FLAVORLESS_SOUP
a project by some
DEFERRED_IMPACT
| root@flsoup:~$ cat | ./PROJECTS.LST | ./GUIDELINES.MD | ./DISCORD.GG |
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Although i'm doing this project solo for now, i fully expect to get contributions from other people soon. As such, i use the word "we" to refer to this project, the FLAVORLESS_SOUP, and all its contributors.
NO PAID ADVERTISEMENTS.
NO PUBLISHERS.
NO SELLING OF EXCLUSIVE IP RIGHTS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk3zEPgSV-g
We are a community. We are powerful enough. We can do it alone. We are not interested in your corporate greedy bullshit.
(But no-strings-attached donations are always welcome.)
Importantly, monetization may still happen if it is justified. E.g. if it's a multiplayer game, there will be unavoidable server costs associated with it, and it is rather unwise (and potentially impossible) to pay those in full from our personal incomes. However, this monetization should always be considered an unreliable source of income, and should not be taken into account when making game design decisions. At no point are we allowed to think "we would like to change this thing, but if we do so, people will pay us less, so we may not change it".
In other words, making money is fine, as long as it is the lowest priority task and does not interfere with other tasks. It may never become a primary goal.
However, certain experiences can only be created by cutting out ideas and concepts. The obvious - and inherently relevant - example, is "what if we made a game with no bulletspam weapons?" Refusing to add such weapons means refusing to pander to the shooter game players who have been conditioned to expect such weapons in every game.
As a consequence of (0.), we do not depend on our playerbase to "stay afloat". This allows us to avoid having to reach the biggest possible audience, which in turns allows us to create such unique experiences that will turn off many, perhaps most players, but will be cherished greatly by the few.
A good game must distinguish itself by having specific qualities that are not necessarily unique per se (altough if they are, it is appreciated), but mesh together in just the right way to create a unique and positive experience. That is what we mean by "vision": a clear understanding of why things must be the way they are in a given game. It is not easy to come up with a vision, but ultimately, it's best to make one good game, rather than ten terrible ones. As such, the time and effort investment in conceiving a solid vision is worthwhile.
And as such, we may only create a game if we have a clear and appealing vision for it.
People are stupid. It's unfortunate, but factual. G*mers are no different (and potentially worse on average). As such, we may not make decisions purely by having people vote for what they want.
Players may still influence gamedev decisions. However, they may only do so by participating in clear, rational and logical discussion with us. Iff they manage to prove why their idea is actually a good one, only then may we consider implementing it - no matter how many "votes" it got.
If you want change - don't try to coerce people onto your side. Instead, use logic and reason to convince us your idea is good. This is how we operate.
Do not expect us to care. If we deem the current meta to be undesirable, we will nuke it and rework it drastically. Especially if it is needed for (2.) following a vision.
- your derivative has to deviate at least in some way. A perfect copy of an existing game is pointless, and a waste of your own effort.
- your derivative should be obviously marked as such. Do not impersonate our games, please.
Are our games good? If yes, elaborate on them. Make your own versions. Let's change gaming, together.
Additionally, growing too fast is also a concern. Word-of-mouth approach puts a certain limit on how fast a community can grow. Advertisements can be overkill, just as easily as they can flop. Suffering from success is not ideal.
We do it PC first. PC is our focus, and will always remain so. PC always has priority over mobile.
Want to play on window$ anyway? No problem. Web versions of these games must also be provided. Play in your
fancy OS compatibility layer web browser.
Of course, promising that servers will stay online forever is ridiculous, and that is not what we promise. We may shut down the servers in the future. However: if we ever decide to shut down the servers, we are under an explicit obligation to release - within a month - the entirety of that game's code, including the server code, in such a way that a sufficiently skilled user can create their own server and continue playing their favorite game.
However, see Rule 24, which takes precedence over this.
Donations are very welcome. If people do not wish to donate, that simply means people are not interested enough in the quality and ethic of work we produce. They have the right to think that, even if it's strictly wrong.
Our games are always free. But if you don't pay us, there might not be any future games.
This isn't a job. We shouldn't rely on it for our future, and we should always have fallback options for "what if gamedev doesn't pay". Because, let's be honest, it won't.
The world is a shithole and gaming should be a safe haven, not a yet another source of misery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g
However, as long as this rule is applied, no self-hosting artifacts will be released.
This rule is in effect until the end of the war between Ukraine and russia, plus one year since that moment.
This rule is in effect until the end of the war between Ukraine and russia.
As unlikely as that sounds, everything here is Made in Ukraine UNDER FIRE.
Font used in most of my projects is SQUARE font by Wouter van Oortmerssen https://strlen.com/square/
used under the conditions of CC BY 3.0 Unported
Icon credit:
Photo by Piotr Miazga on Unsplash