Discussion: Coders

Tbh, if I wasn’t so busy and if I trusted anyone, I think I wouldn’t mind being a coder. The part of writing that takes me so long is getting the dialogue and plot straight, and finding/making any extra art. If I had more time, I’d probably code for someone who:

  • Had an interesting story idea and seemed like they’d follow it through (a good writer, a devoted writer)
  • Provided a good screenplay with good dialogue, most/all animations/sounds, detailed instructions for character placement and zooms, and provided all the overlays/backgrounds (basically, so I didn’t have to search for anything or really think at all)
Sample of what that screenplay could look like from a non-coder

(In a flash of light, Makayla appears in FAERIELAND1, standing to the left of the toadstool)
Makayla (talk_afraid): Where am I? What’s going on?
(3 dragon overlays provided, one for flying, one for sitting, one for talking)
(Small dragon flies in, does a loop, lands on the toadstool, zoom on dragon in 1 second)
(Zoom back on Makayla in 0 seconds, she screams)
Makayla (scream_horror): Get away from me!
(Zoom on Dragon in 0)
Dragon: You don’t want to yell here, human. Keep quiet and follow me.

  • Story is a reasonable length, likely <35 episodes
  • Seemed to have a genuine reason why they didn’t want to code (busy schedule, dyslexic or other other learning disability, old computer or no computer so they don’t have access to the writer’s portal and preview window, etc) rather than just not wanting to learn new things
  • Tolerable to work with, and can tolerate me in turn (someone who wouldn’t rush me, didn’t mind me cleaning up their grammar, willing to compromise if a minigame they envisioned is disproportionately difficult or impossible)
  • Gave credit where credit is due

I don’t mind coding and programming, I guess I have a robotic side to my brain and am easily entertained by simple tasks that require little creative input. Donacode is straightforward enough that I don’t have to apply a lot of thought, it’s mostly place the overlay here, spot the character there… and all are simple if you can handle the RAM-gobbling preview pane.

The only reward I’d need is the feeling of bringing a quality story to life, it’d probably have to be a story I really liked and believed in, not just clickbait or cliches, something with plot twists, not meandering.

The problem is that I think I just described a unicorn lmao. Someone with a magnificent story, ready to pull all the weight except the coding for some reason… I’ll believe it when I see it. :eyes:

I mean, it doesn’t bother me when someone wants a coder but doesn’t seem ready to present a kick-ass story and meet the coder halfway, it’s a free country (or so to speak), people can ignore a request if they don’t feel it’s worth their time. :woman_shrugging: And if the partnership falls apart because one or both partners weren’t doing what they had to do, then both have learned a valuable lesson.

To be clear, I’m not accepting writing partners at this time, even if you check all the boxes above, sorry. :heart:

12 Likes

Do you think it’s fair for one person to write the story and the other to code it all?
If the poster is clear about what they’re expecting and the coder goes into the arrangement knowing the expectations, then it’s fair. I have to admit I laugh when I see these requests because I don’t think it’s exactly an equal partnership (for me personally, writing an episode takes 3-4 hours but directing takes 12-15), but it’s fair if the coder agrees and accepts.

Do you consider it lazy? Or completely fine as long as they want to do it?
I mean, I think if you’re going to write on Episode you really should learn how to code at least the basics eventually. I know some partnerships, particularly for contests where there are time restraints, where one person has been more of a coder as the other person was much newer to Episode. In all the cases I know, the authors were actually friends and the coder friend wanted to help their newbie friend out.

Do you think partnerships like this work, seeing as a person is coding a story that might not necessarily be theirs?
I’m not sure if anyone would code someone’s entire story and not have their name on it? I’d only do that if someone paid me lol.

7 Likes

I really hate when people are looking for writing partners to code them EVERYTHING. Of course it’s lazy! And selfish! Also it’s hilarious when people (who usually knows only basics) writes HUDE criteria how advanced, experienced coder have to be, and for all work they give credit in the end of first Episode 🤦🤦🤦

9 Likes

Same for me, directing takes me much more time, and saying that I don’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing would be an understatement. If it wasn’t my own story, I would literally hate doing it.

