[Gaming, Rant] Why I'm Done With Mega Man Maker
Click to viewHi, again. I'm done with Mega Man Maker. Remember when I said that? You should - it was yesterday.
Well, if that rant was anything to go by, it sounds like I had a complete and total meltdown over one bad update. I'm putting this addendum out to clarify that that's not the case. No, I had a meltdown over several bad updates. 1.9.2.1 was just the most bungled one to date. And so, allow me to explain, in depth, why I'm done with Mega Man Maker.
Firstly, I need to correct myself on something. I was under the impression WreckingPrograms was completely gone. If the official Wiki is to be believed, then he stepped down before 1.8.0, but came back around 1.8.4 in an "executive producer" kind of role. I don't know if he stayed on because the Wiki isn't the most accurate source of information, sometimes. (Many pages haven't been updated for 1.9.0, for example.) But regardless, aside from tinkering with a couple of objects, I don't think he's been directly involved with programming or quality assurance since 1.7.0. That said, I think it was around 1.8.0 where I noticed more and more things started slipping through the cracks.
- Ice Blocks, for example, are always loaded and active, causing them to slide behind inactive objects like MM11 Breakable Blocks.
- A weapon from Mega Man World 5, Break Dash, was implemented in such a way that simply shooting the buster too quickly will cause the weapon to charge and force the player to dash if they're on the ground. The shots also do 2 damage instead of one. Neither of these "functions" are how the original weapon worked, and I'm sure that at least one is a bug that still hasn't been fixed despite me reporting it.
- Easy Mode Platforms - aka "Jumpthrough Platforms" - have been buggy since their implementation in 1.7.0 and won't always catch the player when jumping toward the edge.
- Simply jumping too fast will skip the "player landing" sound, which also started around 1.7.0.
- And of course, the numerous ridiculous bug fixes that have been happening up to the most current version, 1.9.2.2. Yes, they pushed out another tiny bug fix - this one to fix their poor implementation of the revised Blastman Wires they added in 1.9.2 to replace the "hard to use" ones in 1.9.0.
I'm sure I could go on, but you get the idea. They're simply throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, then going back and fixing them later. Here's a thought, fellas. Maybe… don't do that? Maybe make sure your stuff works right before you push it out live onto the unsuspecting public? There's a reason big companies have quality assurance testers. And yes, I know you're just a tiny little independent company who isn't making a dime on all this hard word. I don't care. If you don't have testers that can put in the time and effort… then get rid of them and find somebody who can. Do more thorough testing and maybe you won't have as many bugs to fix the next go-around.
I need to go on a tangent for a second, here. Whenever I criticize projects like this, there's inevitably going to be "that guy" who responds with, "Hey, these guys are doing all this for free, so shut up and be appreciative." Firstly, if you knew me, you'd know that I don't ever "shut up". Secondly, it's not that I'm unappreciative. It's that I hold projects like Mega Man Maker to a higher standard. Like, a much higher standard. So much so that my first instinct is to aggressively point out all the flaws, no matter how small, rather than approach it with a "Thank you, but" kind of mentality. I admit, it's not the most productive way to help people make their game better. 90% of people react negatively to blunt criticism. Yes, that includes me. In that sense, it's a little hypocritical of me to sit back and point out all these flaws then expect anyone of consequence to actually, you know, take me seriously. Some people have embraced my critical analysis style, in the past. Some people have even given me a chance more recently. But, whether I'm right or I'm wrong about this-or-that, most people don't bother with me since I come across as some entitled blustering blow-hard… which, I kind of am. But I'm a blow-hard with a purpose.
As I mentioned toward the end of my previous rant, my main goal with my criticism is to help people make a better product. I've engaged with creators in the past and helped them improve things. I was hoping that Mega Man Maker would be one of those things. Unfortunately, between my previous notoriety in the overall community and the fact that I'd only listen to WreckingPrograms - because he was the only person who didn't come at me aggressively over some trivial thing I did - I pretty much burned my bridges with the Mega Man Maker community before I could even build them.
I've spent a good twenty years tinkering with Mega Man, paying attention to every little insignificant thing, and relaying my findings to whomever would listen. Seven of those years have been spent finding bugs, inconsistencies, and things that needed fine-tuning in Mega Man Maker. So why, then, did I spend seven years of my life trying to improve a project whose people wouldn't even give me the time of day, much less listen to me?
… I guess I'm just stubborn, that way.
Little things like certain enemies lacking semi-random behavior, or certain objects not behaving exactly as expected, absolutely drive me up the wall. And so, I'd find something that "wasn't right", then I'd make a video about it. Whether my videos got watched or not, I put them out there. Some of the things, like when Quickman's tileset was upside-down, were just embarrassing. That one was quickly patched. Also, to this day, I think the implementation of Appearing Blocks - aka, "Yoku Blocks" - could be so much better, too - like in Mega Man Powered Up. But, I'm getting off-track again.
As I recently found out, I'm not alone in saying that if you're going to try and replicate something, you should replicate it as closely to the source material as possible, no exceptions. And that's my point. I really wanted to help this project be as perfect as it could be rather than "close enough". There are already hundreds of fan games out there that are "close enough". I'm sick of "close enough". I wanted Mega Man Maker to have the same level of quality as Mega Man Unlimited and Mega Man Endless. Sadly, I don't think that will ever be the case. I don't know if the current developers just don't care enough to bother, or the code is held together with paper clips and rubber bands, but whatever it is, this game will never be "perfect". It took me seven years to realize how much of my time I've been wasting on this thing, but after the fiasco of October 2024 and pumping out three sub-revisions to fix cascading, semi-critical bugs… all in one day… it's become abundantly clear to me that the developers have taken up the same stance that big-name companies have been maintaining for a while now.
Ship it now. Fix it later.
Here's a philosophical question. If the overwhelming majority of people say something is good, then does that mean it is? If most people enjoy something for what it is while a fringe group scoff at it for what it could be, then should that fringe group be ignored? If the fans, the community, the fans, the hangers-on, and even the developers of a game praise it endlessly, but there's one little nobody out there who says it "could be better", then are they crazy - or just plain wrong? Past experience tells me that unless there's an overwhelming demand for change, no change will come. And since almost everyone who's ever played Mega Man Maker throughout its various revisions have enjoyed it without complaint, then well… the people who make it are just going to continue on their merry way without a thought or a care to the tiny amount of people who might very well have legitimate concern over some facet of the project or other.
And with this, I've hopefully explained why I'm done with Mega Man Maker. If not? Well, I dunno what to tell you.
Take care. See you next project. Maybe. And thank you for your time.
~ J