unlikely that it will lead to a successful funding.

It’s strange… my previous Kickstarter campaign got three times as many backers, despite even less press and an obvious lack of quality and polish. Many of those original backers were the sort of people to back hundreds of projects… maybe this is a sign that Kickstarter fans are finally starting to get wary about giving money to people after not receiving their dues from past projects. Or maybe they were hesitant that I made an entirely new game when the first Kickstarter failed, even though the two are ultimately very similar. Most likely, I’ll say that August is one of the worst times to run a campaign, perhaps because people are still reeling or gone from those expensive, time-consuming vacations. I won’t say it’s all entirely because of the game’s quality to keep myself sane, and also because it actually received more praise than anything I’ve shown before. Anyway, I’ll let it finish, but it’s disappointing that it’ll leave yet another black mark on my game, my studio, and my name. And it helps me feel better if it doesn’t support additional languages or features, since no one would care (maybe I’m being cynical here, but unless I ever sell more than a dozen copies, I’ll assume it true).

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