by Arthur » 04 Jul 2017, 11:35
In my mind a free and open source game is successful if it continues being developed (beyond just bugfixes, unless it's truly feature complete) should one or more of its developers leave. I.e. the game was interesting enough that it doesn't simply disappear with the people who are making it at the moment.
By this definition, the question becomes is it successful if its developer(s) leave and it lays dormant for ten years and someone picks it up again... I'd say if that much time goes by without development, probably not.
Anyway, if the "bus factor" is one, then the project is constantly on the brink of dying as well. Not mainly because the developer is mortal, but because life often gets in the way. Family, health, interests, a lot of things can change and cause the project to come to a halt. But because it is open source, someone else can pick it up again... a lot of times this doesn't happen in a reasonable timeframe and then the project can't be said to be successful in my opinion.
Hey pal, I took an oath for justice! "In happy days or tightest tights..." or something like that.