I’m sure that there can be multiple reasons why an author would need someone else to code their story, but honestly it really just sounds lazy. I can’t help it, but I always think that they watched 1-2 tutorial videos, wrote 5 lines, then said: “Nah, I’m not doing this.”
But yeah, if the coder agrees and accepts it, then it’s fair.

11 Likes

I find it okay for people to do that, but I’d much rather create my story all on my own. Learning to code on Episode can be a very satisfying experience, especially when you finally master a difficult directing command. And, I think that it’s awesome to have the opportunity to be able to learn how to write and code at the same time. Knowledge is power, after all!

5 Likes

I must say that coding can be really hard, but writing is it to. However you will put more time in coding than in the thinking-work. I do them both and it’ fine by me.

But I equally respect them.
Without a plot you have nothing, without the coding, you have nothing.
So ya, it’s up to both if they want to coöperate or not.

2 Likes

tbh, people can do what they want

It depends. If the person who codes genuinely enjoys the spot directing and choices, and everything, and is willingly doing it, then… okay. Fair. But for a lot of people, directing and coding can be fun, but also a complete pain. I had a partnership a while back where we were going to write the story together, except…

We came up with the plot, wrote out a plan, and then they ended up creating characters and outfits and I had to code and write the entire story. It never got finished, and it tired me out so much.

3 Likes

i feel bad for you :hot_face:

2 Likes

Bump

I don’t know about anyone else here, but I’m such a control freak that even if I did have a partner, I’d probably end up doing all of the work myself by choice. I just really loving coming up with stories and coding.

Not to offend people who do other coding, but I just find java and all other coding languages extremely boring and difficult- and really, episode coding is much easier than other coding languages (I found out the hard way at the Computer Science club at my school).

4 Likes

If both parts agree on a partnership like this I guess it’s okay and up to them. But if you never intend to learn Donacode it’s maybe best to not write on Episode because you always will be dependent on someone else. You will depend on that a stranger takes hours and hours of their time to help you. But I can sort of see how having someone to code for you in the beginning can helpful. I would personally never want to code someone else’s story and have nothing to say about the plot and characters. Maybe one episode just to try out new things, But if someone would like to do that, that’s fine, and they probably get some freedom and impact on the story.

It’s kind of lazy. It’s not fair. It could work if both are dedicated to their roles in this partnership. It’s okay if both want it :relaxed:

@big_bass_boy Other coding languages are difficult but I think that they are much more fun to use. You can do everything with them! Donacode is so limited and I just get so frustrated with it. For me it’s faster to learn but more difficult to actually use :joy:

5 Likes

If I weren’t an author, I might be tempted to say that it seems fair if the partnership is equally split but since I am an author and I know firsthand how the coding works I’ve only got this to say:

I WOULD NEVER, EVER PUT MYSELF THROUGH THIS HELL WITHOUT HEFTY MONETARY COMPENSATION OHMYGOD ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

4 Likes

Bumping :blush:

1 Like

I write professionally so I would say that it’s not true that writing is easier. It seems easier, but many are actually terrible at it. Good writing takes time. Some people are better at coding and not at writing. I looked into coding and did some tests on my own and was extremely irritated with it. I guess I’m just not wired that way or don’t have the coding talent. So I’d rather work with a coder and hopefully we complement each other really well. But good collaboration partners also take time and luck to find. But doesn’t mean I won’t continue to learn coding on my own. I still will because I think it’s easier to execute your own story visually rather than risk anything lost in communication or have potential conflicts. It’s also a pretty cool skill. But I have one eye very open for collaborators for sure.

3 Likes

Bump it :smiley:

1 Like

Bumping :smiley:

Bump :grimacing:

1 Like

Bumping :grimacing:

1 Like

Well- I definitely enjoy coding more than writing.

I get so stressed when I can’t figure out what to write, or what to make my characters say. While when I code, even if a scene takes me much time, I really like it because I know what I want and I know how it should be

Now I am coding a story that I am not writing, but it feels good making the characters “come to life”, even if I didn’t create them.

And of course if a person is writing and the other is coding, the credit needs to go to both.

3 Likes