In not so long, I’ll be posting the first installation of my first computer game. I’m totally excited, and a little scared. It’s a solo project, which is misleading, because Evan will be doing all of the code. 🙂
What I mean to say is, it’s the first time that I’ll be designing something from start to finish that gets shown to someone other than my parents, or a college film class. Long gone are the days of gold stars and stick figures proudly emblazoned on the family fridge. Gone too are the days of agonizing, round-table film critiques.
In a culture where external motivators take a leading role in keeping us going, it’s easy to lose the way. As the scholastic system of punishment/rewards dissolves, new prompts take its place. We’ve been duly prepared for this moment, and we’ve got the academic records to prove it. So, who were you back then? The straight-A student? The failure? The cheat? Did you strive to be the best? And if so, did you succeed?
So this really has nothing to do with making independent games. But in fact, it has everything to do with making independent games!
As I said before, we’ve been well-prepared for this moment. So, what motivates you now? Is it money? Notoriety? Is it the desire to share something special and unique with others? For those working outside of a conventional rewards system, the path will be difficult and crooked. My guess is that you will fail more times than you’re comfortable with. You will struggle with making a living wage. And, if you are making enough money, that you’ll wonder about your money’s relationship to your creative potential.
This first game is small. It’s one baby step down that difficult and crooked path. It won’t be polished. The pacing might be awkward, the code might be buggy. But, this game has a good soul, and I am really looking forward to sharing it.