Re: MOD, OctaMED, Protracker

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article ug0a@rzstud1.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de (Alexander Siegfried) writes...
>
>Btw, same goes for GS artists. For example, I am the only GS
>specific graphic artist I can think of right now, i.e. one
>who releases the stuff he does (either in a game, demo or
>something like that) so others can SEE what I'm doing.

    Well, I've always been a GS graphic artist (and I don't use
that term in vain ;), although I'm guilty of being one who has
not released his work publically. I came quite close to having my
work used for a future release of MODZap though, unfortunately my
monitor conked out and then the project was later cancelled. :(

    There's also Dave Seah and Shinya Nagashima, although I'm
not sure either of them are still doing artwork with their GSes
these days.

>Of course I'd like to SEE a new painting program for the GS
>(a mixture of DreamGrafix and Platinum Paint), but I'm
>realistic that won't happen anymore - who should code it
>and why? Just for fun? No.

    That is one of my wishes too, unfortunately it's probably one
of the reasons I feel less inclined to create new graphics these
days. Having to draw an outline image in Platinum Paint, then 
switch to DreamGrafix for colorization, then back again for touch-ups
can be a real pain. With corse pixel resolution and 16 per colors
scanline limitations, creating artwork on the GS is already enough of
a challenge! Having to deal with buggy software and lack of features
in a program (that COULD easily be there) add unnecessary struggle.

    I very much doubt we'll ever see a new paint application, let
alone even an update to Platinum Paint or DreamGrafix. Still, I've
not totally given up, I'd still be willing to contribute to another
project (although I doubt there's many software projects being
worked on these days, NFC aside, that require graphic art :/).

>People should realize that the "creative potential" on the
>GS is near zero. There are no musicians or graphic artists
>left, only some coders hacking some small utility stuff.

    A rather negative view, but I have to admit it's mostly true.
The majority of things currently being released for the IIgs, kind
of enforce that stereotypical ideologidy that computers are "boring" 
things. Accounting programs for AppleWorks, shell apps for Orca/GNO, 
file utilties, patches, etc. Not to say these aren't valued or useful 
tools, but I like seeing creative things which show off people's 
artist talents in both imagery and music too. One of the reasons I 
bought this computer were to see the "GS" stamped on front, used 
creatively! :) (Despite it standing for 'Graphics' and 'Sounds',  
these days I feel more like it stands for 'Getting'-'Stale'! ;-)

    Anyone who claims creative things on a computer are a waste of
time (ie, the argument about demos) is fooling themselves. Remove
that and your computer is, well, just that: a computer. Nothing more
than a glorified calculator or number-crunching device.

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca