Ushgarak wrote:
That's simple to answer- what you are describing there is an IC process, not an OOC one. If a person outside the GoW comes up with an idea for an Age and asks the Guild to make it come a reality, then sure, the process is as you describe above.
But the OOC process of conceptualising Ages as a deliberate part of a programme for the Guild to create Ages or as part of a creative project is absolutely nothing like what you describe above. Those people- who are making vital components of an Age as part of a dedicated Age creation team- are just as much part of the Guild as the programmers and modellers, and so IC they are Writers.
Being an IC Writer does not equate to being the person who literally codes the Age. It equates to being someone OOC who has made this committment, and actively participates in, the process of Age creation, in any form.
I think you misunderstand me... I'm saying
anyone who actually
physically creates something for the Age -- code, 3D models, music, etc -- is a Writer. If Artist Aaron comes along and makes a texture for an Age, he's a Writer. If Musician Mark writes a piece of music for an Age, he's a Writer. However, someone who comes along and says "You need a waterfall over there" or "Build a golf course Age" is not a Writer. Planner/designer perhaps, but not a Writer.
In the construction business, you have people who come up with the design for a building: architects (planner/designer). You also have those who actually do the work of building it: construction workers (Writers). The architect/designer is an essential member for making a great building, but he doesn't get the title "construction worker" ("Writer") unless he goes down and physically works on the building as well.