Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Path: gmd.de!nntp.gmd.de!dearn!
 xlink.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!waikato!canterbury.ac.nz!cantua!cctr120
From: cctr120@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz (Brendon Wyber)
Subject: Re: IF Business venture?
Message-ID: <Co5x8G.482@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz>
Nntp-Posting-Host: cantua.canterbury.ac.nz
Organization: University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1]
References: <2oc2hl$tu4@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> <1994Apr12.010648.19824@Princeton.EDU>
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 1994 20:07:27 GMT
Lines: 45

Howdy,

Jacob Solomon Weinstein (jacobw@tucson.Princeton.EDU) wrote:
> Jeffrey Philip Butler <butlerj2@jellyfish.msu.edu> wrote:
> >My question is this: is there a living to be made in IF shareware? Don't

> Based on my experience, I would advise you not to get your hopes up. I
> released Save Princeton about a year and a half ago, and, in that time,
> I've gotten about $250 in shareware fees. Admittedly, the Princeton
> setting of the game probably turns some people off, since they
                                     ^^^^
I would say most instead of some. To be honest, the moment I loaded it up
and saw that the starting locations contained real people and the Disk refered
to TADS and mentioned lots of in-jokes I immeadiately dismissed it as yet
another game-based-on-my-life-type-thingies which are sort of down on my
literary scale in the same catergory of amatuer what-if-the-BattleStar-
Gallatica-meet-the-Enterprise-and-the-Death-Star stories.

> If you do go ahead with it, though, I urge you to make the game impossible
> to complete without a registration packet. Do what Infocom did and let

Yes, this is perhaps the best way to do it and Infocom's packaging is
quite interesting to read.

> players ind, when they're almost at the end of the game, that there's a
> puzzle that requires some information in your registration packet.

> I'm not saying I regret writing Save Princeton. I enjoyed writing it,
> and I know that a lot of people enjoyed playing it--substantially more
> than actually paid for it. I'm just saying that you'd make more money
> flipping burgers, and writing IF for a hobby.

> What do other folks think?

I would definately say the writing IF is a labour of love. You will certainly
not make a living from it unless you do point and click interface with
graphics.

--
Be seeing you,

Brendon Wyber                     Computer Services Centre,
b.wyber@csc.canterbury.ac.nz      University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

"Ph-nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."
