this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2025

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We Might Be About To Lose A Powerful Force In The World Of Video Game Preservation (www.timeextension.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

16 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hat tip to Kevin Bunch: https://bsky.app/profile/atariarchive.org/post/3lnzvdhowhc26

all 18 comments

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Currently, in our bank account, we have £2100 (around $2800). It's not even enough to pay the rent for one month," explains Joseph Redon, head of the Japanese Game Preservation Society. He's describing the end of the non-profit organisation he set up in 2011 with the aim of properly safeguarding Japanese gaming history before it is lost forever.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

To be fair, game development is one of those professions that should've moved to remote-only years ago.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

As a gameplay programmer I fully disagree. Just the ability to quickly ask a designer near you for clarifications or to if modifying the design slightly to save on time is worth soo much.

Asking over slack just isn't the same as it adds more friction, takes longer, and makes it easier for misunderstandings to sneak in.

To be fair though it can be worth sometimes working from home to give you less distractions if you need some full focus time... And other jobs in the industry does gain a lot more from being fully remote...

[+] [email protected] -15 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I know this is going to sound weird, but if you didn't work on a game I care about or worse, worked on games that I think are bad, then I will not take your development experiences seriously.

I'm not saying they didn't happen, just that I would be foolish to value a process that produces products I don't like. The fact that you have such strict separation between programmers and designers leads me to believe your company hires a lot of people they don't need to do jobs in a poor manner. I have very little respect for people who 'design' but can't create. I'm not saying all of them are worthless, but the vast majority of them are. I have a lot of respect for the handful of exceptional designers that actually justify their position with good ideas. Most designers I've come across are stupid meme-chasers who actively make whatever they touch worse.

I enjoy plenty of games that were made by fully-remote teams, such as Mordhau. Did you work on anything like that?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago

The fact that you have such strict separation between programmers and designers leads me to believe your company hires a lot of people they don't need to do jobs in a poor manner. I have very little respect for people who 'design' but can't create.

This is the weirdest take I've read in a while... Thinking designers doesn't create anything is just so wrong... And I'm not just talking about creating designs but also creating prototypes using components and e.g. unreal blueprints... Let's not forget about taking the time to properly tweak values and all that...

I'm not going to share what games I've worked on as I like to have at least a faint divide between my online persona and real life one.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Why don't you share what games you've worked on so we can all decide whether to give a shit about your opinion

[–] [email protected] -2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Lol, it's not about me vs. him.

He's the one who said remote couldn't work. I said it could and gave an example of a game I like that was made by a fully-remote team.

If the development experience that he is defending didn't yield any products that are as good as something that was made remotely, why should I take him seriously?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

They were just pointing out the benefits of in office work for the industry (compared with benefits of remote no less), and you came out swinging, your example dripping with opinion and hostility, as well as a clear lack of personal experience.

It was entirely unnecessary and rude.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

I wasn't trying to say you can't do remote development what I was trying to say was it's not a good way for the whole industry. That and pointing out drawbacks of full remote.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago

shit like this is why piracy will always be a net positive

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't understand why can't they put all the software to different torrent trackers. There are enthusiast seeders who will keep distributing stuff

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Alarmist headline.

The honest one:

NPO Game Preservation Society wants your donations to keep them afloat.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Thank you!