The 200-character blurb is the least of the problems... it's more about drama every time a game is added and lack of transparency on who is taking all the free games that curators get sent.
I do think we should use the curator to promote cool indie RPGs, but that ranges from Caves of Lore and Zorbus to Quester and Volcano Princess, and people get very butthurt about that.
Yeah, I expected butthurt would be an issue but this site, despite still being the best RPG site, c'mon it's dramatic and butthurt about fucking
everything. Infinitron could post a news update just reminding people affected about daylight savings time and there's still be shit-flinging monkeys accusing him of being a part of the jew-tranny-farmer conspiracy. It'd be a shame if a lot of deserving indies had to pay the price because this containment facility for informed screaming autists can't help but shit-fling at every opportunity. Svarog's Dream got a quality review, you'd think that alone would make it a shoo-in. I'd think Islands of the Caliph would probably be expected, Sands of Salazar, and I have a soft spot for Dark Envoy despite its rather tepid reception because I loved Tower of Time. Widen the definition a little - Fell Seal, Chronicon, Rum & Gun, Tunguska, Partisans 1941, Symphony of War, maybe Dwarven Realms ... all did, I think, okay for their niche but it's cut-throat out there, mostly passion projects that live or die just based on whether the devs feel like they got some nice attention. The guy behind Vigilantes is going to drop Prometheus Wept at some point god knows he'll need all the help he can get. There's also that guy working Call of Saregnar, whenever he's ready for release I'm sure he could use all the available signal boost. Maybe the Thaumaturge, but I haven't played much of that, same for Dread Delusion.
Total aside, and I completely understand why Infinitron keeps his cards close to his chest, but ever since I've joined the site and seen how the community treats him, I've always just wondered .... why? Dude must really love RPGs or something because keeping on with never a
is impressive and bewildering.
Anyway,
. I get the impression that pretty much none of the most vocal and regular posters have ever had to manage a team, much less a team of more than 6, but anyone with that experience knows what a shitshow of constant dousing of fires behind the scenes it can be. Hell, I've been banned from certain communities over complete misunderstandings and just took it in stride because I've been there, mistakes happen and people are busy.
But anyway, I know I'm just a voice, but I'd still argue that the drama is worth shrugging off to get a little more spotlight on real gems like Caves of Lore (and Caves of Qud, but that one seems contentious in the community). Zorbus and Quester I'd never heard of but I'm already getting value because they just went to my wishlist.
I don't think I'd ever have found the game "Seven" were it not for the curator page and I'll always be thankful for that and will shill that game to my grave.
Same reason I'll bang the drum for the curator page. It's a got a huge subscription base and there are admitted semi-tourists like me who use it to find and explore stuff we'd never think of, particularly for the sizeable but silent contingent who don't browse the site regularly. Seven was my favorite discovery but it also sent me to Vigilantes, Battle for Esturia, Tower of Time, Legionaries' Life, Legends of Amberland, Heroes of a Broken Land and those were all ace. Bastard Bonds is the only one that I've struggled to crack ... the pieces are there but somehow it never gets its hooks in me. Serpent in the Staglands was sadly a miss, but I did push through to the end and I'm interested in their follow up.
Anyway, I'll reiterate that it really is a great resource for players and even moreso for hard-working devs, it'd be a terribly ironic shame if Codex whiners knee-capped CRPGs deserving of a little more spotlight.
Give it to Pepe, keep a running thread in the forums going, or just auto-add the GOTY winners - there's gotta be a way.
I don't want to miss out on another Seven or Tower of Time because I dipped on the forums for a while and a quality title just slipped away.
