Well. I'm slowly coding an online game right now and I've been trying to decide what its fate should be. My main problem is that I don't have the money to host a server if it gets big enough. Maybe I can figure something out, but I'm feeling doubtful. My other option would be to sell the source code to you guys.
Before I make a decision, though... What would you prefer to see happen?
Don't sell the source code and keep the game on one server.
While the game itself would be free, it'll include some paid features and a premium membership to help pay for the servers. Keep in mind, this won't take away from the fun of the game! Think of Cereal Soup, if you will. The last I checked, they were doing premium memberships and maybe some other paid stuff (please correct me if I'm wrong). The game itself is still free and you can still have fun playing it with your friends without paying anything at all.
The game's development will follow what I have planned for it. It’ll definitely be more than a simple virtual roleplay/chatroom. There will be more things to keep you entertained, such as kill mobs, collect items, gain skills, do story quests, and possibly more. I would like to go passed what IT and CS are currently, although, I'll be focusing on getting the game caught up with them first (gotta take one step at a time, and I want to be sure everything is working with minimal bugs before I get into bigger stuff).
I most likely will not allow custom content to be inserted into the game (unless it becomes a premium feature), but I wouldn't mind taking some ideas that I like offered from the community and putting them into the game for everyone to enjoy.
Sell the source code of the game so people can make their own server.
You'll be required to pay in order to get your hands on the source code of the game and host it yourself (sorry guys, figured I should try to make a living off of my work somehow). It'll come with a set of default models, animations, textures, maps, and etc. that you can use. If you don’t want to use the default resources, you can always use your own content instead.
Your game will have to be set up inside Unity (I'm using the free version, fyi). But~ I'm making it easy to customize so you won’t need coding knowledge to make edits! I'll try my best to make as much of the game as easily customizable as possible. I will also try to add many optional features that you can choose to include in your game or not. If you want to add new features that the game doesn’t include or entirely change the existing ones, you will have to code that yourself in c#.
Technically, the game you decide to make with this doesn’t need to be limited to animals. You could use humans or anthros instead if you want. But keep in mind, the resources that’ll be included with the source code will be animal based.
Aside from the main details, this option could open up more opportunity for content creators to pour their skills into, like here on FH and on IT servers. Making and selling content you made or taking commissions for custom content is a possibility for you. You also don't actually need the source code to make content. Just the free version of Unity. Really, you would only need the source code to make your own codes.
Disclaimer (not sure why I feel the need to put this here, but oh well):
There is a slim chance I might go another route that I didn't mention. I guess that means this isn't 100% solid... I just need some help thinking about this, so if you have any useful input, I would appreciate it. That includes if you have a third option I could take.
And before I wrap up this post, I ask that you please be respectful of my choice to involve money in my project... I just don't have the time and money to hand you something like this for absolute no cost. I apologize for refusing to do that.
Poll