You can't complain that this game is costly

[JimMorrison]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Parker

A common lament. And I would believe it.
Except for all of the (musicians, programmers, artists, etc) who say they will break the mold, start an effort on their own, and end up in the same boat or fail. I cant quite figure that they all just joined the conspiracy.

You don't have to join a conspiracy, to get bought out by one. Musicians, by and large, have absolutely 0 say and 0 sway in their own industry. They want to succeed? Well, they sign with the major label that will promote them. Most successful bands that you know these days that have their own label - why, they got their break with a major label, and they were just very savvy, saved up their money, finished their contract, and made it out on their own. Most artists get locked into the corporate machine, and never manage to break free. Same with game makers. Sure, maybe some of the developers who are distributed through Shrapnel support themselves with their software sales - but I doubt very many at all. If they want their games to pay the bills, they join a studio. And again, most of them never get out of that trap.

Part of why Shrapnel succeeds in the way that it does, is there is little pressure. They can serve the long term interests of their developers, as well as the interests of their players. By the same token, you could make some recordings of you and your banjo, belting out old Elvis tunes (shudder), but regardless of whether or not you find a way to make that project "successful", it'll never support you. To make a living at it, you pray someone finds you, and gives you the tools that you can't come up with by yourself.

I would be a fool to say that our JK and KO are quite unique in their programming abilities. Granted, they are very rare indeed, but what is more rare is their ability to see a project of this size through to completion. There are a million programmers out there who could make a good game (at least, a good -niche- game), but who don't have the stamina to ever complete anything even close to this size and scope.

So, the industry preys on both ends, you see. They prey on the producer, and they prey on the consumer. Like any corporation, they become voracious and entirely self absorbed. And that's why Shrapnel is different, because it isn't a "corporation" per se (I don't know if they actually are incorporated, though I doubt it), and so it still retains some measure of humanity, and along with it the understanding that managing your resources can give greater yields than devouring them.


Whew.

<3