In any given new ideas thread you post you find the following problems frequently enough to see it as a trend in my opinion.
You post your idea and ask if anybody can think of clever mechanics, a clever twist, etc...
1) Many people believe "if you thought of it, it is out there somewhere" so although it is far removed, about 5 people will post "that's just like X" - and in some cases it is, but in many it is not.
2) Given the above, many see fit to bring copyright and intellectual property into the equation, ie: "if you make that game which is 'exactly like X', you'll be sued". Even if it's not.
3) Because you don't care about how it sells or about intellectual property, and because you are so clever, you include in your post that the game is intended not to be the next Monopoly, but rather as something you want to make for the pleasure of making it and plan to release as public domain on completion.
4) a prevailing attitude seems to be that if you're not making it to get rich, you're not taking it seriously and so nobody should take you seriously at any point.
5) more than just ignoring you, there are people who post many vehement rebuttals of the idea of things being released into public domain in the first place, they have an ethical objection to other people making things which won't be copyrighted in their names, it seems.
6) introducing a new idea on the "New Ideas" forum leads to the following composition of replies: 25% "hey, that's just like X", 50% discussions on the various Xs mentioned, 5% "that won't sell" or "the whole public domain thing is wrong", 20% discussions or debates around that and if you're lucky, some feedback amongst the remaining 25% people nitpicking technicalities, criticising the genre of games you are trying to make or a theme in the game and correcting your spelling and grammar - whether it will be helpful feedback or not depends, but if 5% of the replies you get deal with your idea you will be very lucky.
You know, on other forums, in other communities, you get these "stillborn threads" where somebody posted something they thought would be interesting and relevant and nobody replied because they disagreed with what constitutes "interesting and relevant" - now, although it would be discouraging for a new member to post their million dollar idea and have nobody even look at it, it is also a little irksome to have someone write about something and have people hijack the thread to talk about other things.
Just for me personally, for future reference, if you are not interested in what I have to say, if you find my ideas boring and uninspiring or if you have a personal dislike of me, my style of posting or opinions I express, you are very welcome not to reply to things I say in the New Ideas forum, thank you all, peace and blessings
Hello let-off studios.
I'm curios, at what point did I say I did not like this forum? could you please quote it to me?
At what point did I complain that my ideas were being "shot down"?
When did I express the sentiment that I was unhappy that people didn't pat me on the back and say "what a jolly good game idea you've come up with old sport!"?
Now, as for taking it personally, no - I think you'll find that when genuine criticism has been given I have normally taken it very well, this is what I am here for after all. I would love to read "this is a bad idea, this is not going to work, this has been done to death... I don't get that. My complaint was not that nobody loves me and I should go into the garden to eat worms, my complaint was that - it is not just me here, I have observed this on many other people's threads - people don't respond, they try to change the subject. This is obnoxious, if it doesn't interest you, don't say anything about it, that's all I'm saying.
You are defending that which is not under attack. I am not attacking BGDF, I am not trying to destroy it, I am commenting on a distressing trend I have noticed in the way people respond to many threads on the New Ideas Forum, only some of which have been my own.
I would call you taking up your sword and going forth to slay the dragon in a thread where there are no dragons "taking things personally" or more likely you didn't read anything beyond the title.
questcg - I have read what you say and I am critically evaluating it, I will take what is useful and try to adapt other things into something which is more useful. I would also just like to know when I gave the impression that I thought people wanted me to stop posting? Finally, what I was complaining about with people posting comparisons with other games was not something which happened on the thread I opened, it was something I saw on a few threads which others opened and I followed the links and the games shown had only a superficial resemblance to what was being described - it is not "hey, check this out" which I have any objection to, it is "that is exactly the same as X" in so many words. While the one is offering insights/resources which game designers may find helpful, the other is telling someone that their idea is unoriginal and that they should stop working on it - this I find particularly irksome when someone posted an idea which was nothing like the X which it was claimed their game was "exactly like".
To re-clarify: I was expressing my grievances with the a trend I had observed on a particular part of the forum, I was NOT demanding anything of anyone, I was NOT attacking the forum in general (seriously, I'd just leave) or any individuals on the forum.
I have never had any overwhelmingly negative criticism of one of the ideas I posted, I don't know where a lot of what I'm reading is coming from.