Now that the poll has ran a couple days, I have gotten a pretty good view on those who are in favor and who are against the idea of developing a standalone game, and I doubt the percentage is going to change dramatically from as it stands now.
First of all, I want to thank everyone who not only has voted in the poll, but who have also voiced their opinion on the subject!
As it stands now, 82% have voted yes, and 18% have voted no. Bare in mind that this however, is a poll and not an election.
The last few days I've done a lot of research on the subject, reading arguments from both sides carefully and determining how feasible this is.
If I were to make a standalone Titanic game, there's a huge chance that my work would finally get some public recognition outside of this community, and thus direct more publicity to this mod as well, which would be a huge motivator. Also the next generation graphics would do a lot more justice on the 3D models as I can let my full imagination go wild without any technical limits that are bound to a 2002 game engine.
Also, if it turns out favorably, such a game could actually generate an income, allowing me to spend more time on production as this could compensate unpaid leave.
However, there is also a considerable downside to it, I found. The first issue is that this will indeed bring on extra work. A lot of it.
I won't put my name on anything that is halfassed, so if I were to make a polished game, there would be a lot of work to turn just a bunch of shiny 3D models into a... game...
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. (pun intended). Before it even gets to that point, I need to spend time working on a proper concept plan, take care of all legal aspects such as contracts and licenses, and make sure to set up a revenue system to securely and as effectively as possible link income to expenses. Not to mention a new social media outlet would be required and maintained as it is a separate thing from this mod. Also, although the pipeline for say, Unreal Engine, is a lot faster and effective, it's still a different pipeline that has no effect on the progression of the mod, thus possibly lengthening the production in that regard as soon as the 3D models are finished. Raise your hands if you want to wait even longer for this mod to finish. Exactly.
So although I am confident that I could do this, I fear there will be a huge risk doing this while the mod's development is still going on. That risk includes having to cancel the mod, and despite possibly winning a lot of new fans through a standalone game's publicity, I might be losing the very fans that stuck with me through all those years, who I consider invaluable.
Porting the mod entirely as a standalone game is a no-go as it would be a tremendous amount of work to make a replica Mafia spinoff with its corresponding environment, setting, characters, animations, AI and whatnot else. Not only would that not sell as a standalone game concept since I'm appealing to the same limited audience, it is a legal nightmare as I would be expanding on a franchise whose Intellectual Property ain't in my possession. One cannot simply do that.
Lastly, as a mod, despite me wanting to finish it in a couple of years, there is no actual pressure. All that changes however as soon as there is money into play. Because the moment someone has bought a copy of the game, be it through a KickStarter perk or through an early access release, I am obligated to provide new content within a set timeframe. I fear this added pressure could pull me back into the depression I spent so much time on getting out of, and prefer to stay out of as well.
So! What's the plan then?
At this moment in time, after careful consideration, I've decided not to work on a standalone title and to accept the 'underdog' status of this project. Meaning I'll keep my full attention focused on the Mafia mod.
That said though, this has given me a lot of food for thought, and having seen how much people are interested in a standalone game, I am not wiping that idea off the table. I will do some tests in Unreal Engine when I'm not working on the mod. If anything useful comes out of it, I could share it to public.
Alternatively to an actual game, I am open to the idea to release some sort of tiny preview made in Unreal Engine where players can simply walk around a 3D scene, to be either released for free or for donators since it stands free from the mod itself. That shouldn't be too hard to make.
Since a demo of this mod in Mafia is practically impossible due to the complexity of it, I am willing to have a let's play channel have a go at it when the interior is in to give people a preview of what it is like to play it. This channel has made a specialty of Titanic games and he would love to feature this mod. More details about it will be posted when the time comes.
Again, thank you everyone for contributing to the poll! It feels really good to have discussed this subject with you all. I do hope that those who voted yes understand my decision. If I felt comfortable doing it, I would really have, but currently, I think I would be biting off more than I can chew, causing stress for me, and disappointment to a lot of you. And I think none of us want any of that. :)
So, you can expect new updates for the mod soon as usual. For now, I'll try to implement as many areas into the game as possible before going on with modelling, so that for once we all finally get to see the ship in Mafia, instead on just some renders. So that the Mafia Titanic Mod, finally looks like... a MAFIA Titanic Mod. ;)
Great article! I fully agree with you on the fact that making a completely new game would take much more time. So, it's great to see that you are continuing in the mod!
I have voted yes, since it would be really great to see a Titanic game after seeing all of these things which you make for all these years.
Hopefully in the future you will make a Titanic game like you wish and it will have a lot of success! Also, Good Luck!
IMO you made the best decision, don't think your work will go to waist, it will always get recognition, from us fans, small has we may be and i'm sure Mafia itself still has a considerable following, willing to install a new mod, in the end a full released mod is always good to have on the portfolio in case of job hunting.
