If I wanted to share my game development progress within these walls, how should I go about doing that? …or is that something outside of what intfiction.org is intended for?
I could use a site, like GameDev.net, but I like the focus on IF here… and as a novice developer, I can see value in sharing my thoughts, and getting feedback, on game play ideas and stylistic choices. I don’t feel like I can just make a topic that I continually update on the progress and contemplation of my game project… unless that’s an acceptable thing? The forum here seems to be more question/answer or announcement centric, is all.
Anyway, let me know what the proper etiquette is for “project blogging” on this site… or if it’s even encouraged.
Thanks for the link. I wouldn’t want to hijack it with my project, but it’s good to know.
Sometimes, starting a blog helps keep ideas in order while simultaneously putting a healthy pressure on yourself to see your ideas to fruition. You’ve stated your intention to all. Maybe you get a little needed encouragement to see it through to the end, as a result. You can’t possibly let those 2 commenters down now (one of them is probably your mom), can you? You don’t want to be seen as a monster, do you?!
Depends on your intentions and how much you intend to divulge. A highly spoilery blog might disqualify a comp or jam entry depending on what is disclosed and how strict the organizer is.
I don’t think anyone’s been disqualified for publicly workshopping their game, but there’s always a first time.
With that said, if you don’t care about it, then go for it! I think it’s an awesome idea.
Reminds me of GMTK’s Developing series:
Awesome documentary following one man’s game development journey. Visual medium, but many of the lessons translate.
There are a lot of Developer Blogs on the Tumblr Scene of IF, though they are also often use for the promotion their project (kinda like what you can find with the CoG Forums) and rarely take part in competitions…
The Tumblr interactive fiction scene also tends to be very different from what’s here on the forums and on IFDB, et cetera. Different mediums (choice as opposed to parsers/puzzlefests), different fan base (I’m pretty sure they’re skewed towards the younger side of people), different genres (there’s a lot of romance, character interaction), even. At least from what I’ve seen. And I’m not sure if there’d be as much interaction as there is on the forums, or in other words how well you’d do there in terms of receiving feedback/critique.
Though go for it if you want to! Perhaps you’ll be the first (?) to introduce them to something new.
Here is a repository of-sorts blog of Tumblr IF. It provides a snapshot into what the community is like on there. Maybe you can check it out? It’s also somewhere you could submit your game to be promoted if you decide you want to use Tumblr, as I’m pretty sure that site is rather popular and gets at least some traffic on the daily.
I skim read a bunch of posts on the blog. I had to laugh when someone asked if they could get recommendations for games that did not have romance as a primary or even secondary goal, prefacing the request with acknowledgment this might be a long shot. They then received a helpful response also acknowledging the difficulty of totally sidelining romance.
The IF scene on Tumblr is very romance heavy (most popular projects there have romance as their main theme or as an important secondary one). Because it is so popular, it is not as easy to find projects promoted there that do not involve romance in any way.
We (I am one of the mode of that directory) often get questions phrased this way (thinking it is a long shot to find certain types of titles) when people ask us for less popular genre or tropes or PC/NPC characteristics. We do our best to find what they are looking for
Oh yeah, the interaction over on Tumblr is very different to what you can get from the Forum (it is a blogging platform first and foremost). If you are looking for a place to dumb your thoughts or journal your progress, it’s great! (It’s what I do, lol) But if you are looking for feedback, not so much (I speak from experience). Unless if you have a decent active following, then you might not get something back. The reply function on the posts is not used as much as it is on the forum
Perhaps they should be introduced to the community on here then. There are so many great works (choice-based, if that’s what they’re looking for) on the IFDB site that don’t have romance at all. And perhaps they might even find themselves with a fond liking of parser games after browsing through the site.
The Forum, IFDB, and other IFIT events have been promoted on the directory in the past (I’ve even made a post explaining the purpose of the IFDB and how to use it), and we will continue when something pops up.
But not everyone want to go anywhere else but Tumblr to find games to play or projects to follow. There is this sentiment over there that the Forum has a bit of a reputation of being more serious than Tumblr, less open to people and to choice-based/non-serious content.
(I guess I should add that this is not a view shared by everyone, even if I’ve encountered it with quite a bit of people) (also some people have been weary of forums in general after leaving the CoG one)
As for the missed titles on those recommendation lists, we try to link IFDB works (or non Tumblr promoted works) when we remember them
So we also rely on our community members (or whoever sees that post) to help us fill in the gaps. Tumblr users can use the reply function on those posts (or send us a message) to give us titles we may have missed.
The Coffee Machine topic is nice place to spitball random stuff on. That’s pretty cool.
The GMTK series sound like fun. My mind doesn’t quite absorb new ideas as quickly as it used to though (reading is the best way for older, grumpy people to learn), but I’ll try this new, fan-dangled ewe-toob.
I appreciate the suggestion of Tumblr (I checked out that link), but I’m not a fan of short-form social media. The abrupt bursts of thought are too erratic for me. I’m just looking for a little feedback and encouragement here and there; the community right here has already won me over, in that regard.
*** audience awww sound ***
The more I think about it, I might be able to use the forums here in a way that works for me, but doesn’t abuse it…
*** uplifting, orchestral music ***
…because, if a man can’t find a home, he has to make one where he stands!
*** drawn-out applause ***
(I think I’ll be okay. I seem to be able to amuse myself just fine, as it is.)
Just an update to my initial question here in this topic.
I’ve been working within the confines of the forum engine here and it seems to be doing what I need. Here’s a link to my topic/blog thingy… Harlowe: thinking outside the (box:)
I have to say, it works quite well as a blog or documentation format that still allows discussion to happen around and in between. I hope this is acceptable to do here. So far, nobody has called the cops on me so that’s a good thing, I guess.
Anyway, just following up in case someone else visits this topic and wonders what my decision was. Again, thanks to those who offered help in the matter.
I’m sorry your question about literature got railroaded and dragged through the mud. It was the equivalent of a schoolyard dog-pile. I think it could have been handled better. I kinda joined in on that action with a bottle of Wasabioli. Sorry, man. We should be better than that.
I bear a lot of the blame with my sandwich question and follow-ups. I was bothered by the sour tone of the discussion and I responded by trying to make light of it, when I should have just muted the thread.
In the future if a topic goes off the rails you can ask @HanonO very nicely to split the thread. I wouldn’t do it all the time because he’s an unpaid volunteer who puts a lot of work into the site already. But it’s an option that’s available. Perhaps, Hanon, you could please split the Arguing Syntax topic where I first pop in when you have some extra time? I will name my next game after you.
@rileypb
You feel guilty? I feel like I started the whole mess by pretending to be my moniker in the comments. What’s done is done. I don’t feel that any one person is to blame. Let’s just learn from this experience and move on.
