FRIST!
“Rick, we should start adding real posts to the Developer Blogs section on Trainwreck’s site.”
“… I’ve been doing that for two weeks.”
“…”
“…”
And so I admit that I haven’t been reading this site recently, as I was under the impression that it was a test-tube baby still awaiting implantation in Rick’s womb of content. Wow, that’s awful imagery; let’s move on.
I started playing video games on the Intellivision before I turned three. I was regularly defeating my father at NFL Football for said Intellivision before I turned five. In the years since, I’ve thought a lot about why I work in this industry, and why I associate myself with it so strongly, even before I worked at a game developer. I have many different charming rationalizations, but the early exposure has implanted a reptilian, “just because” directive into my cortex. Unfortunately, that’s really boring to talk about, so let’s discuss the rationalizations instead.
The most charming rationalization I have is that game development combines my two loves: performance and engineering. I’m driven to perform for people, and like everyone who has ever been successful on the stage, I crave applause. More generally, I crave appreciation. In fact, I think everyone craves appreciation, and that desire manifests itself in various ways. Engineering combines logical “solving” – what Rick would call “hard fun”, or at least Rick channeling Koster – and artistic creation from the aether. In one video game, I wrote the code that made it rain, and I was the first person to see it rain in this game. This powerful act of creation, and the fact that millions of others experienced that creation (albeit without associating it directly with me), is like a drug.
Like all drugs, the desire for more “hits” can lead you down some undesirable short-term paths. At this point in my career, I don’t want to work on crap, and I don’t want to work for no possible reward. I don’t want to just complete my assigned tasks as an employee; I want to play a meaningful role in the creation of the game. I don’t want to make any old game; I want to create something special – hopefully many somethings.
Unfortunately, I realized a long time ago that the only IP that I can create doesn’t pass my own “crap” filter. Fortunately, I found Rick, who has many compelling ideas and is even interested in doing all the boring businessy work. I just want to entertain people and make money at it, as money is a meaningful barometer of success at entertainment. More than that, I want to lead a group of people to collectively entertain others in ways I could never do by myself. The DaVinci to my Edison is definitely Jim Henson.
Rick once told me that there are four aspects to a career in the games industry: “creative”, “technical”, “business”, and “people”; you get to pick two. He had chosen “creative” and “business”, and my talents and interests obviously lie in “technical” and “people”. This should work out fairly well for us. On the other hand, I am mindful of the wisdom of Homer: “I lost creative control of the project. And I forgot to ask for any money.”