That did what? Not suck? Can you give us a list of 10 F2P games that did not suck and not include DOTA2?

And how much lower is the bar for F2P and why? Clearly, the teams making these games are trying to make money, and if they believe they can make money, apparently there is some value to having people play these games?

So what exactly is "free" as in "free to play"? Ain't nothing free.

The code is being audited in America.

Is there something preventing an audit elsewhere? Is it illegal to send the source code overseas? And how are these audits done? There aren't a lot of details in TFA. Is it like a big Wiki where anybody can look at the code and report what they find, or are the auditors vetted with specific sections assigned them?

I'm asking seriously. I'm not a developer, so I don't know. But I worry about security and snooping.

<Jenny McCarthy>
My child didn't eat a tuna steak 5 minutes before he was diagnosed with autism!
</Jenny McCarthy>

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It seems there's a portion of the population that will compulsively latch onto hear-say and pseudoscience nonsense and conspiracy theories, no matter what we do. Maybe we should just accept that. Just deal with it and make the best of things.

I've got this totally scientific evidence that autism is caused by the ink in lottery tickets. The ink doesn't affect adults, but the chemicals stick to your fingers. Then when you touch your kids the chemicals get absorbed through their skin and disrupt their developing brains. My kid was perfectly healthy one morning, and at a routine checkup that afternoon my child was diagnosed with autism! And the only thing that happened in between was that I bought lottery tickets and hugged by child! You can't imagine how devastating that is to a parent, unless of course you're a parent who bought a lottery ticket and immediately had their child diagnosed with autism.

Have the so-called "scientists" tested the lottery ticket ink? HELL NO! The government rakes in millions of dollars on lottery tickets! Scientists all want grant money (our money taken in taxes!) to do their research. And is the government going to give them money if the government doesn't like the results of that research! OF COURSE the scientists are going to be biased and tow the government line.

I am not anti-lottery-tickets.
I just want to reduce the ink and reduce the toxins. Lottery tickets are fine when the government proves that that new ink ensures no children will get autism.
If you ask a parent of an autistic child if they want their kid to have autism, or whether they'd choose to pass up on a lousy lottery ticket, well duh they'll pass up on the lousy lottery ticket.

What parent would ever knowingly risk giving their child autism? It's unthinkable! It's just not worth the risk.

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Because the percentage of scientists who say anti-vax is nonsense is within a rounding error of 100%,
and because the percentage of scientists who say global warming is real and serious is within a rounding error of 100%.

(Not that I know jack squat about James Cameron's movie, but the question was why one celebrity voice would be credible while another would not be. A celebrity who doesn't speak French, but who accurately recites a French dictionary, is backed by the full credibility of that dictionary.)

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The tone was intended to be playfully humorous. I called you a "dick" for the sole purpose of invoking the "right and a dick" thing in a self-referential manner. "Whistling innocently" was my best effort to hang a guilty-of-mischief hat on it.

C'est la vie, c'est la internet.

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Calling people "overbearing assholes" makes you a total dick.

::whistles innocently and wanders away::

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I know nothing about the merits (or lack of merits) of a "European schedule" vs any other schedule, but reading your post all I can think is...

People are screaming that flowers attract fairies and fairies are eating children's brains, to which you reply:
"Just plant European bushes outside the schools. European flowers don't attract fairies."

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I don't want to "weaken government", I want to weaken the federal government.

Acckhh! No true Scotsman would ever drink cherry... port...I mean... eat Walkers.... no Taytos... ; More Haggis Agatha, I'veana'other swoon kim 'pon mea.

But as long as the common livestock never catch wind of it they will happy continue to graze, chew their cud and pick on of the two "different" options presented for their approval every 4 years and things will continue as they have done for decades now.

People do not have much of a chance against a system which forces them to operate by its rules. The system is dysfunctional, a failure of process has occurred. It does not matter if people are engaged in politics, the "sheeple" you disdain, or apathetic cynics like yourself.

All efforts to change a dysfunctional system from within its own rules will fail miserably. Case in Point: Occupy, an abysmal failure of a movement, based on the absurd notion that the system can be changed from within or by asking politely. Frankly I think that's worse than being sheeple or apathetic as it legitimizes the corrupt at the reigns of power.

So lay off the general voting population. Change is really, really hard, and I don't see you proposing many solid alternatives.

If you fail to deliver on your promised, you won't be able to easily earn back people's trust

So the next kickstarter campaign is in your girlfriend's name.

Do you want me to find examples of people who have gone back to the kickstarter well and never really delivered?

Incidentally, although I'm an indie developer (as one would define it),

Great. Then maybe you can explain why it seems impossible for new companies to produce something at the level of Half-Life, the Burnout series, etc etc. Games that people want to put over 100 hours into. Valve and Criterion were relatively small and little-known "indie" companies when those games were made. Why do game developers seem so allergic to giving good value for the price of their game. And why do so many have such low opinions of their own games that they go F2P? Are there no developers who realize just how badly that genre sucks?

If it doesn't work out, like the patron of olde, I'm not spending money I can't afford to spend

The "patrons of old" generally gave commissions, which the artist was expected to fulfill. And if they didn't, they'd get away with it once.

Kickstarter has become the go-to charity for game devs on their third, fourth and fifth go-round. You'd think at some point, they'd be able to get someone to pay them for their work, instead of for their promises.

It's not just "starving artists" at kickstarter, either. You'll see a lot of well-known developers with their hands out, because it's easier to promise to pay on Tuesday for a hamburger today than it is to sign a contract, where you are required to perform.

"Patron of olde" sounds a lot like sucker to me, but as you say, you're not spending money you can't afford to, um, lose.

You realize that there are ways to support "starving artists" where you actually get something? You ever think maybe there's a reason they're starving?

I don't know about you, but I'm in my 28th year of living off my own intellectual property. There are plenty of artists who actually have held down jobs in order to support their work, or got commissions (I've done both) or even (gasp!) sold stock. Roberto Rodriquez participated in medical experiments to finance his first movie. At least there is a shred of self-respect in those methods, and a higher likelihood that the artist will actually accomplish something besides making a snappy trailer for a game that will never, ever be finished.

Do they always jump in feet first with these new teaching methods or something? Don't they test it on a small control group or a dozen to make sure it's not the latest new-age garbage?

Teaching methods are almost never subjected to experimental verification. They are devised by 20-35 year old academics with little teaching experience and a desperate need to get enough publications to be put on tenure track. Experiments would get in the way of such promising careers.

what other graphical style is practical for a small team seeking to build a portfolio?

Most artists don't expect anyone to actually pay money for their portfolio.

I am well-acquainted with possibilities for artists. The notion that step #1 is, "asking people to pay, no strings attached for what you haven't made" when you haven't made anything yet is relatively recent.

If you want money to build something, then the people who invest should be in for a cut of the profits.