Ha! Got your attention!
But seriously, I do actually like it. No, I'm not trying to be different. I'm not trying to separate myself from the group of two types of people - those that dislike the new logo, and those that are following the crowd and just saying they don't really like it. I genuinely like it. Why?
It's professional. Bullshit to anyone that says otherwise. It is. It looks a little childish, yes, but it's not unprofessional. It's very well made.
It suits the target audience, as stated by YoYo Games and Mark Overmars. Game Maker pitches itself as an easy game development platform. Most people that use the program don't evolve their skills past games that use the simplest D&D actions and the resource sprites. Game Maker's popular in schools and even universities as an introductory tool into the world of coding. That is what it is pitched as. The new logo shows this off perfectly. Yes, it can be used for advanced games written entirely in the program's coding language. Yes, many people don't acknowledge this. But the logo shows off what the program is designed for.
It's better than the ball and hammer. It's newer, it's nicer looking, it's shinier, it's more modern. It looks like a tool for today's program, not for one from 1999.
The logo's haters haven't done themselves any favours in my opinion. The juvenile threats to stop using the program or to boycott the use of the new logo are stupid. The online petitions were an overreaction which Sandy Duncan, YoYo Games CEO, then capitalised on by publicising - that's thousands of people that have just learnt about Game Maker through the "Recent Activity" box on the petition site. Note - I don't have anything against people expressing their opinion if they do it maturely. I respect those that managed to express negativity to the icon's design without having a tantrum.
Just to cap it off - it's not a big deal, YYG are still going to get my £20 when they release the final version of the program, and I stand by my opinion. If you want to disagree, you know where the comments go.
Game-wise, I've nothing at the moment that's getting my serious attention. That's all on that matter.
So, yeah. NAL out!
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Thx....glad someone understands the thought process !!!...all I need to do now is make this a trending topic on Twitter :-)
ReplyDeleteYeah the new logo is totally awesome. Everyone loves it. O_O
ReplyDeleteAye! Let's make this trending :D Seriously though, I'm glad that there's someone mature enough to understand what's behind the hideous smiley face. Thanks.
ReplyDeletePS: Sandy called you the best GM dev out there
I see where you're coming from NAL, but I think there are a lot of disadvantages with the logo as well. I don't think it represents Game Maker as a game development tool. I think we all realize that Game Maker is meant for learning the basics of how game development works, but I personally don't think the logo represents that very well. A happy smile with a cog around it does not say "This is a tool to help you learn how to develop games" to me at all.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just the way I interpret it. :P
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI think Sandy posting the link to this article on Twitter to convince us that the logo is good is really a silly move on his part.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that there's not someone mature enough, or that people don't understand. It's that neither of you never even bothered to explain your decision or help people understand. You just criticized, and partly whined about our opinions.(which honestly many have completely valid backings, if you actually read them.)
ReplyDeleteNice post NAL, it's a good perspective to look at the logo, although I certainly think the eyes could use a little flipping to make the smiley look a bit more sane and appealing.
Oh so you get one positive comment and you try to make it a trending topic.
ReplyDeleteAnd you guys were talking about a noisy minority.
Well my opinion is that the logo will be attracting a large number of kids to use the program which will mean that Yoyo community will become filled with alot of edited examples. I think that is what's upsetting most of the people, but the youth are the future and I believe most of the game maker game developers started off with just editing examples and trying to get the hang of it, I certainly did. I've used game maker for quite long now, from the time 5th version was still the latest. So the final word is that it was not the choice I would have made but a good choice nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that at least some people can keep their own opinion when so many couldn't.
I can understand you're viewpoint, NAL, but one thing I really don't get is why everyone keeps spouting that the logo is so "well-made". I find the logo to be appealing in certain ways, namely that it seems to epitomize the idea of fun. However, I don't think it is well-made enough to be the logo for a small professional enterprise without undergoing some serious editing.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Well, mainly because the graphical development, while very good for a complete beginner at vector art like A. Zak, is far too faulty and inconsistent to replace the old logo. The light sourcing is virtually inexistent, the outlines and shadows are blurred together, and there is a significant lack of consistent perspective to the image (it even fails to be strictly 2D). So could someone tell me why everyone keeps saying this logo is so well done? Is there any reason behind this?
Whoops, I have fallen back to n00b status due to "your"/"you're" syndrome, my bad.
ReplyDeleteNice blog post. Such a different mood then I've been reading...thanks for the good read
ReplyDeleteyes game maker is a tool designed for basic programming and game development but i still think YoYo games should listen to the more advanced coders considering the fact they have been loyal to the game maker enterprise since it started.
ReplyDeleteWithout them game maker 8 wouldn't have got enough to support to even get off the ground.
Look...i'm sorry if you disagree but screwing over your loyal fans is terrible business practice and is probably why YoYo games is losing money.