Diamonds in the Rough SPOILERS

[alkis21]

That is about the most disappointing comment I have read so far.

You judge my entire effort of two years by a few phrases that were taken out of context from a forum. There was NO controversy in that discussion by the way; all parties involved were in perfect agreement.

So it's OK for us to play games with murders, ghosts, aliens, curses but we don't want to go anywhere near a title that deals with reality?

I get tons of positive feedback for my game (4/4 almost perfect reviews so far) but such comments, no matter how few, make me want to drop everything and not bother making another title in my life.

Sorry if I sound bitter, I'm not trying to change Darleen's mind or convince anyone to play my game, but... I was prepared to hear negative feedback such as poor writing, bad graphics, boring storyline, bad development... I just never saw this coming.

[Angelfire]

Alkis,

I'm sure you are aware of the political turmoil in our country right now due to the two people that are vying for the democratic nomination. Add to this the underlying sensitivity to racism that is ever close to the surface at all times and you come up with a nation that is tired of all the controversy. We each in our own way have to deal with these issues and fight against the injustices. So, please do not take our being outspoken here as a sign of discouragement.

As for my opinion - as long as the subject matter (what ever it is) is dealt with in a moral, upstanding manner in the end and the "good guy" wins!

[draclvr]

Alkis, there are some who prefer to avoid these subjects. And just as an aside, Dar is a huge supporter of indie game developers and I'm sure did not mean to be negative about the game itself.

I am not one of those who avoid difficult subjects. I recently finished my second play of The Witcher which is an RPG which deals with discrimination in a big way. Your character must choose between being neutral or siding with one of two sides. To put it mildly, the choices you make make for an interesting game! A friend here at MM sent me her DITR game and I'm in the middle of it right now.

I am not trying to "soothe" any feelings here when I say that this is the first adventure game I've enjoyed this much in a very long time. I mean it. I've gone to playing almost all RPGs for some time now. I just finished Darkfall Lights Out and was more than disappointed in it for any number of reasons. The least of them was the lack of any kind of ending that even came close to making the game worth playing.

So far in DITR, I am completely intrigrued by the plot and the characters. I am at the point where Jason has just begun to investigate his suspicions and is reading files in an office. I only look forward to the developments in this game. You know the comments about the character movements being less than stellar? Well, the plot alone has me forgetting about these issues. I don't even notice it anymore!

Alkis, I'm sure there are many opinions out there about your game - good and bad. Please keep in mind there are always going to be people who prefer not to deal with controversial issues. That is fine and a welcome part of the diversity of players out there.

But remember there are also a lot of us out there who wholeheartedly welcome games with the guts to take on controversial issues and weave them into fascinating games. I am one who doesn't want to play only the "milquetoast" type of game. Challenge me any time!!

I'm looking forward to the rest of DITR!

[Darleen]

alkis21 , Hi

I have nothing against your hard work in the development of this game..
I just feel we need to get beyond such things as Racism Adventure games to me should be fun...It should not go beyond the scope to hurt anyone's feelings...Or make them feel they are less of a person..There really is no need for that...

Angelfire said it best...Thank You

Also Good Luck for your game...Don't let opinions cause you not to make a game..I just hope in the future..You might want to consider to leave RaceOut of it...

[draclvr]

I agree with Darleen. Don't let negative comments stop you from developing new games! That sort of goes with the territory. Everyone has different ideas about what they want in a game.

However, don't stop incorporating controversial subjects into games just because some people don't care for them. There are also many of us out there who welcome challenging subjects in our gameplay.

What is it they say about "to each his own!"

[floridagal]

I certainly didn't expect such a large number of replies to my message about DITR. It just goes to show that there are a lot of people of all kinds who play computer games. Don't stop making games, Alkis. There too few of you "indies" out there.
Razzle