Do you agree the Scirra Arcade needs quality control? What would you propose?
I have brought this up a few times and my suggestions:
1) Have new game developers without reputation points and a license be limited to 5 game uploads. They can delete and replace games as needed.
2) Games not played after 30 days get automatically deleted so as to not take up server space.
3) Create a search feature like used in the Scirra store so people can find relevant games.
3.5) Allow licensed users to use an animated gif instead of the poorly proportioned game pic that tells users nothing about the game. Similar to what the Scirra store uses.
4) Allow only licensed developers to upload more games and have the games sections divided into licensed game developers and free edition users. That would encourage more users to get a licensed version.
5) Allow licensed developers to include 3rd party advertising for free or a nominal fee of maybe $10 a month. That encourages users to get a license and will bring over more good game designers to Scirra if they know they can offset the cost of a C2 or C3 license with their games in the arcade.
6) Stop the multiple account rating pirates from pushing their games to the top of the games lists. I see this happening a lot with the same few games not getting new plays but getting high ratings that keep their games at the top of the listings.
Scirra wants more users to get a license but if the games they see in the arcade are low quality they will think the engine is low quality when it isn't. Scirra also wants to attract better game developers to showcase their games in the arcade and allowing 3rd party advertising and a way for those licensed developers to showcase their games and make a little revenue from their games would be an incentive for more people to get a licensed version.
This isn't any slam against new game developers and honestly most of my first games were shit and we need a place to try out our shit games to get feedback and make them better but they should not be front and center in the arcade where people visiting will think that represents the quality of the Scirra game engine.
So have two different sections and encourage more advanced licensed game developers with the incentive of using ads in their games and selling their games through the arcade would be a solution and would also provide Scirra some extra revenue if they charged a nominal fee for advertising in games but if they want to make that free that is fine by me.
Just my thoughts and I have brought this up to Ashley & Tom and got shot down so I am now publishing on Itchio, Kongregate and other arcades because I don't feel the Scirra arcade is helping promote our games and has some unresolved server issues with CAPX files and loads get screwed up leaving my games in 404 limbo.