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AlexVSharpGoogle Talk
AlexVSharpA good storyteller; excels at thinking on the fly. Jack of all trades, master of none. Mass-media student dabbling in game design. Freelance writer better at organising groups than his own time. Kind of an odd person, in a good sort of way. Always happy to hear from people. Ћао!~
0 comments by AlexVSharp on Jan 30th, 2012
As a part-time editor for GamingOnLinux.com I have decided to spend some time exploring the vast world of free open-source games. Like I mentioned in an earlier article, I am a huge fan of such games and do hold them in very high regards, especially those with a lot of thought and effort invested in them. Thus it is with extreme pleasure that I bring to you an interview with the core development team of a very promising game called "Naev". I strongly encourage everyone to head on over to the GoL website and read it; I'm certain it'll prove very insightful:
You pilot a space ship from a top-down perspective, and are more or less free to do what you want. As the genre name implies, you’re able to trade and engage in combat at will. Beyond that, there’s an ever-growing number of storyline missions, equipment, and ships; Even the galaxy itself grows larger with each release. For the literarily-inclined, there are large amounts of lore accompanying everything from planets to equipment.
You can find downloads for the game at SourceForge or on the downloads page. If you’d like to read more about Naev and its universe, be sure to check out the Wiki and their website, or you can always drop by their live IRC channel and ask whatever you want to know; they are a very friendly community and will help whenever possible.
Edit: As of now you can also get the game from Desura itself:
Many thanks to the team for agreeing to participate in this interview.
I wish you all pleasant reading, and do remember to comment here or there. Enjoy!
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.
What? Is this seriously an open-source game?! Wow, I'm really impressed... should have looked at Naev sooner!
It's funny how everyone keeps commenting on my profile instead of the article...
Guess Desura's layout isn't so direct and easy to interpret after all, eh? :P
Anyway:
Yes, Naev is a FOS game aiming far and playing it safe. I have high hopes for it! :)
Haha, yes, you're completely right. I thought I'd already clicked "BLOG" above. Clearly not! ^_^
(Edit: This should have been a reply to a previous comment...oops)
I applied to have Dominoze distributed on Desura last year actually; and it wasn't worthy.
I'm glad you asked because it goes right back to the point about execution: I firmly believe that the game mechanics can be a lot of fun; but in its current form, Dominoze is dull, overwhelming, and clearly made by someone with an engineering focus over a game development focus. It was also entirely made with very little feedback and no community involvement at all.
I'm resuming Dominoze development in 2012. I'll start with some radical changes to the content, get the community much more involved (including letting everyone make their own content), and going with a simpler, more light-hearted cartoonish/cell shaded feel and maybe a storyline.
Just remember to keep the parrot! ;)
Good luck and thank you for your input.
I released two iPhone/iPad games to the app store with what I think are original mechanics; one being a game where you pull ramps down with your fingers to guide marbles into a barrel (Tiltz), and another that is a cross between pinball and an alien shooter (Hyperspace Pinball). They did better than nothing, but probably got as many total sales as a viral app does in five minutes.
I think being original is only part of the equation; there's also the execution (I chose to keep the games minimalistic; no story, no cartoony graphics) and hitting the ground trying to get as many eyes on it as possible. This is in hopes that even one prominent reviewer or editor who doesn't require a cash advance sees it and says "Hey this has my attention! I want to learn more and write a story about it!"
...I suppose that leads up to the final part of the equation: "Do your best at what you love to do until you succeed and go beyond success"
Hi, would've replied earlier if you commented directly on the blog...
...I wasn't checking the profile page. My bad. :P
I completely agree with you about the execution bit. Like I mentioned at the end of the article: the game needs to "feel" complete on most, if not all possible parts. As far as advertising goes, a good review can definitely help a game step into the limelight, yet how long it stays there is depends solely on how much people enjoy playing it. Oh, and I like the sound of that quote of yours, so I might keep it! ;)
Also, I took a look at your "Dominoze" game and I must say it does look like a fairly interesting idea. Are you considering putting it up on Desura?