[casual_games] languages... (that's an 's' at the end!)

[Hal Barwood]

I think you .NET guys underestimate the suspicious nature of computer 
users who are not themselves hip coders.  An install Wizard doesn't 
necessarily allay fear and loathing, just cover it over.   Most users 
have had terrible experiences now and then installing perfectly innocent 
software that winds up crashing their machines.  Most users are willing 
to take the risk when the benefits are clear, but no one who doesn't use 
it to develop can figure out .NET's value proposition.  Are you writing 
installers for casual games?  Are people willing to download 25 megs to 
play three-in-a-rows or mini-adventures?  In what numbers, and would 
they be substantially bigger without the barrier?

Chris Williams wrote:
> I'm not sure how "obscure" .NET is, and I'm not going to argue that 
> point since it's obviously based on whatever you've been exposed to. 
>  
> However, I don't see anything "forbidding" about it at all. I write 
> installs all the time that bundle the .NET Framework into them and 
> install it on demand (if the installer detects that it is missing) 
> without any need for user intervention. Even if you have a user install 
> it manually, it's a typical Next-Next-Finished wizard. Hardly anything 
> to get worked up over, and definitely not a huge barrier.
>  
> The only real issue is the size, and that's not even an issue for the 
> majority. Regardless, I do agree that casual games need to be as 
> painless as possible. I don't think .NET is quite there yet for the 
> casual game space. Definitely by Vista, since it will be an inherent 
> part of the OS, but hopefully sooner... maybe next year.
>  
> Chris Williams, MCSD .NET, MCT
> Developer - www.HeroicAdventure.com <http://www.HeroicAdventure.com>
> 
>  
> On 10/6/05, *Hal Barwood* <hal at finitearts.com 
> <mailto:hal at finitearts.com>> wrote:
> 
>     dot-NET?  What person, sitting alone at home, has the slightest reason
>     to install this Windows component?  Corporate environments are
>     different, but requiring customers to install this obscure, forbidding
>     piece of software is a huge barrier when it doesn't provide any obvious
>     benefits (unlike, say, DirectX).  For downloads, what I want is a small
>     standalone package that just works no matter what.  That's what casual
>     gaming is all about -- everything must be easy and reliable.  --Hal
> 
>     Lionel barret De Nazaris wrote:
>      > Jonas Beckeman wrote:
>      >
>      >> Seems I'm the only one who's gonna stand up for .NET here, so I'd
>      >> better do
>      >> it tall...
>      >>
>      >> Before I get off on how great it is, let me state some problems that
>      >> may be
>      >> enough to make you look in other directions:
>      >> * .NET games need the .NET framework. The 2.0 beta is 25 MB.
>      >> * You'll probably want to use Managed DirectX. The distribution
>     model is
>      >> still very unclear to me, I don't know myself how large the
>     add-on is, or
>      >> even how to obtain it without downloading the DirectX SDK
>      >
>      > A friend told me that the .Net Framework is included in the XP
>     Service
>      > Pack 2, if so, the problem of the huge download could be avoided.
>      > Does anybody could confirm this ? And do we have numbers about
>     the % of
>      > penetration of XP Service Pack 2 on the machine of the potential
>     players
>      > ? Well, a percentage of machine with XP Service Pack 2 on the global
>      > number of windows anyway.
>      >
>      > Lionel
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>      >
>      >
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Thank you,
> 
> Chris Williams, Microsoft Partner,
> MCT, MCSD.NET <http://MCSD.NET>, MCAD, MCP, A+,
> GC.NUG President, RV.NUG Founder
> 
> Blog:   http://blogusmaximus.com
> HA! :  http://www.heroicadventure.com
> .nug:  http://www.gcnug.org
> .nug:   http://www.rvnug.org
> 
> 
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