To say that the mmf graphics are bad but it's different if you use your poor to bad graphics, seems contradictory.
Not at all. The problem with library graphics is that you have no say at all in them, you just get a load of graphics. When you're working with an artist (or any other kind of team member) you discuss what you're after and retain some creative input. The artist would create consistent art pieces, something you don't get from libraries.
Also: Your game then wont look like a thousand other games.
It's the consistency, it's always painfully apparent when graphics are really inconsistent. Well for me at least, as not just a game-maker but an artist that kind of thing really irks me. You won't find everything you need in one library set, so you end up having to pick and choose and end up with a garish combination of sprites that looks disjointed.
Even sometimes, people make clashing graphics even when they are totally custom.
I'd completely forgotten that MMF came with graphics libraries x) Then I started looking through them and it took my right back to the days of KnP. Ah, the nostalgia.
I actually think it would be kind of fun to run a competition where you're only allowed to use library graphics. Kind of like the reverse of the NGC. I suppose it would either be a success and people would put more work into gameplay and interesting mechanics than graphics, or we'd just end up with a load of crappy KnP era games that all look the same...
There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who don't.
Hey that's a good idea actually! I remember a competition like that a while back, but the entrants could only use knp. The games that came from it were horrible!
Jon Lambert suggested a library graphics compo. I told him it would probably drive me insane to see people waste effort on projects that could be using their own work!
Seriously, its fine to use the graphics and sounds it comes with. I spent a few years just using graphics others had made (mainly from sites like http://spriters-resource.com/) I think it was great to learn the program that way.
Although I'm just glad I didn't spam my hundreds of crappy games all over the internet (well the games I have posted already are fairly crap anyway).
Here's how it is: Nobody likes to see the same thing re-used.
With engines, you can get away with it, because engines are hard to recognize.
With sound & music, people don't like re-used ones, but usually there's so much sound and music out there you can take any of them and it doesn't sound reused.
Art is very noticeable, especially 2D art. They move and animate exactly the same way.
Let's put it this way, it's like writing a novel. Reusing engines is like reusing a plot from another book. It might feel the same way, but if there's enough on top of it, you don't see it. Reusing sound & music is like reusing the same characters with the same names. If you don't pay attention, you won't notice. If you do, it's not that irritating, because it's subtle.
Reusing art is like copying an entire paragraph from another book and putting it in yours. It just kills any feeling of creativity, because you're doing the exact same thing and there's no hiding it. It's up to you, really. You might be like one of those people who feel that the quality of writing isn't important, it's the plot or whatever. But it's not how others view it, and sadly, the libraries that come with MMF are about as useless as the manual.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
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