Also, I wanted to precise that Open Source is not just about companies giving money to a foundation. It is more generally about companies contributing to the software itself, whether it is by giving money or by writing code, documentation, tutorials, etc.

So, while I very much appreciate all these companies giving money to our beloved Blender, I'm afraid some of them still don't understand the FOSS fundamentals...

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Quoting: Purple Library GuyHave there been decades of 3D graphics?

Well, Matrix in 1999, the PS1 appeared in 1997, and even Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which started in 1993.

I'm pretty sure we can find something in the 80's quite easily 😉

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Quoting: tmtvl

Quotethat's not much when split between a few developers

90,000 Euros is not much when split between a few devs? You could hire 30 devs off that. Maybe 20 after taxes, but still.

Depends on the developers you'd like to have. A senior programmer with decades of experience in 3D graphics could easily cost 10K€/mo (considering all the taxes).

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Quoting: Duncso as long as your simple in-house tools still work, why change?

Strangely enough, IMHO, for a "simple" game, taking an already existing game editor is good decision, both short-term and long-term.

It is a good short-term decision, because you can invest only in what's matter: your game. A game editor is much, much more than just SDL. SDL is the bare minimum, but then you need to create everything else for your game to work. I can't even list the number of parts there are in a game editor (and I've worked on 4 of them along my 14-year career). I would make a more detailed blog post one day, explaining all that in more details. So, TL;DR: it's a good short-term decision because you can focus only on your game: level-design, gameplay, UI, multiplayer, ...

But it is a good long-term decision as well, because if you want to create a game studio -- with more than just one game -- then you won't have to keep up with the latest trends. Imagine simply what's needed to do to migrate from OpenGL to Vulkan: it is a lot of time to invest into something with very little value for your game. Another example: let's say your first game works really well and you would like to port it to game consoles now. That is, again, a huge amount of resources to invest in order to port over Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. And another example: as your studio grow, you'll hire more people. If you're using have a well-known game editor, than you won't have to train your new hires, they'll probably already have heard of it.

Some 2D/pixel art game examples:

• Broforce is using Unity


• Cuphead is using Unity


• Enter The Gungeon is using Unity


• Dead Cells is using Heaps.io (which I didn't know, but is still something they didn't develop on their own)

Edit:
That said, I agree that if your game tools already exist and are working, migrating to another game editor will definitely be painful, so I would not encourage doing the migration, unless the pros and cons are exhaustedly listed. I am indeed talking more about newly created game studios, doing their first game. I would advise them not to create their own game editor.

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Quoting: Dunc

Quoting: mylkayeah i know, but his games arent really that complex
i understand it for cyberpunk or other huge open world games, but a pixel style point and click.... i dont know... doesnt seem to by very economically

Look at it from the other side. For someone developing many different styles of game, gaining some knowledge of, and competence in, a general-purpose engine like Godot, Unity, or Unreal makes a lot of sense. But they're jacks of all trades. If you're sticking to one style, the knowledge and control of the codebase a custom engine gives you tends to outweigh the flexibility of a general-purpose one. And because the games aren't that complex, it isn't too hard to do. (It's beyond me, but if you know what you're doing...) I've seen single-person studios making point-and-click adventures in their own engines.

As a game developer in a AAA games company, and although we have our own game engines, I am still not convinced that doing your own game engine is a good thing. Game engines have become beasts, it is not just a matter of graphics, it is also about sound, AI, inputs, physics, animation, data management, etc.. and, on top of that, a whole editor for the game devs and artists to integrate their stuff in the engine. That why it is preferable to talk about "game editor" rather than "game engine". The engine is just a small part of the whole piece.

Developing these kind of game editors cost millions of dollars a year and it is, of course, never finished. On the other side, if you choose to use an existing game editor (Unity, Unreal, Godot, ...), you get all the new fancy features with each upgrade and you can focus only on what's important: your game.

As a developer, I understand the urge to own and control your own code but, to make a poor analogy, developing your own game editor to make your game is a bit like developing your own Photoshop to create your textures.

Edit:
I would add that open source is, to me, the perfect compromise. You don't have to develop everything just by yourself, but you still have control over the code. When Godot will get to a point where it would compete with Unity and Unreal, I think this will be a game changer (pardon the pun )

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Quoting: DrDickGindDid you played the remastered version? I cant get it to work

Yep, it's the remastered version. Works fine here though.

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I cheated a bit this week, I played The Last Of Us (Part 1) on PS4. It is magnificent.

Otherwise, I am still playing Transport Fever 2 (which I started to stream on Twitch). I am near the end of the scenario now ;)

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Just finished Half-Life: Black Mesa, and now I am back on Transport Fever 2!

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I don't see the point in being against a standardized API for money transactions. Is it because it is talking about money, so it has to be evil?!

I think instead this could lead to interesting new features. I'm thinking about it a bit and I actually think this could lead to more freedom for the users actually. For instance, instead of having websites forcing Paypal, the user could choose whatever transaction service he would prefer: the website is just happy to know the transaction has been done and don't care if it comes from Paypal or whatever. This could lead to more competition in the world of e-transactions, where, I don't know, we could have services providing additional insurances when using them.

Monetization in some games are perfectly fine. It's not because EA made an awful pay-to-win game that automatically all the free-to-play games are bad! Take a look at Dota 2 for instance, it's a good example IMO of a well done free-to-play game. Anything you buy in-game is purely for aesthetics. The Battle Pass gives you an extra layer of gameplay on top of your traditional games (like a challenge to have 5 wins with this or that hero).

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Quoting: JuliusCoinspam on GOL ;)

The idea is good, but from a quick look at the websites for "web monetazation" it seems like this isn't a industry wide initiative like this article makes it sound, but rather some obscure cryptocurrency linked project.

Maybe better promote Offset, which is also obscure, but 100% blockchain free:
https://www.offsetcredit.org/

Or GNU Taler: https://taler.net/

I don't see any reference to cryptocurrency or blockchain in their explainer: https://webmonetization.org/docs/explainer.html

From what I understand, it is merely a way to standardize money transaction thanks to an API. FWIW, if this thing is officially standardized by the W3C, it could mean a better integration of Patreon, Librapay, etc..

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