On Making Videogames

It is a beautiful horrible thing to be a part of.

My elder brothers introduced me to videogames very early when they brought in Sega Genesis and Alex Kidd. Later on followed the old fat Gameboy with Tetris and Mortal Kombat. Fascinated, I played a lot.

The very first computer I touched lasted 10 seconds, after I opened Microsoft Paint and it fainted to the blue screen. My father did not spare the swear words that night. I was 8.

Growing up I loved to read make-your-own adventure books, talked too much, wrote poems, drew, and dismantled everything I could get my hands on. I have always been an observer and a tinkerer. I was also trying to make my own games. On a piece of paper just as well as on a computer. With one issue I didn't have my own computer.

By age 12 my dad finally forgot about the MSPaint incident and I finally had access to a computer to play with. I delved into Macromedia Flash. The visual nature and prevalence on the internet (this is 2002 in the Czech Republic mind you) made it somewhat easy. What didn't make it easy was that I didn't get off the dial up until years later. Nevertheless, I found a book somewhere and started reading with my limited understanding of English. My first videogame stint happened at this time as well, when I wrote a few pages of script for a point-and-click adventure. Don't ask me, what it was called, I don't remember. The quality of it was likely even more forgettable.

Encouraged in my path forward I have started taking programming lessons in school, which I have failed absolutely miserably. My brain as I have realized only decades later is wired differently from that of an engineer or a scientist for that matter. This defeat haunted me for years, screaming that I was not good enough to create with code. To a lesser extent it was correct, but more so it wasn't as to be a game developer it didn't matter.

I've learned about myself that I have a rare understanding of the world. That of a creative observant. That of a rebel, who will think of another solution, just because it's new and different.

How does all this tie into making videogames? I'll let Shigeru Miyamoto explain:

“I always look for designers who aren’t super-passionate game fans,” Mr. Miyamoto said. “I make it a point to ensure they’re not just a gamer, but that they have a lot of different interests and skill sets.” Some of the company’s current stars had no experience playing video games when they were hired. - source

While I am super passionate about games, I am more of an artist than an engineer. And I take pride and privilege to be that rather than the latter. An artist understands moments as an experience and videogames as just another medium (a combination of media really) to share this moment with an audience.

I design and think about videogames the same way. As an experience. Not as a genre - I want to make a shooter, I want to make a strategy game. I always start from the experience that the player is to have. I think everyone's time is flooded with derivative drivel as is and I would love to see more original thought put in by creators first. The reality of business and the human need for validation by mass does not make it easy on us.

You'll notice most of the videogames below are unplayable and those that are playable are just a few minutes short. Making videogames is hard! It has never been easier than today, but it is hard. Especially with the self-imposed rule of making each and every one something special.