Good Luck.
Though I would like to see a standalone Titanic game made by you, it is true that this is more easily said than done. You can build up the skills needed to do this, while you work on the mod. A side-note: I, personally, wouldn't feel disappointed if you dropped the mod. I would simply continue to track the indie project, since it will be its continuation. I am sure more would feel the same. We would be disappointed if you dropped the project altogether! Which, from all we've seen and read, will hardly ever happen :) .
I wish you the best of luck with MTM and I am more than eager to see either a tech demo on UE4 by you, are a "let's play!" walkthrough by someone else.
Cheers!
I voted yes and I can't deny that I'd rather play it as a standalone game with modern graphics and other goodies. However, as a (mostly) survivor of depression caused by existential death anxiety I can't advice but to do what's best for your mental health. Regardless if the mod/game actually gets finished some day, I'm sure that the most important thing to the community is that you get great stuff done and that won't happen if you're not getting satisfaction out of life, and thus your work. So please, be as selfish as you may on this matter as nobody wants to see you sink to the bottom (I'm awful with puns).
I appreciate it, and I'm happy to hear you got out of one as well. It does indeed leave some sort footprint in the sense that you are aware of aspects of life you would have blissfully ignored otherwise, which fortunately does have the advantage to make one better understand his psychological limits.
Mine arose after being overburdened during my follow up education on a higher degree. Too much work from college, my smalltime job, and this mod all demanded more attention than I could provide. I started to notice I wasn't feeling like myself, motivation lacked entirely, general awareness of mortality suddenly popped up frequently, heavy derealisation occurred, and at the apex I encountered three panic attacks in one week time, of which one happened during class, making my classmates think I was getting a heart attack. That was the last day I actually went to college. In the course of two years after, I slowly recovered from it, and I'm now pretty much the same guy again like I was before, only now being a little more sensitive to stress and now fully aware of my limits.
A fulltime job may limit my free time, but there's no better feeling than coming home knowing you have to do absolutely nothing.
Sorry I left the psychological factor out, I read the newsletter yesterday and only answered today. Your case sounds eerie similar to mine, and I am still trying to recover from anxiety (build up by pressure to find a steady work and working on multiple projects + finishing my Master) and panic attacks, which I don't wish anyone to feel of how they are. Health is above all, and sadly, most realize that only after they have been through a minor or major health issue. So do whatever you don't feel obligated or HAVE to do, stay back, relax and do things on your own time and will. And don't worry about us! We'll be around to see the results ;) .
No need to be sorry at all! It was also quite a bit of text to read, worthy of a small novel. :)
It's absolutely true that people take health for granted until it's too late, and I guess I'm still doing that on some aspects as I hate to be too aware of how fragile it can be. A little bit of ignorance can also be healthy.
But having encountered such a depression myself and a couple panic attacks, I became a lot more understanding of what it actually was. Before that, I simply thought a panic attack was just when someone was freaking out for whatever reason. However, when I encountered it for the first time, it was the most terrifying and unsettling feeling I have ever experienced and not remotely close to what I thought it would be.
And, anyone who has never experienced a depression might incorrectly assume that it's just some "blue monday" that someone "just" has to get over with. Also that can't be further from the truth. And although I have never had any suicidal thoughts luckily, I now fully understand what those people are actually going through and what their motivation is to attempt it, which suddenly makes it far from selfish when it's understood. It's an odd thing no one can't possibly understand or even imagine to, when they haven't had it themselves.
Depression is a sneaky bastard that can so easily be overlooked when it's still in early stages. Though luckily more often than not it is something you can recover from, and when you do, you have become a lot wiser. It's just a muddy slope that needs a careful and unrushed climb to get out of. I found that since I've become my own self again, I've started to appreciate lot more things that would have otherwise gone past me.
I can even appreciate these "pre-release" development days of the mod in some way, as it makes me aware that I'm currently in the "good old days" that I'll one day remember years after the mod has been released, probably working on another way too ambitious project by then. :P
I can definitely relate to that, your past case doesn't sound too different from mine. I also had experienced occasional realizations of mortality during that october two years, thanks to many recent things such as my grandpa dying, my younger brother developing drug addiction which lead to daily violent outbursts, my mother being aggressively stressed out and me graduating from a high school which I had grown attached to. A very similar panic attack near the end of the month was the moment the ride truly began though, I was barely able to not throw up. Initially I was unable eat in days and everything from movie scenes to quotes by now deceased people reminded me of death.
Though I also recovered slowly with time, for a year death was in my mind for pretty much every second and I lost all interest in my old hobbies like gaming and film collecting. I have also always been more or less religious, but during that time it all went away and the cold inevitable nothingness made life feel meaningless. You may also be familiar with the daily "sitting on the toilet with phone for hours doing nothing" performance.
