Danmakufu panel at TouhouCon

[ExPorygon]

So I didn't want to necessarily make my own thread for this since it does kind of boil down to just a simple question, but if it gets big I'll make a separate thread for it.

The 2nd annual TouhouCon is coming up this September and they're now accepting panel applications. I had this idea in my head for a while and wanted to ask what you guys here think of it: Since this is a Touhou focused convention, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to host a panel featuring Danmakufu, since it's become a significantly big part of fan game creations.

To elaborate, I'm not simply asking if there are enough attendees going to TouhouCon that would attend such a panel as I don't have a good way to accurately gauge that interest. Rather, what I'm asking here is more along the lines of whether there are enough topics to cover and whether the panel would be more structured to being like a presentation of what Danmakufu is and what it is capable of or being more like a basic 101 tutorial type thing. I'd love to hear you guys' thoughts on whether this is even a good idea or not as I'm really unsure myself.

I'll gladly make a separate thread for ideas for this, but I would prefer a "yes" or "no" to whether it's a good idea before doing so.
Since we now have a separate thread for this, post suggestions and tell whether you think it's a good idea or not.

[Sparen]

To elaborate, I'm not simply asking if there are enough attendees going to TouhouCon that would attend such a panel as I don't have a good way to accurately gauge that interest. Rather, what I'm asking here is more along the lines of whether there are enough topics to cover and whether the panel would be more structured to being like a presentation of what Danmakufu is and what it is capable of or being more like a basic 101 tutorial type thing. I'd love to hear you guys' thoughts on whether this is even a good idea or not as I'm really unsure myself.

I have a feeling that it's best to show what it can do rather than give tutorials. Most people think of it as 'that thing' and brush it off - I've seen enough people treat it that way, and I feel that explosions of graphics and bullet patterns would be far more interesting.

[Sage Ω (Ultima)]

Its a good idea to get people into Touhou fangaming. I don't know if it would be suitable to hold a tutorial though, maybe just going over what can be done, and what has been done. Like bring the hype back into Danmakufu by showcasing just how easy it is, and how far you can get. That would draw more people into it I assume.

[Trickysticks]

I agree with Sparen - show exciting and varied content, not just tutorials. Maybe aggregate a lot of video clips of scripts of highlightable Danmakufu scripts, maybe have a framework ready to make a sample single script in front of them to show how easy it is. Once they see that it might be a good idea to go into more technical details.

[Uruwi]

Also include NTP's multilanguage feature, complete with UTF-8 reader?

[AJS]

Ozzie, I was actually considering trying to host such a panel myself.  If you would be interested, perhaps we could co-host the panel?

And I generally agree with what the others were saying.  I was thinking of showcasing scripts of varying complexity, both to show the variety of what can be made and to show people that anyone can get into it, and that they don't necessarily have to make ZUN-tier games to be able to participate in the Danmakufu community.

I was also considering at the end providing a very brief introduction on how one can get started with making a Danmakufu script, just so the task of doing so doesn't seem as daunting.  Because while showing off the scripts would definitely get people interested, we need to show them that it's not all that hard to jump in and get their feet wet, or they're just going to walk away thinking "yeah there's no way I could ever make anything cool like that".  Maybe do like a small step-by-step process on "how to make a spellcard 101"--like "if I add this code here, my boss will shoot bullets in a circle", and so on.

[Helepolis]

(No worries Ozzy, no need to create new thread, I split the existing posts from the Q&A, feel free to modify title as you please)

((I'll post an opinion about this at work, just did quick modding))

Edit:

Presentation at panels is always difficult. Especially because you want to say/show a lot but simply don't have the time nor attentionspan of the attendants. Keep it simply, stupid is the magic phrase. I too would vouch for showing what Danmakufu can do, rather than give people a lesson/101 in it. Showing few samples of popular fan games like RSS and such would attract people's attention.

Also curious, what is your personal goal?
- Do you want to show people there is a ready-to-use engine with plenty of wiki material and community for it?
- Do you want to draw more people to make fangames?
- ...

[ExPorygon]

Ozzie, I was actually considering trying to host such a panel myself.  If you would be interested, perhaps we could co-host the panel?

And I generally agree with what the others were saying.  I was thinking of showcasing scripts of varying complexity, both to show the variety of what can be made and to show people that anyone can get into it, and that they don't necessarily have to make ZUN-tier games to be able to participate in the Danmakufu community.

I was also considering at the end providing a very brief introduction on how one can get started with making a Danmakufu script, just so the task of doing so doesn't seem as daunting.  Because while showing off the scripts would definitely get people interested, we need to show them that it's not all that hard to jump in and get their feet wet, or they're just going to walk away thinking "yeah there's no way I could ever make anything cool like that".  Maybe do like a small step-by-step process on "how to make a spellcard 101"--like "if I add this code here, my boss will shoot bullets in a circle", and so on.

Yes, ABSOLUTELY!! I would love to have you on board. I was lamenting the fact that I'd probably have to do it on my own, I had no idea you'd be attending. It's also fitting how you have made some of the most creative contributions to Danmakufu fan works, especially with your latest Yakumo Ball script. The kind of scripts that push the boundaries of what Danmakufu is capable of is definitely something that I want to highlight in the panel.

From what all of you have been saying, it seems that the best way to go about this would be to come up with some sort of interesting presentation of notable and varied scripts from the community. Then afterward (if there's time) some sort of brief 101 tutorial type thing could show that it's not so hard to make these things yourself. Prefacing the 101 part would be something simple to make, yet still of very high quality. Something like Trickysticks' scripts, which have low effects and flare, but always interesting and fun gameplay. That would show that the SUPER AMAZING EFFECTS are not required to make something fun to play.

Also curious, what is your personal goal?
- Do you want to show people there is a ready-to-use engine with plenty of wiki material and community for it?
- Do you want to draw more people to make fangames?
- ...

I'd probably say yes to both, but the first one opens up a good point. It would be a good idea to at some point during the panel to show the wiki, the RaNGE help thread and its various resources, as well as other helpful utilities.

So yeah, AJS, talk to me on Skype about the arrangements for TouhouCon.