Ahh the joys of status battles. We've got the "they have lives" crowd, the "it'll be done when it's done" group, the "I told you so" campaign, the "it takes too much time to post status" entourage, the "I love you all, this is what I did today" minions, the "damn I didn't know this thing was still alive" clique, and of course the "wake me when it's ready" festival.
It's true...it'll be done when it's done. With that in mind, most people will go do something productive (or not), and one day find a notice or catch wind of a new KQ game to download.
It's not true that making a status update takes too much time, and saying that developers have their own lives is not a valid excuse. I get the sentiment, but it's really just code for "I don't want to make an update, so I won't."
The only real problem is this open-ended development period. This isn't a paid project, and that's clear to see by the abuse of "done when it's done." I don't fault the team for planning without deadlines, so people shouldn't be expecting any.
If waiting for the game is such a hassel or burden, go play another game...there are plenty out there. Of course, a project without a definitive end is more of just a hobby than a real goal. The game is what it is...no more, no less...so just wait or move on...don't lose sleep over a proposal.
The fact that this is a “not-for-profit” game and there is no “time-to-market” changes things a bit. It actually makes it possible to include fans on what is going on internally.
It is clear that is has not happened for many reasons.
There are no doubt some very talented people working on this project. But sometimes, I forget how young many of the people are, that they are asked to, or volunteering for roles that they don’t have the proper experience for. Such is the case for volunteer work.
The fact that the team is not working full time and under many roofs, makes communication difficult. And there are clearly communications problems with-in the team. The people demanding more updates are simply “beating a dead horse”. Asking the web or PR director for updates is useless. Normally it wouldn’t be, but here it is. They don’t know anything. Unless they are being fed information from someone in Cesar’s position (who may or may not be MIA), they don’t know what to tell you. Unfortunately, they have to make stuff up, as is human nature. Which only leads to a circular path.
Some fans seem to be so afraid that if updates were given, nobody would be working on the game. Don’t worry, there are people whose roles handle this sort of thing, they are just not functioning properly right now. Updates would not delay the game.
I find the “it will get done, when it gets done” people amusing. They always seem to leave the “if it gets done” off at the end. (Eternal optimists) Of course this statement doesn’t communicate anything at all, and is only meant to be derogatory. Which just fuels the fire. This of course does go both ways, and the nasty fans don’t help matters.
It is a complicated project that has many gaps folks.
By-the-way, if a director wishes to post in the journal and they are really short on time… Perhaps it would be better to write less about their personal life, and more about the tasks on their plate, and how their work is being integrated with the work from other departments. Cesar is the only person from my point of view who would possible knows where the project is at. The art director could only tell us about the art department, if he wanted to.
