Why not try to contact everyone and together try to setup one def. place? Decide WHERE to hang out will scatter the people, if the owners just decide and make it happen, it will work (gamedev.net for example was a joint effort of various sites)

Actually, We all know ASP, why not try to create a community like that for games? I mean, we don't need to have the discounts and meetings or that, but creating a subscription based (even if its 20 bucks a year) will rule out kiddies with nothing to do except bother people (not that I have a problem with kids, jsut a problem with the ones that do nothing but be a pain).

It will also make it able to use that $ to maintain a server for it. It could contain articles, forums, chat, etc etc etc.

Just an idea




[edited by - Akura on September 20, 2002 12:07:24 PM]

Mike''s points are 100% valid. I spent a lot of time thinking about whether we should put up our own forums. Ultimately I decided it would be a good thing, despite the fragmentation problem, for several reasons.

First, we already get a high volume of pre-existing indie traffic that comes through our site every day, some to the articles section and some to the publishing services section. I have many links in our developer FAQ that refer people to other forums, such as GameDev.net and the ASP, but I''ve still been getting many requests for us to put up our own forums. I don''t know why exactly, but the demand is definitely there.

Secondly, I wanted to create a place where the developers who work with us can network with each other. Originally I was planning to put up a private forum for this, but I opted for a public forum instead, so all visitors could benefit from the exchange. I don''t know many other publishers who''d be brave enough to put up a public message board where all their developers can talk openly about their experiences. This isn''t the main purpose of the board, but it certainly increases our accountability.

Thirdly, there are developer sites and player sites, but our forums bring players and developers together in a single place. Developers can chat with their fans and bounce ideas off them. Players can meet the designers of their favorite games. I think this is an incredible opportunity. We''ll be announcing our forums to our thousands of newsletter subscribers next week, so this should help to grow our player traffic as well. These are very highly qualified people, many of whom have already bought games from us in the past. Even for developers who don''t work with us, this can be a great place to find high-quality beta testers. What I wrote above just scratches the surface of what can be gained by greater player-developer synergy.

Fourth, it''s a part of our mission statement to build strong long-term relationships with our partners. I believe adding a forum is a good way to build a closer community. We have no control over other web sites and forums. I''m not a control freak, but I do like being able to fix problems and make improvements directly. We''ve been on the web at the same URL since 1995. And we''re going to be around a very long time to come.

Some other benefits:
- our forums are 100% ad free (no banners, popups, etc)
- our forums include a built-in polling feature, so anyone can post a poll asking, "If I develop game X, would you buy it?" or "Which feature is more important to you: A or B?"
- there''s a calendar where you can post your own upcoming events, such as the launch date for your next game
- you can send private messages to other members

I could continue with other reasons, but I think this post is long enough. Suffice it to say that I agree that it does have its downsides, but I think the upsides outweigh them. I''m not attempting to clone what GameDev.net, the ASP, Ludum Dare, or the IGDA is doing. Rather, I''m trying to serve developers in a way that I feel is new and worthwhile.


Steve Pavlina
Dexterity Software
www.dexterity.com
"Boredom''s Greatest Enemy"
-------------------------------------------------------
Earn $1000 - $10,000 USD per month in royalties when we publish your next game. See developer.dexterity.com for details.

If I''m gonna pay $X per year, its going to have to be for something worthwhile.

I pay $100/year to be part of the ASP, and that''s invaluable with all of the advice in their forums, their download site, all of their articles, etc. Plus I know that my money is going to help further the shareware industry (can''t put a price on that).

I pay $100/year for the IGDA. I got a free $50 subscription to Game Developer Magazine, and I got $50 off my IGF entry, so my membership paid for itself in the first month. I also get discounts on GDC admission, books, software, etc. Plus they help us setup and run local game development chapters (I''m a coordinator for the Southern Michigan chapter) and provide us limited funding for our meetings. And again, I know my money is going to further the game industry, to help our chapters, and to help universities set up quality academic programs for game development (can''t put a price on all that either).

I already get a number of free forums (here, flipcode, dexterity, opengl.org, etc). I get plenty of free articles from here, gamasutra, and flipcode. I having limited funding for stuff like this, so I would need a good incentive to pay for another subscription.

Ron Frazier
Kronos Software
www.kronos-software.com
Miko & Molly - Taking Puzzle Games to A Whole New Dimension

I''m probably going to stick with the Dexterity Forums. I don''t have anything against ludumdare. I''ve visited a few times but frankly I never found any content or resources that made me want to stick around. The competitions are very cool but I''ve never had an urge to participate in them. I have great respect for Steve and everything he and the guys at Dexterity have accomplished. Frankly I would love some of that expirence to rub off on me. Steve has been amazing in answering questions and offering insite when ever I have emailed him and I look forward to interacting with him in the same way in a community setting.

I think it makes sense for a developer/publisher to host the forums because it set''s the tone for community. In visiting the LudumDare site the few times I have I haven''t been able to identify the community. If you look at the roll call on Steve’s forums you''ll be surprised at the experienced indie developers that are coming out of the woodwork over there. Frankly I want to associate my self with / interact with other successful developers like the ones that are cropping up over there.

And there''s always the added benefit that if you make a name for yourself on Dexterities forums you might have a good chance of getting published. If you make a name for yourself over at LudumDare, well you''ve made a name for yourself.

I''m not trying to trash LudumDare, i''m sure it has a very positive community and is a great service to the indie scene, I’m just expressing my reasons for choosing the Dexterity Forums.