« Renown & the Modular Game Board | Home | Kärleksfull Levande Död Jul! »
Hats in the New Year
By Corvus | December 16, 2008
I have a confession to make–I’m psychic. What’s that? You want proof? Okay! How about I predict what the next year is going to hold for me and, I’m fairly certain, for many of you as well. Here goes…
The next year is going to contain many challenges… and many opportunities.
Yeah, I know. I’m good, aren’t I?
You’ve likely noticed that the quantity of my posts has dropped off in the last few months. This has been due, in no small part, to the cross-continental move and the resulting slippage of deadlines. I’m still playing catch up from the move and I’ve been busier, and more stressed, than usual. Over the last few weeks, however, there’s been another reason for my comparatively taciturn nature.
Over the years, I’ve written a lot about how gameplay communicates meaning, whether that’s the designers’ original intent or not. I’ve written about how play does not mean challenge and how story doesn’t mean linear plot and textual elements.
I’ve written about the social importance of responsible storytelling and responsible game design.
I’ve written extensively about various games, from Ultima Underworld to Fable 2–exploring the storytelling strengths and weaknesses of their game design.
Finally, I’ve written about my theories on participatory storytelling, the intersection of story, play, and community. I’ve written about its historic importance, current relevance, and future appeal.
But over the last year, the realization has formed, and crystallized over the last six or seven weeks, that I’m not satisfied with this. It isn’t enough. My philosophy on games is that they need not/should not rely on textual elements to communicate their intent. Games like Rod Humble’s The Marriage and Jason Rohrer’s The Passage uphold this same philosophy and I find myself yearning to join the ranks of people directly exploring the storytelling potential of video games–by actually making games.
There have been several things getting in the way of this goal. The first is time, the second is knowledge, the third is time. Working on game design for a client this year has been very enlightening. I have come to realize that if I continue to contract game design services I will not have the time or energy to gain enough coding knowledge to work on my own projects. However, if I do not continue to offer game design services, I will not be able to afford classes when I return to school next year. In fact, even if I were to continue to offer design services, it’s unlikely the economy will turn around fast enough to allow me to continue to support myself via freelance design.
This means I’m looking for a day job, as historically I have found that most day jobs leave me with more room to focus on my own projects than farming out my creativity. If you know of a service or administrative position in Portland, let me know. If it’s with a school, so much the better. I’ll also still be looking for contract writing work. I’ve enjoyed my writing contracts and sincerely hope my existing ongoing contract will survive the economic turmoil.
This situation has also caused me to seriously reevaluate my priorities for the blog. I’ve often felt that Man Bytes Blog has been the result of me wearing a great many hats–designer, indie developer, critic, industry commentator. This has to change. Starting in January of 2009, Man Bytes Blog will become an extension of me wearing a single hat–indie developer. In general terms, this means that this blog is going to play a supporting role to my design and development–becoming a tool to explore how I’m implementing my ideas, rather than how my ideas reflect the reality of the industry today.
What does this mean in practical terms? Well, the primary thing it means is that I will no longer hold myself to a weekly posting limit or schedule. I would be very surprised if too many weeks go by where I don’t have something to say, but when they do go by I’m not going to fret about it. It also means there are going to be a higher ratio of posts talking about my game design. Some of those posts will focus on Renown, some will focus on my RPG system, The Drachurae Cycle, and some will focus on my learning process as I study more Python and begin to take CS classes.
It also means that secondary projects are going to fall by the wayside. The long neglected narrative of the moment feature is finally officially gone. The Gender Studies discussion group will likely not happen, at least not with me at the head of it. I do feel it’s an important venture and would love to discuss helping it happen elsewhere (Roger?). So e-mail me if you’re simply dying to take on an enormous project and I’ll do everything I can to help it along.
The only ongoing project that will continue is the Round Table. I find the Round Table to be an important touch stone of my month. It reminds me how many insightful, marvelous people are in my community and I am eternally grateful to you all for the continued success of both the Round Table, and this blog.
Ultimately, this doesn’t mean I’m not going to continue writing about other games, discussing industry events, or refining my theories on the blog. It simply means that I’ll only be doing so when I have time, and while wearing my developer hat.
I look forward to the new year. I know that many of you are experiencing change as well. Some of you have recently lost your jobs in the industry, some are entering the industry for the first time. Some of you have new games coming out next year and some of you have had projects canceled. Some of you are doing reevaluations of your own, deciding what hat you’ll be wearing this time next year. It’s rarely an easy task, making a decision at a crossroads, but it’s certainly filled with, um… growth potential and ultimately one of the most rewarding experiences life has to offer.
I’ll be posting a holidays post later this week, or early next. My own Round Table entry will go up between the 25th and the 1st. But other than that (and updating the Round Table with your entries), I’ll likely be pretty silent until the new year.So whether you’re building your defenses against the inevitable zombie apocalypse, tracking Santa, playing No Limit Texas Dredidel, or eagerly awaiting change, I wish you the very best of the season and a new year that exceeds your wildest expectations.
Tagged:renewed focus. | 7 Comments »
December 16th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Welcome to the club.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Good on ya. Sounds like you’re setting realistic goals (something I have far too much trouble doing) and focusing on the essential. A little pruning is beneficial from time to time.
I’m similarly looking to find/make the time to pursue indie development, but being a full-time software programmer (and doing a little pro-bono website work on the side) has lately made me want to devote my free time towards activities that aren’t coding! I wish you luck in finding a good job and in your new pursuits/commitments.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Thanks to both of you.
Setting realistic goals is something I’ve only started learning in earnest over the last 5 years. I still have a way to go, but I am getting better at it.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Good luck, Corvus! I can’t wait to read more about your development as a developer.
December 16th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
All the best Corvus. Looking forward to seeing what happens when your abundance of theory meets some stone cold reality – here’s to a wonderful collision! (I hope that doesn’t sound condescending…)
December 17th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Good luck to you! I agree with the others, I look forward to hearing about your adventures and seeing what creations you come up with.
December 18th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Congrats with the new goals!
I’ll be reading what you write with the same enthusiasm as always. Best wishes against the hordes of undead this holidays.