While I'm not a 3DS dev, I've done some game modding and tutorials among other various things.Hi all, I have a general question regarding 3ds homebrew and their developers. I've seen the time and effort developers put into their work and it's amazing, but what inspires the developers to release their work for free/even at all? I know that there may be a bias to this question as this is the gbatemp community after all but I would like to know more about this as its an amazing way to share art amongst people for free. So to make any answers easier to process I tried brainstorming some things already and listed them for replies:
A) Developers could put time and effort into selling their products but that would involve resources that would be much more than what the product offers
B) It's a way for developers to hone their skills in side projects
C) Does inspiration come from users testing and benefitting from their work or is the demand from us so great that it's actually slowing down development? Is it ok to even demand a product/better update when it's free?
Bonus: anything that I have missed
I find it amazing that art can be distributed so easily and free to a community and want to know more, it's noob paradise after all. Please PM me if that's a better place to discuss
A) The way I think of it is, you produce something in the hope that it will lead to others producing something. Sometimes it's due to somebody else releasing something, which leads you to into making something yourself. If you enjoy what you're doing, it really shouldn't be about money. Overall, releasing your work for free helps the community to learn and grow.
B) This is true. Devs, modders, and pretty much everyone doing something as a hobby enjoy improving. Learning is a big aspect of it as well. You'll likely learn something new while working on these projects, which helps you to improve.
C) This depends on the dev. Some people love seeing people using and asking about their work. Others start getting annoyed after getting bombarded with the same or stupid questions, which causes them to lose desire to work on their project. Demanding a better product isn't ok. The dev released it for free, and they don't owe anybody anything. Making suggestions is ok though (i.e. "Hurry up and do this!" is not ok; "it would be cool if you added this!" is ok).