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11-20-13, 08:47 PM | #1 |
What developers say about their motivations: My survey findings
Greetings -
Several weeks ago, I posted a request to this forum for assistance with my dissertation research. Specifically, I asked folks to visit my survey to provide some insight into why addon developers (You) do what they (you) do. To date, I've received 37 responses to the survey - a number which exceeded my hope for an unpaid survey on the Internet. While the survey remains open for a few days more (if you haven't responded and you're interested, it's located here), the activity has tapered off that I think I've probably gathered the majority of the responses I'm going to get. Among the feedback I got on the original post was an interest in seeing the results, and so this post (which will totally be TLR-bait) is intended to do just that. Maybe no one cares, or maybe it will contribute something to people's understanding of what the addon community is - either way, posting back these findings makes me feel somewhat less like only a "taker" of people's time. So, here goes: Question 1: Have you developed an addon for WoW? Yes - 37, No - 0Question 2: Do you still develop or maintain addons? Yes - 35 (94.59%), No - 2 (5.41%)Question 3: How many addons have you developed? 1 Addon developed: 1 (2.7%)Question 4: Have you made your addons available for others to download and use? Yes - 34 (91.89%), No - 3 (8.11%)Question 5: When you began developing addons, did you also play WoW actively? Yes - 37, No - 0Question 6: Do you play WoW now? Yes - 30 (81.08%), No - 7 (18.92%)Question 7: Have you developed addons, maps or mods for another videogame? Yes - 20 (54.05%), No - 17 (49.95%)Question 8: When you began developing addons, would you say your PRIMARY reason was: Trying to fill a personal in-game need: 26 (70.27%)Question 9 (multiple selections allowed): When you worked on an addon and needed technical assistance, where would you go? Wowwiki/Wowpedia: 29Question 10: Do you primarily develop by yourself, or as part of a group? By myself: 37Question 11: Have you ever read the code of another addon to understand how it accomplished some task or behavior? Yes - 37, No - 0Question 12: If you found a section of another addon that contained code you wanted to use, would it be acceptable to take that code without the permission of the original author? Yes - 13 (33.33%), No - 24 (66.67%)Question 13: Have you ever had direct communication with another developer of addons? Yes - 30 (88.24%), No - 4 (11.76%) (4 skipped question)Question 14: Have you ever assisted someone else with addon development, either with bugfixes, feature suggestions, documentation or programming questions? Yes - 35 (97.22%), No - 1 (2.78%) (1 skipped question)Question 15: If you could get a full-time job developing addons, would you take such a job? Yes - 17 (47.22%), No - 19 (52.78%) (1 skipped question)Question 16: If asked to rank who gets the most value out of the work you do in addon development, how do you rank them? The answers here boil down to:Question 17: When you consider other computer games, are you more likely to consider playing them if you know they have some sort of addon or modding functionality? More likely - 21 (60%)Question 18: Which best describes your attitude to incorporating user suggestions into your addons? If my addon fits their playstyle, they're welcome to use it as-is: 2 (5.71%)Question 19: What best describes your plan for providing long-term support for your addons? I値l support the addon as long as I知 playing; if I stop playing, that will stop the addon development too: 4 (13.33%)Question 20: Which is a more accurate description of you? I am a gamer who got interested in addons because of the chance to change the game to my tastes: 25 (89.29%)Question 21: Which is a more accurate way to describe your opinion of developing an addon? It's like a game itself, that I play for fun or relaxation: 20 (57.14%)Question 22: What term, or terms, would you say best describe your feelings about addon development? 31 answers were received, and there's a great deal to digest and evaluate. I appreciate all the thoughtful answers. And to the person who answered "Currently? It beats the hell out of watching most television shows." - you, sir, win the Internets. Just as a personal note, I again want to express my thanks for everyone who responded. During the phase of my dissertation work where I attempted to find some example of this sort of information, I really struggled to find any resource other than an occasional poorly constructed question such as "do you do this for fun, or to get a job?" I can't say my survey will make it all that much easier for the next researcher, but hopefully they'll at least see that it IS possible to get thoughtful responses if they try. Thanks again. As I said, the survey will remain open until Nov. 24th. After that, I gotta start writing.... Eric Ellis |
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11-24-13, 06:28 AM | #2 |
Awesome. I'd love to read the whole thing, when it's done.
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WoWInterface » General Discussion » Chit-Chat » What developers say about their motivations: My survey findings |
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