> If you have heard of the Handmade community, you likely think...
I think that "the Handmade community" are people who mistook Casey for a messiah, in a sort of "Life of Brian" scenario.
The best part of "Handmade" is when somebody who'd otherwise doubt their ability makes a video game. The resulting games are usually at least interesting, and video games are art so, interesting is enough. If Steam had a dozen interesting crap games for every asset-flip cash-grab piece of junk it would have a very different reputation.
The worst part of "Handmade" is the mob of people who can't and won't make useful software but feel Casey (and much worse Jon Blow and Ginger Bill) has given them permission to criticise anybody who does because the software didn't meet their sky-high expectations.
I think as typical niche Internet "communities" do, the most vocal will naturally be snobby elitists who deride at anything that doesn't fit in their narrow worldview, and that mob will naturally represent the "community". (I also think Jon Blow has his part in enabling that, but oh well.)
But I'm still impressed what Casey was able to organize during the past few years, it's clear that what he's published as educational material (Handmade Hero, Computer: Enhance) has invigorated interest in low-level programming. Even though there might not be immediate results, I think this will matter later on when the people who grew up with these materials will now build new infrastructure for the post-Web era.
I think that "the Handmade community" are people who mistook Casey for a messiah, in a sort of "Life of Brian" scenario.
The best part of "Handmade" is when somebody who'd otherwise doubt their ability makes a video game. The resulting games are usually at least interesting, and video games are art so, interesting is enough. If Steam had a dozen interesting crap games for every asset-flip cash-grab piece of junk it would have a very different reputation.
The worst part of "Handmade" is the mob of people who can't and won't make useful software but feel Casey (and much worse Jon Blow and Ginger Bill) has given them permission to criticise anybody who does because the software didn't meet their sky-high expectations.