Hah? Thought you could LEAVE Facebook? Think again!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 6, 2012

Game developers trying to wean themselves away from Facebook after enjoying the perks of that “platform” are finding it not so easy after all…

New Facebook Rules Aim to Force Developers Back Onto the Social Network

In fairness, these rules changes were announced over three months ago, so they are only really “new” in the sense that they are now in effect. People had warning. Companies were using Facebook to leverage their own businesses, to avoid being completely dependent upon Facebook. Facebook, which has been facing all kinds of business troubles of its own, didn’t like that, and thus came up with these rules to tighten things down. While there’s a whiff of desperation about it, I wouldn’t say they are wrong.

However, to quote Princess Leia: “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”

Sometimes I’m really, really glad I’m a part-timer. It makes me slow, but it also means I don’t HAVE to be fast and keep up with the changes in the games biz.  It changes a lot, and rapidly, and I’d hate to be in a position right now where I’d have to choose whether to lash my livelihood to a possibly sinking ship in hopes of both of us staying afloat, or abandoning ship without a flotation device. Many indie studios are pretty dang nimble, however, and have already been working on parallel plans.

Bottom line: Being indie often requires a real effort at staying independent. ‘Cuz as sweet as the deal looks at the beginning, the big guys will do what they can to make sure you are serving THEM. That’s where their interest lay.

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