Phinix's Portal : Why addons are a hobby not a job, and what it means for expectations.

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Why addons are a hobby not a job, and what it means for expectations.

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Why addons are a hobby not a job, and what it means for expectations.
I have a lot of "real-life stuff" going on ATM, and don't really plan on taking on any large-scale projects in the near future. But Phinix, you might ask, WHY? Why can't we have more nice things! Warning: Spoiler I am mainly doing maintenance on my existing projects, adding smallish features here and there, fixing bugs, etc. This is, at the end of the day, just a hobby after all. In a perfect world there would be some platform like streamers have via Twitch or Youtube where addon authors could get sponsors and derive some revenue for their extensive work and time investment to afford equipment and other resources (not to mention make basic ends meet), but at this point in history that platform simply does not exist. Trying to earn any meaningful revenue through Youtube or Twitch is a full time job as any streamer or Youtuber will tell you, and it requires you produce content people are actually interested in. Most people are not interested in coding. So a stream dedicated to how to code, or watching addon authors code? Not really a big crowd grabber. Plus I don't have access to internet out here capable of upload speeds necessary for streaming anyway. And beyond that, coding addons is also a full time job. Since I have yet to master human cloning or teleportation through a buffer to duplicate myself, there is only so much time in a given day to devote to either writing addons, or to trying to sponsor writing addons by making videos that probably no one will really care about anyway. Long(er) story short, if there was a way for me to make ends meet writing addons full time I would. I have so many awesome ideas, and ways I could improve existing projects. But right now, there really just isn't. So a hobby is all it can be. Maybe in the future there will be such a platform for modders. Right now, as far as content creation hobbies go, we really just get shafted. Sorry to say it but it's the truth. Modders and addon authors arguably create just as much or more functional content that actively improves the quality of games as Youtubers or streamers do. Not that those people don't make worthwhile content, because they do, and I myself enjoy a lot of it. But I know streamers that make tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorship for their efforts as well. The same cannot be said for addon authors. Addon authors get zero from the industry they support. Nothing. Not one billion dollar company in the entire gaming industry has ever said "hey, nice work you guys do, how about maybe we can arrange some sort of revenue sharing deal with some of our advertisers, since it wouldn't affect our profits in any noticeable way, and since you guys add so much value and longevity to our franchise." In the absence of such an equivalent "Twitch for modders" platform, an entire genre of content creation revenue and potential benefit to the community and game longevity is left on the table, not to mention the talents of skilled addon authors being largely wasted. What more can you really say or do for that matter, other than hope big corporations wise up some day? Some people will probably hate me for even pointing out how modders have no revenue platform. Frankly, I couldn't care less. When streamers are making tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars basically playing a game for an audience while people creating programs and functional content that actively improves the experience of a game are totally ignored by the same industry which directly profits from their efforts, that is a sign of some deep dysfunction and shortsightedness that is difficult to rationally comprehend. I could go on quoting Idiocracy and how you have to water plants to get fruit, but honestly after years appealing to this industry to see the value of investment in a platform for sharing exposure and advertising/sponsorship with addon authors falling on stubbornly deaf ears, I no longer feel there's really much of a point. TL/DR: - Addons are a hobby not a job, and so expectations must be tempered accordingly. For that to change would require billion dollar tech companies to create a viable platform for media exposure and advertising revenue sharing to sponsor the efforts of addon content creators.

Why addons are a hobby not a job, and what it means for expectations.

I have a lot of "real-life stuff" going on ATM, and don't really plan on taking on any large-scale projects in the near future.

But Phinix, you might ask, WHY? Why can't we have more nice things!

Warning: Spoiler

I am mainly doing maintenance on my existing projects, adding smallish features here and there, fixing bugs, etc. This is, at the end of the day, just a hobby after all.

In a perfect world there would be some platform like streamers have via Twitch or Youtube where addon authors could get sponsors and derive some revenue for their extensive work and time investment to afford equipment and other resources (not to mention make basic ends meet), but at this point in history that platform simply does not exist.

Trying to earn any meaningful revenue through Youtube or Twitch is a full time job as any streamer or Youtuber will tell you, and it requires you produce content people are actually interested in. Most people are not interested in coding. So a stream dedicated to how to code, or watching addon authors code? Not really a big crowd grabber.

Plus I don't have access to internet out here capable of upload speeds necessary for streaming anyway. And beyond that, coding addons is also a full time job. Since I have yet to master human cloning or teleportation through a buffer to duplicate myself, there is only so much time in a given day to devote to either writing addons, or to trying to sponsor writing addons by making videos that probably no one will really care about anyway.

Long(er) story short, if there was a way for me to make ends meet writing addons full time I would. I have so many awesome ideas, and ways I could improve existing projects. But right now, there really just isn't. So a hobby is all it can be.

Maybe in the future there will be such a platform for modders. Right now, as far as content creation hobbies go, we really just get shafted. Sorry to say it but it's the truth. Modders and addon authors arguably create just as much or more functional content that actively improves the quality of games as Youtubers or streamers do. Not that those people don't make worthwhile content, because they do, and I myself enjoy a lot of it. But I know streamers that make tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorship for their efforts as well.

The same cannot be said for addon authors. Addon authors get zero from the industry they support. Nothing. Not one billion dollar company in the entire gaming industry has ever said "hey, nice work you guys do, how about maybe we can arrange some sort of revenue sharing deal with some of our advertisers, since it wouldn't affect our profits in any noticeable way, and since you guys add so much value and longevity to our franchise."

In the absence of such an equivalent "Twitch for modders" platform, an entire genre of content creation revenue and potential benefit to the community and game longevity is left on the table, not to mention the talents of skilled addon authors being largely wasted. What more can you really say or do for that matter, other than hope big corporations wise up some day?

Some people will probably hate me for even pointing out how modders have no revenue platform. Frankly, I couldn't care less. When streamers are making tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars basically playing a game for an audience while people creating programs and functional content that actively improves the experience of a game are totally ignored by the same industry which directly profits from their efforts, that is a sign of some deep dysfunction and shortsightedness that is difficult to rationally comprehend.

I could go on quoting Idiocracy and how you have to water plants to get fruit, but honestly after years appealing to this industry to see the value of investment in a platform for sharing exposure and advertising/sponsorship with addon authors falling on stubbornly deaf ears, I no longer feel there's really much of a point.

TL/DR: - Addons are a hobby not a job, and so expectations must be tempered accordingly. For that to change would require billion dollar tech companies to create a viable platform for media exposure and advertising revenue sharing to sponsor the efforts of addon content creators.