a new view, the problem, the solution

Instructions

Please read the entire Instructions and notes and credits. Why hello there! I wrote this script quite a while ago, and now I am sharing it because I am going hiatus for a while. Please spread the message. Straight to our point, scratch loves hating on generic platformers a pretty BIG bit, so as an *sarcastically* intellectual, what’s my opinion of them? Do I hate them? Should they be banned? Are they secretly essential to the site and are it’s hidden underappreciated backbone? All these questions and more I hope to answer in this project. I like to start with definitions, so what is a generic platformer to me? Okay bear with me for a sec, a generic platformer, to me, is a platformer with no unique and outstanding mechanics (gameplay-wise), so most platformers on scratch are generic, @will_wam’s the ninja*: not generic, it has weapons, my own pencil knight**, although it has double jumping, I see it as generic. So these games are not ALL bad, but what are bad are hollow platformers, platformers with no artistic merit or thought put into them, no story, not art, no creativity, having one is sufficient for them to escape the hollow status, but these games are zeroes across the board. So to explain: @will_wam’s the ninja* is not generic and thus automatically not hollow, the-green-dragon’s life***, generic but has important thoughtful messages integrated into the levels, so it's not hollow. My own pencil knight **? has a story ad thus is not hollow (this is not to say it wasn’t rushed or that I don’t hate it, once I am done with the next game I will un-share it as it is my only game). Generic platformers are not bad, they can be very fun, but hollow ones are. But why? Why are they bad? Why do we hate them? (we are number one) Now listen closely, here’s a little lesson in business, this is going, uh, somewhere, *clears throat*, let us say that I am a random person, and I explored that scratch is a thing from somewhere, anywhere, so I want to check a project out to know what this site is. Most likely I will check the front page, and a bit less likely I will go to the explore tab. As for me, the first game I played was on explore and was the ninja 5 **** by @will_wam, and I liked it so much that I just wanted to create an account and post projects! Now imagine that instead of this good game I saw a hollow platformer, then another, and then another, *inhales* unless I am a platformer aficionado (which I am not) I would have not joined. That’s why projects on the front page need to be all very attractive to new scratchers yet of enough effort and a great demonstration of the capabilities of scratch so already existing ones don’t feel they are wasting their time here. (which usually go hand in hand, but not always) After this mega introduction, here is the problem we’re in: hollow platformers are easy to mass produce (get some art by an artist and some code by some coder, change the colors, create a good title and thumbnail and you’re done!), easy to binge-play, and are games. Time for more explanation: games are the “strongest” (?) type of projects, (usually) you can play them multiple times and each one needs time to be viewed so you are more likely to like and fave, to compare, art projects are viewed once or twice and you glance over them pretty quickly, animations like games are more likely to be liked and faved because they take time to be viewed, but, like art, are usually watched only once or twice. Usually, games take a very long time to finish so that’s fine, games deserve love and support, but hollow games (mostly platformers) are so easy to mass-produce that they are more likely to reach the front page and eat all of the trending tab, and are games, and you can’t prevent all games from hitting trending, and no AI can see if a platformer is hollow or not! So, what is the solution? Is it checkmate? No. If you won’t create them or play them or like or fave, they will wither away. Creating generic games is a step you need to take to improve as a coder, but if you are a bad coder, don’t get an engine by a better coder and call it a day! You won’t improve as a coder! Experiment! Try to add features or code your own engines! If we’d all put effort into our projects, this site will thrive! Last of all, please spread the message because no body is talking about this topic seriously, and don’t share all your projects, share the ones you personally like. I have like 7 big projects unshared because I just don’t like them yet and still want to polish them. Last note if you like a game, support it, even if it will be said to be hollow/generic! You can like whatever you want! Thanks for listening and peace out.