I'm pretty much okay as well now, though I do feel like more unhappy and cynical than before and many of my old passions have only recently started to come back. The experience did however made me appreciate the uniqueness of life more which in turn has made me both more open to and accepting towards new things. I also no longer fear death as I used to.
Also sorry for continuing to turn the comments into a group therapy:p
I'm sorry to hear that, since I read the article quickly and didn't notice this which is a very important thing. I know that you said that we shouldn't sorry, but I should properly read the article. However, at least you have a job which Is the main thing and hopefully it's good enough. Also, there are us, the fans which are supporting you and hopefully most of us will support you financially one day. I knew multiple people who have anxiety as well and I sincerely hope that you will manage to defeat it like most of the people which I knew.
I actually appreciate these sort of discussions. I guess it's an advantage I haven't really considered with this being a small project (in audience terms), and that's the personal atmosphere of it. If this mod had thousands of people following and hundreds of comments, this would be quite impossible. So I thank you all for being so honest.
Though my mortal awareness wasn't as heavy as in your case, for quite some time when I woke up in the morning, literally the first thought that popped up was this dreadful realization. Quite a way to start a day... @_@
Thankfully, the first thought that now pops up in my head when I wake up is if the weather is suitable to take the oldtimer to work and where's it's going to break down again. Usually followed with whatever I'm about to do that day.
I found that the (social)media was a bit of a catalyst of this negativity as it constantly reminds you of death. The news is 95% about bad stuff, if an actor or singer dies, we get confronted by that for years to come, and if a disaster happens, its better to live in a cave for a while until it has passed over. With detailed stories about the victims, especially the "at the wrong place at the wrong time" cases to fuel those emotions further, and some gruesome imagery on the side to top it all off.
I no longer watch the news, read the paper, or rarely even visit a news website. If some murder is mentioned on the radio, I ask myself if this has a direct link to me, and if not, its not worth my time reading about it. Also on Facebook I'm using the FB purity addon that allows me to filter messages that contain certain keywords. So when a celebrity dies, I filter that name out. It also helps if you ain't interested in American politics, but that's another story. ;)
But since then, I feel a lot more at ease in general. My Facebook feed is now pretty much 40% Titanic, 50% old cars and 10% of personal stories from people, of which 2% are "YOLO" messages to rub in how supposedly perfect their lives are, which I can deal with. :P
I certainly recognize that cynical thing you mentioned. Although still slightly present, I feel this is something that can be corrected. Again, over time, this fades away as well and makes place for optimism, creating a healthy balance between the two. Because funny enough, because of being slightly cynical, you become less naive regarding trust, and it can actually act as a "crap radar" that alarms you when it's inbound.
That's good to hear! Also, I'm glad that you made the right decision!
Personally, I don't use Facebook because of this reason and a lot of others. Most of the stuff there is boring, bad news not interesting for me or people who have perfect lives and never had any problems. People who knew me personally can talk to me by the phone or we can meet somewhere if they want to tell me something important.
Indeed. A lot on Facebook is very superficial, so I made quite a few modifications so I get as little of its drama and nonsense as possible, as Facebook can actually be a helpful platform in some aspects as it replaced many forums and MSN. I think that's an important thing for people to keep in mind, that Facebook is a tool, and not a replacement to one's social life. Though I doubt many actually realize that.
So I primarily use it as a means of easy contact. And of course to maintain pages such as the one for this mod. And like you said, any close friends that really matter, I'll meet in person. Nothing beats a beer night. Unless they live on the other side of the planet or something, of course. :P
Facebook is interesting, but since I joined Discord I don't see a single reason to have it. And I fully agree with you on the statement that Facebook is not a replacement for the social life. Unfortunately, many people don't realize that. And the personal content is the best unless they are living too far away like you said.
I am on the same boat as Marek33, I never created a fb account. I don't see a need to do so, since Viber, Messenger, (you can have a msgr account without a fb one) and Discord cover all my needs. I see ModDB as my fb :P . But I can understand that, professionally, fb is a vital tool and it is up to each and every individual of how they use it. Though, as you both say, no one really realizes that, and they stay trapped in a superficial life of exposure and "likes" .
As for MTM, is the "creative week" over? It sure was an interesting one ;) .
I used to have one account many years ago to see what it is, but I have never used it properly so I deleted it.
I hope not. There are still two days left in the week.
Sort of :P It didn't really have a definitive ending for which my apologies, though I will try to keep up the pace. Tomorrow I'll be able to work some more on it. :)
I'll make sure to give some proper conclusion to the full time week.
Everything you write is absolutely true. Aaaand, you gotta enjoy the little things. That's another truth ;) . Also, if I judge by your current work, it won't be late until you'll be working on something big!
Cheers and I wish you the very best with life and whatever else you may be doing right now ;) .
*Damn that reply system, ugh.