Hi Kevin, I totally agree. I'm getting sick and tired of seeing people wine and complain about games not being put out on time. Shit happens. And when it does happen there's not much a developer can do about it. I used to be a developer myself, so I know how James feels, and I wouldn't blame him if he just said "You know what? Screw it, I'm not going to release Monty." and disappeared from the blind gamers community for good. I also don't blame him for refusing to sell games to people who complain when the very first release date passes by without the release of a game. Hell, I would do that myself if someone was wining about the fact that I didn't release something at the exact second of the day that I said I would.
----- Original Message ----- From: "kevin and emma" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 4:50 PM Subject: Re: audyssey: montezuma, pre-ordering, etc > hi michael et al, there's a good few members on this list who should read > michaels post, then read it again, and finally, rad it again! they will > then, maybe, get the message. it's an excellent piece of writing!! i hope > those currently intent on announcing james north as guilty before his > trial! > smile, can answer me one question? did james have to come back to the > community after a year away, still with the intention of releasing monty? > .... answer is no he did not!! > whatever he's done in the past, whatever he's promised and not produced > etc, > is exactly that, in the past!! personally, i feel if he doesn't produce > monty this time, then he deserves all the criticism he'll get. but let's > wait and see if he does shall we? as for pre-ordering and pricing, that's > entirely upto him don't you think? if you don't trust him to produce based > on the past, then fine that's upto you, you'll pay the extra when the game > does come out. i for one will be one of those paying the extra. and that's > got nothing to do with james north. i never pre-order anything! but that's > my choice! > > people on the list seem to think the game developers we have should > produce > their games on time, and at a loss! get in the real world folks! games for > the blind are like any other commodity, if you can't afford it, tough > luck! > if it's late, again, tough luck you have to wait! if a developer gives a > release date and they don't meet it, they get yelled at. if they didn't > provide release dates, they would get yelled at. > they all have lives away from this community, and harsh as it may seem to > some, their private lives come way ahead of thee community!! > there's other stuff i'd like to say here, but it'd get me moderated in > nothing flat! smile. > > so let's see what happens, hopefully monty will be out on time and we can > spend the near future talking about it on list, instead of the lack of it. > Kevin - co-owner/moderator of the blind gamers discussion list > contact me via email/msn: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "michael_feir" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 9:15 PM > Subject: audyssey: montezuma, pre-ordering, etc > > >> Hello, everyone. I would have jumpped in earlier were it not for the >> bouncing problem I've been having. Something called sorbs seems to >> have gotten it into its electronic head that yahoogroups messages are >> spam. Anyhow, enough of my current E-mail sorrows. >> >> What we have here are two wrongs not making a right. We have a game >> that has been unfortunately delayed for an extended period of time >> due to unique personal circumstances that its developer had to >> contend with. I've been right with all of you in terms of being >> frustrated and disappointed with the delays. I've dreamed of playing >> this particular game in accessible format since I was a kid. >> Experiencing the realisation of such a long-held wish will be a truly >> remarkable experience. I'll also have the distinct pleasure of >> showing my father how I can play Monty after having him play a remake >> of the original game for sighted people. It'll be the first time he >> can truly step into my gaming world and fully grasp what's happening. >> I hope this leaves people no doubts as to how much I've wanted the >> game to come out since I first learned of it last year. >> >> However, despite this impatience, I've done my best to be supportive >> of James and protect the community from its unfortunately short- >> sighted self. It makes perfect sense for James to have offered those >> customers who have demonstrated their faith in him the reward of a >> lower price. This happens all the time in the sighted game market and >> there have been cases of even longer delays. This is despite the fact >> that there's only one James North and hundreds of employees working >> on some of these mainstream games. This argument that a business is a >> business just doesn't hold up. When you're dealing with single >> individuals working on projects, you have to understand that personal >> life can and will get in the way. Failure to do this will result in >> game developers being burned out and turned away from serving our >> community. >> >> I don't think James is perfect. However, he has done his best for us >> given his circumstances and the emotional draning onslot of >> acusations this community has subjected him to. Perhaps, people would >> like it better if developers