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View Full Version : Want to join me starting a game company for linux



iamscuzzo
January 30th, 2010, 06:08 PM
Are there any Ruby/Python people here who are interested? PM me and I can share details. People who want to learn Ruby/Python are welcome as well. I got a tiny bit of money on the side I can spend for a website, some promos, etc etc...

Queue29
January 30th, 2010, 06:15 PM
If I had a nickel for every one of these threads.

I'd still be poor, but at least I would have a collection of nickels.

iamscuzzo
January 30th, 2010, 06:20 PM
Motivation! I have a lot of haters to shutup ^

LightB
January 30th, 2010, 06:59 PM
Reminds me of the computerized fish petshop I wanted to start many years ago.

j/k

Nevon
January 30th, 2010, 07:02 PM
What's your idea? Making and selling Pygame games? (if so, then where does the Ruby come in?)

The Men
January 30th, 2010, 07:12 PM
Python .. game company .. failure.

Sporkman
January 30th, 2010, 07:19 PM
People who use linux don't pay for software. :)

Unless you want to go with the "selling services" angle, heh heh.

Tibuda
January 30th, 2010, 07:26 PM
People who use linux don't pay for software. :)

Unless you want to go with the "selling services" angle, heh heh.

How would you explain "world of goo" experience (http://2dboy.com/2009/10/26/pay-what-you-want-birthday-sale-wrap-up/)?

People who use Windows don't pay for software too, they pirate it.

JDShu
January 30th, 2010, 07:32 PM
Python does have the problem in that it lends itself to open source. You're going to need an innovative business strategy.

Sporkman
January 30th, 2010, 07:35 PM
How would you explain "world of goo" experience (http://2dboy.com/2009/10/26/pay-what-you-want-birthday-sale-wrap-up/)?


...donations??

I cannot explain donations. I'm talking about sales.

LightB
January 30th, 2010, 07:35 PM
You'd be a lot better off with C and SDL.

Tibuda
January 30th, 2010, 07:40 PM
...donations??

I cannot explain donations. I'm talking about sales.

Have you read the whole thing? it was a birthday promotion that allowed people to buy the game in any price they want (it costs $20 USD). An older post (http://2dboy.com/2009/10/19/birthday-sale-results/) explains it better:


Last week, to celebrate the one year anniversary of World of Goo’s release, we decided to run a little experiment and for one week, offer World of Goo to the world for whatever price people want to pay for it.

Sporkman
January 30th, 2010, 07:49 PM
Have you read the whole thing? it was a birthday promotion that allowed people to buy the game in any price they want (it costs $20 USD). An older post (http://2dboy.com/2009/10/19/birthday-sale-results/) explains it better:

I understand, I just think that voluntary payments (i.e. donations) are a different dynamic than sales at mandatory prices.

You have made the point that Linux users will in fact pay for software, though I'm wondering if they'd pay for software at mandatory prices.

I'm talking about individual users, of course, not businesses, who do in fact pay for Linux products.

Tibuda
January 30th, 2010, 08:02 PM
I understand, I just think that voluntary payments (i.e. donations) are a different dynamic than sales at mandatory prices.

You have made the point that Linux users will in fact pay for software, though I'm wondering if they'd pay for software at mandatory prices.

I'm talking about individual users, of course, not businesses, who do in fact pay for Linux products.

I don't really think Linux individual users are different of Windows individual users. Nero and Goo were the only Linux apps I have paid for, because they are worth it. On the Windows side, I have friends using Windows that have pirated MSOffice, Adobe suite, 3ds Max, Stata, and tons of games.

In economic terms, I don't think it is a lack of demmand or lack of supply. It is a lack of both (the market have two stable equilibriums (http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~hal/Papers/mattioli/network.png)). ISVs don't write Linux software because there are few Linux users, and there are few Linux users because ISVs don't write software for Linux.

Queue29
January 30th, 2010, 08:17 PM
Good lord, not this argument again.

People pay for software that doesn't suck. There are very few games (and arguably other types of software) for linux which don't suck (WoG being an exception). Ergo, 'nobody' pays for things on linux.

There's also the whole < 1% target audience that developing for linux provides, which is why there are so few high quality apps for linux.

As for the OP, python + opensource (read "free") platform == no profit. If you open source your game it will get forked to a free version faster than you can even read the GPL, and if you keep it closed source, well, good luck.

Sporkman
January 30th, 2010, 08:29 PM
Well another issue is just culture & habit - users of proprietary systems are accustomed to having to pay for software, whereas we're accustomed to getting our software for free.

ikt
January 30th, 2010, 08:37 PM
Well another issue is just culture & habit - users of proprietary systems are accustomed to having to pay for software, whereas we're accustomed to getting our software for free.

I don't think culture and habit has much to do with, most people are freeloaders and this is true in linux communities.

https://www.heroesofnewerth.com/purchase_account.php

http://heroes-ofnewerth.blogspot.com/2009/11/release-date-why-pre-purchase.html

;)


Are there any Ruby/Python people here who are interested? PM me and I can share details. People who want to learn Ruby/Python are welcome as well. I got a tiny bit of money on the side I can spend for a website, some promos, etc etc...

If you start be sure to blog about it, I'm interested in how things go.