Beggars Can’t Be Choosers
Imagine you’re an artist with an idea for a game. You draw up all the art, prepare the audio, lay out the story, etc and you find yourself a programmer. They go to work, then decide it’s too hard, project’s too big, so they flake out and quit. Well that sucks, doesn’t it?
Alright, keep your head in the game. Find another, maybe check into them a bit, see if they have a reputation of quitting. No? Good, let’s do this thing. Deja vu, programmer quits.
Wow, this really sucks. I don’t get it, what’s so hard about this game? Fine, I’ll find another, there has to be someone who will stick with me. Programmer #3 – quits. Noticing a pattern?
Then along comes programmer #4 (me, by the way). I’m informed that Mr. Artist has gone through a few (I’ve assumed he meant 3) programmers before me, and that it’s been over a year since he first handed the art off to programmer #1. We talk rates, chat about the game, he sends me some files, and off I go. That was 2 months ago. You have to understand that I’m not doing this like it’s a full-time job or anything, so it’s not like I’m putting in 40 hour work weeks. As of yesterday, I had put in 33 hours of work, and was probably about half an hour away from finishing level 1 (thank god there are only 2 levels). I sent Mr. Artist an email talking about the changes he wanted made to my beta level 1, explaining that I only had a few things left to do. His reply? “I’m pulling you off the project.”
Excuse me?
Who in their right mind would pull the one programmer who’s stuck with the project because “It’s been two months and I wanted it done by now.” Didn’t you want it done a year ago? Be glad I’m still working on the damn thing! That’s like a homeless person getting mad about the quarter you gave them because they wanted a dollar so they could buy a coffee.
Honestly.
Retarded.
</rant>