They sound motivated to provide free quality content, but they seem pretty set on keeping things closed, too (over at pinballinfo.com: “And no, we don’t link things together. We want to keep everything in control.”)
I don’t know, they are asking for $17.000 for app development, which they can’t provide in-house – this doesn’t sound like there’s any budget/expertise to react to any community needs, once the app is out.
From what I know about kickstarter trends, the campaign doesn’t seem to succeed in securing its funding, and it’s not aimed to be some cool new open IPDB alternative anyway, but it still seems like a waste if nothing came of it. Thoughts?
Like @keefer it’s not really my thing. I can’t see a way where a project like this can work without in-house developers. On the open market $17k doesn’t get you a whole lot of app and as you mention there’s no plan for ongoing maintenance.
Oh well, I’ll be spending my spare time efforts with people who are into linking all our different projects together.
(I have to get my TGP Calculator updated before the end of the year, but after that I’ll be ready to get some OPDB work started)
I don’t totally understand their desire to make native apps, rather than just a website. I imagine a website would be less expensive, and it would work on every device. I’m not one to talk, since I work on a project where people seem to like the app(s) more than the website (perhaps it has something to do with the built-in marketing that comes with an app store). But personally, I don’t really use many apps. Give me a website and I’m good to go. (full disclosure: I’m a full time Firefox OS user, and also dabble with Sailfish and Ubuntu Touch - I never use Android or iOS - so perhaps I’ve just gotten used to relying on websites and not apps).
I’m Richard from The Pinball Assistant and I came across your discussion. I will try to answer or explain the things said in this topic.
Maybe I didn’t understand the remark on pinballinfo correct (English is not my maiden language) but what I meant was that we don’t want people to make changes or add info to the database. We are putting a lot of effort in getting everything right and we want to be as sure as possible we provide trustworthy content. We do however encourage everybody to contribute or correct us.
You’re right. Although many people think otherwise: $17K is not a lot for the technical development of an app. We have been searching for nearly half a year for a developer we trust and who is affordable.
And of course we have a plan for ongoing maintenance. I’m a graphic designer and design (database) websites frequently. I know what comes with the job.
We have a lot more plans with this app than we can afford right now. When people have ideas or wishes, we will (of course) see what we can do with them. My partner Gerard started a topic on Pinside some time ago to ask for ideas. I would gladly ask the same question here.
I’m not sure what you mean but when it comes to IPDB: people often think we are something like that but that’s definitely not the case. The Pinball Assistant is not an encyclopedia like IPDB. I like to think of ourselves as a practical tool that offers need-to-know info, nice-to-know facts, playing tips and a personal part. For now…