Work shouldn't feel fun

When asked what I do for a hobby, I often reply that I like to create games. The person is usually excited, thinks it's cool and carries on about his day. I, on the other hand consider the irony of what I'm saying. Video game development is my chosen profession. By right, as soon as a earn my first dollar, it is no longer a hobby, but a business. So when I say my hobby is game design, I'm actually saying is that I enjoy working: for FUN.

Most people in the 9-5 would scoff at the notion. In my brief time working in the "Real World" I have had a few jobs that I did not particularly "Love" to do. I still did them to the best of my ability, but I did not enjoy my work. Although I have had times where I've wanted to toss my hands up at the game projects and the business planning itself, I have stuck with it.

What's makes entrepreneurship so special is that it's work that you give yourself. No one tells me to do this work. I've taken it upon myself to do. But there's one critical difference between this startup and my paying jobs. The difference is I love this. I love making games. The passion is the thing. The passion for making games is what keeps me up at 2 in the morning working on "just one more level". It's what's seen me through two major computer crashes and business plan revisions.

So if you're doing what you love, you work will feel fun. It won't feel like... well.. Work.

Of Plans and Documents

Hello,

The delay in posting is not proof that I have stopped working on my projects. I've been working so hard that I have neglected actually discussing my work. There's plenty to show, If you like looking at design documents. I've also been doing a ton of research in starting my own game development company. I've found a niche that I feel could work very well. The concept is Episodic game play microcontent, whatever you want to call it. It is a burgeoning market that's ripe for the picking. Next time I'll have updates on my first two examples of this, plus new information on my pet project Net Attack.

The Importance of Having Something to Show

I've been trying to make a game for the past 4 years. I have not given up yet. I have however, gotten to the point where I feel like I have to create something, anything. That is a game. That's what led me to work on Net Attack as opposed to some of my larger game ideas. Finishing something is going to be huge to my confidence. I remember talking to my cousin about my hobby of making games. She made a remark about how it would be a long time beforfe I actually finished a game. That was back in Januarary of 2004, now some three years ago. This is the year I actually AM going to finish a game.

Looking back on what my cousin said, she was not trying to hurt my feelings. Initially it was hard for anyone in my family to get behind my seemingly odd career choice. It probably would have been much easier for me to convince her of what I could do If I had a game to show at the time. I realized By not having something tangible it's hard for me to prove that my ideas are more than just pretty words and drawings that I've commited to paper. (or to a blog).

I realized this fact again when I tried to have a team help me complete an entry for the Indeppendent Game Festival that is held at the annual Game Developer's Conference. Getting initial interest in a project is not hard, getting people to stick around with just a game document
is nearly impossible.

I also realized that having something to show helps my own morale. Not having any sort of tangible demo or something to play helps self doubt and fear creep into a project. I start to think that I cannot achieve the goals of the game design, that I can't lead a team to actually build a game, or worse yet, the game is not going to be as fun as I think. The only way these questions can be answered is by having some type of playable game at all times.

I used to think that having a game to show meant that I had to have a complete level, and all the features and art had to work as specied in my game design document. I now realize that this is not the case. You don't need fully functional art or features to prove your game concepts. There was a group of students at MIT that did nothing but prototypes to help prove thier design ideas. Proving a game concept can be done with a minimum of art and programming. There's no need to waste lots of time producing art for a concept that may not fly with yourself or your team. Luckily I'm using Torque and 3d Game Studio for my intial game projects. These are great engines in their own right, but they are nearly invaluable for quickly prototyping something.


I'm using 3d Gamestudio for Net Attack and was able to throw up a quick demo that allowed the player to shoot. I was even able to show it off to someone. Recently a friend asked if I was working on any games, I told him about my idea for Net Attack, his first question was: "Do you have any levels to show off yet?" Since I had been working on a test level while writing the game design document, I was able to answer yes. This was much better than having to say no and then talking about all the features it will have. Nothing is a bigger boost than to have to watch a friend play something you've made.

So what do I have to show you ask? Well here you go: It's not much but it's a start.

The Stuff in the Basement

I saw Rocky Balboa recently and loved it. I've always found the series as a whole really inspirational (Yes, even Rocky V) But there was one thing in particular that stuck with me. During the movie Rocky is talking to his brother-in-law Paulie about his newfound desire to box again. Paulie questions his motives and asks "Why, You wanna box again Rocko, you haven't peaked yet?" Rocky Replies, "I got some stuff in the basement" I the audience member and Paulie both think he means a literal basement. "What Basement?" Paulie asked accusingly. Rocky just looks at him and points to himself. "In here." By then I realized that he meant his gut.

The will to do something the he feels unfinished is a powerful statement to me. It's what drives him to get back in the ring despite his old age and brain injuries. By examining myself I relaized that I have some of my own "stuff in the basement". This relates mostly to my own game development efforts. I have a lot of projects tht are unfinished. I used to keep all of this stuff (usually assorted notebooks of ideas for games, books, movies, etc) under my bed litterally. It has since outgrown that space and reside in a box in my closet.

So in summation I intend to tackle the stuff in my own closet before I move on to other projects. It's kind of like your mother used to say, "Finish your vegetables or you don't get any dessert." The dessert in my case just happens to be more grandiose projects. I look forward to starting my own business eventually but first I have to tackle the "stuff in the closet".

The Challenge

Part of the reason I started this blog was because I was challenged to finish a game and a website. The challenge took place on http://indiegamer.com, an independent game development forum that I frequent. He basically challenged me to finsih a game, any game. This is the plight of many would be game developers. It's easy to start something but it's near impossible to finish things.

I have accepted the challenge. The game that I have decided to chronicle during the development process is Net Attack. I want to show just how easy it is to start and finish a game. I will be using the 3dgamestudio software for this.