Hyper Drive
In the cosmos of game development, there are as many motivations as there are stars in the sky. Amongst the modding community, one of the most commonly found themes is the desire to take part in a project that garners some public attention.
Enter the world of hype: the art and practice of advertising your project to generate excitement and support in the community.
Mod developers will often do internet press releases, interviews, and media releases in an effort to stir up a fan base for their project. The motivation for this varies from project to project. Some projects stir up hype to get some visibility so that they can recruit more assistance. Some projects stir up hype to generate a lifeline of moral support for their efforts.
Hype is a useful tool when wielded properly. Making statements about the unique aspects of a project can often offer an additional flow of creativity from the community, as exposure to the ideas and expectations of fans can feed into a project's design. This can be very beneficial to modders, especially those who might be stuck at roadblocks in development, since it can help push them in new directions. Positive comments from fans looking forward to a project's completion can help flagging morale and keep a team on task. Attention from a wide waiting audience can attract talented developers to join your team. And of course, if and when you release your work, the amount of hype you've generated goes a long way towards determining how many users end up trying out your mod.
On the other hand, hype can also backfire. Wild claims about features of a project, without the evidence to show that such elements can be successfully implemented, can sometimes make skeptical players write your project off as vaporware. Even more devastating are cases where a project is "completed" but without meeting the claims that were advertised, which usually results in heavy backlash from disappointed players.
Of course, the above effects of hype only apply if you're actively working on a project. One of the most bizarre uses of hype are projects that seem more in love with the idea of being mod game developers than in actually producing anything. Many neophyte mod developers fall into this trap.
They start with a great idea, expand it, talk about it, and it grows swiftly out of their control as they lose sight of what they can reasonably accomplish and end up making claims that they simply have no way to fulfill. The end result of these sorts of projects is that they inevitably implode, from a player base that eventually tires of waiting for results, or simply stops believing the progressively grandiose claims that are sometimes made by the developers to stay in the limelight.
In all its varied forms, hype plays a pivotal role for many mod projects. Many even consider it an essential ingredient to success. I'm not sure that statement is entirely true, but a little extra exposure never hurts as long as it doesn't affect production or quality.
With the recent over-abundance of mod projects started by a new crowd of fans brought in by the latest game engines, the perceived need to produce maximum hype has reached ludicrous proportions. Like street hawkers peddling their wares, new mod developers strive to be heard in a community already inundated with buzz.
I can only hope that at some point, the sound and fury starts to die down as deadwood projects that collapse under the weight of their own hype fall off the radar and start acting as cautionary tales for eager new developers.
Enter the world of hype: the art and practice of advertising your project to generate excitement and support in the community.
Mod developers will often do internet press releases, interviews, and media releases in an effort to stir up a fan base for their project. The motivation for this varies from project to project. Some projects stir up hype to get some visibility so that they can recruit more assistance. Some projects stir up hype to generate a lifeline of moral support for their efforts.
Hype is a useful tool when wielded properly. Making statements about the unique aspects of a project can often offer an additional flow of creativity from the community, as exposure to the ideas and expectations of fans can feed into a project's design. This can be very beneficial to modders, especially those who might be stuck at roadblocks in development, since it can help push them in new directions. Positive comments from fans looking forward to a project's completion can help flagging morale and keep a team on task. Attention from a wide waiting audience can attract talented developers to join your team. And of course, if and when you release your work, the amount of hype you've generated goes a long way towards determining how many users end up trying out your mod.
On the other hand, hype can also backfire. Wild claims about features of a project, without the evidence to show that such elements can be successfully implemented, can sometimes make skeptical players write your project off as vaporware. Even more devastating are cases where a project is "completed" but without meeting the claims that were advertised, which usually results in heavy backlash from disappointed players.
Of course, the above effects of hype only apply if you're actively working on a project. One of the most bizarre uses of hype are projects that seem more in love with the idea of being mod game developers than in actually producing anything. Many neophyte mod developers fall into this trap.
They start with a great idea, expand it, talk about it, and it grows swiftly out of their control as they lose sight of what they can reasonably accomplish and end up making claims that they simply have no way to fulfill. The end result of these sorts of projects is that they inevitably implode, from a player base that eventually tires of waiting for results, or simply stops believing the progressively grandiose claims that are sometimes made by the developers to stay in the limelight.
In all its varied forms, hype plays a pivotal role for many mod projects. Many even consider it an essential ingredient to success. I'm not sure that statement is entirely true, but a little extra exposure never hurts as long as it doesn't affect production or quality.
With the recent over-abundance of mod projects started by a new crowd of fans brought in by the latest game engines, the perceived need to produce maximum hype has reached ludicrous proportions. Like street hawkers peddling their wares, new mod developers strive to be heard in a community already inundated with buzz.
I can only hope that at some point, the sound and fury starts to die down as deadwood projects that collapse under the weight of their own hype fall off the radar and start acting as cautionary tales for eager new developers.
posted by Jim Tran at 8:27 PM
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