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Old 04-17-2012, 03:39 PM   #603
Gonzosports
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: San Francisco
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marcd2011 View Post
i wouldn't be too sure that being self published is a good thing for Jane Jensen. Even with a publisher pushing for the game to be finished, it took years for Gray Matter to see the light of day, and it wasn't that great when it did finally come out so i wouldn't like to see how long it takes her to release something when she doesn't have anyone pushing her.

Personally i think it's a bit of a piss take for this and the LSL project to be on Kickstarter at all, while indie developers like Indiestone (Project Zomboid) and Chris Bischoff (Stasis) are struggling under the constrants of self funding. Surely these developers have made enough money over the decades they've been making games to fund these games themselves?
Why would you think it was Jane who caused the delays? I'm much more inclined - and to be fair, I don't know the whole story - to believe it was problems with publishers, changing them to get the right feel, their constant input and changes to the game, etc etc

Designers, I tend to believe, have an idea and know where to go with it, but outside input can slow them down.

Also, I highly doubt the Al Lowes/Jensens made that much money off the Sierra heydays to finance games.

I'm not entirely sure Jane wouldn't be working for casual companies if she still didn't have to pay bills. Unfortunately, with/without Jensen/Lowe, those smaller indies are going to struggle until they can make a name for themselves people relate to.

JenLowe (ha ha, ahem) had the advantage of having a Sierra behind them to start their careers and make names for themselves - it's an uphill battle to not start with a major developer/publisher (for instance, Ken Rolston could probably start a KS pretty easy). That being said, I'm more than happy to support both - except, as Heather Logas and Andrew Plotnik have shown, the indie developer, the one who doesn't have as big of a professional reputation/livelihood to maintain, also carries a bigger risk for an investor.

I say, good luck, to all - but I can not, express my utter joy and happiness at what Kickstarter has done to story-based gaming. Although, I'm aware part of it is just nostalgia, but it's given smaller developers an opportunity they never had before.
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