I don't want to sound like a spoil sport since I just got back after a couple of years, but I need to get this off my chest. I was recently playing The Cleaner and Seiklus and got a flood of nostalgia playing these. It made me recall the years when sites like this, newgrounds and gamejolt would release cool games once in a while that would introdude, modify or polish game design ideas that were usually novel enough to tickle my fancy. This site is of course known for its community and its lax attitude and used to be a cool place to experiment with game ideas. This was most likely due to the ease of access of using Game Maker 7+and its compatibility with window vista. I looked at the games posted on this site and while I was expecting games that didn't meet the quality of more polished entries of years past a strange feeling crept up on me as I played them. It was not the collision detection, the controls nor the simplistic sprites that bothered me. It was the general lack of ambition.

It seems the move to GMS, as well as the prevalence of other engines like Unity has taken away the competitive spirit the older game maker community once had. I must be old or hanging in wrong circles but it feels wrong that a veteran site like this is lacking in enthusiasm.

I don't want to beat on you guys for not trying. But come on. Let us encourage others to put a little back in their backbone. Lets make them feel like they car able to make something they are proud of making. And lets do this now that the year is just started.