Re: Stand-alone games - worth the trouble?
Sun, 17 Dec 1995 14:01:30 -0500
mol@oberon.df.lth.se (Magnus Olsson) writes:
> [ Crossposted since I'm interested in opinions both from authors and
> players of IF ]
>
> In the upcoming new release of "Uncle Zebulon's Will", I'm planning to
> make three packages: one with a .gam file, one with a standalone DOS
> executable, and one with a standalone Macintosh application.
>
> It's obvious that this will be of some service to some people, viz.
> those Mac and DOS users who don't already have the TADS runtime. On
> the other hand, it's means increased work for me, and it means two
> more files on the FTP archives, as well as some risk of confusion (if,
> for example, a DOS user obtains the Mac version but not the DOS
> version).
>
> I'd like to know what users and other authors think of this. Does the
> increased trouble of maintaing and distributing three different
> versions outweigh the advantages of standalone games?
Well, I'm a TADS user. Increased trouble to me of maintaining three
versions: none. Advantage to me: I don't have to worry about whether I
keep the game and application together: small but non-zero. I vote...
:-)
(It would be more significant if the TADS runtime were being upgraded
at the rate that ZIP runtimes (suddenly :-) are.)
I don't release a standalone version of Weather, even though I've made
this terrific Mac icon for it. :-) On the other hand, players can do
this for themselves.
--Z
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."