Greetings from Thailand

[mahks]

Hello all, I am a Canadian living in Thailand.

Used to do a lot of board gaming, but living in a small village here there are no opponents. So about 5 years ago I began to learn some web languages and began creating a browser based 4X space game. Back then browsers were a mess, all had their own quirks, most did not support many of the new HTML tags, except of course Firefox. So I made the decision to build the the game only for Firefox.

Been play testing with a small group for the last few years and decided to open it up to a wider group last September. And ran up against a huge problem that I had not foreseen. I assumed that with all the forums & gamers out there I would get a few dozen play testers in no time. Nope! Only a few have responded to my posts on dozens of forums. A few forums even banned me for a single post asking for testers!

I think the main problem is the graphics, I have no artistic ability, so the game is lacking in that department. I am assuming it is that first impression that is killing the response. Those that do get past the visual hurdle, seem to be impressed with the game (assuming 4X is a genre they have interest in)

Anyway this community seems to be what I've been looking for.

I would like to post a description of my game hereabouts, could someone suggest the best forum to post that type of thing in?

[Gunner]

Hi! Wow you must be having a real passion of game-developing. Congratulations! You are now in the right place, brother.
Talking about your projects, just post it here: Project Showoff Tier 1 http://indie-resource.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=35 for projects that are still planned and 1/3-1/2 done.

About graphics, why don't you just use the free sources in the internet?
As long as your game is still made for a personal hobby, they're all free to use. I used to download all of them to cover my weakness in graphic.

[hallsofvallhalla]

yep you are in the right place! We love testing games and giving feed back and more people visit this site just to read post than what most realize. THere are definitely some great developers here that are very generous with help and suggestions as well.

Welcome!

[Jackolantern]

Welcome!

[mahks]

why don't you just use the free sources in the internet?

I do, but it is the over all colour selection, "atmosphere" type of thing I really mean. I have got it to where it is by persistence, changing things until they look ok. But someone who has artistic ability can visualize an overall result and then go about creating it.

I eventually will find an artist to help, but my thinking is mechanics before artwork. I have done other projects where I let the art drive the game, that did not work.

[Jackolantern]

About graphics, why don't you just use the free sources in the internet?
As long as your game is still made for a personal hobby, they're all free to use. I used to download all of them to cover my weakness in graphic.

I completely understand mahk's point. Unless you are making a fairly simple game that can have its art assets fulfilled by just one online art pack, the game will likely end up being a Frankenstein of different colors and styles. It is very hard to find decent assets that all look coherent.

And I also have to disagree about art assets being free to use if it is just for a hobby. That is a common misconception of copyright law, that you can use it as long as you don't make any money, and unfortunately it is not true. An art asset must actually be licensed for you to use it any way, even if the project is not commercial. If they don't give you any rights to use it, then all rights are reserved by default (as in, you can't use it). You can still receive a big fat cease and desist order, and will have to remove the asset from your game. In the worst case scenario, they could even take you to court alleging damages arising from your usage of their art (such as damage to the brand).