Hey there!

Our game (Fantastic Contraption) has had a huge fan response and I'm starting to schedule some meet-and-greets. Maybe a dozen or two people to get together, shake hands, and talk to the creators. I'm pretty excited as (as far as I know) this is a first for a flash game.

We'll be mainly just hanging out, answering questions, maybe unveiling some follow-up projects.

Since we'll be at Austin GDC, we figured we'd start there. I'm not familiar with the area and am wondering if anyone can recommend an easy meeting place that is close to GDC. It can be a restaurant or something, but I'm hoping along the lines of public park (with lots of shade). There might be a few parents/kids showing up so all-ages venue is a must (We'll head to the pub afterwards).

Any thoughts?

PS: You're all invited...

Date: TBD (Sept. 15-19th)
Place: Austin TX, somewhere
Time: TBD

PPS: this is by fan request and not me just feeling all self-important. I'm not worthy!

If anyone put out a game, and it had some sort of sliding scale at the end:

Donate $10 now!
... or donate $20 for the source code!

I would pay the $20 each time. Even if it's horrible, even if I never look at it, even if it was (unbeknownst to me) made available free. I just like the concept of "getting something extra."

I just can't say no to an offer like that.

Well then! You have that based covered better than I (I *needed* to live near a pub)

To partially echo most everyone else:

- I have found work as often as I have found dismal failure on Craigslist. Very 50/50, but not 100% failure as some have indicated.
- I have had nothing but success going door-to-door (measured on a trip basis).

I'm sure there's a million websites that go through details on how to present yourself well, but be sure you do. You aren't an automaton trying to make a buck - you are a unique person who REALLY WANTS TO WORK THERE. Don't apply at the bakery before you learn what all the products are called, for example!

Or you could crank out a few 48-hour-games and try selling them.

I hate the system and how it works, but all of my best jobs were gained from people I know. Join a club, hang out, make some friends, and you'll start seeing opportunities everywhere!

I personally think games should survive on gameplay alone, and art/sound is stupid, but thankfully I have the foresight to know I'm horribly wrong somehow and some of the biggest successes ride on art over function! I should really get around to changing my opinion someday.

I like to find people that truly love their craft as a hobby (for both art and music). The rates are a lot lower than businesses. Though there is an inherent risk (no guarantee of quality), it works both ways - you can unearth a diamond in the rough. Businesses will also give you other advantages - fast delivery times, sample portfolios, etc.

Unfortunately, it's hard to meet that kind of person unless you go scouting around IRL, which seems to be the equivalent of daylight to a vampire around these parts

For my recent projects I enjoy a percentage split that is negotiated. I'm fairly generous with the cuts I give for two reasons:

 - I love programming so much I don't mind doing it for deep discounts.
 - I want all parties to be heavily invested in the future of the property.

I hate paying flat-fees because I get this (hopefully unfounded) feeling that the person doing the job is just doing it 'for the cash' and doesn't care about the game - and won't give it that TLC that it needs.

The flip side of the coin, is that it's hard to go into business with someone like this, as there's no guarantee everyone else will live up to their end of the bargain, and everyone might turn out losing. I insist on knowing the person and their previous work before embarking together.

Hopefully in the end you can all share a beer over 

Depending on how much you love your lifestyle and how much you want money, don't forget about the whole concept of lowering your expenses.

By cooking my own food, using a u-brew, finding cheap rent, and cancelling most of my bills (no TV!), and selling the car/taking the bus, I went from requiring $2.5K/mo to just over $600/mo.

Respectfully, of course - you could already be doing all of this. I'm just shocked at how many people say "You cook your own food?"

I know this issue is kind of closed now that we have some results, but my few cents:

"Undervaluing" only applies if there is some sort of inherent value to something. You wouldn't sell a $10 bill for $5, because there is a direct correlation to value there. Our code doesn't have such a direct correlation, since often time the code itself is the payoff.

I personally have so much fun writing code I'd almost pay someone else to do it. Any money gained is completely gravy! The only considerations I have to make are maintaining the lifestyle - have to get that roof over my head and afford buying some craft beers. And those figures will vary wildly from person to person - ranging from free (living with parents?) to having a deep need to make lots of money.

I'm glad you found a buyer, but I'm even happier that you are happy with the sale.

Thanks, Greg!

I have to say most of the praise I've gotten so far has been on the artwork. I really really enjoy it, and so do our beta testers.

I just wanted to stress it again: The game is heavily in development right now, with no clear goals and incremental updates to the (mostly broken) website - that means some features don't work, many are buggy or will lock the game, and a lot of things are very unclear. But as time marches on, things begin to come into focus and it makes some sense.

With a very limited beta (around a dozen people until this point), we've already racked up over 200 user-made levels which I'm pretty excited about.

To the future!

Controlling the squid is definitely an art you get a knack for after playing for a while. Some people have trouble because the squid isn't responsive enough, and some say it's too responsive - so the Normal and Pro gameplay modes have different control schemes.

Thanks for the feedback though!

The objects are just to get in your way - and they do fall at different depths. Except Aliens mode where they just hang in the sky....

I'm not a big fan of FPS games, but if anyone is unsure I heartily recommend it. The whole teamwork angle is a blast.

Yeah the keyboard limitation has been there for aaaages and ages you have to creatively work around it, knowing the limitations on the keyboard, in your game development.

What I'm really surprised about is that they haven't made better keyboards (or drivers? or OSes?) yet.

PS: To stay somewhat on topic I use flash for game dev. I think it gets a bad rap because there's so much junk out there. Another match-3, please!

[PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE UNTIL YOU'VE AT LEAST POSTED AN INTRODUCTION IN THE OBLIGATORY INTRODUCE YOURSELF THREAD.]

PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE UNTIL YOU'VE AT LEAST POSTED AN INTRODUCTION IN THE OBLIGATORY INTRODUCE YOURSELF THREAD.

made it a bit bigger just to let everyone know I read it now! hooray! more red in this thread plz!

There is a good chance he just wanted exposure and didn't care for rules.
Might never see him again.

What! What kind of guy do you take me for

I've been lurking quite a while but never ventured into this forum, and failed to read the rules. Woops..

aww I didn't see this thread.

Hi, I'm here, I'm new. Lurker for a long time.

Andy Moore is the name. Community manager for Fantastic Contraption and just recently released my own game. I'm active on so many forums I couldn't bring myself to post in yet another one, but I guess that'll have to change now that I have actual games behind me!

I posted my entire development log for my 30-day game here: http://aughtnine.blogspot.com

I hope someone that reads it will gain some insight and maybe be inspired to finally pick up the tools and make their own game. It's really not all that hard!

I've been a lurker here for a long time. I guess it just figures that my first post is my first game release.

Quit my day job and gave myself 30 days to learn flash and build it. I think I came pretty far, and the game is a fun little toy to boot. Give it a gander - I'm hoping to do some interviews to inspire others to actually pick up the tools and go.

Was of course inspired heavily at the last GDC, thanks primarily to the IGF and all their hard work.

Play on my site, http://www.space-squid.com (ad free)