never told us anything until the games >> were fully made and ready. There would then certainly not be a >> situation like what we've experienced in Monty's case. However, stop >> and think a moment. There would be no news at all for months and >> months at a time. Developers wouldn't give out any information at all >> for fear of paying through the nose for it later. People wouldn't >> have any opportunity at all to offer feedback or ideas which could >> make games better than they otherwise would have been. Is that the >> kind of atmosphere you people want? If so, I'm glad I got out of >> editing Audyssey because that job would be absolutely impossible >> given those conditions. There just wouldn't be enough to talk about >> every three or even six months to warrant publishing an issue. >> Getting people to submit material was like pulling teeth even with >> things like they are now. >> >> Those of us who have stuck it out with James will ultimately get a >> far superior game to what they would have gotten before. I only know >> about some of the improvements he's introduced and can't wait to >> experience them all first hand. We'll get our money and time's worth. >> This is especially clear to me after reading the manual. If anybody >> still has doubts that we'll ultimately get the game, I don't know >> what planet they're on. You don't create a manual as detailed as that >> or a trailer for a game which doesn't exist. We just have to be >> patient and let James do things right. He knows the score. >> >> There are two oposites when it comes to community relations and game >> developers. There are people like James who let the community know >> what's coming up and aren't averse to sharing some information. It's >> thanks to these brave souls that I was able to build Audyssey into >> the magazine and community it became. The advantage is the >> suggestions and positive feedback you get while you're working on >> projects as well as the trust in your work that people will have when >> you're ready to sell. The down side is what happens when things don't >> go as planned as we saw in James's case. A whole barrage of things >> held Monty up for a lot longer than James wanted and people were >> repetedly disappointed with missed release dates. The obvious lesson >> here is not to offer release dates at all. I don't think there's any >> arguing with that given what's happened. >> >> On the other hand, you have developers like Bavisoft who just >> suddenly appear with new game in hand. Grizzly Gulch just suddenly >> appeared one day out of the blue. I'm more than convinced that had >> there been more community consultation, it would have been a far >> better game. I also suspect that they wouldn't have been as badly >> clobbered by pirates as they ultimately were. Communities like ours >> thrive on information that only game developers can provide. How long >> would people hang around if we never heard about any new games until >> they were released? Things would get incredibly boring as people lost >> interest in older games. >> >> Fortunately, there's a middle ground available. Actually, there are >> probably several middle grounds. Bavisoft and other developers have >> their own separate lists which let them communicate with a more >> select group of interested people. They also have access to their own >> web sites and could choose to proffer new information only there. >> There's also the question of what information to release. I've chosen >> to update people on my progress or lack of it every three months in >> Audyssey Magazine. That way, people can have an idea what I'm going >> through while it's happening. If somebody asks "Why did it take so >> long to make Fearless Flin?" I can point them to my developer >> diaries. I'll never give any sort of dates at all and I'll always be >> certain to make it clear that plans could change on me. This is a >> hobby for me until I actually have something ready to sell assuming >> I'm ultimately able to create my game. Working at home is quite >> different from working at a company even with just Rebecca and I. It >> must be tougher by far when you have kids to raise as many developers >> do. Things just have a way of coming between you and progress. We as >> a community consuming people's creative energies and efforts have to >> allow for that. If we don't, we'll see our brightest stars take their >> passions elsewhere. >> >> >> >> >> >> to leave send a blank Email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> You can contact the list owners/moderators by Emailing > [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> to go nomail send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> change "nomail" to "normal" to resume messages. >> Yahoo! Groups Links >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > > > > > to leave send a blank Email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > You can contact the list owners/moderators by Emailing > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > to go nomail send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > change "nomail" to "normal" to resume messages. > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.17/226 - Release Date: 1/10/2006 > > -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. 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