Most games are stupider than we realize

[Buster's Uncle]

The way I see it, is that game designers will not be truly free until the ART outweighs the PROFIT.

Any ideas how that can be done?  Is there some pragmatic model short of finding a rich and mellow patron like it was the Renaissance except for the mellow part?

Is it up to the game designers to step up the artistic integrity and just live with being poor, or is there a better way?

[Green1]

Folks go after the profiteers. But what of bad art? Or bad games?

How many times has anyone here gotten hopes up for a game only to have it turn out utterly horrible? Should the artist have responsibility for that too?

And what about the fact artists improve over time? Can you universally pan someone because they had a bad piece 6 years ago? Even without profit, if games were spread just by social media, putting out bad content could hurt the ability to attract new admirers just due to bad press.

Even in a system devoid of profit, content providers must still churn out decent content or become irrelevant. That is, unless we go to a very socialized system where work is unnecessary. Then one could make art no one like to heart's content. Either that or a sugar momma/daddy.

[BlaneckW]

How many times has anyone here gotten hopes up for a game only to have it turn out utterly horrible?

Hope is the refuge of fools.

[Buster's Uncle]

Perhaps.

But perhaps hope enables us to have the confidence to move forward and make the future happen in a good way - studies indicate that depressed people actually have a more realistic view of the world.  But speaking as a frequently-depressed person, I do better/far more and am easier to be around when I operate on optimism.  (And, you know, am happy, besides.)  Some gambles don't pay off, but some do.

-I've figured out what I need to do whether BE lives up to hopes or not, so I'm good, there.

[BlaneckW]

Wouldn't go so far as to say I am depressed about BE.

[Buster's Uncle]

I got depressed about ciV.

I never wanted 5 and I didn't care about 5, but I really cared about the disappointment gutting activity at my forum of the time, and definitely got bored and depressed about that afterwards...

[Vishniac]

The way I see it, is that game designers will not be truly free until the ART outweighs the PROFIT.

Any ideas how that can be done?

Or it can be done the Dominions way.
These games are being made by 2 guys during their free time. They have absolutely no pressure for profit.