Why don't coders play?
- sinfulbliss
- Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2019 8:53 am
- Byond Username: SinfulBliss
- Location: prisoner re-education chamber
Why don't coders play?
Hello fellow SS13 lovers,
We are all a part of the TG community because we like SS13. Many of us like it in different ways. Some people like playing it, some people like coding for it, some people like forumposting about it, etc. Nothing wrong with any of these.
But I am curious why many of the people who bust their asses coding for this game don't play it much. Oranges and MSO are good examples but I'm interested in hearing from all of the greens here (except Jaredfogle he doesn't count and some others prolly). Also I don't think there's any problem with this, most game devs don't play their games I think actually, just wondering.
We are all a part of the TG community because we like SS13. Many of us like it in different ways. Some people like playing it, some people like coding for it, some people like forumposting about it, etc. Nothing wrong with any of these.
But I am curious why many of the people who bust their asses coding for this game don't play it much. Oranges and MSO are good examples but I'm interested in hearing from all of the greens here (except Jaredfogle he doesn't count and some others prolly). Also I don't think there's any problem with this, most game devs don't play their games I think actually, just wondering.
Spoiler:
- Agux909
- Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2019 11:26 pm
- Byond Username: Agux909
- Location: My own head
Re: Why don't coders play?
When you become so burnt out you can't enjoy the game anymore, you need to find a way to enjoy it and ruin it for others. Becoming a coder is a path you can take to achieve this.
- Armhulen
- Global Moderator
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:30 pm
- Byond Username: Armhulenn
- Github Username: bazelart
- Location: The Grand Tournament
Re: Why don't coders play?
Coding really comes out of the time you would be playing ss13, so you end up not playing much
coding is enjoyable but definitely a different experience and joy than playing the game. also, burnouts still play and ruin the game for others just fineAgux909 wrote:When you become so burnt out you can't enjoy the game anymore, you need to find a way to enjoy it and ruin it for others. Becoming a coder is a path you can take to achieve this.
- TheFinalPotato
- Code Maintainer
- Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2019 7:58 am
- Byond Username: LemonInTheDark
Re: Why don't coders play?
The metagame is more fun then than the actual game. Also whenever I play the game I just see problems that need fixing. Outside of playing janitor, that shit never gets old
- bastardblaster
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- Timberpoes
- In-Game Game Master
- Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:54 pm
- Byond Username: Timberpoes
Re: Why don't coders play?
I ruined any joy I have actually playing the game from an RP perspective when I got more familiar with the game code.
I have no capacity for suspension of disbelief anymore. I can't immerse myself in the game world and have fun. All I see are game mechanics and code abstractions instead of an actual game.
The most fun I have these days is interacting with the crew from CentCom, watching the stories that players create and training new admins.
There'll be a lot of players whose experiences of me outside of being an admin are reporting a bug via ahelp and seeing it fixed before the shift has ended.
I genuinely cannot enjoy playing for what it is, and get my joy through the stories others make and the friends I'm making along the way in an OOC manner.
I have no capacity for suspension of disbelief anymore. I can't immerse myself in the game world and have fun. All I see are game mechanics and code abstractions instead of an actual game.
The most fun I have these days is interacting with the crew from CentCom, watching the stories that players create and training new admins.
There'll be a lot of players whose experiences of me outside of being an admin are reporting a bug via ahelp and seeing it fixed before the shift has ended.
I genuinely cannot enjoy playing for what it is, and get my joy through the stories others make and the friends I'm making along the way in an OOC manner.
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- sinfulbliss
- Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2019 8:53 am
- Byond Username: SinfulBliss
- Location: prisoner re-education chamber
Re: Why don't coders play?
Very cool answers. Indeed burnouts are players too, especially since it's easier to burnout and play than burnout and write code.
Makes a lot of sense, I have the same issue except from an IC perspective after playing sec enough you find it very difficult to resist validhunting, permanent goggles.TheFinalPotato wrote:Also whenever I play the game I just see problems that need fixing. Outside of playing janitor, that shit never gets old
And coding provides the substance from which those stories are created (as well as admin events).Timberpoes wrote:I genuinely cannot enjoy playing for what it is, and get my joy through the stories others make and the friends I'm making along the way in an OOC manner.
Spoiler:
- Rohen_Tahir
- Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2019 1:00 pm
- Byond Username: Rohen Tahir
- Location: Primary fool storage
- Contact:
Re: Why don't coders play?
It's a curse.
You want to play SS13.
It takes about an hour to play a full round of SS13.
Two hours later you decide that you'll finish fixing polar bears tomorrow and that you will leave the bug that lets people use admin tools by fucking cows or whatever alone for now.
You want to play SS13.
It takes about an hour to play a full round of SS13.
Two hours later you decide that you'll finish fixing polar bears tomorrow and that you will leave the bug that lets people use admin tools by fucking cows or whatever alone for now.
- TheFinalPotato
- Code Maintainer
- Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2019 7:58 am
- Byond Username: LemonInTheDark
- Rohesie
- Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2018 9:07 pm
- Byond Username: Rohesie
Re: Why don't coders play?
Mix of what was said before. Part of the magic of the game lays in the discovery and its never-ending complexity. The more you know about it, the more you know about its limitations, and the less surprised you become by new stuff, as the inner workings are now understood.
Not knowing the code behind things is a blessing. That's one factor, for sure.
Time is another factor. Not just because you have to choose which you do at each moment, but also because it's kind of a mindset. Are you there to enjoy the round and see how things inevitably go wrong, or are you there to fix stuff so the game keeps running? Hard to conciliate both. There's an unlimited amount of things to fix, improve or add, so coding can easily make a contributor stop playing.
The way I do it, when life gives me time to enjoy the game, is either spend it all playing, or spend it all coding/reviewing.
This project is large enough that it's really fully dependent on nobody, so anyone can take a break and disappear for a while, and things keep running fine.
It's good from time to time to take a break and try enjoying the game.
Not knowing the code behind things is a blessing. That's one factor, for sure.
Time is another factor. Not just because you have to choose which you do at each moment, but also because it's kind of a mindset. Are you there to enjoy the round and see how things inevitably go wrong, or are you there to fix stuff so the game keeps running? Hard to conciliate both. There's an unlimited amount of things to fix, improve or add, so coding can easily make a contributor stop playing.
The way I do it, when life gives me time to enjoy the game, is either spend it all playing, or spend it all coding/reviewing.
This project is large enough that it's really fully dependent on nobody, so anyone can take a break and disappear for a while, and things keep running fine.
It's good from time to time to take a break and try enjoying the game.
- Mothblocks
- Code Maintainer
- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2018 9:33 am
- Byond Username: Jaredfogle
Re: Why don't coders play?
you name dropped me but im going to respond with that every time i play this game i end up writing down 3 qol/fixes i need to do, and the time leftover from my job + maintaining the codebase + adminning + normal life is so minimal i can usually only get 1/2 rounds in each day if that
Head Coder of /tg/station, hi!Shaps-cloud wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 7:59 am May eventually become one of the illusive maintainer-headmins if they choose to pursue that path, having a coder in the senior admin leadership has usually been positive for both sides in the past.
Head Admin of /tg/station Feb 2022.
Mothblocks everywhere, >>> Say nice things about me <<<
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