{"assets":[],"author_link":"author\/pov\/","author_name":"PoV","cat":"LD #25","categories":["LD #25"],"comments":[],"epoch":1355931180,"event":"LD25","likes":16,"metadata":{"p_key":"78727","p_author":"PoV","p_authorkey":"0","p_urlkey":"287737","p_title":"Lets talk about Source Code","p_cat":"LD #25","p_event":"LD25","p_time":"1355931180","p_likes":"16","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":null,"us_name":null,"us_username":null,"event_start":"1355443200","event_key":"14","event_name":"LD25"},"source_url":"2012\/12\/19\/lets-talk-about-source-code\/","text":"

So earlier this afternoon I sent out a quick poll to the Ludum Dare twitter account<\/a>. The premise was simply, should the Ludum Dare Compo (48 Hour solo event) require source?<\/p>\n

\"SummarySrc\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So yes, as it turns out a significant number of people like this requirement (or are indifferent). Drilling down in to the reasons people like this rule, we get the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It\u2019s a good reference for new developers<\/li>\n
  2. It encourages community<\/li>\n
  3. It lets us verify that somebody didn\u2019t cheat (**<\/strong>)<\/li>\n
  4. It keeps people honest<\/li>\n
  5. It can solve disputes (**<\/strong>)<\/li>\n
  6. Some broken games can be fixed with just a few source tweaks<\/li>\n
  7. I like to look at how people implement things<\/li>\n
  8. Source code is one of the best things to learn from<\/li>\n
  9. Any code created in 48\/72 hours wont contain any serious secrets<\/li>\n
  10. Even if it\u2019s not you, somebody will learn from the code<\/li>\n
  11. Ludum Dare is about Learning<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And some of the reasons against.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The code is often messy and not a good example of proper game code<\/li>\n
    2. I use a proprietary engine. I can\u2019t release its source.<\/li>\n
    3. Some tools can\u2019t easily export source<\/li>\n
    4. Code can be stolen, games can be illegally published<\/a><\/li>\n
    5. I like to make games and sell them later<\/li>\n
    6. Unity\/Flash users get lots of features and only have to share game code<\/li>\n
    7. My code is mine<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I was actually surprised by the overwhelming response, so to make sure we didn\u2019t have skewed results, I added a 2nd question about half way through the poll:<\/p>\n

      \"SummaryLern\"<\/a><\/p>\n

      So about 60% have looked at source code, and 33% have learned something from it. All things considered, that is a significant number.<\/p>\n

      The data says something else too.<\/p>\n

      \"Tw1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

      I didn\u2019t ask specifically how much source code people have looked at, but one fact I will share is that in the 10 years we\u2019ve run Ludum Dare, we\u2019ve never had to take action because of what was found in source code. I can\u2019t remember any questionable games ever making it in to the top games. Funny enough, many real disputes have been complaints about people forgetting source.<\/p>\n

      Now as you all know, Ludum Dare very big now. The idea of us policing entries is well beyond what we can do. We don\u2019t actually have prizes, so there\u2019s really no reason to cheat at Ludum Dare<\/a>. So the old policy of \u201cto stop cheaters\u201d really didn\u2019t make a lot of sense to me anymore.<\/p>\n

      That said, there\u2019s a lot great reasons to continue requiring source. The Jam has never required source, and that has been one of our main ways of inviting more people to participate in the event. That will not change. But where there may be room to change is why source is required. So, to quote myself:<\/p>\n

      \"Tw2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

      Of course, if disputes do happen, having source gives us something to make a case with. Innocent until proven guilty is kind-of a nice policy after all. So perhaps the main reason we share code should change. <\/p>\n

      Here\u2019s another thought:<\/p>\n

      \"Tw3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

      Now there\u2019s an interesting twist. One of the classic complaints of \u201cFrom Scratch\u201d developers versus Unity\/Flash\/GameMaker\/Middleware developers is the sort of \u201cunfairness\u201d that they have to share so much. It is an issue we let happen, and it is true it\u2019s not fair. So alright, Matt\u2019s idea provides a fix to that long long problem. Not to mention, #2, #4 and #6 in the \u201cNo\u201d list. There\u2019s nothing stopping you from submitting everything as usual, but it gives more liberties to those that are protective\/unable to share their engine code. In contrast, it does mean fixing code for some entries (Yes #6) is not be possible (extremely cool but uncommon anyway).<\/p>\n

      So that\u2019s what\u2019s being considered. Again, we really don\u2019t have the time to police thousands of entries, so the thought is to redefine why we ask for code, and perhaps what we ask of code.<\/p>\n

      Share your thoughts in the comments.<\/p>","time":"December 19th, 2012 3:33 pm","title":"Lets talk about Source Code","title_was_empty":false}