So than whats the point of this project? Clearly it's not money, so you guys are doing this out of passion cause you happen to know some of these refugees and you want to tell the world of their plight? I call bullshit. Nothing about this seems smart or wise.
Why?
You're not making the game for money so this was the next logical conclusion i came to, so once again, why are you making this game if not for profit?
Maybe they are making these accusations because they're trying to wrap their heads around why anyone would think it's smart to make a game about something like this, responding to these critisisms by calling these people racist or bigots and other insults does nothing but dig you guys into a deeper hole. Whats next? You're gonna start calling everyone over privileged white males that's literally worse than hitler? Is this the route you really want to go down?
Stop strawmanning, i never said that video games can't do real life themes or should only focus on fantasy settings, there are plenty of settings out there that aren't fantasy. But than again that depends on what you qualify as fantasy.
OwNathan - I'm an ex-rpg dev, so I do know well that when you produce something, everyone and his mother has some opinion for you, and it's hard to wade through all the crap. And so, one normally just ignores everything rather than even try. But I've seen Mustawd's editing work in another thread, and I'll just say, if he actually finds the time to do this, you should give his advice some special attention. (The advice may not be presented in the gentle way that a professional would do, but it is likely to be correct.)
Look. You need a proper writer. Or at the very least an editor. ICY had a lot of problems that should have been addressed with game testing. Personally, I felt that I played the Alpha of ICY, gave feedback that the writing needed to be overhauled a lot, and nothing got done.
I understand you're not professional writers. I get it. But I really really think you need more time to process feedback. I suggest you keep the main ideas and themes of your writing but truly take feedback in terms of style, timing, and spelling. Because I remember playing the alpha and wondering why the hell everyone kept saying "fuck" for no apparent reason. Shit was jarring tbh. People, especially older adults, don't walk around saying "fuck" all the time. Timing is also an issue. You introduce major themes way too quickly (in ICY's case) when realistic dialogue would be a bit more nuanced and less lore dumpy (I'm thinking of the time you first meet the black guy. Dude's dialogue was weird as hell).
Anyway, I haven't read every post in this thread but I'll try and make some time to play the alpha and provide real constructive feedback.
We completely changed the writing team and how the writing is done, also got a very good editor. When ICY got released we had issues with the previous editors, then we found someone able to fix all the shit. Also, there is way more care and attention to the details.Look. You need a proper writer. Or at the very least an editor. ICY had a lot of problems that should have been addressed with game testing. Personally, I felt that I played the Alpha of ICY, gave feedback that the writing needed to be overhauled a lot, and nothing got done.
I understand you're not professional writers. I get it. But I really really think you need more time to process feedback. I suggest you keep the main ideas and themes of your writing but truly take feedback in terms of style, timing, and spelling. Because I remember playing the alpha and wondering why the hell everyone kept saying "fuck" for no apparent reason. Shit was jarring tbh. People, especially older adults, don't walk around saying "fuck" all the time. Timing is also an issue. You introduce major themes way too quickly (in ICY's case) when realistic dialogue would be a bit more nuanced and less lore dumpy (I'm thinking of the time you first meet the black guy. Dude's dialogue was weird as hell).
Anyway, I haven't read every post in this thread but I'll try and make some time to play the alpha and provide real constructive feedback.
Yup, you're right.
We actually did a lot of research and August seemed to be a good month for videogames on Kickstarter, actually one of the best.
Already done, nothing happened. D:
This seems ideal for mainstream coverage. I would pitch it to places like Slate, Ars Technica, The Guardian, etc. You should go with an aggressive angle like, "Finally a game that means something" and "a game that's about more than fun," etc. You might want to approach (im)migrants' rights groups and have them help cross-promote it. Probably drop the "fair and balanced" slogan and just go with saying that this will show the real story of migrants' struggle for a better life and the threats they face along the way "none more deadly than man's own hatred." You could even try to get some endorsements from actual migrants, perhaps enlisting one as a consultant.
Okay, well, not quite, but THIS needs to be a game. Some kind of tower-defense-esque where you try to divert waves of refugees by building walls to divert them into some other country, all while those countries are trying to do the same to you.
Everything's correct and you have a clear view on this, but the point is that probably no one care that much, and the few caring enough are not so willing to risk to lose followers or view writing an article about a KS campaign. The game's announcement turned into some articles, the KS start didn't. An eventual release would maybe do some more noise, but at this point we clearly overestimated the impact of the theme and we have to deal with it, decide what to do. We thought the same things, we also contacted the press in several different ways, but the results were quite disappointing.
Oh, you're right. I wonder why they even bothered to create subforums about different genres...
Roleplay as a worshipper of Allah trying to liberate Firanj from feminist idolators
