2009 Year in Ren'Py
Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:51 pm
(Last year's post.)
The start of another year means it's time for my annual year in Ren'Py post.
The motto of the Ren'Py 6 series was "The World Creates". In 2009, I think that aspiration was something that we reached. According to Google Analytics, Ren'Py was downloaded 15,191 times in 2009, from 122 countries and territories. A few years ago, I would have estimated the total market for Ren'Py as maybe a hundred people... reality has proven me wrong.
Last year, 50 games were released with Ren'Py. This year, we had reached 50 games by August... and what's more, that only includes games on the game list. To some extent, 2009 was the year we lost track of Ren'Py. In much the same way there's no comprehensive list of Python or C programs, there are now enough Ren'Py games that tracking them all has become difficult. (I do plan to spend some time on this in the future, however.)
2009 saw 6 releases of Ren'Py: the 4 releases of the 6.9 series, and the 2 releases of the 6.10 series. Some of the new features added were:
* The superseding of special-purposed functions with the Transform class and ATL.
* A new rendering system that supports subpixel drawing.
* A new audio/video system that supports many more formats.
* The define, pause, transform, and window statements.
* A new launcher, supporting multiple editors, proper mac apps, and a combined distribution.
Among dozens of other features.
There were a couple of issues that cropped up in 2009. Stability wasn't what I'd like it to be, and so I'm now constantly looking for analysis tools to ensure that Ren'Py remains reliable even in the face of large changes. My health was an issue that slowed us down over the course of the year, but now that's mostly back on track. I also graduated for good, and had to figure out how to balance the various aspects of my life.
Right now, I have plans for one minor and two major releases, so it doesn't look like Ren'Py will be stopping, or even slowing down, for quite some time.
Once again, I'd like to thank the community that makes Ren'Py shine. Without the people who use it --- the people who make games, and the end-users who play those games --- Ren'Py would be nothing at all. Thank you for letting me make the paintbrushes.
The start of another year means it's time for my annual year in Ren'Py post.
The motto of the Ren'Py 6 series was "The World Creates". In 2009, I think that aspiration was something that we reached. According to Google Analytics, Ren'Py was downloaded 15,191 times in 2009, from 122 countries and territories. A few years ago, I would have estimated the total market for Ren'Py as maybe a hundred people... reality has proven me wrong.
Last year, 50 games were released with Ren'Py. This year, we had reached 50 games by August... and what's more, that only includes games on the game list. To some extent, 2009 was the year we lost track of Ren'Py. In much the same way there's no comprehensive list of Python or C programs, there are now enough Ren'Py games that tracking them all has become difficult. (I do plan to spend some time on this in the future, however.)
2009 saw 6 releases of Ren'Py: the 4 releases of the 6.9 series, and the 2 releases of the 6.10 series. Some of the new features added were:
* The superseding of special-purposed functions with the Transform class and ATL.
* A new rendering system that supports subpixel drawing.
* A new audio/video system that supports many more formats.
* The define, pause, transform, and window statements.
* A new launcher, supporting multiple editors, proper mac apps, and a combined distribution.
Among dozens of other features.
There were a couple of issues that cropped up in 2009. Stability wasn't what I'd like it to be, and so I'm now constantly looking for analysis tools to ensure that Ren'Py remains reliable even in the face of large changes. My health was an issue that slowed us down over the course of the year, but now that's mostly back on track. I also graduated for good, and had to figure out how to balance the various aspects of my life.
Right now, I have plans for one minor and two major releases, so it doesn't look like Ren'Py will be stopping, or even slowing down, for quite some time.
Once again, I'd like to thank the community that makes Ren'Py shine. Without the people who use it --- the people who make games, and the end-users who play those games --- Ren'Py would be nothing at all. Thank you for letting me make the paintbrushes.
)
